Chapter 7

At Myra's question, Robert's gaze lifted as well. He glanced at the area behind Julia, his brows drawing together. No one knew what he was thinking.

Then he called out, "Julia."

Myra patted his arm as if to comfort him, then considerately excused herself and went elsewhere.

Yvonne was afraid she might claw Robert's face off if she stayed any longer. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I'll go get the car!"

Thus, Robert and Julia were left to stare at each other.

Julia had no desire to explain anything. As long as Emmy's existence wasn't exposed to Robert, it made no difference whether he misunderstood her.

She met his eyes briefly before heading for the entrance.

"We need to talk," he said.

Julia paused. Since the divorce had to come up sooner or later, she nodded. "Fine. Let's talk back at our marital home."

She told him a time before walking right past him. When she ran into Jimmy, she ignored him, but he stopped to sneer as she left.

There she was, acting all high and mighty, yet she immediately clung to Robert the moment he spoke to her. What was this crap about meeting him in their marital home? Clearly she was just trying to get him in bed so that she could have his baby.

Jimmy was even more disgusted now.

After heading out of the store, Julia grabbed a handful of her hair in frustration. The celebration had been interrupted, and now her shopping trip had been interrupted, too. She should've checked her horoscope reading this morning before heading out of the house.

"Where are we going now?" Yvonne pulled up in her car and asked through the half-lowered window.

Julia looked down at her empty hands. Emmy's birthday was coming up soon, and she still hadn't found a gift.

Just then, Emmy called. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she said, "Mommy, my school is having a birthday party for the kids tomorrow. Uncle Isaac is taking me. Can I call him daddy in front of everyone?"

The kindergarten held a group birthday party every month for all the children whose birthdays fell in that month. Emmy's birthday happened to be this month. It was next week.

Upon hearing the question, Julia felt as though her heart was being squeezed. The pain came from all sides.

Emmy was getting older and beginning to form her own thoughts. All the other children around her had fathers. She was the only one who didn't. She didn't even have her mother by her side.

Julia could almost imagine the awkwardness and speculation that would arise at the kindergarten if she addressed Isaac as her uncle.

She knew this request wasn't quite appropriate, yet she simply couldn't bring herself to stop her daughter. All she could do was ask, "What did your Uncle Isaac say?"

"He said it was fine."

Julia froze.

Isaac had always been cold and aloof with everyone, but he never refused Emmy's requests. Julia realized her debt to Isaac was only getting bigger.

…

The next day, Julia went to St. Rowena Chapel. It was built on a summit, and only a corner of its roof was visible through the mist. The distant tolling of bells drifted down from above.

Even standing at the foot of the mountain, one could feel the rich history and the solemnity embodied by the ancient chapel on its peak.

The nun at the chapel entrance recognized Julia and greeted her warmly. "You're here."

She casually handed her a kneeling pad.

Julia thanked her before walking into the chapel and kneeling in front of the altar. She bowed her head and prayed in silence, maintaining the position for a very long time. Holding the rosary beads, she made a prayer for each bead, and there were 59 in total.

According to legend, anyone who made 59 prayers for the 59 rosary beads at St. Rowena Chapel would be blessed with peace and protection for the rest of their life.

In the past, Julia didn't believe in such things.

However, Emmy had been seriously ill from the moment she was born. Unable to think of anything else she could do, Julia had dragged her still-weak body out of bed to kneel in solemn prayer at St. Rowena Chapel, even though she hadn't yet fully recovered from the delivery.

Since then, she would repeat this every year before Emmy's birthday, giving Emmy the set of rosary beads she used each time as a token of blessing and protection.

She'd done it four years in a row without fail. By the time she was done, it was already noon. After wiping the sweat that had accumulated on her brow, she carefully clutched the rosary beads, taking great care with them.

Yet when she turned around, she saw two familiar figures standing by the entrance to the side chapel.

"Robbie, I already told you this was just a legend and shouldn't be taken seriously. Why did you kneel for so long just to pray for Katie's sake?"

"I don't want to take any chances. It's better to believe that it might be true than take the risk of dismissing it as a legend."

It was Robert and Myra.

Robert's back was soaked with sweat, his hair disheveled. He limped a little from having knelt on his knees for a long time. The usually composed and dignified man looked pretty unkempt.

He'd spent hours kneeling for Katie.

Without warning, Julia's heart clenched, and a heart-wrenching pain tore through her.

She'd long since come to terms with how Robert felt about her, yet she still couldn't accept that he would devote himself wholeheartedly to another child while turning a blind eye to Emmy.

All those years ago, Julia only returned home from the hospital nearly a month after she gave birth. Robert had also returned from overseas around that time. He hadn't seen Julia bring a child back with her, but he didn't ask a single question.

The Stones had all been told that Emmy had died at birth. Robert hadn't even asked what Julia had done with the body.

To keep the Stones from growing suspicious, Julia had simply prepared a burial plot and pretended she had buried the baby.

Robert had never visited that grave. His attitude couldn't be any more indifferent.

"It's better to believe that it might be true than take the risk of dismissing it as a legend, huh?"

Julia repeated his words softly, her lips curling with bitter sarcasm.

Robert was even more skeptical of superstitious beliefs than she was. He didn't even want to hear about such customs. Yet this was the very man who had just said it was better to believe that it might be true.

He had done something he would've once considered utterly foolish.

Myra spotted Julia as well, and a flash of triumph quickly crossed her eyes. She lifted her chin slightly, silently displaying her superiority.

Then she deliberately raised her voice. "Anyway, Robbie, it was so thoughtful of you. When Katie finds out you knelt for hours just to pray for her, she'll be thrilled that you care so much about her."

"It doesn't matter whether she'd be thrilled about it. All that matters is that she'll be safe and protected." Robert solemnly pressed the rosary beads into Myra's hand. "Remember to have her wear it. She must never take it off."

"I will." Myra smiled sweetly. "Her birthday is next Tuesday. You're so busy, yet you still made time to kneel here, even doing it at the exact time of her birth. You really are the best father in the world."

So Katie and Emmy had been born on the same day. Their birth times were even pretty close!

Robert hadn't gone overseas during the time Julia was giving birth because of some major business crisis. He had gone to be there for Myra when she was delivering Katie.

The sudden revelation of the truth plunged Julia back into a humiliating and agonizing memory.

After begging Lexi in vain for an epidural that cost just a thousand dollars, she'd been left at a complete loss, with no one to turn to and no one who'd listen to her cries for help.

Meanwhile, the husband who should have been by her side, protecting her, had been busy with another woman, tenderly caring for her and letting her have as many epidural injections as she wanted.

Each injection had cost over ten times more than the one Julia had begged so desperately for.

Julia had suffered a massive hemorrhage. Both she and Emmy almost died. While that was happening, in another country, Robert had been tending to every last detail of Myra and Katie's care, making sure no harm came to them.

Julia knew Myra was saying those things on purpose. There was no denying that Myra knew exactly how to hurt her where it hurt most.

The night before, when Emmy had said she wanted to address Isaac as her daddy, Julia had even considered giving Robert one more chance. She'd considered letting him know that he had another daughter.

Now, it was clear that he didn't deserve that chance. He didn't deserve to be Emmy's father. He didn't even deserve to know that Emmy existed.