A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

"Mommy..." Beryl shook her head in disbelief, "How could he be? He... He doesn't look old at all!"

In her mind, if Jacob really was Jack's uncle, he should have been an old man with a fringe of grey-white hair and a long beard.

Emily dismissed, "Well, it's a long story." In any case, she had no intentions of explaining everything in detail to Beryl at the moment. "Anyway, don't think about your love for him anymore. You have to respect your elders. Do you understand me?"

Speaking of family hierarchy, If it really was taken into account, Beryl was two generations behind Jacob, then Emily would be one generation behind Jacob... 'Well, none of that really matters anyway. As long as Beryl is good and happy, ' Emily thought.

Beryl was heartbroken, "Lord, my God, why are you treating a lovely girl like me so cruelly?"

The handsome man Beryl had a crush on could be her "grandpa". Who could have thought of such a thing! How embarrassing would it be for her if she continued to pursue him?

Beryl was disheartened, lacking the passion she once had. Emily understood that Beryl needed a little time to take it all in, even though she was being a bit dramatic.

In the following days, Beryl was going through a period of listless depression. She could not eat or sleep well. Every day, she would frown and sigh with resignation in front of Emily.

But Emily was not a fool. She knew at first glance that Beryl's behavior was too exaggerated to be true. Amused by Beryl's theatrics, Emily baked her a luscious red velvet cake, generously iced with strawberry frosting. The satisfaction on Beryl's face, upon seeing the cake, was evident, as her eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

It was as if she had become a completely different person from who she was before.

After Beryl devoured an entire slice with just a few bites, she licked her lips thoroughly, salivating for another slice. She walked over to her mother and sighed. "My heart hurts a lot. I just need some more cake to ease the pain," she said.

Emily resolutely did not give her the second piece. "We'll have dinner soon. You can't eat too much strawberry cake."

"But my heart aches, I'm really sad..." Beryl put her hand on her chest, and thumped gently, looking like an actor at a play.

Emily stared at her with awe, unable to decide whether she was amused or annoyed. She wondered where her little girl had learned how to act like that. Perhaps, Beryl's behavior could be attributed to watching too many soap operas.

Beryl did not give up and still pretended to be miserable, "Mommy, do you know what it's like to lose the one you love so much?"

like to lose the one I love

up in Emily's heart, 'Of course I know what

do you know that

strawberry cakes are so

cute. How can you bear to eat them? Please let them

for words. 'What am I going to do? I can't think of anything else to persuade

lost to my mom,

over things so easily', she mused. Although, Beryl said that

...

had gone fairly smoothly. But in fact,

hours greatly reduced, Jacob had

had more time to visit Beryl.

came to Emily's door with a

the bell and stood

turned out to be Beryl and not the babysitter. She looked up to the man standing in front of her and her face lit up with a big smile. She rolled her eyes at him snobbishly, and said, "What's up?

said to her, and the smile disappeared from her face and got replaced with a frown. "But it's too late for you to come back to me. It's impossible for us to..." she

her precocious reactions, Jacob broke into laughter. "Aren't you glad that I have

box was a set of vintage porcelain dolls, dressed in florals and trimmed with white lace. These

expensive toys. Although these dolls would have had a different

Jacob, feeling astonished.

like to play

do you

eyes sparkled, as she twirled a strand of her long hair and smirked at Jacob. "Why don't you

the gift box on the ground and picked her up in his arms. "I can

with a soft voice. She voluntarily stretched out her arms to clasp around Jacob's neck, unbothered by the intimacy between them.

and I'll take you there, okay?"

with her finger, as if in deep contemplation.