"Uh, Yes, Mrs. Rusminah. I just want to get some fresh air," Lisa said, a little nervous. "Anyway, what do you need here?"

"Oh, Miss Clara asked me to buy new clothes for William. This little guy is growing really fast! Many of his old clothes don't fit," Mrs. Rusminah said politely and kindly.

Lisa turned her gaze at William with a sorrowful look. That cute and flawless face like an angel made her heart melt. She could not lie to her own feelings, she was eager to touch and hold the child.

"Mrs. Rusminah, sorry. Can I carry William?" Lisa pleaded. The woman stared at William with a bitter smile.

"Of course, Miss! Please help me carry William first, I want to pay in the cashier!" The middle-aged woman handed William to Lisa and walked over to the cashier.

Lisa immediately carried him with affections. William's face was really cute and handsome, just like his father.

Lisa then hugged William tightly. The woman then sat on a chair waiting in a corner of the room where no one was passing by. 

William looked very friendly even though he was carried by a woman he had never met. The baby even grasped Lisa's slender fingers and sucked on them anxiously. William immediately laughed and smiled at Lisa's face.

She didn't know why but Lisa felt strangely familiar with the baby, as if he was really her flesh and blood. 

If she were given the opportunity, she would like to stay with the baby though he was not hers and continued to hug him.

The closer she looked at little William, the more Lisa realized that the baby's face looked very much like Oscar. Especially his eyes and lips. He had the same wide, shiny eyes and full lips. They were the example of how 'a fruit doesn't fall far from its tree'! 

After a few minutes passed, Mrs. Rusminah came over to Lisa who was still sitting and holding William. The middle-aged woman put a grocery bag next to Lisa then said, "Excuse me, Miss Lisa, I have finished paying. Can I take William home with me?"

"Of course!" Lisa handed William to Mrs. Rusminah and said goodbye.

The woman glanced at the grocery bag which looked large and heavy. Lisa didn't have the heart to let the old maid carry it while carrying William.

"Mrs. Rusminah, I can help bring this groceries if you want," Lisa said, offering her help.

"Ah, thank you for helping! Mr. Oscar's car is over there," Mrs. Rusminah said, pointing to the black Alphard parked across from the shop.

Lisa hoped Oscar wasn't in the car. She only intended to help Mrs. Rusminah because she felt sorry for her.

When the two women came out and stood in front of the shop, the car pulled over. Mr. Dani got out of the driver's seat and opened the passenger's door.

Mrs. Rusminah put William in first, then followed by items brought by Lisa.

"Miss Lisa, thank you very much for your help. Sorry if it's so troublesome!" Mrs. Rusminah said politely. The middle-aged woman then lowered her head.

"Uh, no problem ma'am. I'm fine with it!" Lisa answered sincerely.

"Alright. I'll go first, Miss Lisa!"

The car then sped away and left Lisa standing in front of a baby shop. In return, Lisa waved at the car with a smile on her face and continued on her way back to the boarding house.

Arriving at the boarding house, the image of William's face still lingered in her mind. William was very similar to Oscar, except that the baby had brownish black hair like Clara's. Lisa was sure that when the boy grew up, William would be far more handsome than his father.

It made Lisa remember the day she had a miscarriage. Her eyes immediately burst into tears, she still hadn't been able to heal herself from the pain of losing a child until now.

***

Meanwhile, inside a real estate house in West Jakarta, Oscar was sitting pensively on a European-style leather sofa, holding his wine glass and turning it slowly.

The golden-haired man gazed solemnly at the scenery that laid behind his second home.

Since the cold war between him and Clara broke out, Oscar had rarely returned to his main home. He only returned there when he wanted to see William. 

The man then drank his wine slowly then looked back at the scenery from behind the large window of his house.

Not long after that, a tall, burly man came over to Oscar. The man cleared his throat and said, "Good afternoon Mr. Oscar, I've investigated William's origin."

Oscar got up from the sofa and turned around. With a beaming gaze, he approached Mr Dani and said, "Hope you bring good news!"

He put down his wine glass and looked at the man.

Mr. Dani cleared his throat and then straightened his posture. "I have received direct information from an orphanage. Here is a document they gave me,"

He then handed Oscar a folder. The man opened the folder and read it quickly. Oscar read the adopter column in the corner of the document which clearly said 'Clara Gunawan'.

"The orphanage said to myself that Miss Clara adopted him from there. So we can be sure now that William is adopted and not your biological child," Mr. Dani explained flatly.

"No way! If William is adopted, then why does his face look so much like mine? Look! His hair, his eyes, his lips!" Oscar said, denying Mr. Dani's explanation.

"But Mr. Oscar, didn't Miss Clara herself say that she went to an orphanage and looked for a child to adopt? She might've accidentally met William because she felt he had a face that looked just like yours," Mr. Dani replied.

Oscar didn't believe the results of Mr. Dani's investigation. His hunch said that William was his own flesh and blood, just not with Clara. 

"Mr. Oscar, it looks like you are too obsessed with William's origin," Mr. Dani said, starting to get worried.

"Mr. Dani, I want you to keep looking for irregularities in William's origin. I don't care how but you have to do it anyway. Don't come back again until you get more info, understand?" Oscar asked sternly.

Mr. Dani nodded, he could not refuse orders from his superior then left.

Oscar returned to shift his gaze towards the large, wide window of his second home. He stared worriedly at the stretch of artificial green land.

He took back his glass and gulped down the wine before slamming it on the table near the window.

The man reached for the cigarette box then lit the match. He burned the cigarette and puffed it deeply, then exhaled. The rising smoke filled the room, covering his handsome face.

The man closed his eyes while smoking another cigarette. An image of a woman suddenly appeared in his mind. A woman who slowly approached him in a black evening gown.

That woman was not the extraordinarily beautiful woman he had ever seen. However, that woman's shadow seemed to have a magical power that could make him stunned and hard to forget.

"If you had the same feelings for William… Take it easy, Lisa. I will find out about his origin," Oscar said to himself.

The man swiftly threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray and went to the bathroom.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!

Report chapter

Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter