Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Unwanted
“Most of them have homes they live in, with their parents or relatives who were kind enough to take them in,” Daniella explained as she led Amelia down the street.

The more they journeyed, the rougher the roads looked. Some of the lightbulbs were already flickering, and if it weren’t for the fact that it was in the middle of the day, Amelia would’ve been blind as a bat.

“But there are some who don’t have parents or relatives who are able to care for them,” Daniella continued, sighing. “So they live in the orphanage. It’s just down the street, and where I mainly am stationed for work.”

At the end of the road was a small building. It was about three floors up with a rickety front gate and walls that looked like they had seen better days. For one thing, the paint was peeling off. For another, wherever the paint still stuck to the cement, there was mold.

A few younger children played outside on the front lawn, and when they saw Daniella, bright smiles quickly erupted on their faces. However, the moment they caught sight of Amelia, those smiles dimmed quickly. They all but got up and dashed into the orphanage, slamming the doors behind them.

“They’re not very friendly, are they,” Amelia commented, frowning. She didn’t care that the children weren’t friendly to her. However, if this was how they were like on a daily basis, it wouldn’t be good for their adoption chances.

“They’re not,” Daniella agreed with a sigh. “Which is why it’s difficult to pull funds for the foundation. The children are mainly just shy, but the teenagers…” Daniella exhaled loudly again. Through the walk here, it seemed like she had aged a decade. “Well, you’ll understand when you meet them.”

Daniella pushed open the gates and Amelia followed her into the orphanage. The moment she stepped into the front doors, a soccer ball came soaring in her direction. Amelia gasped, swerving to one side just in the nick of time before the ball could bust her nose. It went flying right out the open door and onto the road.

Thankfully, there were barely any cars in the area. It bounced a short distance away before coming to an eventual stop.

“Carlo, that is not very nice!” Daniella immediately chided.

That was when Amelia looked up to see where Daniella was staring, just in time to see a teenager leaning against the railings with his friends, peering down from the second floor. All three boys looked around sixteen to seventeen, and they wore cocky grins on their faces.

“Shame,” the one in the middle said, whom Amelia assumed to be Carlo. Even from a distance, he looked awfully familiar, but Amelia couldn’t quite place her finger on where she had seen that face before. “I was aiming for her head.”

“Do you think she will cry like the last one when the ball messes with her hair?” the brown-haired boy beside him asked with a laugh.

“Maybe she will run just like her, crying for her mommy and grandpa to help her,” the last boy said, slapping his knee as he chuckled, his red curls swaying as he moved.

Amelia raised an eyebrow. Were they talking about Emmeline?

“Jason, Leo, watch it,” Daniella hissed. “This is Miss Amelia Kentwood. She’s here to fund―”

“Yeah yeah, Miss Daniella, we know,” the red-haired boy said. “Amelia Kentwood, the missing Hawthorne heiress. Hey, wasn’t the last one a Hawthorne bitch as well?” He turned to his friends and chuckled.

“Leo!”

Amelia held out a hand to stop Daniella when she made a move of wanting to dash up and give the boys a piece of her mind. Instead, Amelia stepped forward and smiled warmly at the boys. Seeing that she wasn’t offended in the least bit, the boys’ laughter slowed down before they all looked at Amelia.

From where they were, they were like hawks watching their prey from the branches above. However, Amelia was patient.

“How nice that introductions aren’t needed, then,” Amelia finally said. “I would hate to have to explain my awkward situation all over again.”

That was enough to shut them up for now. Their expressions turned serious, not uttering a word. Amelia took that as a chance to continue. Inside her pocket, she felt her phone beep, but she paid it no mind.

“Was Emmeline the person you mentioned?” Amelia innocently asked, tilting her head to one side.

Carlo, Leo, and Jason exchanged a look before Jason finally nodded.

That made Amelia smile even brighter.

“Oh, I would’ve loved to watch that happen,” she muttered. But even so, she made sure her voice was loud enough for the boys to hear.

At first, the three teenagers’ eyebrows shot up to meet their hairline. There were many people who had entered the orphanage― adults who were keen on adopting, wealthy businessmen and their families, and even children who tagged along with their parents to choose a sibling. However, every single last one of them was a stick in the mud.

As such, Amelia’s comment was different than what they expected.

“Boring,” Carlo uttered under his breath before rolling his eyes. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his washed-out jeans before turning, disappearing down the corridor and out of view. The other two boys trailed after him, casting Amelia one last look before running off.

“I am so very sorry about that, Miss Kentwood,” Daniella said with a sigh. She raised a hand and wiped off the beads of perspiration that had formed on her forehead. “These boys… they’re…”

Daniella closed her eyes before exhaling deeply. When she opened them again, her gaze was filled with sadness.

“They joined the orphanage a little later in their lives,” Daniella explained. “They have been here since they were ten, and now at sixteen, it’s difficult to find families for them when parents would usually want younger children.”

She then looked in the direction of the second floor.

“At first they were hopeful, but after being sent back here a couple of times for all sorts of reasons, they eventually gave up hope.” Daniella’s lips wobbled a little. “Carlo, especially. He’s been to five different foster homes. The shortest he stayed in one was for three days. None of them were willing to keep him for more than a month, except for one family, who kept him for a year.”

There was a pregnant pause before she continued.

“It was with the Waltons.”