Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Running Into an Old Acquaintance
When Ann Vaughn and Susie Sommers returned to the edge of the hot spring, they saw Kenny peeking from behind a rock, saying to a beautiful young lady, "Miss, why aren’t you flying in the sky?"
"Why should I be flying in the sky?"
"Because angels fly in the sky."
"Little brother, how is it that your words are so sweet? How about I give you this box of chocolates?" The beautiful young lady couldn’t help but stay put and handed over a box of exquisitely packaged chocolates.
Kenny shook his little head seriously, "No, my mommy taught me not to take things from strangers."
The young lady was amused, "But I’m not a stranger; I’m an angel!"
"That still won’t do. How can a mere mortal like me eat something given by an angel?"
Seeing that little mouth with such charming skills, Ann Vaughn couldn’t help but cover her face, wondering if this was really her biological child!
"Annie, your little darling is simply incredible." Susie Sommers made a gesture of worship, utterly impressed.
So cute and charming at such a young age—what will he be like when he grows up?!
"Kenny." Afraid that something even more embarrassing might come out of her son’s mouth, Ann Vaughn quickly walked over and called out.
As she got closer, the beautiful young lady squatting in front of Kenny looked up at the sound.
The moment she saw the young lady’s face clearly, Ann Vaughn’s steps halted, her heart slightly shaken.
She hadn’t expected that in such a large city, she’d run into someone in such a coincidental manner.
On her first day back, she hadn’t run into that person, nor the Vaughns, but—
Bella Hawthorne!
"Sis, Sister-in-law?!" Bella initially thought she was seeing things, but when she rubbed her eyes hard and saw Ann Vaughn’s pale face clearly, she was shocked as if she’d seen a ghost.
How could this be possible?!
Her sister-in-law clearly died four years ago?!
Her ashes are still in the ancestral hall of the Hawthorne Family, and Bella visits whenever she has time to pay her respects.
But the woman in front of her looked exactly like her sister-in-law, except the air around her was different!!
Ann Vaughn forced down the waves of surprise in her heart. Although they were bound to meet sooner or later, for now, she didn’t want to be discovered so quickly.
Especially not by... the Hawthorne Family.
"Sister-in-law, you’re not dead?!" Bella Hawthorne took a big step forward, trying to grab Ann Vaughn’s hand, but Ann evaded her, leaving Bella at a loss, "Oh my god, Sister-in-law, you’re actually not dead, this is incredible!"
Kenny, who was over by the rock, initially wanted to call out to Ann, but seeing her expressionless face in front of this young lady, he kept silent.
"I’m sorry, miss, you have the wrong person." Ann Vaughn slowly calmed down, her gaze now indifferent as she looked at Bella Hawthorne.
"No, it’s impossible, you look exactly like my deceased sister-in-law, how could there be two people who look exactly alike in this world?"
"Miss, I understand your yearning for your deceased relative, but it’s quite normal for people to look alike." Ann Vaughn gave an impeccable smile, her long hair tucked behind her ear like a sprite, "Isn’t it?"
It was as if the person in front of her suddenly transformed into someone else.
Every glance, the curve at the corner of her lips, even the subtle and enticing allure...
She seemed exactly like an enchanting sprite.
Bella Hawthorne’s previously certain expression wavered; her sister-in-law wasn’t so alluring and seductive, she was always gentle.
This woman looked like Ann Vaughn, but upon closer inspection, was very different...
While Bella was lost in thought, Ann Vaughn quickly exchanged a glance with Susie Sommers, who immediately understood and went over to pick up Kenny, covering his face as she swiftly left.
"Miss, if you’ll excuse me, but if you’re feeling reflective about a loved one and want to drink, feel free to find me." Ann Vaughn snapped her fingers with a crisp sound, her eyes filled with a bewitching charm as she turned and left with a captivating sway.
Bella Hawthorne stood there dazed, watching Ann Vaughn’s departing figure, feeling that it was completely unfamiliar.
So it was just a resemblance...
But how could it be? They looked exactly the same!
Bella Hawthorne was torn with all her thoughts, so she took out her phone from her bag, found the contact labeled ’Brother,’ and dialed.
At that moment, in a hotel room on the top floor, a man sat in front of a computer in a multinational meeting, his fluent foreign language a delight to listen to.
The phone on the table lit up, flashing silently for quite a while before turning off again.
The man never noticed.
Back at the hot spring, Bella had been standing in the cold wind, her rationality somewhat restored.
As the younger sister, she could only watch her brother sink deeper into despair after their sister-in-law’s death, from a lifeless existence to an obsessive search, knowing that she was already dead, yet still fantasizing she existed somewhere in this world.
But he finally accepted the truth, continually using work to numb himself, not taking a single day off in four years, often only turning off the study lights at three or four in the morning.
There were even a few times when he ended up in the emergency room.
Eventually, anything related to "Ann Vaughn" disappeared overnight, leaving no trace, not even to be mentioned, let alone appear in front of him.
He became even colder than before, to a point of near ruthless indifference, showing no mercy to his enemies, and even to his own family, never cracking a smile anymore.
Reserved, ruthless, and cold-blooded—that’s how he was now described.
Bella Hawthorne always comforted herself, thinking at least her brother finally let go and could live well.
Until one day, worried, she followed Cyrus Hawthorne to the Water Terrace where Ann Vaughn used to live—
Ann Vaughn had publicly announced she had gone abroad, not died, and besides Cyrus Hawthorne, no one knew about her grave.
When Bella Hawthorne saw that apartment, the walls and cabinets full of Ann Vaughn’s photos and belongings, she was thoroughly chilled with shock.
For the first time in her life, she mustered the courage to quietly push open the door to the room Cyrus had entered.
What did she see?
The scene was something Bella Hawthorne would never forget in this lifetime.
In a room filled with traces of Ann Vaughn living there, as if her silhouette was on every object...
Cyrus Hawthorne was half-reclining on the bed, holding Ann Vaughn’s urn, and in the dim light, Bella could only see his profile, as if he was cradling the love of his life, gentle and tender to the extreme.
He was speaking in a low and gentle voice to the urn, about everything from trivial matters to significant events, with an unprecedented patience.
As if he was holding a living, breathing person.
Yet clearly his expression was so soft and content, a tear of blood trickled down from the corner of his eye.
Shocking Bella so much at the time that she almost screamed, even wanting to snatch the urn from his hands to wake him up!