Miranda was filled with guilt, and she wanted to make it up to Carlos for the past. She would give him anything he wanted, no matter what.
Debbie smiled teary-eyed, and then something occurred to her. She pulled out a tissue to wipe away her tears. "May I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"If…I mean, if for some cruel reason, your mom was forced to abandon you soon after you were born, and then she came back after twenty or so years to beg you for forgiveness, would you forgive her?" Debbie had considered asking Carlos for his opinion about the issue, but she was worried that he might not understand the mother-daughter relationship since he was a man.
Whereas Miranda was a mother and she would undoubtedly enlighten her on the topic.
Confusion clouded Debbie's face. Miranda had only to glance at her to understand what was going on. "All mothers love their children. As a mother, you should know that. Put yourself in your mom's shoes. Think about it. If you had to be away from Evelyn for more than twenty years, how would you feel when you saw her again?"
Debbie was stunned. She had never thought about it that way. If she were Ramona and Evelyn were her… The more she thought about it, the sadder she grew. Bitter, warm tears flowed from her eyes, blurring her vision. She wiped her tears away and said to Miranda gratefully, "Thank you, Aunt Miranda. I know what to do now.
Miranda continued, "Elroy is heartless. I know a little about the feud between your family and the Lu family from when I was in Y City. But don't worry about him. He hasn't done anything to you so far. That only means he's afraid of Carlos. Maybe you should ask Carlos for help?"
Debbie shook her head. "I don't want to involve Carlos in this. He's already swamped. I can handle it myself."
"Okay, if you've already made your decision. I sympathize with your mom. We were both forced to be apart from our children for many years. Believe me. Those years were very tough. She must be dying to make it up to you."
Debbie and Miranda talked for two hours at the tea house.
Afterward, she went back to work, and Miranda went to the mall to pick out a gift for Evelyn. She wanted to meet the little girl before she flew back to New York.
It was just after 6 p.m.
Miranda sat in the living room, waiting for Evelyn to come home from kindergarten. This was their first meeting, and all of a sudden Miranda got butterflies in her stomach.
She wondered if the little girl would like her. What if she didn't like the present she bought her?
At half past six Miranda heard a car pull into the villa. She anxiously walked out of the living room and stood at the entrance.
The silver Emperor rolled to a halt at the gate of the villa. Carlos stepped out of the car while Evelyn was playing with a toy in the baby seat. Then he walked to the back door and carried her out.
"Daddy, is that Nanna?" Evelyn asked in her sweet baby voice when she saw Miranda with her big eyes blinking.
Carlos had told her about Miranda on the way home.
A few days ago, when Carlos went to pick Evelyn up from kindergarten, he told her that he was her birth father. He worried that the little girl might not take the news well. To his surprise, she wrapped her little arms around his neck and called him "Daddy" happily.
Carlos was much relieved, and his heart melted when she did that.
"Yes, you have a grandpa too. But he's at work now. He'll come to see you soon," Carlos explained.
Evelyn nodded. When she was several meters away from Miranda, she called out loudly, "Nanna!"
Miranda's nose stung, and her eyes reddened. Looking at her granddaughter excitedly, she was overwhelmed with emotions and didn't know what to say or do.
Carlos put Evelyn down and said to her, "Give Nanna a hug."
Evelyn handed her toy to Carlos and ran towards Miranda, squealing happily, "Nanna, hug."
The little girl was even more adorable than Miranda had expected, and emotional tears rolled down her cheeks. She was thankful that Debbie had taught Evelyn so well. Scooping her up, she looked at the little girl's big beautiful eyes and said, "It's so nice to meet you, my dear granddaughter."
Blinking up at her, Evelyn brushed the tears from Miranda's eyes and consoled her, "Nanna, Nanna, no tears."
Miranda smiled. How she loved this sweet little angel!
A myriad of feelings filled Carlos when he gazed at the two and saw Miranda so tearful. He had never seen her so emotional.
She was always cold. She hadn't even been so sentimental when she saw her first grandson.
Miranda cooked the dinner that the three of them had that evening. She asked Carlos to invite Debbie to join them, but Debbie had already gone to another city and couldn't make it.
Miranda and Carlos were both the aloof type, but Evelyn lightened the mood at the table.
Miranda wanted to spend as much time as possible with her granddaughter. So she flew out to New York the following morning to hand over her work.
Carlos' birthday was approaching, though he never liked birthday parties. However, Damon and Niles were party animals. Despite Carlos' objection, they decorated a private booth for his birthday party at Orchid Private Club.
They didn't care about whom he would invite as long as they could have some fun.
Since the decorations were already done, Carlos invited some friends to the party.
When Debbie and Ivan arrived at Carlos' birthday party, the room was already packed with people. Yates, Kinsley, Wesley, Niles, Damon, Adriana, Curtis, Colleen, Jared, Sasha, Kasie, and Blair were all there. There were also some young people that Debbie had never met before.
Little kids were running everywhere, and Stephanie was invited too. When Stephanie and Debbie ran into each other, the atmosphere between them became awkward.
However, nobody paid any attention. Even Debbie didn't seem to care. As soon as they saw her, Jus, Evelyn, and Sean all ran at Debbie. "Mommy!"
"Debbie!"
"Aunt Debbie!"
they called.
Seeing how much the kids liked Debbie, some envied her, while others were jealous. Niles complained, "They weren't that excited when they saw me, and everybody says I'm handsome. Why do they like you better? Maybe they like beauties?"
Debbie laughed. She crouched down to hug the little ones. "More than that. I'm a mom. How can you compete with me on that?"
