“Daddy.” Arron lifted his head and rubbed it against my palm. He narrowed his eyes, seeming to enjoy the attention.
Then he stretched his arms out wide. “Daddy, hug me!”
“See, Arron is indeed your son. Look how affectionate he is toward you,” Crystal remarked with a smile.
I picked Arron up in my arms and my eyes darted between him and Crystal. One of them had lost their memory, while the other didn’t know the truth but was still giggling.
I held Arron close to me for a while. My mother kept winking at me. I understood that she wanted to tell me something, so I put him down.
“I have some work. Can you stay with your mommy for a while?”
“Okay.”
As soon as his feet touched the floor, Arron instantly flew into Crystal’s arms.
I glanced one final time at the mother and son before following my mother out of the room. She was scowling.
The second I exited the room, she spun around and pinned me with a disapproving stare. “Why did you lie to Crystal about being her mate? It doesn’t make any sense!”
My mother seemed to be doing her best to stop me from covering up the truth. My heart sank and I shot back, “Is it really a lie?” She froze for a moment when she heard this. Her voice quivered as she asked, “What do you mean by that?”
I looked directly into her eyes and said in a grave voice, “Arron is my son, right? We look identical. And Beryl is my daughter, right?”
“Aren’t you jumping the gun here? It’s just a coincidence. Many people look similar in the world. Why do you think Arron and Beryl are your children?”
Laura’s eyelashes fluttered, but she refused to admit the truth. Her gaze shifted to the garden on the side and she didn’t have the courage to meet my eyes.
“Really? They’re not my children? Mom, why don’t you look at me when saying that?” I asked firmly, pushing her with every word.
“I’ve already told you everything. This is just a coincidence. She didn’t get to know you until she arrived at the imperial palace.” My mother was irritated with me and she regarded me with a frown. “You can get any woman you want. Crystal is already a mother. Why do you only like her? You’ve even deceived yourself into thinking that Arron is your son. It’s only your imagination, Rufus!”
Her words felt like a sharp knife piercing my heart. I felt horrible.
With a sneer, I immediately took out my phone to show her the paternity test report the doctor had sent me.
“Then what is this? Can you explain it to me? Is this fake? Did I also deceive myself into deliberately falsifying the test result?”
My mother scanned the paternity test report and shuddered. “You…Why did you…”
I gave her a self-deprecating smile. “Mom, I’m not insane or paranoid. How long do you intend to hide the truth from me?”
Rufus’ POV
My mother scrutinized the report and remained completely silent. After a while, she softly said, “Since you have already performed the test privately, why are you asking me?”
I could see that my mother didn’t want to reveal the truth. I could feel a headache coming on. Crystal had lost her memory now and my mother didn’t want to admit the truth. We were at an impasse.
What was more, my mother was furious. She tossed my phone back to me and crossly said, “You’re skilled at digging everything up. You’ve discovered everything, haven’t you? If I tell you it’s not true, will you even believe me?”
“Mom, I just want the truth.” I rubbed my nose, feeling weary. “What are you hiding from me? Why didn’t I know that I’m a father and why did I have absolutely no recollection of Crystal when I first met her?
Although I don’t think that I’ve lost my memory, I have always sensed that I had lost something. Just thinking about it hurts, and I don’t believe it’s the aftereffect of the curse. If no secrets exist, why did you keep Arron from me and prevent me from seeing his face? You were afraid that I would become suspicious when I laid my eyes on him.”
I could see the war between guilt and struggle on my mother’s face. Finally, she sighed and said, “These matters are between Crystal and you. Let her explain it to you when she regains her memory.”
Then she left me standing alone in the corridor and went back to see Arron.
He was lying on Crystal’s lap and telling her in a sweet voice, “Beryl loves paper-folding the most. Mommy, next time you can cajole her with this.”
Crystal clumsily folded a frog leg and muttered, “Okay.”
“Mommy, Beryl also likes it the most when you call her Baby Beryl,” Arron looked up and informed her seriously.
She nodded. “Okay. But Arron, what about you? Do you also like to be called Baby Arron?”
Both of Arron’s dimples popped out at the corners of his mouth as he smiled widely and replied, “Yes, I’m Mommy’s Baby Arron!”
Crystal was delighted. She lowered her head and nuzzled her cheek against her son’s. “Arron, you’re so cute. I adore you so much.”
My mother interrupted this sweet moment between mother and son. After inquiring after Crystal’s condition, she persuaded Arron to leave with her.
Although Arron was reluctant to go, he thought about how his sister was still alone in my mother’s palace. Feeling worried, he followed my mother back.
Crystal curiously watched my mother’s and Arron’s backs. She asked, “Why does your mother look so unsettled?”
Why? Because she couldn’t give me an explanation and wanted to get away from me as soon as possible. However, I didn’t say that out loud. In a calm voice, I clarified to Crystal, “I think she has something urgent to deal with, so she left in a hurry.”
Crystal nodded. Then she exhibited her frog-shaped folded paper to me. “Arron taught me. I’m awesome, aren’t I?”
I was amused. I grabbed the paper from her and studied it, pretending to be an intellectual. “This is the simplest one to make.”
“You can create something more complicated?” Crystal’s eyes lit up. Grabbing my arm, she pleaded, “Please teach me. Arron said that I could use this to cajole Baby Beryl next time.”
“I’m only going to teach you once. Watch carefully.” I slowly picked up a piece of square paper from the table. Soon, I’d transformed it into a bear-shaped creation. “That’s awesome. Do it again. I didn’t see all the steps carefully just now.” Crystal fluttered her eyelashes. She was so cute.
My heart softened and I patiently showed her the procedure again, but she still didn’t get it, so I taught her repeatedly.
However, she still couldn’t make it.
I almost wanted to open her brain up to see what it was made of.
“How did you pick it up so quickly when Arron taught you just now?” I showed her again.
Crystal snickered. Holding the bear-shaped paper in her hands, she said, “Your hands are so beautiful. I wanted to look at them more.”
I didn’t know what to say and I could feel the tips of my ears burning. I was seriously beginning to doubt if she had really lost her memory or not.
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