The room suddenly went dim, and the spotlight found its way to me. My eyes momentarily fluttered closed at the sudden blinding light. But even with my eyes closed, I could still feel everyone’s gaze fixed in my direction.
Why is everyone’s attention on me? I couldn’t help but ask myself, wondering if I did something terrible that I wasn’t aware of. However, after thinking hard and long, I recalled not doing anything wrong, and somehow I felt relieved at that thought.
For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, the world stopped spinning. Even the soft, mellow music from the orchestra stopped playing, and the room felt quieter than before.
Silence reigned inside the room. If a feather dropped to the floor, surely it would be heard as it landed.
Slowly, my eyes fluttered open. After my eyes adjusted to the light, I surveyed the crowd and found everyone still looking at me with mixed emotions on their faces. Shock, surprise, disbelief, and joy were just a few of the emotions I could name.
My wandering gaze landed straight ahead, right where Sophia and Philip stood. On the same stage, six good-looking men wearing their best clothes stood. Even from afar, I could still see their heads turned in my direction.
As though finally recovering from shock, the crowd parted, revealing the long red carpet extending to the front of the stage.
As though my feet had minds of their own, they moved across the red carpet when I saw an old woman waiting for me. There was something about her that made me continue to walk forward despite my hesitation.
The more I walked, the closer we became, and the clearer her face became to me. At first, I thought that my imagination was playing tricks on me and that we didn’t really look alike. However, when the remaining distance between us was gone, one thing became clear to me: I looked so much like her.
My feet finally pulled to a stop, and when I did, the violent thump inside my chest resounded in my ears. As I looked up, I became aware of the overwhelming rush of emotions that took me by surprise when my gaze met the old woman’s.
The look of undeniable familiarity swept over me when my gaze met hers. She indeed looked like me. Looking closely at her now felt like staring at the older version of myself.
For a fleeting moment, my world was shaken as I stood staring straight at her—she unbelievably looked so much like me—that sixty years from now, I could imagine myself looking exactly like her when I reached her age.
Even her eyes looked exactly like mine, like a carbon copy, except her eyes bore the intelligence and humility of her age. Her left eye was a brilliant emerald green, and the right was the color of a beautiful blue ocean.
Could it be—could it be that I’m related to her?
A dozen emotions awakened inside me: bafflement, confusion, anxiety, excitement, puzzlement.
The same shocked expression on the woman’s face mirrored my own. We stared at each other for a long time until she spoke and broke the silence.
“Is that you, Lilibeth?” the old woman asked in a shaky whisper. Tears glimmered in her eyes as she surveyed my face.
She was a stranger to me, and yet I felt as though I had known her all my life. Hearing her speak made me want to burst into unexplainable tears.
“Are you real? Please don’t tell me that my eyes are playing tricks on me, or it will break my heart,” she continued. Unable to contain her emotions, she lifted her hands and touched my cheeks. The old woman closed her eyes as she savored the moment.
“I hope when I open my eyes, you’re still here. We’ve spent twenty-four years of our lives looking for you. Please don’t disappear again, Lilibeth. It would break our hearts if you do.”
Slowly, she opened her eyes again. Despite her tears, a sweet smile stretched across her lips as she looked at me. “You’re here, and you’re real,” she added tenderly.
“W-who are you?” I finally found my voice and asked.
“I’m your grandmother,” she replied. Unable to contain herself any longer, she wrapped me in her arms.
This feels strange. I’m being hugged by a stranger who looks like me, but why does it feel as though I’m home? Why does her hug feel soft and warm? Why do I crave this feeling and revel in it? And above all, why am I crying now? I thought to myself as I realized tears were falling down my cheeks like a waterfall.
My hands, as though they had minds of their own, hugged her back.
The hug lasted longer since we both didn’t want the magical moment to end. As I hugged her, a blissful contentment swept over me. It was like coming home after a long, endless journey.
“Lilibeth!” a woman’s voice called. Though I didn’t recognize her, my heart jolted at the sound of her voice.
Gently, I untangled myself from the old woman’s embrace and whirled in the direction of the voice, finding myself looking at Sophia Phoenix.
"I thought I would never see you alive again. The Lord has granted my prayers and brought you here.” Tears welled in her eyes. Before I could react, she crossed the distance between us and wrapped me in her warm embrace.
“My daughter!” Sophia sobbed as she held me in her arms.
My mind told me this could be a mistake, that I wasn't Lilibeth, but my heart strangely believed I could be their missing daughter, even though I had no proof.
Despite my doubts, I let my emotions get the best of me and hugged Sophia back.
Something that resembled joy and contentment swelled in my heart. This feels like a dream—a beautiful dream I wish I’ll never wake up from.
"I thought I would never see you again, Lilibeth,” Sophia continued. She framed my face with her delicate fingers. “I'm grateful you're here. We will never allow you to leave us again,” she added, and I had never seen a woman more determined than Sophia Phoenix looked now.
“Could I have my turn now?” Philip politely cut in as he looked at me. He wasn’t crying, but his eyes were red as he tried to contain the tears.
Sophia stepped aside to give her husband space. Philip Phoenix smiled at me tenderly, the way I imagined a father looking at his daughter. He crossed the gap between us, then wordlessly hugged me tight.
When the hug ended, he laid a soft kiss on my temples, then looked deep into my eyes and whispered, "I'll make them pay for what they did to you. From now on, spread your wings and fly high into the sky and show them what a Phoenix you are. Welcome home, my daughter.”
YOU ARE READING
Billionaire's Pregnant Ex-wife
Romance[COMPLETED] Lily De Silva had been married to the devilishly handsome CEO of Bradford Enterprises for four years, but their marriage came to an abrupt end when he asked for a divorce due to her inability to bear him another son. Reluctantly, she let...
