Chapter 437 Reason Behind The Cold Shoulder
After they helped Eva settle down, Oscar went to the study with James and talked about the hospital. Tony went to take a nap, so only Amelia and Tiffany remained in the living room.
Tiffany took a piece of apple, savored it slowly, and said casually, “Not only does Eva have a boorish behavior, but her style is also unconventional. She does seem like a socializer. If we put it nicely, she’s enthusiastic, but to put it bluntly, she’s just senseless. Are you really going to let her stay? I’m afraid that she’ll cause you trouble.”
Amelia took a bite of apple while thinking about what Tiffany said.
Shortly afterward, she commented, “I don’t think Eva’s a bad apple. She’s just more passionate and a bit wild. If she didn’t mention it, I’d never expect her to be a soldier. Her current job as a training coach surprised me as well. I feel like this career doesn’t suit her at all. She’s really beyond my expectations.”
All of a sudden, she thought of something and laughed softly.
Tiffany rolled her eyes and was dissatisfied. “Babe, I’m being serious here. How can you laugh? She has a job and won’t starve to death. You’ve already done all you can for her by finding a place for her to stay. Cut off ties with her. I have a feeling that her personality will cause you trouble one day.”
A smile crept on Amelia’s face as she turned to look at Tiffany. “Tiff, I know you care about me, but I’m no longer the young girl who gets bullied by others. After being blind for two years, I’ve found out what’s the most important thing to me. If she causes me harm, I’ll keep my distance from her, but now she doesn’t, right? It’s the first time my father asked me for help after so many years. As his daughter, I shouldn’t refuse him no matter what. If I don’t care about Eva, what will he think?”
A hint of anger flickered across Tiffany’s eyes. She moved her lips but did not vent her frustration at Amelia.
After a few minutes, she threw the toothpick in her hand on the table and cursed under her breath. Then, she remarked, “Amelia, sometimes I really don’t know what you are thinking. They’ve never treated you like a daughter. Why do you still expect them to show you familial affection?”
Amelia let out a long sigh and uttered faintly, “Tiff, I understand what you mean. Maybe I haven’t received any affection from them since young, so it has become an obsession. If the opportunity arises, I would like to ask them why they insisted on adopting me if I’m not their biological daughter. After all, I’m not the only daughter in the Winters family.”
Upon hearing that, Tiffany gave Amelia an intense stare.
She knew what Amelia had experienced, but she could not understand what was in her mind. The Winters family has been indifferent to her, but she still hopes that they’ll show concern for her. I really don’t understand why she still cares about them. It’s so not worth it.
“Babe, you’ve already grown up. You also have a husband and a son. Why are you still clinging on to the past?” Tiffany asked.
Amelia was stunned for a moment, but her expression soon returned to normal.
“Tiff, I’m not persistent about the past. I just want to ask them when I have the opportunity. I’ve been thinking about it for more than twenty years. Since I was young, they’ve been indifferent toward me. They’re my family, but you’re closer to me than any one of them. I only wish to ask them several questions. Since I’m not their biological daughter, why do they adopt me? Once they have adopted me, why wouldn’t they show me any patience? Or they only adopted me because the Hutton family asked them to do that?” In an instant, a trace of hatred flickered past Amelia’s eyes, and she roared depressingly.
Tiffany was taken aback to see Amelia losing control of her emotions. She quickly grabbed Amelia’s hand and comforted, “Babe, calm down. You’ve grown up. Besides, you have a husband and a son who love you dearly. You also have friends who will never leave you. The Winters family can never hurt you again.”
Nevertheless, Amelia only stared at Tiffany in a daze. After some time, she slowly came back to her senses.
Subsequently, she forced a smile and responded, “I’m sorry. I lost control of myself.” With that said, she casually tucked her hair behind her ear, as if the emotional outburst earlier had nothing to do with her.
Tiffany sighed resignedly and suggested, “Babe, if you’re so bothered about it, why don’t you find the time and go to the Winters residence and ask them directly? It’s not good for your mental health if you continue to dwell on it.”
To her surprise, Amelia laughed as if she did not care a hang about it anymore.
“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me. Let’s go in and take a nap with Tony. It’s Saturday today. Tomorrow, I’ve to go shopping with Eva, and Monday is my first day of work. We’ll also send Tony to the Clinton residence so that he can spend more time with my in-laws. I believe everything will turn for the better.” Amelia stood up from the sofa and said nonchalantly.
