Nine months too late: After divorce by Baby Charlene

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Ruby's eyes turned even more pitiful. "I'm sorry...."

"You shouldn't be cause they're not dead!" Her voice was near a shout for the first time. "All we have to do is find this woman, and we'll find my kids." She scoffed. "They can't be dead. I know it. She wouldn't bring someone over to assist with the delivery only to leave them behind to burn with me." "I don't know, Sylvie. Perhaps, she changed her mind and returned the kids, not wanting them to be the weak link that could be traced to her."

"No!" Sylvie yelled now. "It's not possible. It can't be!"

She bursted into tears,

, the ache in her heart having more reasons to return.

It couldn't be true. She couldn't just lose her kids after everything. They couldn't be dead.

let her cry until the tears had subsided a little. "I could show you where we buried them.

Ruby let her cry unti Some hours later, Sylvie and Ruby were at the graveyard. Her legs wobbled as the woman led her through the different tombstones until they got to two tombstones bearing the names: Little Fairy and Fairy Prince.

They hadn't even been named. Of course, how could they have been named when she was unconscious?

Sylvie dropped

her

knees, in-between the two graves. Her hand shivered as she reached out to touch the names. Was it really her kids? Were they truly dead? cheeks.

Unrestricted tears flooded her

"I'm so sorry, Sylvie," Ruby spoke from behind. "When you're ready, you can name them, then we have their names changed."

Sylvie continued crying, her shoulders slumped.

"I promise you, I'll help in the best way I can to find the woman who did this. I won't rest, Sylvie, until she pays for her crimes, and I don't even mean legally." Her eyes darkened. "When I do find her, the law will be too merciful for her." a long time, Sylvie remained there, crying her eyes out.

ī

For

She

wanted

to believe lieve

But what if Ruby was

were wrong and it wasn't her kids in there. Her abductor had left with them. What if the

right?!

Ruby soon joined her, kneeling beside woman had changed her mind and brought them back to the warehouse? Were her kids really gone? After everything?

her. She put ta hand around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

"Come on, darling. That's enough. They're in a better place. Ruby cooed.

Sylvie felt stupid. Oh, she never should've been their mother. She didn't deserve to.

"I was so wrong for them, she whimpered. "They didn't deserve someone as weak as me."

"Stop it, now!" Ruby struck her lightly on the back. "You're not weak, Sylvie. Stop it."

She continued crying on her shoulders, until after a long time, when the pain allowed her some sense of reasoning, she

114

pulled away from the hug

"Why are you here?" Her voice still quivered with tears rolling down her cheeks. "You said you've been looking for me. Why?"

Ruby sighed, lifting her hand to stroke Sylvie's hair.

something, "Twelve years ago, my brother lost someone-a woman that had been dear to him. He had stepped out to get and when he returned, he found her dead in the room." She dropped her hand from Sylvie's hair, a frown crawling into her face at the painful recollection.

"Her death tortured him for years because this woman had been very special to him." When she lifted her gaze to Sylvie again, it was filled with more warmth. "They had a child together, and he made me promise him that I'd do all I can to find this child and ensure she's living a a good life."

Sylvie's mind reeled. She didn't like where this was headed.

A dead woman in a married man's room...

"This woman was your mother," Ruby confirmed her thoughts.

Sylvie should feel shocked. Confused. Hurt. Angry.

She did feel them, but she could hardly express them. Sitting across from Ruby in a mini bar close to the cemetery, her face showed signs of emotional detachment.

Her eyes stared blankly at the untouched glass of freshly squeezed juice Ruby had ordered for her. Staring at the thick reddish liquid in the glass, all Sylvie could see was her life draining away.

"My brother Miller - and your mother - Floria - were lovers from highschool." Ruby began the narration, her eyes staring down at the wooden table between she and Sylvie as though the whole scene was replaying right in front of her. "But our parents were strict on life partners sand I already had someone they wanted Miller to get married to.

"It was a long, dramatic play of events, but in the end, my parents won, and Miller and Floria got separated. Miller got married to Scarlett, and Floria got married to Eldon."

Sylvie's heart skipped at the mention of her fa... former father's name. But none of the emotions she felt mirrored on her face. They stayed hidden, eating her from the inside.

