Chapter 273: Just once…

A week later, Beijing Airport.

The Liang family arrived in Beijing in the morning. They stepped out of the airport, and the familiar view of Beijing city welcomed them.

Liang Xiao Dan took a deep breath. She smiled. “It feels good to be back.”

Liang Zou and Liang Shin nodded. “Hm.”

It was twenty-one years after which they were back in the country. It evoked so many memories within them, especially for Liang Xiao Dan and Liang Zou. They met here for the first time, got married, had Liang Shin, and…their daughter too, who wasn’t with them anymore.

Liang Xiao Dan looked towards the sky. The white clouds floated in the blue sky, shaping into different funny forms.

She didn’t come here only to face the pain that they were hiding from. This was her last hope. Liang Xiao Dan had a strong feeling, call it instinct, but this time she felt that something would definitely change. She would surely get a clue about her daughter.

If this trip changed nothing, then she had prepared herself to let go of the past and accept that her daughter could never be with them anymore.

The family of four would always forever remain as a family of three.

She closed her eyes.

‘God, if I have ever done any good deed, even if it’s small, please this time…give my daughter back to me.’

Liang Zou softly said, “Let’s go.”

They loaded their bags in their car. Liang Shin gave the driver their address to their home, where they stayed in Beijing before they left for Paris.

On the way, Liang Xiao Dan saw the familiar scenery. Many things remained the same, but many things changed as well.

Their car stopped at a signal. A little far away, Liang Xiao Dan looked at a particular woman. Her back was to her. She had wavy hair just like herself.

Liang Xiao Dan froze.

Her build and her hair looked similar to the woman she had seen in Paris five months back.

‘No…is she the same woman?’

The car started moving as the signal turned green.

“Wait!” Liang Xiao Dan exclaimed.

The father and son were startled.

“What happened, Mom?”

“Stop the car!” She urgently said.

Liang Zou was confused. “But what’s wrong?”

“I will tell you. Just stop the car.” Liang Xiao Dan didn’t take her eyes off the woman the whole time.

“O-okay. Driver, park the car to the side.”

Liang Xiao Dan quickly stepped out.

“Mom, where are you going?” Liang Shin and Liang Zou were bewildered.

She started hurriedly walking towards the opposite direction, and her husband and son could only helplessly follow her.

‘It’s her…. Please let it be her…’ She prayed the whole way.

The woman was walking slowly as if she had no strength, so it didn’t take much longer for Liang Xiao Dan to reach her side.

She put her hand on her shoulder and exclaimed. “Wait!”

The woman stopped.

Liang Zou and Liang Shin, too, got over to her side. “At least now, tell me, why are you in such a hurry?”

Liang Shin looked at the woman and stiffened. Her hair was just like his mother’s.

‘Is she the woman Mom saw in Paris? No wonder she was so desperate to get down. Is she really my sister?’

Liang Shin was eager and hopeful.

Tears rimmed in Liang Xiao Dan’s eyes. “Zou…s-she is…”

Then the woman turned to see who was the one that held her shoulder. She froze.

“You…” Serena looked at her, shocked.

Liang Xiao Dan and Liang Shin stood rooted. Liang Xiao Dan carefully looked at her. She was too thin and had a pregnant belly.

‘Huh? She is not her…she is not the woman.’

Even if she hadn’t entirely seen Nana’s face in Paris, she had at least saw a half of it and knew that she looked similar to her.

But this woman now in front of her looked really different. Only her hair was very similar.

The sudden surge of excitement that she felt died down.

Liang Shin pursed his lips as he realized that she couldn’t be his sister.

Liang Zou was clueless. “I still don’t understand. Why did you stop her?”

But then Serena suddenly harshly slapped away Liang Xiao Dan’s hand. “Why did you come here!?” She yelled.

The passersby stopped hearing the commotion.

“Hey!” Liang Shin furiously looked at Serena. He held his mother’s hand to see if she was hurt. “Why did you do that?”

