Charlotte hated her to this state...
No wonder Lionel showed up in time to save her, and when she tried to call the police, he stopped her.
And what was even more shocking was that --the stepmother of Lionel and Charlotte was her own mother who had disappeared more than ten years ago?
She had almost given up hope that she was still alive. In fact, she became another man's wife, she was Mrs. Rowe?
The news was like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky.
No wonder Lionel, who had only met her several times, was so nice to her.
Because his step brother was her mother.
No, how could it be?
How could her mother have married another man?
At that time, she had a lot of guesses, but the remotest possibility in her mind was that, as her aunt said, her mother had run away with another man.
Did it become the truth?
Her mother left her and her dad, married the man of the Rowe family in Chicago?
Her mind was in a whirl, and her head felt as though it would split. She covered her head and closed her eyes in pain.
Suddenly, her cell phone rang.
She glanced at the screen. It was Kevin. With great effort, she mastered herself and answered it.
"Kevin..." Her voice slightly trembled.
"Savannah, did you go home? What happened?" Kevin was conscious of the choking of breath in her voice, frowning.
"Nothing... I'm at home. I seem to have caught a cold. It's all right." She sneezed to keep Kevin from suspecting anything.
"Nothing? Really?"
"Really, I'm going to boil some ginger tea and take a hot bath." Savannah forced a smile.
"By the way, you just said that you met Mr. Rowe and visited his house? How did you get on?"
"Oh, we chatted for a while and then left. After all, his sister is Charlotte. I'll be embarrassed to see her…" Savannah could hardly control her feelings at the mention of the brother and the sister. She paused, pressing her hand to her mouth to smother another few coughs.
"Have more rest. If you don't feel well these days, don't bother to come to see me." Kevin didn't ask more.
"Okay." Savannah hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. Not long after she hung up, the phone rang again. She thought it was Kevin again and answered the phone quickly.
"Savannah," said a gentle voice of a young man
It was Lionel.
"What do you want, Mr. Rowe?" Savannah tightened her face immediately, like an alarmed cat.
"Savannah, you ran so quickly just now. I'm really worried about you. Now that you've heard everything, let's talk, okay?" He said very gently.
Savannah wanted to say no, but she bit it back.
***
When night fell, Savannah was led by a waiter into the box in a café.
The box was quite enough for a private conversation, especially about something the Rowe family wanted to hide.
Savannah smiled at herself.
Lionel, who had already arrived, was sitting by the window. He stood up when he saw her coming.
"Savannah, there you are."
She went over and sat opposite him quietly.
"First of all, I'd like to say sorry for Charlotte," Lionel said softly. "I know that she almost made a big mistake that can't be forgiven by saying sorry, but I still want to beg your pardon. Besides, I must apologize to you for myself…"
Lionel paused, taking a deep breath.
"Yes, I found out that you and my stepmothers were mother and daughter long ago, but I hid it from you for three years."
"The Rowe family is a big and noble family, and Mrs. Rowe is a lady of the nobility. If it's known by others that Mrs. Rowe has a daughter with another man, it'll certainly do harm to the reputation of the Rowe family. You don't want your harmonious and happy family life to be broken. I understand." She said calmly.
Lionel smiled grimly when he heard the relish of sarcasm in her tone.
"I'm sorry for you and your mother. Now that you know all that, I won't be as stubborn as before," he said, with his eyes fixed on her, "to make up for my mistake, I hope you and your mother can meet each other. She will return to LA with my father this month. I know you're going back to Italy soon. I hope you can stay a few days later and meet her first."
"No, there's no need to meet." Savannah blurted out coldly.
"Why?" Lionel was surprised.
"That woman doesn't want me, so why should I force her to remember she still has another daughter?" Savannah said cynically.
"How could your mother not want you? Do you know, Savannah, Joanne's been thinking of her daughter since she married into the Rowe family. She almost cried every day in the first year. Because of missing you, she has fallen down with a lot of illnesses in recent years. Her heart and lungs are not very good, so my father spent years with her in foreign countries for her to recuperate."
Savannah, however, didn't believe his words.
"Oh? If she still has me in her mind, why did she leave my dad and me and then marry your father? Why didn't she show up after my father died? I've been living in LA all these years and didn't change my name. If she wanted to see me, she could find me at any time. But what? She's been living a happy life in your family as a rich lady."
Lionel sighed deeply, "Sorry, I really don't know why she left you and your dad. But if you say she never tried to look for you, you must have misunderstood her."
Savannah frowned at him.
"I was already a teenager when I learned I would have a stepmother, who had already married and had a daughter. I remember very clearly that it was your grandfather who arranged the marriage between Joanne and my father. She refused to marry my father at first. Later, I heard she had received news that her husband and daughter had both died in a car accident. She was crushed with grief, seriously ill, and could not get out of bed for nearly a year. During this period, my father had been taking care of her in the hospital. After she recovered from her illness, her heart was dead within her, and she married my father. She didn't look for you because she thought you and your father were gone."