Back when she was still young, Stefanie's sister, Everly Gray, took her out to play and abandoned her at the foot of a mountain.
Subsequently, Mollie was taken to the countryside and lost contact with the Hays family.
If her grandfather hadn't persistently searched for her, she would probably have remained trapped in a dark little room, cut off from the rest of the world.
But in her previous life, she had ended up angering her grandfather to the point of being hospitalised because of Jonathon...
How lamentable it was! With these thoughts, Mollie couldn't help shedding a few hot
tears.
This happened to catch Lawrence's attention. He quickly excused the guests who came to congratulate him and called Mollie over.
"Mollie, you are here. Why are your eyes red, my dear?" Lawrence extended his aged palm towards the corners of Mollie's eyes before tenderly and indulgently patting her back.
"I remember that you used to follow your five older brothers around all the time. It's a pity they can't be here this time. You guys should have a proper gathering next time."
Mollie nodded obediently and then happily talked about the past with Lawrence.
From when the little girl would act spoiled and have Lawrence pick stars for her, to when she left her favourite strawberry cake for him...
Although it hadn't been long, both the grandparent and grandchild clearly remembered every moment.
There was still a lingering sense of guilt in Lawrence's tone when they talked about the incident of her getting lost back then,
"Grandpa, everything is fine now.
"I'm here safe and sound!"
Mollie comfortingly grasped his hand. While doing so, she checked his pulse. She let out a small sigh of relief when she felt the steady beat.
At this moment, a sharp female voice interrupted them.
"My, is this Mollie? I haven't seen you in so long. I almost couldn't recognise you, with how beautiful you've become!"
It was clear and melodious, yet somewhat insincere and flattering.
Mollie turned her head and looked at the newcomer with a calm expression.
Everly then held her hand tightly.
"Thinking about how you got lost back then still makes me feel guilty. I've been fasting all these years to make myself feel better." Her acting was so convincing that Mollie almost believed her.
Sneering, Mollie withdrew her hand from Everly's grip without a word.
Everly, who was somewhat embarrassed by Mollie's response, awkwardly let go of Mollie's hand.
For a brief moment, she almost felt like this chick's gaze was consuming her!
Lawrence, on the side, observed Mollie's indifference and detachment towards Everly. He didn't attempt to mediate the situation. After all, it was due to Everly that his beloved Mollie had gone missing and suffered so much.
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat peculiar.
"Grandpa, happy birthday!" A congratulatory voice suddenly butted in, shattering the strange tension. Stefanie deliberately inserted herself between Mollie and Lawrence.
"Grandpa, here is a gift!"
"Hmm." Lawrence's attitude was lukewarm.
However, Stefanie didn't mind that as she mentioned, "Grandpa, I need to talk to Mollie for a bit!"
Lawrence looked at Mollie who then nodded.
Stefanie didn't even go far before she grabbed Mollie and blurted out, "Mollie, I was wrong that day. I was too afraid that Jonathon would deceive you. I panicked!
"He is the kind of man who can have any kind of woman he wants. Are you really expecting to keep Jonathon tied to you using a little sense of novelty? Don't be naive!"
Mollie raised an eyebrow and played along with her.
"But with Mr. Hudson's power, won't I be reprimanded if I go against him?"
At that moment, Stefanie seemed to see the Mollie who used to be easy to manipulate.
She even wondered if Mollie's reactions at the hotel and at home were all because of her fear of Jonathon's influence.
"That's simple! Before going against him, you should pull him down from his pedestal!" Stefanie leaned closer to Mollie's ear.
"There are many guests today. You can just expose the fact that you were imprisoned in front of everyone. That will make him fall from grace."
"By then, who can stop you if you want to be with Corey?" Mollie pretended to naively nod.
The banquet officially began then.
After the host was done with the birthday speech, Lawrence introduced the long-lost Mollie to the guests. He was pleased as he watched the young girl's confident demeanour.
Louise felt uncomfortable when she saw the pride in Lawrence's eyes.
"Mollie." She handed a glass of red wine to Mollie.
"Shouldn't you make everyone a toast after Grandpa so formally introduced you?"
Mollie obediently nodded.
Pretending to ignore the scheming look in Louise's eyes, she touched Louise's cheek.
"Aunt Louise, your makeup had smudged."
There was a saying that makeup was a woman's second face.
Especially for someone as concerned about her image as Louise, she wouldn't allow herself to greet guests with smudged makeup.
Without waiting to personally urge Mollie to drink the red wine, Louise hurriedly went to a corner to touch up her makeup.
Mollie watched her out of the corner of her eye.
She had anticipated that Louise wasn't so stupid she would easily let her off the hook. She found an angle blocked by a pillar to swap her glass for a new one.
By the time Louise returned after touching up her makeup, Mollie had already finished the swapped glass of wine.
"This wine is so good. Can I take a bottle home?"
A hint of disgust flickered in Louise's eyes.
"Whatever!" She promptly found an excuse to leave; after all, her mission was complete.
Mollie narrowed her almond-shaped eyes and looked at the back of Louise's leaving figure.
Soon, she took out the swapped red wine. Considering how hard Louise had worked to prepare it, Mollie couldn't possibly let it go to waste.
The melody of a song for social dancing sounded in the hall.
Lawrence walked to Mollie with his cane and asked her if she wanted to give dancing a go.
Louise leaned closer when she heard that and smiled.
"Dad, aren't you making things difficult for Mollie? I bet she only knows the games played by country kids. She can't do social dancing."
There was a hint of displeasure in Lawrence's eyes.
Louise's words insulted both his precious granddaughter and his own dignity. After all, he was the one backing Mollie.
Mollie acted quite dull as if intentionally not understanding the implications of her words. She peered humbly at Louise.
"Aunt Louise, could you teach me?"