Liang Zou and Liang Xiao Dan were equally shocked. “What?”

“Why did you come here to meet me?” Serena’s eyes turned red as tears started coming out. “You made my life hell by forcing me to help you in your revenge. I…I lost them…The only people who loved me, I lost them because of you! I will never forgive you!”

She touched her big tummy. “Now, I am also going to lose him…” She mumbled softly.

Liang Xiao Dan had no idea why the woman before her was suddenly blaming her.

‘What revenge?’ She wondered.

She didn’t even know who the woman was, but she looked at her as if she knew her very well. She tried to remember, but she was sure that she hadn’t met her before.

Liang Zou frowned. “Excuse me, but you are misunderstanding her. I think that you got the wrong person.”

Serena’s gaze finally landed on the two men beside her. She didn’t recognize them as she had never seen them with Huo Xiao Fan before. But she couldn’t care less.

Serena clenched her fingers into a fist. She laughed. “Are you happy now, seeing my misery? Are you finally satisfied!? You never loved me, right? So, you must be enjoying my suffering, right?”

The Liang family glanced at each other in confusion.

“And you! You must still be living with Dad, right? Of course, how stupid of me. Dad loves you so much. He loved you all these years. How can he ever hate you? How can he ever leave you? So even after everything that happened, you are still living life as if nothing has happened at all. You still got your husband and your home. And I…” She covered her face with her hands, sobbing hard. “She hates me…He hates me too…I lost everything…”

Liang Xiao Dan tried to calm her down. “Child, you-“

“Child?” Serena interrupted. She looked at her with a mocking gaze. “Did you just call me ‘child’? After depriving me of your love for all these years, after you ruined my life, you are NOW calling me with endearment!? Where was this love before? I never saw it. Oh, are you pitying me?”

Liang Shin observed her condition. She didn’t seem to be in good condition. There were faint lines under the eyes. Her gaze was unfocused. She looked weak, which wasn’t a good sign since she was pregnant.

“Mom,” He whispered, “She seems to be in depression. That’s why she is confused.”

Liang Xiao Dan agreed. When she was following Serena, she seemed to walk as if she was in a daze.

“But what should we do now?” Liang Zou asked.

“We shouldn’t trigger her anymore. She may get a panic attack, which is not good for her and her baby. Anxiety attacks are common in depression.”

Liang Xiao Dan felt utterly sad for her. “She is pregnant. She must be happy. Instead, she is in such a condition, physically and mentally too.”

Liang Zou sighed. “She must have her own circumstances.”

Liang Shin said, “For now, let us just agree to her and say nothing.”

Serena put her hands on the sides of her head. She was trembling as she cried. “No…no it wasn’t your fault. Everything is my mistake.” She was mumbling to herself.

“Why…Why didn’t I stop? I should have stopped myself…I did everything because I wanted you to look at me, pay attention to me…but I should have known that no matter what I did, I would never get your love. I am so stupid…I lost my two precious people to get a mother’s love. But what mother? Who always ignored her daughter and left her alone? Why was I desperate for such a woman’s love…? So foolish of me…I just wanted you to look at me…just once…”

Liang Xiao Dan heard everything.

‘This girl is suffering too much and at such a young age. She doesn’t seem to have a good childhood.’

Then without looking at them again, Serena turned and started leaving. They saw a guard dressed in black suit approach her.

“Mam, the car is over there.”

Liang Xiao Dan found him suspicious. “Wait!” She called him. “Where are you taking her?”

She looked at Serena. “Do you know him?”

But she said nothing.

The guard widened his eyes when he saw Liang Xiao, Dan. He immediately stood in front of Serena. “Please stay where you are. Our boss has ordered that you should never appear before Miss Serena. Please leave. If you refuse to cooperate, then I would be forced to take you to our Boss.”

The Liang family was dumbfounded. They couldn’t make any sense of it.

First, this woman and now this guard too?

‘Why are they both behaving as if they know me?’