All Novel Sweet
Chapter 928 Strangers
Chapter 928 Strangers
Crystal's POV:
Rufus allowed me to enter his palace, but he kept me waiting for a long time. Gradually, I ran out of patience and had half a mind to break in when Rufus finally showed up. RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
And he didn't come along. There, hanging around his waist, was a little girl. It was my Beryl!
I was so excited and relieved that I reached out to hug my darling daughter, but unexpectedly, Rufus dodged me and even shouted at me.
I was stunned, but I didn't think too much. I still stretched my arms to hug Beryl.
To my surprise, the corners of Beryl's mouth drooped and her lower lip trembled. Then she burst into tears. She seemed to be very afraid of me.
Looking at Beryl, who had turned her face away from me and buried it in Rufus' shoulder, I was dumbfounded.
What the hell was going on?! My Beryl seemed to like Rufus more than me.
Rufus stepped back and held Beryl in his arms protectively. Giving me a reproachful look, he demanded, "What do you think you're doing? You're scaring her!"
I was so anxious that I retorted, "What am I doing? I'm her mother!"
"If you were her mother, she wouldn't have burst into tears at the sight of you!" Rufus didn't believe a word I said and took another step back.
I wanted to prove that I wasn't lying, but it's not like I carried Beryl's birth certificate around with me!
"Beryl, it's Mommy. Hey, just look at me..." I felt terrible, staring at Beryl's little back from afar.
Beryl turned her head a little and stole a glance at me, but immediately hid in Rufus' arms again.
I felt hopeless and at a loss. What was going on? Why was Beryl ignoring me? Was she mad at me because I left them at home?
Rufus held Beryl like a mama bear protecting her cub. "She doesn't know you."
"Impossible! That's my baby!" I glared at Rufus unhappily. We hadn't seen each other for five years, yet he still managed to make things so difficult for me.
Determined, I walked up to Beryl cautiously and gently touched her fair and tender hand.
Beryl shrank away from my touch, turned her face, and glanced at me again.
"Sweetie, it's Mommy. You're angry that Mommy left you at home, right? That's why you're ignoring me." I was so sad. I just wanted her to talk to me.
Beryl didn't answer right away. She straightened up and looked at me curiously, as if she didn't know me.
After a long time, she finally pointed at my face and said, "Your mask."
I touched my mask and realized that maybe Beryl didn't recognize me because my face was covered by the mask.
But I had lied about me being disfigured, so I couldn't take off my mask in front of Rufus.
I was caught between a rock and a hard place. Logically speaking, Beryl should've recognized me even with the mask on. I was her mother, the closest person to her in the world, and she should've recognized me no matter what. Moreover, back home, we played role-playing games with masks on, so it wasn't Beryl's first time to see me in a mask.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel depressed. It seemed that Beryl was really angry at me for leaving her and Arron at home. Otherwise, she wouldn't have treated me so coldly.
"Beryl, do you want candy? I have your favorite —cheese-stuffed marshmallows!"
I forced a smile and took out colorful candies from my pocket. This kind of candies was a specialty of the border pack. Beryl and Arron liked it very much, so I always made sure I had a few in my pocket.
Beryl looked at the alluring candies in my hand unblinkingly. She pursed her lips tightly, as if she was hesitating whether to take it or not.
Finally, she made up her mind. She turned her head away and hid behind Rufus' arms.
"You don't like them anymore?"
I lowered my hand and didn't know what to do.
I was caught off guard by her indifference. It seemed that she really didn't want to talk to me anymore.