Faux Vows, True Desires novel Chapter 500

After Lucinda and her daughter went upstairs, they found it hard to fall asleep.

Lucinda had been away from home for over twenty years, having left when she was just six months old. Back then, she had no concept of home and no memories of it. Today, she returned, a married woman.

Her emotions were a whirlwind.

Even though the Blue family was a deep pool of secrets, where everyone wore masks and played their parts, it did not diminish the excitement she felt about reuniting with her birth family.

Janice took her daughter into her room, planning for a mother-daughter nap.

Her room remained unchanged, meticulously cleaned by Shirley.

"Lucy, this is Mom's room," Janice said, looking around before continuing, "You were taken from this room, and afterward, I lived here, refusing to move. During those twenty-odd years of madness, I barely stepped outside, spending most of my time right here."

Back when she was out of her senses, she'd clutch a doll, pretending it was her daughter, driven by the subconscious thought that her daughter had spent six months in this room.

She felt that as long as she stayed in this room, Lucy would surely return.

If she left, Lucy might come back and not find her.

Embracing her mother, Lucinda reassured her, "Mom, it's all in the past. I'll be by your side a lot more from now on."

No wonder her mother's complexion was so pale when they first met; she was often cooped up indoors, rarely basking in the sunlight.

As Janice showed her daughter around the room, a smile graced her lips. "Yes, it's all in the past. From now on, wherever you are, I'll be there. But you don't need to be with me all the time; you're young, with your career and your Facebook."

"I'm getting on in years, and just seeing you every now and then, knowing you're doing well, that's enough for me. Just a little reminder, no matter how busy you are, don't neglect your husband, huh? Stefan came back with us – don't you bully him."

Lucinda laughed, "Mom, I've never bullied him. Every time you say this, I feel like you favor him more, as if he's your own and I'm the adopted one."

Janice chuckled. "When you were with the Anderson family, didn't they treat you well? I'm nice to Stefan because I want him to treat you even better. Their elders think the same way."

As Lucinda explored the room her mother had lived in for over two decades, she didn't miss a single corner. When she opened the wardrobe, she found it filled with identical dolls.

They looked familiar.

They were the same as the one her mother used to hold before regaining her senses.

"Wow, why are there so many dolls here, and all the same?" she wondered aloud.

Janice was surprised too. She picked up a doll, caressing its hair tenderly. "Maybe your brother bought them, or your dad. I used to hold a doll, treating it like you, but some people, so cruel, would destroy or steal it."

"Maybe when we couldn't find it, we'd replace it with a new one. I only recognized this kind of doll."

It was a guess, but a good one. Her dolls had often been taken, but after Keith grew up and began to protect his mother, the one she held lasted a long time, until Lucinda was found.

Lucinda took the doll from her mother, setting it aside, and hugged her once more.

Janice reciprocated, gently patting Lucinda's back. After a while, she gently pushed her daughter away and softly suggested, "Lucy, you're tired. Have a nap. We got up too early this morning."

"I can't sleep," Lucinda replied, clinging affectionately to her mother's arm. "I just want to spend time with you and talk."

Janice smiled, led her daughter to the sofa, and prompted Lucinda to lie down with her head on her lap. This way, maybe her daughter would drift off to sleep.

Looking down at Lucinda's lovely face, Janice's smile was filled with maternal warmth. It was as if she was seeing her tiny bundle of joy again. It all seemed like a dream, and when she woke up, her daughter was all grown up, already someone's wife.

It was clear that Kayla's visit during their nap time was meant to disrupt their rest.

"Kayla insisted I come up and let you know. She brought quite a few gifts with her."

"Tell her to go back. If there's anything to discuss, it can wait a couple of days. Lucy has just come home; who has time for her now?"

Janice finished speaking, gave her husband's second wife a dismissive glance, and turned on her heel back to her room.

The gifts from the second and third wives were not to her taste, and she certainly had no intention of eating any of it.

Even during her darkest days, when her mind felt scrambled, she wouldn't touch the food they sent.

"Very well," Janice said with a soft but unmistakably authoritative voice.

Shirley, the housekeeper, couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. This was the kind of poise and dignity the lady of the house should always command.

She remembered the times when Janice was not herself, how Kayla and Ashley, the other wives, took advantage and mistreated her without mercy.

Now that Janice had regained her strength, they came crawling back, expecting to be granted an audience on a whim?

This estate, Sunnyglade Abbey, was still Janice's domain!