3

"Listen to me, Tomas. We have two daughters, right? I know Marisa isn't your biological daughter, but she considers you her father..."

Before Jessica could finish her sentence, Tomas interrupted her. He had been resting in bed for several months now and was starting to feel better. "Tell me straight. What are you trying to say? After all, we're a loving couple."

"I know you love me and our Marisa," Jessica said softly, holding Tomas's frail hand. "You mentioned before that you wanted to send Bella abroad for her studies after she finishes high school, right? Our Marisa is only two years older than Bella, and she's been skipping classes and spending time at bars. I'm really worried. She's my only biological child. Tomas, I want Marisa to study overseas with Bella."

Bella stood outside the door, looking concerned.

Marisa was twenty years old now and had started skipping classes since middle school. She smoked, drank, and stayed out all night. People called her "special" because of her behavior.

Bella didn't have a good relationship with her non-biological older sister.

Tomas Reed wasn't a rich man. He had saved a total of six hundred thousand, working hard every day to support his second family. Unfortunately, his health declined, and his liver was failing.

Even though the doctor said he was close to dying, Tomas refused to use any of his savings for his own treatment.

Two months ago, Tomas explicitly stated that he was giving up on getting treated.

Once the patient had given up on life, there was nothing anyone else could do, be it the doctors or his own biological daughter.

Tomas even tearfully forced his daughter to hear out his will, saying, “Bella , I didn’t accomplish much in my life. All I did was save you this six hundred thousand. Don’t be too upset after I die. After the funeral, take this money and go study overseas! Live your best life! Don’t be as greedy as your mother, and don’t be as useless as your father! As long as you take that to heart, I don’t mind dropping dead right now!”

Even now, Bella ’s eyes reddened whenever she recalled that moment.

She knew very well that her father was going to save that six hundred thousand for her studies even if it meant sacrificing his life. That was why she had no choice but to make that deal in secret, in exchange for some funds and a suitable donor for her father.

She stood outside the door, looking at how her father and stepmother professed their love for each other. Instead of feeling glad, she just felt an unprecedented sense of frustration.

Finally, Bella did not go in.

When she went downstairs, she happened to bump into Marisa.

“Oh, if it isn’t our good little Bella .” Marisa shoved Bella lightly with one hand, a cigarette for women held between her fingers. She then blew a mouthful of smoke into Bella ’s face and then assessed Bella ’s body up and down, clicking her tongue. “You’re eighteen now, and your father’s dying without the money for his medical fees. Whadaya say? Wanna try selling out a few more times? You could keep your dad alive for a while longer.”

Bella looked at her revolting older sister evenly, her expression blank. It felt as though her frustration was building up so much that she would explode if she did not vent, so she spat in Marisa’s face, “I love your suggestion. It must feel so relieving, like letting a huge one rip!”

Marisa glared at her with her beautiful eyes. Bella ’s attitude had instantly ticked her off!

“Damned brat, so you have the guts to talk back to me now?!”

Bella walked away, dejected.

Marisa was so angry that her hand shook. She turned around and yelled at the top of her voice, “There you go, acting all holy again! Well, I can’t wait to see when you show your true colors! Even your dad said that your mom’s shameless! I think you should get yourself checked out at a decent hospital, just in case you turn out to be the b*stard child of some one-night stand!”

…

When Bella was seven months pregnant.

She could clearly feel that the life inside her belly was growing much more energetic now. It would kick her and that gave her an unprecedented happiness.

After a while, she started to imagine what the baby would look like once it was born.

Would it be a boy? Or a girl?

Her stomach was so huge. Was it getting too much nutrition?

Since Bella overheard her father agreeing to send Marisa overseas as well at the hospital that day, she stopped going to the hospital quite so often.

It was not that she stopped loving her father. It was just that her stomach was getting larger, and she was worried that her father would be able to tell that something was wrong if she visited him too often. The heavy down clothes could help her hide it, but it was not infallible.

Besides, Jessica was constantly by Tomas ’s side. Bella did not know if she was really that concerned about her husband’s health or if she was more worried about saving that six hundred thousand for Marisa.

Bella could only hold her head and hope it was the former.

…

A little while later, Bella found out that her father had gotten out of bed and back to work, doing overtime and going out on business trips without a moment’s rest.

Bella was angry and exasperated, and she tried to persuade her father several times over the phone, but it was all to no avail.

After the new year.

Her expected due date had arrived.

She stayed in the best maternity room the private hospital had to offer, and there were a few female doctors caring for her all day, every day. They ran tests and watched over her every need, making sure not to miss a single thing.

Bella never tried to find out who the baby’s father was, but these people would sometimes discuss him openly in front of her. They never said his name, but Bella could be certain that the baby’s father was definitely no ordinary businessman.

Bella did not know the slightest thing about her own condition, but she later heard the results of the doctors’ discussion.

They wanted her to go for a c-section.

After that, she was wheeled into the operation theater.

She did not feel any pain during the process. Maybe it was hurt a lot after the anesthesia wore off.

The child had lived inside her for about nine months, but now it had suddenly been taken out of her!

They had to go their separate ways now!

The feeling of parting with her own flesh and blood pained her terribly.

It was a sharp ache that pierced her in the heart.

Before she knew it, her tears flowed past the bridge of her nose and dripped onto her cheek.

From the very beginning, all of this was just a fair and formal deal, right? So why did her heart still hurt like this?!

Lisa had been keeping an eye on Bella ’s emotions the entire time, watching as she wept helplessly.

Finally, when Bella was wheeled out, Lisa executed her orders and told Bella , “You’re only nineteen. This matter will only ever be a secret you must hide for life. Child, I hope you will shake this off soon, and I hope you have a good life from now on.”

Lisa was consoling her, but the words were cruel.

“Can you tell me if…. It’s a boy… or a girl…?” Bella asked weakly.

“It’s a girl, and she’s perfectly healthy,” Lisa replied just as Old Master Craig told her to. They wanted to avoid any unnecessary trouble in the future, so they had no choice but to lie to Bella .

In truth, she had given birth to a pair of twins, a healthy baby boy and a healthy baby girl.

Bella closed her eyes, her face pale. She was exhausted and sleepy.

A girl.

There was a new life in the world now. It was her daughter.

…

Bella only stayed in the hospital for ten days.

She could not stand doing nothing in the hospital all day. She could not stand the pain of having her thoughts centered around her daughter and nothing else.

Once she left the hospital, Bella returned to her rented room.

The first thing she did was call her father.

It was Tomas ’s phone, but Jessica was the one who picked up. “Bella ? Your father’s busy. What’s the matter?”

Bella paused. Since when had it become so difficult for her to reach her father?

“When will he be free?” she asked.

“I can’t say for sure. Your dad’s working really hard to make sure you can go overseas. Should I tell him to call you once he’s free?” Jessica said.

“I’ll wait for his call.” Bella lowered her head and hung up the call.

In truth, she knew that Jessica would not pass the message.

Right now, she could count her living relatives on one hand.

Her father had gone to another Pack and was working desperately for this strange family of theirs.

Her newborn baby daughter might be in this Pack , or she could be somewhere else. From the moment she was born, that baby only belonged to the man behind that deal.

As for her mother, it was as though that person had never existed at all.

Bella did not know what the woman looked like, where she was, what kind of a life she led, or if she ever once missed her daughter.