Chapter 343: "Bella, Your Mom Is Missing!

Chapter 343: Chapter 343: "Bella, Your Mom Is Missing!

Renee Jennings was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. Yawning, she sat up and turned to see Rhea Dempsey asleep on the sofa. The cats and dogs were also sprawled out, fast asleep, and even the slider turtle was snoozing peacefully.

A smile touched her lips. She took out her phone, snapped a picture, and tiptoed to the sofa. Gently, she tapped Rhea’s arm. "Mom."

"Hmm?" Rhea blearily opened her eyes and looked at her. "What is it?"

The furry little ones nearby heard the sound, but they were too sleepy. They opened their eyes for a moment before drifting off again.

Renee whispered, "Go sleep in your room."

Hearing this, Rhea paused for a few seconds, blinked, and sat up. Her voice was nasal as she asked, "Are you done with your work?"

"I am," Renee nodded.

Rhea yawned and stood up. "Then you should get to bed."

Renee reached out to steady her and asked casually, "Do you want to sleep in my room? So you don’t wake Dad up."

"Your dad sleeps like a log..." Rhea started, then suddenly trailed off before saying cheerfully, "Sure."

’It’s been so long since I’ve slept with my daughter.’

Rhea followed Renee to her room. Lying on the soft bed, she suddenly didn’t feel sleepy anymore.

Renee lifted the covers, lay down beside her, and switched off the wall lamp. The room was instantly plunged into darkness.

Rhea pursed her lips, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "Renee, do you really not plan on acknowledging your birth parents?"

At her words, Renee’s closed eyes opened again. She stared at the dark ceiling and said softly, "They don’t need me, and I don’t need them."

"How do you know they don’t need you?"

"If they needed me, would they really act like this?"

Rhea opened her mouth, but for a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.

"Their attitude is different from yours, Mom," Renee said. "With Phoebe Sawyer, it’s just because she’s too far away. If she were closer, I know you’d go find her immediately."

"I... I’m not so sure I would," Rhea said in a low voice.

Renee laughed, turned over, and affectionately hugged her arm. "Don’t I know you? Don’t worry about me getting jealous or angry. Just like you, I also hope there’s one more person in the world who treats you well."

Rhea suddenly felt her eyes burn, and a moist fog welled up in them.

She bit her lip, forcing the tears back.

The room fell silent. Renee could easily discern her mother’s current emotions from the sound of her breathing.

"Mom." She raised a hand to her mother’s face, her fingertips touching the coolness of a tear. "Are these tears of joy?"

"They are." Rhea was crying and laughing at the same time. "My mischievous daughter has become so considerate. It makes me happy."

She paused, then added, "Actually, you can be a little more selfish about this."

"Why should I be?" Renee said. "I think having an older or younger sister would be nice, too."

"You saying that reminds me... when I was little, I always wished I was an only child, but when I grew up, I wished I had more siblings."

"Exactly. That’s how I feel now. It feels like having more siblings would make things livelier."

"Well, the Mor..." Rhea started to say that the Morgan family had a brother, but she felt it wasn’t appropriate. It felt like she was pushing Renee away.

Renee noticed she’d stopped after one word and asked, "Why’d you stop?"

"I suddenly forgot what I was going to say." Rhea feigned annoyance. "My memory is so bad."

"That’s normal. It happens to me sometimes, and I’m still young."

"Are you saying I’m old?"

"Well, you are fifty-three, but you look forty at most. You’ve taken great care of yourself."

"Hmph, I can’t tell if you’re calling me old or complimenting me on looking young!"

"Is it possible it’s both?"

"Oh, get out of here!"

Renee chuckled, closed her eyes, and said, "Mom, I’m sleepy."

"Then go to sleep." Rhea turned on her side and began gently, rhythmically patting her shoulder. "Mom will help you sleep."

The corners of Renee’s mouth lifted as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Dalton Jenson woke up to find no trace of Rhea having slept beside him. Panicked, he rushed out of the room.

"Rae?" he yelled as he ran. "Rae, where did you go?"

Diana Jennings was on the first floor preparing breakfast. Hearing Dalton, she looked up toward the second floor. "Dad, what’s wrong?"

"Diana, your mom’s gone!" Dalton gripped the railing, looking down. "Have you seen your mom?"

Diana shook her head. "No. Wasn’t Mom in the room?"

"No." Dalton was frantic. "She didn’t come back to the room last night! Where could she have gone? I didn’t even make her mad last night. She wouldn’t just run away from home, would she?"

The cats and dogs, who had been sleeping in the study, also ran out, their furry faces etched with anxiety.

Blueberry: ’What’s going on? Is Mom missing?’

Cici: ’How could Mom be missing?’

Bella: ’Could Mom be in danger?’

Pippi: ’Did a bad guy kidnap Mom?’

Eggy: ’But Mom was watching Renee’s stream with us last night...’

Hearing her father, Diana grew anxious too. "Dad, try not to panic. I’ll give Mom a call."

"Right, give her a call," Dalton said, hurrying downstairs.

Rhea pulled open the door. Seeing his hurried back, she felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. "I’m right here!"

Dalton stopped in his tracks and looked back. The heart that had jumped into his throat instantly fell back into place.

His eyes red, he ran upstairs, crying, "You scared me to death!"

The furry little ones saw Rhea standing perfectly fine at the door to Renee’s room and let out a collective sigh of relief.

’That’s great, Mom’s okay!’

’Mom wasn’t kidnapped by a bad guy!’

...

Dalton threw himself at Rhea and hugged her. "Why didn’t you come back to bed last night? WAHHH..."

He cried like a child.

Rhea laughed so hard her crow’s feet showed. "Was all that really necessary?"

"It was!" Dalton retorted aggrievedly. "Of course it was! I saw you didn’t come back to bed last night, and it scared the soul out of me!"

"You have no nerve at all! Aren’t you embarrassed?" Although Rhea was teasing him, her heart felt sweet.

Blocked in her doorway by the embracing couple, Renee raised an eyebrow. "Can you give a single person a break?"

"Don’t be jealous," Rhea said smugly. "Not every man is as clingy as your father."

Renee couldn’t help but laugh. "Rae, you seem to be enjoying it, though."

"Not at all," Rhea immediately retorted, afraid Dalton would notice.

Dalton must have been truly terrified. He even took two hours off work that morning and stuck to his wife like glue.

Renee couldn’t even bear to watch. She spent two hours complaining to Diana on WeChat.

When the two hours were up, Dalton reluctantly left home.

"Dad looks totally lovesick," Renee commented, watching his back as he kept looking over his shoulder.