How could it be this happening?
Hazel was confused by what he was saying. It was like she was having a nightmare and could not wake up.
Joshua was the son of the Denmark Family. If she was the daughter, how could they not be siblings?
"Hazel, would you like to hear a story?" He asked in a low voice.
Hazel may not be able to accept it for a while, but he had to tell her.
"Okay." Hazel nodded her head.
It was meaningless to try and escape from any of it, she was prepared for anything he would say.
"Twenty years ago, there was a couple who loved each other very much and had their baby, which was a charming girl, their only baby. She had a very special plum blossom birthmark." Joshua said quietly and held Hazel's hand.
Hazel did not push Joshua away this time.
"However, three months later, the baby girl was suddenly taken away by their enemy. The couple was upset and was just about to go crazy. They tried everything that they can think of to get her baby back. Even when their enemy was cornered, they still did not find the child."
"The enemy told them that their baby was killed. The couple was very desperate, they did not find the child's body, and they were reluctant to accept the reality. They always had the hope in their mind that she was still alive. They never stopped looking for their daughter."
"Five years later, seeing that his wife had been unable to get out of the pain of losing their daughter, the husband proposed that they adopted a child from the orphanage. The wife agreed."
Hazel looked at Joshua astonishingly.
Was Joshua the child they adopted? Hazel thought.
Then all those things made sense. No wonder Joshua was so sure that they were not blood-related and insisted that she was the daughter of Denmark Family. No wonder, before Isaac said that, Joshua did not grow up with them.
It turned out that there was a hidden story.
Was Joshua an orphan?
Hazel felt great pain.
Joshua was about ten years old when he was adopted. What had he gone through before he arrived at Denmark Residence? Those must be things that he was reluctant to speak of. However, he revealed them to her.
His calm expression was like he was talking about others.
Hazel held his hand tight. Joshua felt warm inside his heart. Hazel really cared about him?
Joshua was touched. He continued.
"Later, although the couple rarely mentioned the missing daughter, they still missed her very much. Five years ago, the husband died from an accident. The wife could not withstand the upset and passed away not long ago."
"The child they adopted only knew that they had a daughter; he was adopted because they had lost their daughter. But a year ago, when he was collecting his parents' effects, he discovered a diary written by his foster mother."
"The diary was all about how she missed her daughter and the details about what happened. She did not believe that her daughter was dead. She had always worried whether or not her daughter had a good life."
"It was also through the diary that the boy discovered the doubtful places of the incident and made up his mind to find their lost daughter."
Hazel was shocked. She had never expected that things would be like that.
"I…" She licked her dry lips and asked incredulously, "Am I really the daughter of the Denmark Family. Then what about my beloved parents who raised me?"
Seeing that Hazel was about to cry, Joshua held her and comforted her.
"Hazel, even if there is no blood relationship between you and your present parents, they are still your father and mother. Now you just have other parents that loved you. But..." Joshua became sad, "They don't have a chance to see you."
Hazel was messed up, she was unable to accept the story. She thought she could, but this was not what she expected.
She had always been loved and taken care of by the Crowe Family. If she had encountered troubles before, she could easily handle them. However, such things that were related to her family background completely challenged her life in the past twenty years. She really had no idea what to do.
"Joshua, I am very messed up." She was overwhelmed.
"I know, Hazel. Let bygones be bygones." He patted her softly.
Hazel took a deep breath, she needed to be calm.
"You said that you had found suspicious circ.u.mstances surrounding the incident. What are they?" Hazel suddenly asked.
Joshua paused for a while when he heard that. Hazel was so s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e and caught the points in his words immediately.
"I thought you might ask me something else." Joshua smiled bitterly.
Hazel pushed him away and said restlessly, "I am very touched about what you have just said. Though I know they love me very much, I've never got along with them..."
"It doesn't matter, I know how you feel." Joshua comforted her in a low voice.
"It is normal that you are unable to accept the reality that your natural parents are someone else."
Hazel sympathized with him. He must have been in the same situation before, and he knew how she felt, but she could not out loud. She thought the sympathy might hurt him more, so she kept her thoughts to herself.
"Joshua, could you please tell me about the suspicious circ.u.mstances?" She kept asking.
"I'm still considering it all," Joshua said in a low voice and looked serious.
"Hazel, I don't want you to be involved in this thing."
Hazel became serious and looked at Joshua surprisingly, "You…you mean this thing is not finished yet?"
Her natural parents had been dead for so many years, and there were still people who were targeting the Denmark family? How much hatred did they have for them?
"Joshua, please let me know." Hazel took a deep breath and asked urgently.
"Okay." He gave in, "Your parents protected you very well, but you still went missing. I am under the impression that whoever took you knew your parents."
Hazel's eyes widened out of surprise.
Joshua was right. People would be defenseless towards those who were close to them.
"Your father also thought that. He changed almost all the servants in the house, but I felt that it was not the servant's problem." His expression changed as he spoke that.
"Not servants. Then family members? Friends?" Hazel asked.
"I don't know." Joshua shook his head slightly. "It was long ago. I am unable to figure out what happened that year. However, I'm sure that the Denmark Family must have more than one enemy."