"But years later, they crossed paths again and well-" Ruby shrugged, her lips twitching. "-got involved in a forbidden affair. Floria became pregnant with you while married to Eldon, but it was for Miller. They both kept it a secret until ten years later, Eldon found out. He was hurt and filed for a divorce. I was a little surprised when I heard he kept you and didn't reveal the truth to you.

"Miller and Floria continued with their affair, until one day, Floria ended up dead. Her death is still a mystery with no suspects found. But it ruined my brother."Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Ruby's face grew more somber. "I'd never seen him so... wounded. Devasted. Only then did I realize how much he truly loved Floria." A rueful smile touched her lips as she looked up at Sylvie, although Sylvie's empty eyes were staring blankly at the table. "You didn't know it, but he was always checking up on you. Back then, he'd hang around your school and watch you walk with your friends. He watched you for a long time, Sylvie. It was the one thing that kept him sane." Finally, an emotion. Sylvie's eyes moved, but they didn't meet Ruby's gaze. However, Ruby was quick to see the pain flicker across her face.

"You may not believe it, but he truly loved you, Sylvie. Unfortunately, he couldn't meet you because... he felt you were better off with Eldon and your sisters. He didn't want to drag you into his messy life."

She exhaled shakily. "Three years after Floria's death, he passed on."

ti B

Sylvie's head reeled. Her eyes finally met Ruby's, shock reflecting in them.

He was dead!?

He fell

critically ill and... didn't survive it, "Ruby continued. "Hours before his death, he forced me to make a promise. He wanted me to always look after you and ensure you were well taken care of. He said if there was ever a day that Eldon decided to kick you out, I must not hesitate to take you away from him and bring you to the family where you truly belong. He's always wished you'd be a part of us, Sylvie." Sylvie's eyes dropped to the table again, but this time, a tear followed.

I these years, I've been keeping tabs on you. I was happy when I learned you got married to Kage Hawkins."

Kage Hawkins. A sharp pain pierced through Sylvie's heart. She had only been in coma for two weeks, but it felt like she hadn't heard that name in ages. of it sent her heart racing in her chest.

The

you got t divorced and... and... things just kept getting bad for you, didn't they?"

me, heard!

"Then,

Ther

Ruby reached out, covering Sylvie's hand with hers on the table. "I am so sorry I haven't been there for you, Sylvie. I should've come earlier. Perhaps, this would've been avoided." She glanced back at the location of the cemetery. "But I'm here now, and I need you to know that you don't have to be alone. We're a family, and henceforth, you'll be protected as a Cheng."

The tear that had slipped her eye rolled down to her neck uncomfortably, but Sylvie made no effort to wipe it.

technically, she was an orphan. How unfortunate that she didn't even get the privilege to meet her real father. was a

So,

There

a storm of emotions in her heart, yet she hardly gave a reaction. The pain from the past events had become too much on her, she didn't know how to express herself anymore. Sylvie?" Ruby's voice was gentle, her touch on her skin warm.

"What do you say,

Sylvie's throat tightened as she struggled to get the words out. She didn't know what to say, but if there was one thing she did

know, was the fact that she didn't want to be alone.

She was scared.

"Sylvie, honey..." Ruby called calmly.

There was something comforting about the woman. It was as though, since her mother's death, it was the first time she was being in the company of a true family member.

She lifted her gaze to meet hers, pain reflecting in her eyes.

I don't know what I want anymore," her voice was broken and weak. "I just know I don't wanna be alone right now."

"And you won't be," Ruby smiled, clutching her hand even firmer. "Miller was my bestfriend-my only brother. I made a promise to him and intend to see it through. From the second I saw you at the hospital, you became my responsibility, Sylvie. Now, I am out to make sure you live like a Cheng where you truly belong."

We made you who you are today. Without the Price name, you're as good as nothing.' She remembered Beatrice's words.

She lowered her gaze as she shook her head. "I just want to find the woman who did this to me," she muttered. "That is all I care about."

"And we will find her," Ruby nodded. "You may not believe it, Sylvie, but I hate her more than you do. She killed Miller's

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