Chapter 694Chapter 692
After dealing with the Winters family's matters, Oscar asked, “Amelia, do you want to go home to have
a look?” After all, that city was Amelia's homeland.
Amelia scanned the familiar yet strange city. Right then, she had a sudden revelation.
“Can I go back?” Amelia asked in a daze. Ever since Spencer went back after his surgery, her parents
never called her. Hence, she did not know if they wanted to meet her.
“That's your home. Of course, you can go back. What is it? Has it been too long since you last came
back, and now you're feeling worried when you're near home?” Oscar said affectionately, pinching her
nose.
Amelia smiled faintly and said, “A little. It's been so long since I last came back. So many things have
changed and so many skyscrapers have been built. I'm afraid I can't even recognize the way home.”
“Silly. How can you forget the way home if you really miss it?” Oscar pulled her into his embrace and
said, “Let's go back and have a look, okay? You don't have to worry about it, no matter what the
outcome is.”
Amelia pondered for some time before nodding in agreement. “Okay.”
With that, Amelia informed Tiffany about her decision to go home and have a look. Hearing that, Tiffany
asked, “Do you need Derrick and me to go along with you guys?” “It's okay. You should spend more time with your parents. I can go with Oscar,” Amelia answered.
When Amelia made her way home based on her memory, she found out that the old and relatively low
buildings had turned into towering apartment buildings. On top of that, there were several sedans
parked in front of the entrance. A blank look flashed through her eyes, looking like a child who had lost
her way home.
“What's wrong?” Oscar asked gently, grabbing her hand.
“Oscar, looks like I've really lost my way home.” She had not been home for almost ten years, and her
hometown had changed too much. I don't even know which building my house is in. Maybe my house
has been gone from this place long ago. Or maybe I shouldn't have called this place my home since
young. The Winters family never acknowledged me as their child. Benjamin paid them to take care of
me. The Hutton family doesn't acknowledge me, nor does the Winters family want me. I'm just a
burden.
“Amelia?” Just as Amelia was having all kinds of negative thoughts, an elderly person's voice rang out.
She turned to look in the voice's direction to find a grey-haired woman walking toward her, gazing at
the former with cloudy eyes.
Amelia, too, looked at the elderly woman the same way, searching for a certain memory in her mind.
Suddenly, she exclaimed, “Ms. Malone, it's me, Amelia. Are you still living here?” When she was
younger, Emery Malone gave her food and even sang her lullabies when Amelia had no one with her.
In other words, Emery was an elder who actually showed Amelia care. Since Amelia had not returned
for ten years, she thought Emery might have been gone. To Amelia's surprise, Emery was still quite
healthy. Emery walked over and held Amelia's hand, scanning the latter from head to toe before saying
excitedly, “It's really you, Amelia. You silly girl, how could you not return for ten years after going abroad
for your studies? I thought you got into an accident. And your parents... They are unbelievable. How
could they not call to check in on you? Whenever I ask them about you, they only say they don't know
anything. They are such heartless people. I can't believe they don't even care if you're dead or alive out
there.”
Amelia's eyes reddened. Stumbling into someone familiar caused all the good and bad memories that
were buried deep in her to flood into her mind again, replaying the memories as if there was a cinema
in her mind.
“Ms. Malone, do my parents still live here?” Amelia asked, changing the subject.
“Oh, yes. The building was demolished a few years ago to build a new one. Initially, your parents
wanted to move somewhere else after getting the compensation money. No one knows why, but they
returned to this neighborhood and bought a house. Your parents, Spencer, and his wife live there now,”
Emery explained.
“Could you bring me to the house?”
“Of course.”
Along the way, Amelia asked Emery about the latter's life and what was her daughter working as.
Emery answered all of Amelia's questions one by one. Soon, they arrived in the neighborhood. Emery pointed at the building with the label “B” and said, “They
live on the tenth floor. I'm sure you have their phone number, right? Just give them a call. No matter
how unhappy life was when you were younger, you're all grown up now. Your parents are also slowly
getting older. All the grudges will slowly disappear as time passes by. Come back to visit them with
your husband whenever you have the time. Your parents are old now. I'm afraid they don't have much
time left.”
