"Ashley,"
Belinda softly uttered while she sat beside Ashley and held her hand.
Almost instantly, tears started welling up in her eyes.
Belinda's hands were well maintained so they were soft and smooth.
"I'm sorry."
Belinda looked at Ashley when she spoke. She didn't know how much her daughter had suffered. Just
the fact that she wasn't even aware made her cry more.
She held Ashley's hand more tightly and apologized to her again and again.
Ashley was at a loss with what was happening in front of her.
When she saw how much Belinda was crying, she also felt something in her heart.
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize to me. You've now found me, right? Everything is going to be
better from now on."
Ashley tried to comfort Belinda while taking a tissue to wipe the tears on her face.
"You're not blaming us for what happened?"
Ashley shook her head and said, "No."
Perhaps, there was a time that she had some ill feelings towards them. But that was in the past now.
Maybe, after finding out the matter about Angelina, she felt a little sad.
But it was not their fault.
Moreover, as a mother of three children, Ashley had become more mature.
Seeing his wife cry, Martin wanted to move closer to her side, as it had always been his instinct to do
so.
But when he saw Ashley wiping the tears off Belinda's face so gently, he didn't need to move an inch
from where he was sitting.
Then, Jeremy said, "All right, now that we have found Ashley, we can forget every unfortunate thing
that has happened to us. As a matter of fact, she's pregnant right now. We really don't have any reason
to be sad these days."
"Yes, we shouldn't dwell on anything awful from now on since it might affect the baby."
Belinda wiped the tears on her face and gave Ashley a smile.
"Can I touch your belly?"
Belinda nervously asked while still looking at Ashley.
"Yes, of course you can."
Belinda felt a little sad because she didn't have the chance to be involved in the big moments of
Ashley's life up until then.
She was comforted with the fact that they had finally found her. Although she didn't get to be involved
in her daughter's early life, she could spend some quality time with Ashley from then on.
With utmost care, Belinda put her hand on Ashley's belly.
It wasn't long before a small part of Ashley's baby bump slightly moved. It wasn't particularly obvious
but it still brought a smile to their faces.
After caressing Ashley's belly for a while, Belinda took back her hand and said, "The baby is very
healthy."
"Yes, I've been taking care of my body very well."
"Then, do you have really bad morning sickness every day?"
Belinda looked at Ashley with concern.
"It's not every day. Before I found out that I was pregnant, I was doing fine. But I began to vomit a lot
after I had gone through an examination in the hospital."
"Is this getting harder for you?"
"Not really, no. Every time I remember that there's a little baby in my belly, I become happy and
content."
"Yes, I felt the same thing when I was pregnant with you. I would vomit heavily at that time. But I didn't
have the same side effects when I was pregnant with your brother."
Ashley was surprised to hear that. She exclaimed, "Really?
"I also didn't have any difficulties when I was pregnant with Fabio."
"Fabio?"
Belinda looked around the room, but she didn't see a child anywhere.
Jeremy had actually already told Belinda about Ashley's four-year-old son.
"Yes, he's my son. He's in kindergarten right now. He'll be back in the afternoon."
"That's really nice to hear. I do look forward to meeting him."
Other than morning sickness, Ashley and Belinda talked about a lot of other things.
They started to discuss Ashley's children, what she was going to name her baby, and almost everything
under the sun.
Jeremy and Martin sat aside and watched. They couldn't help smiling as they watched Ashley and
Belinda have a good conversation. They finally felt such great relief, seeing what was happening in
front of them.
Before they came to the villa, Belinda was really anxious that Ashley would not like her.
She had been so worried on their way. But now that the two of them were talking so casually, it actually
looked like they had known each other for a long time.
After talk with Belinda and Martin for quite a while, Ashley felt a little sleepy and couldn't help yawning.
Belinda, who was telling her something, suddenly stopped. "Ash, are you feeling sleepy?"
A little embarrassed, Ashley smiled and said, "Just a little."
Since she was pregnant, she would often become drowsy.
"You can go upstairs and rest,"
Belinda gently said to Ashley.
Ashley took a look at the time. It turned out that it was already 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
She didn't get up until ten o'clock in the morning. No wonder she was feeling sleepy right then and
there.
"It's okay. Fabio will be back in a while. I can't go to sleep just yet.
In the meantime, could you join me for a walk outside?"
Ashley asked Belinda. She didn't call her mom just yet.
She was too embarrassed to call her that since they had just been reunited.
On the other hand, Belinda was a little disappointed.
But she also recognized that she couldn't be impatient with Ashley immediately accepting her.
"Okay, let's go out for a walk."
It was almost October so the sun was not shining that brightly. Fortunately, it wasn't too cold either.
When some sunlight touched Ashley's skin, she felt a sense of warmth all over her.
It made her want to sleep more.
In the garden, there were a lot of flowers and plants. Ashley had taken the time and effort to plant them
there before she left J City.
Although they had not been taken care of for five years, they were still very beautiful. The only problem
was that they looked a little messy with weeds growing all around them.
Ashley hadn't asked anyone to pull out the weeds.
That was because she thought the garden looked particularly charming that way.
"Does he treat you well?"
Belinda suddenly asked while looking at Ashley, wanting to see her reaction.
Jeremy had told her that Andrew was Ashley's husband.
She had actually met Andrew before, but she didn't know much about him.
But then, even if she had a good impression of Andrew at that time, she still felt like he was too stoic.
Whenever people would look at him, they couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Belinda was not an exception.
Of course, there were also a lot of rumors about Andrew's indifference to women.
That was why, when Belinda found out that her daughter was married to him, she was a little worried.
She even asked Jeremy about the man several times.
Belinda and Martin didn't know much about Andrew even though Jeremy actually grew up with him.
And they got along very well with each other. So Belinda thought that Jeremy was the right person to
ask about Andrew.
Jeremy told her that although Andrew did not seem to care about anything at all, he was very nice and
caring towards Ashley.
Nonetheless, Belinda thought that she should still ask Ashley about him.
She wanted to hear her daughter's own judgment about him.
Ashley stopped walking when she heard her mother's question.
When she thought about Andrew, a warm smile appeared on her face.
It was so evident how her face was glowing with happiness.
Ashley answered softly, "He is very good to me."
"That's good. I'm glad to hear that."
Belinda didn't want to bother Ashley with the rumors she had heard, so she didn't mention any of
them.
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