After hearing Matthewâs words, Amelie felt uneasy and even lost her appetite. Therefore, she left Bria with Julia after she arrived and drove straight to Quinn Town, which was not particularly near since it took her three hours to drive there.When she arrived, it was already past 9.00PM. There were not many residents in the village or any special entertainment. The most the middle-aged and older folks did was group exercises, and they had almost dispersed.There were one or two that saw how luxurious Amelieâs car was and came forward to have a look. So, she had no choice but to lower her window.âOh, itâs you, Elie.âThe two lived near Amelieâs home, so they recognized her and greeted her with bright smiles. Following that, they looked at her car from all angles while commenting, âHave you made a fortune? This is such a great car.âThe villagers were different from before and were now more knowledgeable. Therefore, many of the elderly villagers could recognize luxurious cars.As Amelie did not drive her car on her last visit, the two elderly women were surprised when they saw her car.She was anxious to get home but still smiled at them before greeting them politely, âMrs. Olson, Mrs.
Drew.âThe two nodded, and Mrs. Drew reached out her oily hand that was used to doing chores and patted Amelieâs shoulder. âElie, you mustâve come here to pick up your dad, right? Thatâs a good idea.âHearing her mentioning Steven, Amelie thought about what Matthew had said and asked, âWhat happened to my dad?ââYou mean that matter? Jeez! I even feel embarrassed just talking about it!â Mrs.
Drew used her wrinkly hand to cover her face, but she was giggling.Meanwhile, Mrs. Olson was calmer.
She also placed her hand on Amelieâs car window and explained, âElie, your dad used to seem upright, but how did he turn into such a person? Men do develop bad habits after getting rich. After your dad sold his artwork and earned some money, he started to⦠His lifestyle becameâ¦Gosh!âWhen Amelie heard it was about her dadâs lifestyle, she was not as anxious anymore. She was worried about her dadâs health deteriorating or him getting into trouble. Since her dad stayed alone his whole life for her, it was reasonable that he wanted to find someone to accompany him during his last years.Therefore, she supported that idea.In the meantime, Mrs. Olson was still criticizing. âHow can he do such a thing?
Even if he wants a new wife, he shouldâve found one that suits him. Why did he have to find suchâ¦
Gosh!âThe two could not bear to continue anymore and asked Amelie to head home and see for herself. Without wasting any more time, she drove toward her home.Since the last time they returned, Steven retrieved the old house he used to live in and moved back in. After arriving, Amelie parked her car and jumped out. Then, she pushed the old wooden door open without being bothered by anything else. The door was not locked, so she easily thrust it open.Subsequently, she glanced inside and saw a dark, gloomy courtyard.There was no light there, so her vision was blurred. However, she still caught sight of her father sitting beside the well, bending over while pushing and pulling the lever of the well. In the meantime, water was being pumped up from the well and flowed into a basin.Then, he bent down to pick up the basin and placed it outside the concrete well, where someone was sitting on a stool.Amelie could not make out the personâs face, but her pale legs swinging back and forth were eye-
catching.He placed the basin before that woman and uttered slowly, dragging his words. âHurry up and wash your feet. You should head to bed and rest early.âThe woman on the bench giggled, which somehow exposed her age to be a young woman. It was then that Amelie realized the reason behind Mrs. Olson and Mrs. Drewâs behavior. So, my dad is dating a young woman?Hahahaha.Laughter sounded again.This time, Amelie turned on the flashlight on her phone and shone it in Stevenâs direction while calling out, âDad.âThe light from her phone landed on his figure.Vividly stunned, he rose to his feet and was shocked when he saw her. âAmelie, why did you come here?âIt was then that she approached him and looked at him in the night. âYou havenât returned after a long time, so I was worried and decided to check up on you.âShe was shocked that her dad would date such a young woman. Then, she looked worriedly at the lady.Since it was dark outside, Amelie could not make out the womanâs face. The only thing she noticed was that the womanâs hair was hanging before her face and was not tied up.Though her hair mostly covered her face, the woman seemed like she was about Amelieâs age.Steven noticed Amelie was looking at the woman and coughed uneasily. âI wanted to return earlier, but this young woman suddenly appeared at our house. I asked her where she lived, but she said she doesnât know. Then, I brought her to the police, but she started crying heavily. The police couldnât do anything, so we could only wait and see whether her family would come and find her. There was no place to stay at the police station, so I brought her back here.âAfter listening to his explanation, Amelie finally understood what had happened. It turns out that Dad found a woman who has lost her way and not a girlfriend. I was right. Dad has always been upright, so how could he have fallen in love with such a young woman?Steven did not like talking to others, so he did not explain anything when the other villagers bumped into that young lady. That was why the villagers thought he was dating her and spread those rumors around the village.On the other hand, Amelie did not tell him that she came because of the rumors, but she could not help but worry about where that woman could go.âSince her family hasnât come for her after so long, they mightâve given up on her. How about we bring her to a shelter?â Not only did they not know where that woman came from, but she also seemed mentally ill.
Therefore, it was rather terrifying to keep such a woman around.After thinking about it, Steven nodded.
âThatâs not a bad idea.ââElie.âJust as the two were talking, they suddenly heard a voice.Amelie was taken aback and scanned her surroundings.There was only her, Steven, and the woman around, so that voiceâ¦âDo you know my daughter?â He was the first to react and looked surprisedly at the woman before him.She nodded. âOf course, I know Elie. Elie is very pretty. She wears a princess dress every day and is the prettiest princess in the entire village.âHearing that, Amelie was at a loss for words because the girl she was describing was indeed Amelie when she was a child. How does she know what I was like?While thinking of that, she shone the light onto the woman while moving away the hair that was covering her face. Steven also leaned over to take a look.Since he had presbyopia, he could not see anything under the dim lighting.However, Amelie slowly gained confidence that she had seen this face before. She racked her brain to find out who this woman was, and a similar figure suddenly appeared in her mind. âYouâre Liz!ââLiz?â Steven became even more shocked. âHow could she beâ¦
Liz? How could Liz becomeâ¦âLiz was the daughter of Stevenâs former apprentice and had stayed with the Dillons for a long period. Since her father did not send her to school, she became introverted and locked herself in the loft almost every day.However, the âLizâ back then was alert and not mentally illâ¦