However, Tiffany knew her well. The more Amelia pretended not to care, the more she was bothered about it.
“Babe, you aren’t being honest at all. I know you’re just pretending that you don’t care about it. If I don’t know you any better, I probably would’ve been deceived by you.” Tiffany stood up as well and shrugged her shoulders.
“Since you don’t want to talk about the Winters family, I won’t force you to. Let’s go and take a nap. Today is my last chance to be so carefree. Starting from tomorrow, I’ll have to start modifying the script for the movie. The film adaptation of my novel will start shooting soon. I’m both the original author and the screenwriter. Since this is my first film adaptation, I want to give it my best.” Although she said that, she actually already had an idea of what to do.
Moments later, both of them entered the bedroom and slept beside Tony.
After a nap, Tiffany was in good spirits and kissed Tony’s cheek. When he kissed her back twice, she said, “Babe, I’m leaving now. My dear godson, I’ll be busy with work these few days. If you can’t get through my phone, it’s not because I don’t like you anymore. When I’m done with work, I’ll take you to the amusement park with your mommy.”
In response, Tony nodded obediently. “Tiffy, bring Daddy with us too. Let’s go without Big Meanie.”
Smirking, Tiffany took a quick look at Oscar, who was standing not far away and promised, “Okay. Let’s go without Big Meanie. After all, you’re with him every day. It’s reasonable for you to get tired of him.”
Tony nodded arrogantly.
Meanwhile, Amelia did not know how to react to their conversation.
Shortly afterward, Tiffany left Amelia’s apartment, took the elevator downstairs, and got into her car. Immediately, she called the number she copied from Amelia’s phone. When the call connected, she went straight to the point. “Mr. Winters, I’m Tiffany Winters. The daughter of the neighbor who used to live opposite your house. You’ve seen me before. I have some questions for you. I wonder if you’re free now?”
After a momentary silence, a low and hoarse voice came from the other end of the line. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“Mr. Winters, you’ve ignored Amelia all these years as if she doesn’t exist in this world. Do you really hate her that much? If you don’t like her, how do you know her phone number that has been changed for two years? Why do you suddenly ask her to take care of your niece? What’s the purpose of you doing this?”
After a pause, Tiffany’s voice turned cold. “Mr. Winters, Amelia has suffered a lot over the years. If you still treat her as your daughter, stop hurting her.”
There was a long silence. Just when she thought that Dominic would not answer, he piped up, “I’ve never thought of hurting her, but I was indebted to someone, and I’ve promised that person that I wouldn’t treat Amelia well. I asked her to take care of Eva because I wanted to know how she’s been doing over the years through Eva.”
Tiffany was so excited that her hand trembled. “Mr. Winters, if you still care about Amelia, why can’t you show her some concern? Isn’t it enough to treat her so coldly for nearly thirty years?”
Nevertheless, Dominic hung up the phone without saying anything more.
Looking at the phone screen that had blacked out, Tiffany bit back the words that she was about to blurt out. Her gaze deepened as she recalled what Dominic said earlier. It sounded like Amelia might not be his biological daughter. Back then, he adopted her because he was indebted to someone, and the person who gave Amelia to him asked him not to treat her well.
Who the hell is so ruthless to do such a thing as giving a young child to another family? Then, the bugger even went on to ask the family not to treat her nicely.
Tiffany racked her brain but still could not quite put a finger on what was going on. Amelia’s real identity might be much more complicated than she could imagine.
Abruptly, she thought of the horror and hatred that flashed across Benjamin’s eyes when he saw Amelia. Could it be that he was the one who gave Tiffany to the Winters family? If Amelia were his daughter, why would he do this? Who would be so ruthless and abandon their biological daughter?
Moments later, she started the car and called Derrick, asking him to help investigate the missing daughter of the Hutton family in Saspiuburg.
Derrick did not even ask her the reason for doing so and promised to help her out.
“Thank you, Derrick.”
“If you really want to thank me, come over to my house tonight.”
“Okay,” Tiffany agreed immediately.
Since they had already slept together, it would be hypocritical if she rejected him.
After being lovey-dovey for a while, Derrick advised, “Tiff, although you and Amelia are good friends, I don’t think you should get involved in her family matters. If she needs your help, she’ll let you know. I’m worried that others might blame you for being a busybody.”
Tiffany kept silent for a while before replying, “I understand. I know what to do.”
“I’m glad that you understand. Come over tonight. We’ll have dinner together.”
“All right.”
