Right Person, Wrong Time

Chapter 879

Betty looked at Nicole with a complicated look in her eyes. After all, the latter had grown up under her watch. Nicole was already very sensible at an early age, but that didn't mean she deserved to experience such suffering.

Seeing how Betty hesitated to speak, Nicole let out a quiet laugh. She said impassively, "It's okay, Ms. Betty. Don't worry about this. He's… getting married to someone else, anyway."

The instant Betty heard this, she became rather emotional. She reached out and grabbed Nicole's hand; perhaps out of anxiety or something, she involuntarily tightened her grip on it while sounding somewhat agitated. "Nicole, was it because of William that you didn't go out with him?"

Nicole shook her head. Before she could speak, however, she heard Betty continue, "Nicole, what William had done had absolutely nothing to do with you!"

Seeing how agitated the woman looked, Nicole quickly calmed her down without having time to explain the matter. "Calm down, Ms. Betty. The problem is mine, not William's—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Betty said, "Nicole, William Anderson isn't your father!"

The sentence rendered Nicole silent at once. A hint of puzzlement flashed across her eyes; she looked up and stared blankly at Betty for a long time before words slowly came out of her dry throat. "Ms. Betty, do you mean…" She bit her lip. After lowering her eyes, she asked in a whisper, "Was it my mom's fault?"

Only then did Betty realize she had put her foot in her mouth, and a hint of anguish came over her face. She nodded and took a deep breath. Then, she shook her head, saying, "I should've told you about this long ago, but I'd never met you again since I left the Anderson Residence. By the time I met you afterward, I'd forgotten all about it."

Nicole mumbled a response while trying to appear as calm as she could. She asked, "My mom conceived me with someone else? Is that it?"

"No, that's not the case. You're somebody else's child," Betty answered.

Nicole's mind went blank. She had thought of such a possibility before, only to dismiss it upon recalling her mother. Moreover, she had almost come across the answer back then, but she had chosen to let go of it instead. "Ms. Betty, what do you mean by this?" she asked stupidly in a dry voice.

Betty said with a sob in her voice, "Nicole, it was Miss Madeline's fault for doing what she did to you back then, and she was very sorry for that. Had you been with your own family, you might've gotten married happily long ago instead of having to suffer so much as you have now."

Nicole had mostly figured out the story from Betty's words. Still, she asked stubbornly, "Ms. Betty, can you explain it to me?"

At Nicole's questioning, Betty slowly explained, "Back when Miss Madeline was pregnant, William Anderson often knocked her around; there were a few times when she'd nearly miscarried."

Betty's voice was low and deep. As if recalling some painful memories, she slightly closed her eyes as a pained look appeared on her face. Then, she went on, "I didn't know this at first since I wasn't there when your mother gave birth. It wasn't until you were a month old after I'd picked you up from the hospital that she told me there'd been two baby girls born simultaneously in the hospital at the time. Fearing that William might hurt her daughter, she swapped her baby with you out of selfishness…"

Nicole was trembling all over. So… I really am Siobhan's daughter. I am the Wrenn Family's real daughter. Looking at Betty, she asked, "In that case, do you know who my birth parents are?"

Betty shook her head and answered in resignation, "I once asked Miss Madeline about this, but she didn't know either. Nicole, all of this was Miss Madeline's fault."