Chapter 3
Margaret Brown, William's mother, celebrated her sixtieth birthday with a huge, lively party.
They booked twenty tables at the best restaurant in town for the party.
Red arches decorated the courtyard, and festive songs blasted from the loudspeakers.
Everyone in the town who was even remotely related showed up.
William rolled up in his brand-new BMW, with Wendy all dolled up beside him, slowly driving into the courtyard as everyone looked on with envy.
The car door swung open.
William stepped out in a designer suit, looking like he owned the place.
Wendy was in a white dress, her long hair draped over her shoulders, fresh-faced and pure.
As soon as she got out, everyone gasped in awe.
"Wow, William really is something. This new girl's even prettier than those TV stars!"
"Yeah, way better than the last one! Julia always had that cold look, like someone owed her money."
"Exactly! This one looks so cheerful, like she brings good luck."
All the flattery from the relatives made William's ego swell with pride.
He strutted through the crowd, holding Wendy's hand, heading straight for the main hall.
Margaret was sitting in a grand chair, dressed in a red traditional outfit, her face glowing as she accepted birthday wishes from the younger generation.
When she saw her son walk in with a girl who looked like a fairy, her face lit up with joy, every wrinkle smiling.
"Mom!" William called out, his voice ringing through the hall. "I'm back! May you enjoy many more wonderful years ahead."
"Oh, my precious boy!" Margaret exclaimed, her voice trembling with emotion.
She stood up, grabbed William's hand, but she couldn't take her eyes off Wendy for a second.
"And who is this young lady?" Margaret asked, her voice full of curiosity.
"Mom, let me introduce you," William said.
He looked proud as he brought Wendy up to Margaret. "Her name's Wendy Foster. She's my girlfriend.
"We're getting married.
"From now on, she'll be your daughter-in-law!"
Margaret's smile grew even wider.
She looked Wendy up and down, liking what she saw more and more.
"Good, good!" Margaret said, her voice full of excitement as she grabbed Wendy's hand. "Such a lovely girl. So beautiful.
"Come on, have a seat."
The relatives crowded around, all talking at once, showering Wendy with compliments and words of luck.
Wendy felt like she was floating on air from all the attention, her cheeks pink as she gave a shy but graceful smile.
"Glad to meet you, Mrs. Brown," Wendy said, her voice sweet and respectful.
That greeting made Margaret's heart melt with happiness.
She quickly took off the gold bracelet William had just bought her and started slipping it onto Wendy's wrist.
She said, "Oh, it's our first time meeting, and I didn't really have anything fancy ready.
"Here, take this bracelet. Just a little something from me as a welcome gift."
This was the highest honor in the town.
It meant the matriarch had given her full approval to her future daughter-in-law.
Wendy tried to refuse, but after a little coaxing, she let herself be convinced and took the bracelet.
William stood off to the side, watching Margaret and Wendy getting along so well, and for a moment, he felt like he was on top of the world.
But then, just as Margaret was about to slip the gold bracelet onto Wendy's wrist, something caught her attention.
Her gaze drifted to the area just behind Wendy's ear.
There, she spotted a small, red mole.
It was so tiny, barely noticeable.
But in that instant, Margaret's smile completely froze.
She stopped in her tracks.
It was like the whole world had hit pause.
She looked up, her gaze fixed on Wendy's face, staring hard.
This time, she scrutinized every detail, examining her as if searching for something hidden.
Her brows, her eyes, the bridge of her nose, her lips. Margaret took in every detail, searching Wendy's face.
That face, so unfamiliar at first, slowly overlapped with the childlike, dirt-smudged face from Margaret's distant memories.
It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.
Margaret's complexion instantly drained from rosy to ghostly pale.
Her lips started to tremble.
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
Her hand, still holding Wendy's, started shaking uncontrollably.
"Mrs. Brown? Are you okay?" Wendy asked, startled by Margaret's reaction.
The relatives around them started to sense something was wrong.
The noisy courtyard slowly fell silent.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Margaret.
"Mom? Are you okay? Are you overwhelmed?" William, clearly panicked, moved quickly to help Margaret.
But Margaret shoved him away.
Her eyes were filled with a kind of fear and horror she'd never shown before.
It was like she'd seen a ghost in the middle of the day.
Margaret trembled, shakily pointing at Wendy, whose face was pure innocence, and then slowly turned to her son.
The whole courtyard went silent.
All they could hear was Margaret's rough, rapid breaths.
Finally, Margaret managed to force out a broken sentence, her voice so shaky that it sounded like dry leaves scraping together. "S-She didn't tell you about that?"