"A secret?â There was a gleam in Henryâs eyes as his interest was piqued.
The woman nodded. "Yes, a secret all of us in the village knows.â
"Sure, let's head out to talk." Henry agreed and stood u p to head outside.
The woman was about to follow, trudging along with her plump self, when Yvonne pulled her, feeling
left out. "Madam, what secret it is that you're telling him specifically and not me!"
The lady chuckled. "Oh, you canât know about this secret. At least, not now."
She gave a meaningful pat on Yvonne's hand before turning to go out.
In the yard, Henry trained his eyes on the woman. "So, is it a secret about Yvonne?"
The woman looked surprised. "How'd you know that I was going to talk about her?"
Henry chuckled. "You asked for me to step out and based on what you told Yvonne, it's obvious that
this secret is regarding her, no?"
Realization then struck the woman. "I see. You youngsters are better at catching things."
"You've complimented me too much." Henry looked down with a smile before he started again
seriously. "D o tell, madam, the secret about Yvonne."
"I mentioned it just now. The whole village knows about it but we kept it from the girl. It's that she
isn't a child from the Freys," said the woman.
Henry widened his eyes. "What did you say? Yvonne isnât a Frey?"
"That's right. Yvonne girlie was picked up outside by the Frey husband and wife twenty-five years
ago. It caused a scene in our village here back then."
"Then who are her biological parents?" Henry asked with a press of his lips.
The woman shook her head. "We don't know that. We asked the Freys too but they refused to tell
us, so all of us have the suspicion that they stole the child, or that they bought it from human
traffickers."
"Why'd you think that?" Henry asked in a low tone.
The woman sighed, "Because the Freys hadn't had a child after being married for several years.
Then they went out and poof, carried back a child who was nearly a month old before it was even
half a year. And they didn't want to talk about where she came from. Thatâs why we were skeptical.â
Henry nodded. "There is such a possibility, but why would you think of telling me this?"
The woman smiled. "Because all of us are fond of
Yvonne. We know what type of people the Frey parents are. Yvonne didnât have it better from them
when she was younger. Speaking of which..."
"What is it?" Henry's expression was stoic.
The woman pursed her lips. "Actually, the Freys were considerably okay to her before she was five.
When their son was born, though, they despised Yvonne. Scolding and beatings were the regular,
and they didn't feed her. We reprimanded them several times, but they wouldn't listen."
"Then?" Henry's fists were clenched tight, fury blazing his eyes.
He knew that the Freys prized their son over their daughter, but he did not expect the reason to be
Yvonne Frey not being their biological child. It explained why he thought that she did not look the
least bit like the spouses. It was not just her looks, but her character and behavior were unlike them
as well.
What shocked him and angered him the most was that they had abused her! 3
"Later on, the Freys moved to the city so that their son could study there but they left Yvonne with
Old Freys, Yvonneâs grandparents, but they were nice to the girl."
The woman sighed again, "Itâs unfortunate that the Old Freys passed early. Yvonne was picked up
again b y her parents. We didnât know how she did after that, but once we thought about what the
Freys were like, w e more or less could guess that she mustnât have it
easy."
Henry snorted. Mustnât have it easy? That husband and wife, along their son, were leeching on
Yvonne Frey. He mentioned to her before to ask her to sever her ties with them. As long as she
agreed, he would help her, but that woman was a stubborn one and insisted on not doing it.
"Ah, I havenât got to my purpose of telling you so much." The woman chortled embarrassedly.
Henry's rigid mien softened a little upon hearing her." Madam, are you hoping that I can find
Yvonne's biological parents for her?"
"Yes," the woman replied, "That's what I mean to say. I actually wasn't going to tell you all these
things, but I decided to let you know after thinking about it. It's not just my fondness for the girl.
More importantly, you both have helped our village. I have nothing to repay, s o I can only tell you
this secret.â
"Thank you, madam," Henry said.
The woman waved her hand dismissively. "I should be the one thanking you two. If Yvonne hadn't
found herself a good husband like you, our village wouldnât have had this chance. I only hope that
you can find her biological parents soon so she can get rid of the Freys as soon as possible." 1
"Don't worry, I will." Henry nodded in assurance.
"I believe in you. I can see that you care about the girlie a lot. Itâs also one of the reasons I feel
assured to tell you this secret, but Henry, don't tell Yvonne about i t just yet. I worry that she can't
take it. Tell her only when you find her biological parents," the woman reminded.
Henry hummed. "I know what I should do."
Yvonne Frey still had feelings for the Freys. If she found out that they had been abusing her
because she was not their child, it would shatter her. Her body could not handle such a blow.
"Thatâs good then. Iâll go back to do my cooking now," the woman said and left through the gate.
Henry stood in his spot for some time before going back inside.
Yvonne was on her phone sprawled at the table in the living room, quickly adjusting herself when
she espied Henry. "Youâre done?"
"Mm." Henry nodded.
Placing her phone down, Yvonne asked, "What did she tell you?"
"You want to know?" Henry glanced at her.
Yvonne's eyes flitted around. "Not at all."
"Is that so?" Henry was a little tickled by how she was eager to know yet insisted on denying it.
Yvonne harrumphed. "Yes!"
"I see." Henry tipped his chin. "I wonât tell you then. I was going to but since you don't wanna know,
we can
forget about it." 2
He then picked up his phone to go to the room, leaving a baffled Yvonne sitting in the living room
brimming with regret. She would not have been so stubborn if she had known it!
Thinking about it, Yvonne glared at the closed door, feeling somehow wronged. He was going to tell
her but he actually decided against it because of a word she said. 1
"Madam, whatâs up?" Sue came in with a glass of milk and a pot of freshly brewed tea only to see
Yvonne looking like she was bullied.
Yvonne reeled in her gaze and shook her head. "Iâm fine."
"Are you sure?â Sue was still concerned.
Giving an affirmed nod, Yvonne answered, "Yep."
"Okay then.â Sue ceased her question and passed her the milk.
Yvonne accepted it with her thanks while Sue stroked her head with a smile before feeling puzzled
when she did not see Henry after scanning the vicinity. "Madam, where's sir?"