AgWorld Chapter 451 - 453: Mother and Daughter Meet
Chapter 451 - 453: Mother and Daughter Meet
Ethan Shaw knew that once Naomi Kenway made a decision, she wouldn’t easily change it. He said, "Then I’ll wait outside."
Naomi Kenway looked at him and slowly nodded.
*
The appointed day arrived quickly. As Naomi Kenway finished getting ready, she watched Ethan Shaw fasten a small, exquisitely designed watch onto her wrist. "What’s this?"
Ethan Shaw carefully secured the watch on her wrist and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "It’s a custom-made watch. It can track your location and monitor your vital signs at all times. But that’s not all..."
He gestured for Naomi Kenway to look at the side of the watch. "There’s a button here. Just give it a light press, and I’ll be right there."
Naomi Kenway clutched the watch and nodded.
*
Arriving at the designated café, a waiter led Naomi Kenway to a private room on the second floor.
Naomi Kenway followed behind, her purse slung over her shoulder. Her high heels made a click-clacking sound on the floor. She noticed the entire floor was silent; there were no other customers in sight.
"Your café seems a little empty today. I remember it usually being packed."
The waiter explained, "That’s because a very generous customer booked the entire café for the day. She said she doesn’t like noise. Here we are. The guest is already inside waiting for you."
Naomi Kenway walked in. "Thank you."
Incense was burning inside, its fragrant smoke curling up from a censer.
’The scent is strangely familiar, but not quite the same as I remember.’
Naomi Kenway drew closer and saw a figure in a wheelchair with their back to her. The person wore baggy clothes and a hood, making it impossible to tell their gender. Beside them, a woman in a black veil was massaging their legs.
Naomi Kenway cleared her throat twice, her voice betraying a hint of nervousness. "Hello, I’m Naomi Kenway. I’m here for our appointment. Have you been waiting long?"
"Please, sit." The figure still didn’t turn around. Her voice was rough, as if it had been ground against stone.
Naomi Kenway sat down in a chair, keeping a distance of a few feet between them.
The woman didn’t speak again after that, but Naomi Kenway could no longer hold back.
"Ma’am, I have so many questions. I was hoping you could answer them for me. Many of the clues in our investigation came from you. I want to know why you know so much about my mother. Please, tell me. This is really important to me."
"Because..."
Her fingers moved, and the wheelchair swiveled around. The lower half of her face was covered by a mask, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes. They were eyes that had weathered many storms and were no longer young, but as they looked at Naomi Kenway, they curved into a smile, instantly becoming as gentle as water.
"No one knows her better than I do."
All the words Naomi Kenway had been about to say caught in her throat. She felt her body go rigid, as if it were no longer under her control. All she could do was stare blankly at the person before her.
Those gentle eyes had appeared in her dreams countless times, carrying all her most cherished memories, because they belonged to the mother who loved her most.
"Mom..."
Rose Kenway opened her arms. "My child, have you been well these past few years?"
Naomi Kenway threw herself into her embrace, feeling its warmth, feeling the gentle, large hands she remembered stroking her hair.
"Mom..." Naomi Kenway was sobbing uncontrollably. "Why...? Where have you been all these years? Why did everyone say you were dead? Why didn’t you come find me? Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you? Why did you disappear for so long? Where were you? And what happened to your legs...?"
Naomi Kenway repeated the questions, pouring out all the doubts and grievances that filled her heart.
She didn’t want to put on a brave face. As long as she was with Rose Kenway, she would always be the child who loved to cling to her side.
Rose Kenway reached out to tuck a stray strand of Naomi Kenway’s hair behind her ear. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard the sound of an argument outside the door.
"Sir, you can’t go in! It’s against the rules!"
The next second, the door was thrown open.
Ethan Shaw’s forehead was beaded with anxious sweat. Several bodyguards followed behind him.
He clearly hadn’t expected to find such a scene inside the room and was momentarily stunned. After recovering, he told the bodyguards to leave and explained, "I noticed your heart rate was abnormally high, and you weren’t answering your phone. I thought something had happened."
He apologized, "Did I interrupt? I’ll leave right now."
"Wait." Naomi Kenway looked up and explained, "Mom, this is Ethan Shaw, my husband."
A smile appeared on Rose Kenway’s face. Her gaze toward Ethan Shaw was filled with satisfaction and admiration. "Ethan, thank you for taking care of my daughter all these years. I knew my judgment wasn’t wrong. You’re the most suitable person for her."
A hint of surprise flickered across Ethan Shaw’s face, but his control over his expression was excellent, and he immediately concealed it.
"Ethan, come and sit."
Rose Kenway took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from Naomi Kenway’s cheeks. "Don’t stay on the floor, you’ll catch a cold. Still acting like such a child."
Naomi Kenway sat down in the chair beside her, tightly gripping Rose Kenway’s hand, unwilling to let go. "Mom, you still haven’t answered my questions."
Rose Kenway sighed. "It’s a long story. Let me tell you everything, bit by bit."
Rose Kenway took off her mask, revealing several intersecting scars on her face that extended down to her neck. The sight was horrifying.
Naomi Kenway gently touched the scars, which were so deep you could almost see the bone. Tears streamed down her face again. "Mom..."
"It doesn’t hurt anymore. You’ve probably guessed it—the scars on my face and the problems with my legs are all from back then. To have survived by a stroke of luck... I already feel very fortunate."
She placed her hands on Naomi Kenway’s shoulders and explained patiently, "Don’t cry, Nina. It’s not that I didn’t want to find you all these years. It’s that I only fully regained consciousness this year."
"Back then, I walked in on Jackson Kensington and Lorraine Warren’s disgusting affair. I was furious. I had a huge fight with them and told Jackson I wanted a divorce. I wasn’t going to be fooled by his empty promises anymore."
Rose Kenway’s voice was calm, carrying the weariness of someone who had weathered countless storms. She spoke as if telling someone else’s story.
"But I never expected that he would conspire with Lorraine Warren to have me killed and seize the Kenway family’s assets. When I fell down the stairs, I lost consciousness. Jackson Kensington thought I was dead, but I wasn’t. I was still breathing. To destroy the evidence, Jackson staged a car accident and threw me into the sea..." She paused and looked at the woman in the black veil beside her. "Thankfully, Joan was there. She’s the one who saved me."
The woman in the black veil next to her pulled it off. It was Joanna Hawkins, the quiet and taciturn personal bodyguard who used to follow Rose Kenway everywhere.
Naomi Kenway had always wondered where she had gone. To think that she was the one who had saved Rose Kenway.