Amelia felt a slight ache in her heart, and she smiled forcefully. “I understand, Ms. Malone.”
Emery told her a few more things before leaving.
Amelia then lifted her head to gaze at the towering building, standing still there for quite some time. It
was impossible to figure out what was on her mind.
“Amelia, what's wrong?” Oscar asked.
She returned to her senses and shook her head gently. “I was just thinking if my parents used the
money I gave them to purchase a house in such a place.”
“So what if they used it? So what if they didn't? Amelia, what's the point of being persistent in such
things? If you want to see them, then let's go up. After all, my wife isn't that indecisive,” Oscar said with
a smile, caressing the back of her neck.
Perhaps having Oscar by her side made her heart calm down miraculously.
Her worry about being close to home was caused by a fear of not being able to see her family when
she wanted to meet them. Losing contact with them completely was her biggest fear. Thankfully, they still lived in the area.
Just as Amelia and Oscar were about to head upstairs, Dominic and Melanie walked out of the
building. When all four of them met each other's gazes, Amelia saw a look of surprise in the couple's
eyes. Fortunately, they did not resent her. Seeing that, Amelia secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Amelia was genuinely afraid that Melanie might chase her away without hesitation.
After recollecting herself, Amelia and Oscar went forward. With a smile, she said, “Mom, Dad. It's been
such a long time? Are you both doing well?”
Melanie glanced at her and said awkwardly, “Why are you back? Didn't I tell you we don't have to see
each other in the future? Did my words fall on deaf ears?”
Unbothered by her words, Amelia stepped forward and held Melanie's hand, smiling. “Mom, the house
was demolished years ago. You guys moved away; yet, you moved back here in the end. Isn't it
because you hoped I could still find the way home when I return? I'm sure both of you still view me as
your daughter, right?”
Melanie's expression froze as she gazed at Amelia's eyes, which had traces of anticipation. For some
reason, the former could not bring herself to utter more hurtful words.
After all, they took care of Amelia for over twenty years. It was impossible for the couple to not have
developed feelings for Amelia. Unfortunately, they could not treat her too well after receiving money
from the Hutton family. Hence, Melanie and Dominic could only treat her meanly. Deep down, theyreally wanted to accept her as their daughter.
“Since you're back, you should go in and have a look.” Finally, Melanie stopped being stubborn.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Soon, Amelia and Oscar followed the elderly couple upstairs.
Spencer and Evelyn were the only ones in the house. When they saw Amelia and Oscar, they quickly
got up from the couch.
“Amelia, you're back!” Spencer greeted with a smile. “Come, have a seat. Why didn't you give us a call
to tell us you're coming back? Evelyn and I could've prepared your favorite dishes.”
As he was talking, Amelia and Oscar stepped into the house. The latter placed the gift he bought on
the coffee table and said softly, “These are personally prepared by Amelia for all of you. The
supplements are for the elders, the one with the purple packaging is for Spencer, and the makeup kit is
for Evelyn. The rest are for the children.”
The Winters family glanced at the eight bags on the coffee table. At a glance, they knew the contents
inside the bag cost a lot.
Melanie said, “Why did you waste your money on such things? Your dad and I are going to leave this
world soon, anyway. Why do we still need to take supplements?” Despite saying that, she still enjoyed
receiving those gifts. “Don't buy such expensive stuff in the future. We can't afford to consume them. If
you're free, you should come back often to visit us. We're getting old, and many things have changed
here. Most of our old neighbors have moved out and even passed away. There aren't many people leftwhom we can talk to. It'll make things more lively here with both of you around.”
Amelia smiled. Melanie's words were indirectly telling the former could come home more often.
“Mom, I'll visit you more often then,” Amelia said gently. The fact they could have such a peaceful
conversation was something Amelia never expected. It was as if the argument she had with Melanie
back when Spencer was admitted into the hospital never happened.
