Facade of Love

Chapter 354 She’s Not Like Me
“You know, she wasn’t always alone. Director Williams told me she had been dropped off at the orphanage four or five times
before they finally took her in. Her parents had a baby boy six months ago,
and with everything getting too much for them, they decided they could not look after her anymore. They tried to abandon her
somewhere unfamiliar, but some kind–hearted soul kept bringing her back. Somehow, her folks found out that the orphanage
would take in kids with nowhere to go, so they bent over backward trying to leave her there. Since her parents were still around,
the orphanage could not really keep her. She ended up on their doorstep a bunch of times. But there was a twist of fate, though.
Her parents were so set on dumping her at the orphanage that they never saw what was coming. Three months back, while they
were on their way to another city, planning to leave her and just take her little brother back, they got hit by this huge truck. All
three of them were gone. Just like that, she was truly on her own and got into the orphanage without any more fuss.”
Yesterday, when Maxwell was handing out presents, Ariel picked out a Spiderman backpack. I could not help but watch her a
little closer. Director Williams caught me looking and filled me in on her story.
My heart just sank. She did not even care about Spiderman. She just kept gazing at that backpack, probably thinking she would
save it for her little brother. Perhaps in her mind, she believed that by giving him the best present, her parents would not leave
her behind again.
“So, you came all this way today because you feel sorry for her and wanted to throw her a birthday party?” Charlie asked, his
voice as calm as still water.
I bit my lip and shook my head. “Yeah. She’s so understanding and never did anything wrong, yet she’s been tossed aside over
and over again. She still can’t figure out why her parents don’t like her and why they don’t want her. She’s just waiting patiently
and hopefully in the orphanage, dreaming that maybe her parents will come back for her one day.”
Charlie’s gaze was icy, his voice detached as he said, “I see.”

I shot Charlie a look, feeling like he was just trying to get under my skin. “You...” I started, but then I clamped my mouth shut. I
almost forgot what Inch had told me, that Charlie was a child who was once abandoned too.
His feelings had to be even more complicated than mine. His cool front was because he was the one who had been ditched, and
sometimes, when people tried to be kind, their pride would just kick in. He would feel like he was the one being pitied, so it made
him squirm.
I held back the rest of what I wanted to say and pressed my lips together. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to
be there for Ariel from now on. My dad supported a kid once, and I can do the same.”
He gave me a sidelong glance, a frown creasing his forehead. “You want to support her?”
I nodded firmly. “Yeah. Even if I can’t adopt her and bring her into my family, I can still be there for her. I’ll do everything I can to
help her grow up to be an amazing person. I won’t abandon her, and neither, will Director Williams. Moreover, there are plenty of
others like me who will not leave her behind. Her future is going to be so much brighter than if she had stayed with her birth
family.”
As I spoke with all the fire I could muster, Charlie’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “Yvette, do
Chapter 354 She’s Not Like Me
you think you’re some kind of hero? A saint, maybe?”
2.2
I knew Charlie had a gloom about him, but I did not argue. Instead, I looked him in the eye and said, “That’s not it. You’re proof
that it’s possible. You didn’t grow up with your parents, but look at you now–you’re amazing and a role model to so many kids.

Ariel can do the same.”
“I’m not like her,” Charlie cut in, his voice icing over.
Confused, I bit my lip. “How so?”
Silence hung heavy between us. At last, he shot me a sidelong glance, his eyes a deep, cold black. “You wouldn’t get it,” he
murmured.
Just four little words shut me up. I did not know Charlie’s history. He never talked about it, so how could I?
Digging into someone’s past was not my thing, especially when it was clear that the past was a wound for them. Asking Charlie
about it would be like ripping open his scars.