Female Novel
Chapter 358 A Birthmark On Her Back
Chapter 358 A Birthmark on Her Back
Matthew looked at her with a bit of disgust as he said lowly, "You do know that, because of today, the
Bissel family's backing out of the deal. The marriage that had been dead set on going forward is done
for."
Jessica trembled.
She looked at him in disbelief, her face changing slightly. "Why?"
Matthew sneered.
"Heh, why else? They don't want the trouble. With what you got up to tonight, what man in the entire
upper crust circle of Eqitin would want to marry you?"
"..."
Jessica bit her lip, an unspeakable sense of humiliation rising from her gut as she clenched her fists.
Matthew sighed.
"All right, we'll talk about the arranged marriage later on. It's late. Head back. Remember to take care
that they don't suspect anything."
Jessica nodded, turning to walk outside.
But before she reached the door, Matthew called after her.
"Wait."
She started, turned around, and saw a frowning Matthew handing her a brown paper bag.
"It's from her. Keep it yourself."
Jessica jolted, her face growing pale. It took a few seconds for her to accept it with trembling fingers.
There were a few already baked little cakes inside the bag. Her eyes reddened and she looked up at
Matthew, voice shaking. "How is she?"
Matthew was calm and still. "She's fine."
Pausing, he looked at her, a gleam in his eye. "So long as you stay obediently out of trouble, I can keep
her that way. You understand what you have to do now, don't you?"
Jessica hurriedly nodded.
Matthew waved her off. "Go, then."
At that moment, in another room.
Selena finished her shower and laid down, tossing and turning without falling asleep.
The moment she closed her eyes, her mind swam with the image of that night in the room, with Natalia
changing.
The red butterfly birthmark on her back had almost seemed alive.
She slid out a drawer at the head of her table and retrieved a book.
It was a famous novel, with a yellowed photo stuck in a page in the middle.
Selena took out the photo and examined it under the lamplight.
The photo had been taken a long time ago. The corners were flaking and cracking. The picture showed
a baby several months old, sitting with her back to the camera, playing with marbles as she turned
around and smiled happily.
And on the baby's back was a red butterfly birthmark.
Selena reached out her hand and stroked the butterfly, thinking of her adoptive mother's words from
long ago.
"This is your little sister, Selena. She was born with bad luck and got abducted by human traffickers
when she was only a few months old, so we adopted you. But don't worry, you're all Mommy's good
girls. Mommy loves you regardless of your blood, so if you have the fortune to find your sister in the
future, you have to look after her and help her, okay?"
Those words sounded so far away.
Far away enough that it could have been from another realm, with the voice itself muddying.
But Selena still remembered.
Remembered the regret in her eyes as her mother left, and the gentle smile she'd had when she
looked at her.
Selena had without a doubt been lucky.
Lucky enough to stand out from so many children in the orphanage, being picked by Yvonne to be her
child.
For all those years, Yvonne had, just as she said, treated her as her own.
Even though she was a good several years old when she'd been adopted, with the most basic memory
and ability to think as a normal child.
But she'd never kept anything from Selena. She'd never thought it was a problem that their relationship
was borne of adoption.
It was Yvonne who'd taught her that blood wasn't everything in this world.
Even people who weren't related could become the closest of family.
Selena closed her eyes, recalling her mother's death, and felt a surge of dull pain.
When she opened her eyes, she was perfectly sober.
She looked at the photo, murmuring, "Don't worry, Mom! If it really is her, I'll acknowledge it. I'll do what
you left me with, and I won't let her wander outside forever."
She lowered her head and buried the photo in her chest, only setting it down after a long while.
Once again putting away the photo, she turned off the lights and went soundly to sleep.
...
The following day.
Jessica suddenly received an invitation from Selena, saying that there was a new hot spring resort that
had opened in Eqitin and inviting her to have a soak.
Jessica was surprised, but one, she didn't have anything else to do, and two, after last night, most
people in the Kawn family didn't look too kindly upon her.
Such a time was exactly when she needed to garner support from others. So she couldn't refuse
Selena's active invitation.
So, that noon, the two ate lunch and drove together towards the resort.
The hot spring resort was built in the countryside in a good environment. There were a few medicinal
pools that were perfect for bathing in in this season.
The two changed and went into the spring together.
To be honest, because of their awkward status, Jessica and Selena didn't know each other too well.
After all, one was an adopted daughter, while the other was a "granddaughter" who'd been taken back.
They more or less had a competing relationship.
So, even if they met normally, they'd only greet each other without holding a conversation.
Soaking in a hot spring out of nowhere today, the two sat in the pool and didn't quite know what to say
for the moment.
But Jessica was good at deduction. She knew that Selena, who mostly ignored her, had to be trying
something by inviting her to the hot springs today.
So she found a casual topic and tried to string her along to get it out of her.
But even if Jessica was smart, Selena wasn't dumb.
Forget that she hadn't invited her out today for anything special, just to prove a concept, so she didn't
care about getting baited.
And even if Jessica wanted to bait her, with her attention to detail, she couldn't get anything out of her.
So the two went back and forth. The soak went on for a while, but they didn't say anything of
substance.
Both of them were beginning to find it pointless. Jessica looked at the time and suggested going back
to ground to rest and have something to eat.
Selena agreed.
Because they'd both been in towels coming out and their bodies weren't visibly, Selena deliberatelynovelbin
slowed down on her way out.
Jessica stepped from the terrace to share, her skimpy bikini emphasizing her slender figure. There was
absolute no mark or blemish on her snowy white back.
Selena started, frowning.
"I heard you had a birthmark on your back, Jessica? Why couldn't I see it back then?"