Melanie nodded, saying, “I'll get Evelyn to get some ingredients. Is there anything that Oscar doesn't
eat?”
“He doesn't eat vegetables like celery and bitter gourd. Actually, why don't I go with Evelyn? It's been
so long since I came back and I can barely recognize the roads here. I also want to see how much the
farmer's market has changed,” Amelia suggested.
“Sure. Then, let's go.”
With that, Amelia and Oscar went shopping with Melanie and Evelyn. Along the way, Amelia asked
Melanie where everyone had gone, to which the latter answered truthfully.
Apparently, Amelia's siblings had moved to major cities like Saspiuburg and Beshya. They would only
return during New Year.
“Young people should go out and gain more experience,” Amelia said with a smile. “Mom, what are
they working as in Beshya?”
“Your brother's working in an IT company, while your sister's working as a secretary. Their monthlysalary is about eight thousand, I think. There's not much left after deducting their rental fees and living
expenses,” Melanie explained. A monthly salary of eight thousand did not seem too little. However, it
was natural to spend a lot in cities that had high costs of living like Beshya and Saspiuburg. Hence,
after deducting the cost of one's living expenses and rental fees, they had to be extremely frugal.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to have any savings by the end of the month.
“Eight thousand is not a small amount. As long as they work hard, their salary will increase. When that
happens, they can buy a house and a car there,” Amelia said. “If they need money for down payments,
I can help them out.”
Melanie shook her head. “It's okay. They're fully capable of taking care of themselves. You don't have
to help them. Besides, you were the one who paid for Spencer's medical fees. We didn't take good
care of you when you were younger. It'll make us feel bad to receive so much help from you. On top of
that, this apartment was bought using both the compensation money and the money given by you.
You've given our family enough help.”
In terms of finance, Melanie was not as greedy as Tiffany's biological parents. Perhaps, it was the guilt
of treating Amelia so coldly in the past that caused Melanie to not dare to ask anything from Amelia.
She believed the heavens were constantly watching every action a person made. Thus, she would be
punished for taking too much from her children.
Amelia merely smiled without saying anything.
After getting the ingredients, Melanie personally cooked a wide spread of scrumptious dishes. Both
Amelia and Oscar stayed for the meal, chatted with them for a while, and decided to take their leave. Amelia had been away from home for too long. There was no longer a room she could call her own in
the house.
When Melanie walked them out of the house, Amelia pulled out a card from her bag and handed it to
the former, saying, “Mom, there isn't much in this, about tens of thousands, I think. Use it to get good
food for Dad and Spencer. Spencer's health isn't as great after the surgery. Everything he food costs a
lot of money.”
After hesitating for a moment, Melanie finally accepted the card.
Amelia gave her a hug and said softly, “Mom, no matter what happened in the past, you're still my
mom. This is something that will never change. So, please don't reject my kind intentions as a
daughter.”
Melanie's eyes had turned slightly red.
She then watched Amelia and Oscar leave before letting out a faint sigh. There was a heavy feeling in
her heart, and Amelia's words still rang in her ears.
“Come on. Let's go home,” Dominic prompted.
Melanie nodded. However, she still constantly turned around to see if Amelia would still appear, only to
be disappointed by it. Amelia never turned back.
“It looks like we've wronged Amelia. This child is kinder than we think. I can't believe she repaid our ill-
treatment with kindness. I really don't have the guts to face her anymore,” Melanie said. Dominic's expression was grim, but he kept silent.
Hand in hand, the couple entered the apartment. As they waited for the elevator door to open, Dominic
suddenly uttered, “We've still got pickled fish at home. Amelia loved eating it when she was younger.
We should've given her some before she left.”
Melanie lifted her head and glanced at him while suggesting, “Why don't I give her a call to ask where
is she living now? Then, we can send it over to her.”
Dominic nodded.
Their eyes met, and they understood what was on each other's minds.
After arriving home, Melanie gave Amelia a call to ask for the latter's whereabouts.
A I will send you some food in the afternoon. We made it by ourselves. I'm sure you'll like it.”