Bought For A Baby, Kept For A Lifetime-Chapter 48: Her Laughter.
Years ago, a little boy who looked no older than ten was sitting in a park. ππΏπππ ππππ¨πππ.ππ π
He quietly watched people come and go, enviously saw kids holding their parentsβ hands, smiling happily.
They all had colorful-looking ice cream cones in their hands, happily licking them while chatting with their parents.
This young boy felt a wave of loneliness wash over him.
He was waiting for her, the only woman in his life who was very special to him.
His mother.
Even if she never told him bedtime stories like other kidsβ mothers do, or sang a goodnight song to him.
Even though she was never there when he needed her.
Even though heβd never felt her pat his head lovingly or kiss his pain away.
Even though she would look at him as if she werenβt related to him in any way.
He still wouldnβt stop waiting.
He wouldnβt stop hoping that someday she would smile at him with warm affection.
Call his name lovingly instead of addressing him as that kid.
He would never stop waiting.
Today was the first day sheβd ever taken him out with her. Today was the first day sheβd ever held his hand and taken him to the park.
The boy had looked up at her face several times as they walked. Sheβd had no smile on her face as usual, nor did she look like she would be having a fun time with him, but the boyβs heart had still felt nice because she was holding his hand.
Because she was here with him.
For the first time in a very long time, the boy had smiled. It made his young face light up with sweetness.
The boy continued to wait, sitting on that park bench, watching the direction sheβd disappeared to.
He had been sitting here for a very long time, long enough that the sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon.
The golden rays of the sun had lightened up the sky, but his patience never ran out.
That was because he knew that from now on, he wouldnβt have to look at the other kids who had their mothers by their side with envy anymore.
From now on, he would have his mother by his side.
The sky had now turned completely dark, the clouds hiding the twinkling stars beneath them.
The moon that lit up the surroundings also slowly got concealed behind the clouds. The darkness made the boyβs silhouette a mere shadow, still sitting on the bench, his bones quaking in exhaustion but his eyes firmly determined.
Heβd never called her Mom before. Sheβd never allowed him to.
After today, would she allow him to do that?
The skies roared in a furious thunder, and rain descended upon the earth in a heavy torrent.
Many people began to run for shelter, but no one saw the boy, no one bothered about him.
The rain drenched him, and the little boy hugged his arms to himself.
He looked up into the darkness, what was beyond shadowed by the torrential downpour.
Mom...
Mom...
If he called for her, would she come back for him now?
Why wasnβt she back yet?
Why wasnβt she back yet??
The world was incredibly vast for a boy this small, but as big as it was, no one saw him.
They ran past him, everyone engulfed in themselves, no one chose to see him.
The boy slowly lost his energy, barely able to keep his eyes open anymore. His bones were shaking uncontrollably, his teeth chattering, but he didnβt dare to move from where he sat.
That was because sheβd told him she would be back for him.
She told him to wait here.
He would wait for her.
When his eyes threatened to close, he would force them open, blink away the rain, and shake his head to keep himself awake.
He waited until his vision unconsciously blurred. He waited until his frail body slowly became weaker and weaker.
Just when he could no longer keep his eyes open anymore, a shadow emerged in front of him, covering the rain falling over him.
Had she returned?
Was she the one shielding him from the rain?
The boy slowly lifted his head to find a tall figure standing in front of him, holding an umbrella over his head.
This tall shadow wasnβt his mother, but his grandfather.
The boy lowered his eyes in disappointment.
"Letβs go home, Andrew," the older man said, his forever rigid and stern eyes showing a trace of sympathy.
"She... she told... told me to wait." The boyβs voice came out fragile as his teeth continued to clatter. "I have to keep... keep waiting for her."
"Sheβs gone, and she wonβt be coming back anymore."
A chill, unlike the cold in the air that was already making his body tremble, engulfed him, and every strength heβd been forcing himself to hold onto disappeared.
She always left him, but she always returned months later.
This was the first time sheβd ever taken him anywhere with her. The boy had hoped...
Heβd hoped wrong.
She was indeed... gone!
Heβd known it after hours of waiting, but it was something he didnβt want to believe.
He no longer had any strength to keep holding on. When that realization sunk in, the boy collapsed.
Five years later, he didnβt expect to see that woman again.
His mother!
Heβd gone to the airport that day to welcome his grandfather, who was returning from a trip, when he sighted her coming out of the terminal.
She had her body tucked into a manβs embrace, the man looking much older.
Heβd heard the servantsβ whispers, but he didnβt believe them. He wouldnβt.
That was because she was his mother.
To be honest, heβd hated her a little five years ago when sheβd left him at that park.
Heβd resented her for abandoning him, for not once looking back as she coldly walked away, knowing sheβd given him hope by asking him to wait for her.
For not even thinking to embrace him goodbye. For not once looking at him like a mother would look at her son.
But the moment he saw her again, what he thought was resentment melted away.
In truth, he still wanted her to see him.
He still wanted her to call him her son.
He still wanted her to smile at him, embrace him.
He still hoped she would return to him someday.
Andrew didnβt realize when heβd walked up to her.
"Mom." This was the first time he called her his mother.
She stopped short before turning to him.
He expected her eyes to light up with recognition, her eyes to fill up with emotion. He expected to see regret in her gaze. If he did, he swore he would forget everything.
