Her Precious Baby

Evander gazed at her the slim silhouette of her back. For the first time, anxiety flashed before those unfathomably

deep eyes.

He expected Angeline to blame and scold him instead of opening up like this. It was as if she had numbed herself to

her fate.

The only thing more dangerous than a fight in a relationship was a cold shoulder, which was proof of her increasing

disregard for him.

Evander felt empty in the stomach at that thought. He reached out and grabbed Angeline’s arm.

“Why did we have to break up?” he asked, gritting his teeth in dismay.

“Was I not clear enough?”

“I want the real reason.” Evander gazed down at her, his voice husky. “Why did you react that way when you saw

the Heart of the Ocean I gifted you? What are you hiding from me?”

He only realized the shift in Angeline’s emotional state after he calmed down. Though he was unclear of the reason,

he surmised upon further thought that it must have been due to the necklace.

“Is that important?”

Angeline’s heart skipped a beat at Evander’s words. She turned around to face him while feigning a calm she did

not feel.

“Everybody has their secrets, Mr. Golding. That must be why you won’t tell me who Floretta’s real mother is.”

Initially prodding Evander to see if she could discover something, she did not expect such a hostile reaction from

him.

“You are becoming bold, Angeline!”

“Forget I ever asked.”

Angeline scoffed and again struggled to free herself of Evander before turning around to leave abruptly.

However, the doubt in her heart gnawed at her.

Why did Evander react so strongly to the mention of Floretta’s birth mother? What is he hiding from me? Could he,

instead of the traffickers, have stolen the newborn baby? If that’s the case, Evander must have been planning this

charade and knew that I would only hate him all the more for knowing the truth from all those years ago.

Suddenly, Angeline’s arms grew weak. Not daring to ruminate further, she opted instead to investigate the matter

thoroughly at her own pace.

All the children had gone out to play when the bell in the kindergarten rang a long time ago, but Floretta remained

in her seat with a colored pen in her hand, busy filling in the colors in her sketchbook.

With the parent-teacher conference looming close, the teachers called for every child to produce an artwork to be

presented to their parents.

As it was rare for Angeline and Evander to appear together in the parent-teacher conference, Floretta honored the

occasion by applying herself fully to her work.

Suddenly, the classroom door swung open to admit a group of boys who came barging in. They gazed in Floretta’s

direction and leered.

One of the boys, chubbier than the rest, arrived before Floretta with his chest puffed up and grabbed her

sketchbook.

Startled by his gesture, her face flushed red with anger.

“How dare you touch my things, Mark? Give my drawing back to me!”

The boy’s meaty hands shoved Floretta away and perused the sketchbook with sardonic glee.

“I thought you were hiding fancy artwork in here. Instead, all you have is a drawing of your family! Aunt Olivine said

that you’re a motherless child, though.”

“You’re lying!”

Floretta stomped her feet angrily. Her features contorted with rage.

“Ms. Sherrock is the one who insists on being my mother and must have said those things in a fit of embarrassed

anger because my father ignores her.”

“Watch who you’re calling Ms. Sherrock. That’s my Aunt Olivine,” Mark growled as he pushed her again and jabbed

a menacing finger. “Your mother threw you away as soon as you were born. Besides, Aunt Olivine said she’ll put

you in the orphanage when she marries your father.”

Unable to withstand the oppression of his bulk, Floretta fell onto the ground. She was so frightened at the mention

of the orphanage that her scarlet eyes blossomed with tears.

She gulped. “No, Daddy will never do that,” she exclaimed indignantly while rubbing her eyes. “I have a mother.

She’s Angeline Sorelle, the movie star!”

“Angeline Sorelle from ‘The Journey’? Look at how good at lying Floretta is! She’s practically in denial!”

Mark turned around and, along with his friends, began to point and laugh at Floretta.

“What are you laughing about? My mother is Angeline Sorelle.”

Floretta tried to convince them, but despite her earnestness, none of them believed her.

Instead, they laughed all the harder at those words.

“Angeline Sorelle is a movie star! How could she be your mother?”

“Exactly. My mother has been binge-watching ‘The Journey,’ and she loves Angeline in it. She’s the hottest star right

now.”

With her hands on her hips, Floretta’s fury gave way to a sudden burst of laughter as she responded coldly,

“Doesn’t matter. She is coming to the parent-teacher conference, anyway. I’ll show all of you!”

Without another word, she snatched the sketchbook back from Mark and ran out of the classroom.

Flabbergasted, the bullies gazed at Floretta’s departing back. One of them said, “Could that stupid girl be telling the

truth? I heard her father is rich and powerful.”

“Impossible. Watch how embarrassed she’ll be when Angeline doesn’t show up to the parent-teacher conference!”

Mark snorted in disdain and folded his arms.

As children were not endowed with the ability to tell right from wrong, they were easily impressed by celebrities.

Especially given Angeline’s recent fame online, fans of her show were not only found on the streets but also in the

kindergarten.

That was how they were confident that Floretta could not have secured Angeline’s attendance.

The last bell marked the end of the school day. Her head hanging, Floretta exited the classroom in low spirits.

“Floretta?”

Suddenly, she heard the familiar voice of a woman.

All of a sudden, her eyes lit up as if she had received a jolt of energy.

“What are you doing here, Angel?”

“I’ve missed you very much, which is why I’m picking you up today and taking you to KFC. How does that sound?”

Angeline gave the little girl’s hand a squeeze. Though she wore sunglasses, the upward curl of her lips plainly

conveyed her delight.

Despite her exhaustion from Evander’s torture on set, she could not rest upon returning home, so she opted to visit

Floretta instead.

Recalling the possibility of Floretta being her missing child, Angeline became emotional and wanted nothing more

than to give the girl all her love.

Suddenly, Floretta gasped as if her wound was brushed.