Chapter 481: A Letter For You
After their meal, Wendy and Michael brought the children to an amusement park.
Leah was ecstatic. As for Jake, though he did not say a word, the delight was apparent on his face.
Wendy started to feel a little breathless after playing with her children for a while.
She let go of Leah’s hand and said with a smile, "I can’t move anymore. Go play with Jake and Daddy. I’ll sit over there for a bit."
"Play with me a little more. I want to play with Mummy," Leah insisted. She refused to let go of Wendy’s hand. Wendy’s heart melted when she looked at her adorable daughter. She finally conceded, "All right. I’ll play with you for a little while more and then you’ll have to let me rest, ok?"
"Ok," Leah nodded happily.
"What do you want play next? Take your pick," Wendy said.
At her age, Leah did not dare take the thrilling and dangerous rides. In the end, she chose the bumper cars. Leah and Wendy took a car, Michael and Jake took another.
The four of them had a great time together.
Jake was not that happy, because he still somewhat despised Michael. If he had not been afraid of making his mother sad, Jake would not have bothered calling him Daddy. But he decided not to say anything because he saw how happy his mother and sister were. As long as his mother and sister were happy, he was willing to swallow anything.
"Okay, I really need to rest. Go play with Jake and Daddy," Wendy said as she got out of the bumper car. She then bent over to give Leah a peck on her cheek.
Wendy was feeling really tired. Her health had not been very good recently and Michael had made her tired again last night. Wendy’s face turned a little red when she thought about last night.
Thankfully, nobody thought there was anything more to the blush on her cheeks.
Her flushed face could be due exertion and tiredness.
"Okay," said Leah. She had wanted Wendy to continue playing with them but when she saw how tired Wendy was, she relented out of concern. Besides, she had also agreed earlier to let her Mummy rest after one more ride.
While Leah could not bear to let Wendy go, she still did so obediently. Wendy patted Leah’s little head and released her hand.
"Are you okay?" Michael walked over and asked, concerned. He knew that Wendy had not been feeling too well lately.
Wendy shook her head. "I’m fine. You should go and play with them. I’ll rest a bit and have a drink."
Michael studied her face and did not notice anything off, so he nodded in relief.
Michael continued to have fun with the two children. When Wendy saw how much fun they were having, her smile widened. She turned around and bought a drink from the nearby cafe. Sitting on a chair, Wendy sipped her drink while watching them play.
Zess was a little less enthusiastic about playing. She joined Wendy after she saw that Michael was with the children.
"Zess, why aren’t you playing with them?" Wendy asked.
"Those are all for children. I’d rather not join them," Zess said with a smile as she looked towards Leah and Jake.
Wendy had seen that Zess was enjoying herself earlier, so she thought that perhaps Zess was feeling a little embarrassed about having fun at the amusement park.
"Who says that the amusement park is only for children?" Wendy said. "Adults can have lots of fun too."
....
Zess smiled at what Wendy said but did not reply.
"Zess, you’re busy looking after the children and taking care of household chores every day. You don’t usually get to enjoy yourself. Today, you should have fun with them," Wendy said. She took Zess’s hand and said, "Look. They are so many other adults playing too. You don’t have to be shy."
"I’m not shy, I..." Now it was Zess’s turn to become red-faced because Wendy had hit the needle on the head. Zess was indeed feeling shy. She had brought the two children to the amusement park before, but she would only watch them play. She had always felt that these were rides and games for children. At her age, she was afraid others would laugh at her for joining in the fun.
But when she tried some of the rides and games today, she felt that they were really quite fun. Wendy had known Zess for years, so she understood Zess rather well.
Wendy saw that Zess still refused to budge. So she called out, "Leah, Jake, come over here!"
Leah and Jake were playing at a little distance away. But when they heard Wendy’s voice, they ran over immediately.
"Mummy." With a smile on her face, Leah ran up to Wendy.
"I have a mission for you," said Wendy. She placed Zess’s hand into Leah’s small hand. "The both of you are to bring Zess along to play. Zess works hard every day to take good care of you. I want you to make sure she has a good time today."
"Yes, Mummy," Leah immediately nodded and pulled Zess’s hand. "Come on, let’s go and play."
"I..." Zess smiled. She looked like she had something to say.
Jake held Zess’s other hand and together with Leah, pulled her along. "Zess, come on, let’s go on that one over there."