He would forget the fifteen long years of his life where sheβd never played the role of his mother. He would forget that moment sheβd chosen to abandon him alone at a park. He would forget all the years of his life sheβd never treated him like a son.
But she looked at him with a gaze of careless disdain. That gaze was like a sharp knife plunging into his young heart, tearing it open mercilessly.
"Sorry, kid, I donβt have a son." And then she walked away, elegantly strutting off in her high heels while further leaning into the manβs arms.
She doesnβt have a son?
He wasnβt mistaken. It was undoubtedly her.
Even if a mother treated her son coldly, he would still know the woman who had given birth to him.
Even though she had never shown him care, she was his mother.
But his own mother had chosen to deny him.
Sheβd abandoned him because she didnβt want to have a son anymore.
His mother had left... because she didnβt want him anymore.
A single tear trailed down the boyβs face.
...
Fourteen years later, this boy stood inside his magnificent-looking office, staring at the whole world beneath him.
His eyes were mature now, without a trace of the gullible youth he once was. The only emotion in his dark eyes was coldness.
He swirled a glass of whiskey in his hand before tossing it up and downing it in a single gulp.
Despite the harsh burn down his throat, his face remained emotionlessly cold.
Sorry kid, I donβt have a son.
He could still remember that womanβs words.
He could still remember the servantsβ gossip after sheβd abandoned him at the park.
"I heard Master got another woman pregnant. He just doesnβt stop. His first and second sons are both from different women, and now he got another pregnant."
"Serves Andrea right. After having a son for the precious son of the CEO of a remarkable company like Sterling Enterprises, she thought she would become some rich madam. But now that the master has found another woman, she abandons her son here to find another man."
"Did she really find another man?"
"Of course. Sheβs beautiful enough to trap a rich man quickly. Immediately Michael Sterling gets another woman, she flies off with a rich old man. I even saw the pictures on the news. She is supposedly engaged to the man now."
"Beautiful women sure know how to use their beauty to get what they want. I only feel sorry for the poor boys. Their mothers end up abandoning them here, while their father is a baby-making beast with every woman he meets."
Andrew dragged his mind back to the present, pouring himself another glass of whiskey.
Back then heβd been gullible, but now... his heart was only filled with hatred for that woman.
He swore he would make her regret.
She would look back to the day she left a boy in a park.
She would look back to that day and hate herself. She would regret.
Sheβd left for money? Given herself to some rich man for money?
He would have more money in the world than anyone could spend, and he would make sure she would see him.
He would be so remarkable he would appear on every screen. The world would say his name with reverence until it reached her ears.
This was the vow heβd made to himself. And his next step to that unbeatable power would be to become the CEO of Sterling Enterprises.
His greatest ultimate goal.
As Andrew downed three more glasses of whiskey, his breathing turned heavy and he closed his eyes. But immediately he did that, he saw glistening brown eyes in his vision.
He immediately opened his eyes.
Why was it her again? Sneaking into his mind ceaselessly.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but a hint of regret showed in his dark eyes.
...how do you expect me to clean all that alone?
How could you be so... cruel?
He massaged his temple and gritted his teeth.
Why had he done that to her?
He obviously knew that such a heavy job was too much for one person, she wouldnβt be able to do it, but... he had been thinking with his temper then.
Without a second thought, he turned on his heels and left his office. He strode into the elevator and headed to the lower floors.
He checked every floor, astonished to realize sheβd actually cleaned four whole floors spotlessly.
I wonβt lose my job.
He remembered her words, spoken with conviction.
It seemed she was resilient.
It was enough now. Why had he been that hard on her?
He searched every hallway and office until he heard her voice coming from an empty office a small distance away.
Precisely, the sound of her laughter.
He recognized her voice, but he couldnβt believe she was the one laughing like that.
Heβd never heard her laugh like that before.
For some reason, he stood rooted in spot, listening to the pleasant sound coming from not too far away.
Her laughter sounded like pleasant bells ringing, sweet and captivating.
He had no idea how long he waited for, but he stayed glued to the spot, hearing the pleasant sound that drifted into his ears. Without realizing it, his lips slowly lifted at the side. It was as if the sound of her laugh infected him as well.
Not long after, the sound suddenly ceased.
His brows creased, as if displeased that the pleasant sound had stopped.
He began to walk forward. He could still hear her voice, but not her laughter.
He couldnβt stop the urge, but he really wanted to hear her laugh again.
He reached the entrance of the particular office she was currently cleaning, and her voice drifted loud and clear to him.
"What are you doing? Youβre making a total mess, thatβs not how to clean a window!" Her words ended in laughter again.
The laughter that sounded pleasant to him had now become grating to his ears.
That was because he could see inside the officeβa certain blonde-haired guy making a debacle of himself, causing her to laugh even more.
Donald gazed at her with shining eyes as she laughed. They both shared a sort of familiarity, like people whoβd been close for a long time.
Andrew suddenly felt something tighten in his chest. It constricted so harshly it almost knocked the breath out of his lungs.
Every inhale he took felt like taking in thorns. The scene in front of him seemed to suffocate him.
Her laughter... it was beautiful, but that laughter was for someone else.
She was laughing... and it was for someone else!
The rage burned like lava erupting, and Andrew found himself kicking the door all the way open as he strode in furiously, like a demon descending from hell.
