Chapter 16 - Why Do You Look The Same As Me?

Chapter 16 - Why Do You Look The Same As Me?

Due to it getting late, the light in the narrow stairwell was rather dim.
Pete stared at Cherry in shock.
Her eyes were widened as round as grapes and her mouth slightly ajar. The two stared at each other for some time. Cherry was the first to speak. "Why is there a mirror in the stairwell?"
Pete was puzzled.
The corners of his lips spasmed. "This isn't a mirror."
Cherry was dazed and dumbfounded. "Why do you look exactly the same as me, then?"
The stairwell fell quiet for another few seconds. Then, a hesitant Pete said, "Are we… twins?"
Tiny Cherry, who finally reacted, leaped forward and hugged Pete excitedly. "Wow! I found my brother!"
"…"
Pete, who had always refused physical contact with others, stiffened.
Blood relations were simply so peculiar. For example, physical contact with people such as one's mother and younger sister would give one a very heartwarming feeling.
But as it turned out, had Mommy hugged him and eaten dinner with him because she mistook him for someone else?
This realization made Pete turn pale. He sounded a little sad as he asked, "Why did Mommy abandon me?"
Cherry let go of him and hurriedly explained, "Mommy didn't abandon you. It was our horrid grandpa who sent you away. The reason why we came back to the States is so that we can look for you!"
"Really?"
Afraid that her brother wouldn't believe her, Cherry nodded repeatedly. "It's true! It's true!!"
Her soft hands grabbed hold of Pete and she dragged him down the stairs. "Let's go find Mommy. She'll definitely be very happy to see you, and then she'll take us home!"
Pete was taken aback. "But what about Daddy?"
Cherry paused. "Oh, that's right. Mommy definitely won't want Daddy."
"Why?"
"Mommy thinks he's trouble and that his familial relationships are complicated, so she finds him very bothersome! Does Daddy like Mommy?"
With an awfully complicated expression, Pete replied, "Daddy seems to hate my mom."
"What do we do?"
"…"
A minute later, the two little cuties sat on the steps together. The two of them looked just like peas in a pod as they tried to think of countermeasures with their faces, which still had baby fat on them, propped in their hands.
"By the way, my name is Cheryl Smith! You can call me Cherry. What's your name?"
"Peter Hunt. You can call me Pete."
"I want both you and Daddy, Pete. And, I can't leave Mommy, either. Do you have a solution?"
"…Yes, I do."
Cherry suddenly jumped up excitedly. "What is it?"
With a solemn look, Pete replied, "If we get Daddy and Mommy to fall in love with each other, they won't despise each other anymore."
The two children leaned their heads against each other's and talked about it. When they finally separated, Cherry suggested,
"I wanna play with Daddy. Can I pretend to be you tonight?"
It just so happened that Pete also wanted to spend some time with his mother, so he nodded with his eyes shining brightly.
Harboring the noble mission of reconciling a broken family, the children then quietly sneaked back to each other's residence.
—
Nora contacted the hospital after she left the ward. The dean agreed to her request immediately.
Anti was known as the top surgeon in the world. Several of her surgical videos had become classics in many hospitals and medical colleges.
Having her perform surgery in the hospital was undoubtedly the hospital's honor.
However, he made a few irrelevant requests—he wanted a few people from the hospital to be assistants so that they could observe and learn from the operation.
Nora, who didn't mind, acceded to his requests.
Next up were the operation site and facilities. The hospital's equipment was outdated and couldn't meet the demands of such a sophisticated operation. As such, she could only borrow a few from New York at last-minute notice.
As the relevant procedures involved were cumbersome, by the time she was done with the calls and settled all the arrangements, more than two hours had already passed.
Only then did she return to the ward, intending to comfort her aunt.
She thought that Henry and Wendy would already have left by then, but unexpectedly, she immediately heard a dispute in the ward as soon as she arrived.
Henry was very arrogant. "If you want Angela to ask Dr. Larson to perform the surgery, then get Nora to surrender the company! Which is more important—that lousy company, or her aunt's life?"
Irene's breathing was unsteady. "Angela, I've always treated you well since you were a child. This is also what I would like to ask you—is the company or my life more important?"
Angela curled her lip. "When have you ever treated me well, Aunt Irene? You obviously favored that damned fatty. Back when you were a seamstress, you would make the same clothes for us. But you must have used more fabric for hers, right? If you had really treated me well, then you shouldn't have made any for her at all!"
Her words angered the thin Irene lying on the bed. "Angela, you—"
A dissatisfied Angela went on. "Also, although you gave us the same presents during Christmas, did you think I didn't know that you always gave that damned fatty another one in private?! Hmph, she's more of a niece to you than I am, isn't she? In your eyes, what do you even see me as?"
Irene clenched her fists. "I was giving them to her in her mother's stead!"
Angela curled her lip. She was just about to say something when suddenly…
Clap!
Lisa grabbed Angela's hand. She must have been crying for a very long time because her eyes were all swollen. "Please, Angela. Put in a good word for us in front of Dr. Larson and save my mother!"
Right after she spoke, she fell onto her knees and pleaded, "Please, Angela!"
Angela shook her off and stepped away. "Don't think that I'll relent just because you're doing this."
Wendy also said, "Oh, Lisa, what are you doing? You should be begging Nora for help instead!"
This immediately caught Henry's attention. As though he had just thought of a good idea, he said, "Heed your aunt's advice, Lisa. Go to Hotel Finest now and get down on your knees at the entrance, and beg Nora to save your mother!
"Isn't Nora staying at Hotel Finest because she's hoping to snag a good husband there? If she doesn't want to be embarrassed, then she'll definitely agree to sign the agreement! "
"…"
Outside the door, Nora's downcast eyes were filled with an icy look.
When she was a child, she had simply thought that her father was partial to her sister because he had misunderstood her. But now, she suddenly understood that he had understood everything all along. There was actually no real reason for his partiality.
He could even bring himself to say such horrible things in such a justified manner.
"Henry!" Irene shouted sharply, "How can you treat Nora like that?!"
She turned to Lisa and ordered, "I forbid you to go over!"
The blood on Lisa's face drained little by little, and she wept silently on her knees.
"Don't beg them anymore. Get up, Lisa." Nora's uncle, Will Black, suddenly shouted. He pointed at the Smiths and yelled,
"Get out of here, all of you! You're all ingrates, all of you! Irene had given her all for her nieces, yet not a single one of you is a decent human being!"
He picked up the bouquet of flowers at his hand and threw them at Henry. When he drove the three of them out, he happened to see Nora and he paused.
Nora pressed her lips together, intending to tell him about the operation. "Uncle Will…"
Will's eyes were already red at this point. He snapped, "You're just as much of an ingrate. Get lost!"