And Zess got dragged away by the two children just like that. Wendy saw their happy faces and that put a smile on her face too. The most beautiful thing in the world is to have the ones you love and those who love you by your side.
Wendy felt very blessed and lucky to have such a wonderful life now. Smiling, she took a another sip of her drink.
...
From afar, Todd was dressed in black., He was hiding among the crowd. He was sitting at another cafe. The veins on his forearm were bulging from the force he was exerting while tightly gripping his glass. That’s right. He had been watching Wendy and Michael very closely.
From the moment Leah and Jake arrived in Rheinsville City. And from when they left the hotel for the amusement park. Todd knew everything. He had not expected Michael to be able to make Wendy stay yesterday.
He had been waiting outside the hotel the whole time. He was waiting for Wendy to leave. But he had wasted the entire night, waiting in vain. Instead, the next day, he saw Wendy and Michael in each other’s arms at the hotel’s entrance.
After Leah and Jake arrived in Rheinsville City, Todd became surer of Michael’s intentions. Michael wanted to use the children to soften Wendy’s heart and make her stay.
Todd had to acknowledge that Michael had succeeded. Todd saw that Wendy’s mood today was completely different from what it had been two days ago. He had no idea how Michael managed to do that. He did not know how Michael could change Wendy’s mind in just one night.
But it was clear that he was losing. Once Wendy went back to Lake City with Michael, Todd would have no more chances. Todd gripped his glass harder, and his veins bulged even more. No, he would not let things carry on in this manner.
He put the glass down with a heavy thud and made a phone call. "There’s something else I need you to do," he ordered in a cold voice.
...
Wendy watched them play. The smile on her face did not fade. If she could, she wished she could freeze this moment in time. But someone would soon spoiled her good mood.
"Hello ma’am. Here’s a letter for you," a little boy of about seven or eight held out an envelope.
Wendy pointed to herself and asked the little boy in confusion, "Are you sure it’s for me?"
The little boy nodded and said, "That man told me to give it to a very pretty lady wearing a white dress sitting over here."
Wendy was wearing a white dress. She looked at the envelope and took a deep breath. She had an uneasy feeling about the letter. At the hotel, someone had also delivered a similar letter to her. And it was that letter that had wrecked Wendy’s otherwise peaceful life. Was this a letter from another mysterious stranger again?
Wendy did not accept the letter immediately. Instead she asked, "Who is this man?"
The little boy saw that Wendy did not want to take the letter, so he placed it on the table. He replied, "That man said if you were to ask me who he is, I am to say that he is an old friend."
"An old friend?" This shook Wendy to the core. She wanted to ask more questions but that little boy had already run off.
Feeling scared, Wendy’s eyes searched her surroundings but she could not tell who the sender was. Since the sender had asked a little boy to deliver the letter, it was obvious that he did not want her to find him.
Unable to locate the sender, Wendy swallowed and then looked at the letter on the table. She took breaths but did not dare to pick up the letter. Wendy closed her eyes and bit hard on the tip of her tongue, trying to give herself courage. After that, she slowly reached over to pick up the letter.
Hands shaking, Wendy opened the envelope. Inside, the letter contained two lines: Is this a family reunion? Congratulations. It’s such a pity that I’m the only one who can’t forget that special night. I wish you would remember the old times and we can get together again.
The two phrases "that special night" and "get together again" leapt out at Wendy.
Her heart was racing. It was Clement again! Wendy started breathing harder. She threw out the letter without thinking. Fortunately she did not let out a scream or she would have drawn the attention of the people around her.
Wendy was rooted to the same spot, lost in her thoughts. Why did Clement appear again? Why did he have to appear again when she had reunited with her family and was having a good time? He was like the devil, always around her.
Michael had just finished one ride with the two children and unwittingly glanced over at Wendy. She was too far away for him to see her expression clearly but he had a feeling that something was wrong.
Michael frowned a little. "Zess, could you play with them for a while? I’m going to check on Wendy."
"Mr. Lucas, you are so good to Wendy," Zess smiled at Michael. "You can’t bear to leave her alone even for such a short while."
Michael smiled but did not say anything in reply. He walked in long strides toward Wendy. The closer he got, the more he felt something was not right with her.
"Wendy!" Michael shouted.
