Chapter 367 - Yenay
*Flashback*
Back when Raelle was born, the country was in unrest and everything was chaotic. Neither Raelle's father, Xiang Hulin nor Raelle's mother, Song Xin'ai expected that their argument would lead to the disappearance of their daughter. The worst part of that situation was that the couple were the last ones to even know that their daughter had been kidnapped.
Elder Xiang Tianyu and his wife, Wanda Wu did everything in their power to find their granddaughter. Even Mu Chenyan couldn't sit still at that time.
At that time, Song Xin'ai was given a choice. She could save her daughter, she just had to give up her research. But Dr. Song Xin'ai had been a stubborn woman, to begin with. She had staked even her marriage for her work. How could she not give up on her own flesh and blood? In fact, it was too easy for her to give up on her newborn daughter.
She might have hesitated a little if it was her elder daughter who had been kidnapped but it was the daughter she didn't even hold in her arms yet. Just because she nurtured the fetus for nine months, was it enough to build a bond strong enough for her to care? It definitely wasn't.
"You really won't even try to save our daughter?" Xiang Hulin had asked his wife.
Song Xin'ai gave him a distasteful look as she said, "You're a soldier yourself. Are you telling me that daughter is more important than our country?"
"I don't even want to compare those two things," answered Xiang Hulin. "But you've really opened my eyes today. The way you're so ready to give up on our daughter is enough to show just how much you have come to hate our relationship." He turned to leave and added, "I'll sign the divorce papers. Because now I know there really is nothing left between us for me to fight for."
While Song Xin'ai was willing to give up on her daughter, the rest of the Xiang family wasn't. Especially, Raelle's grandmother, Wanda Wu. She did everything in her power to get her granddaughter back.
It's a pity that she lost her life while saving her granddaughter. However, she had no regrets. She was the one who had put Raelle covered in the blood of her own into Mu Chenyan's hands and told her, "Yanyan, you're my favorite daughter in the world. You know that, right?"
Mu Chenyan nodded her head as she held that small baby who didn't even cry. With trembling hands, Madam Xiang touched baby Raelle's cheeks as she said, "Let's name her Yenay. Yenay; one who loves because I want her to be filled with love." Looking up at Mu Chenyan, she had added, "And you, stay with her. You don't have to give her anything, just make sure she knows that you're always there for her."
Mu Chenyan nodded her head once again, "You get well soon, Auntie. We'll take care of her together. We'll love her together."
Madam Xiang shook her head, "You and I both know that's not possible."
"Mom..."
Madam Xiang looked at her son and said, "And you... Don't ever show up in front of her."
"Mom?" Xiang Hulin was shocked. "She is my daughter."
"Well, she isn't from this day forward!" Madam Xiang was also a strong-headed person, she'd never back off from her stance. "You and your wife only had this daughter in hope that she'd be able to save your marriage. Now, your marriage is already an endgame. So, forget about this child as well. I don't want you or your wife around her. You both don't deserve to be her parents."
Madam Xiang held her husband's hand and made him promise, "Tiantian, you have to promise me. You'll never let this son of ours get close to our granddaughter. I don't want even their shadows to come close to her. You take her away from here. Far away from such parents who can't even protect their own daughter!"
Xiang Hulin fell down on his knees as he begged, "Mom, I know I'm wrong. I'm begging you. Please, don't punish me in this way. You can beat me as much as you want. But don't take my right of being a father. You can't do this to me. Please!" Even at that age, he cried like a child before his mother.
But Madam Xiang who had always loved her son the most was quite stubborn till her last breath. She said she'd never let him have the right to be Raelle's father and that's exactly what she did.
No matter how Xiang Hulin begged for forgiveness, no matter how long he kneeled for, even until her last breath, she wasn't willing to forgive her son. And Elder Xiang was not ready to break the promise he gave to his wife on her death bed. That became the reason why he took Raelle away from this country that he loved so much.
It just couldn't be helped, he loved his wife too much and that love transferred to Raelle. The granddaughter that his wife saved at the cost of her own life. And because he loved these two people so much that he was even more unwilling to be soft-hearted before his son who had been begging for forgiveness for decades now.
The biggest problem was that Xiang Tianyu lost his wife just because Xiang Hulin and his wife couldn't sort out their relationship and ended up putting their daughter's life at stake. And whenever he thought about his wife's death, he was even more unwilling to forgive his only son.
That day, everyone lost something in their life. If there was someone who actually gained something then that person had to be Mu Chenyan who was left holding that small and soft baby who continued to blink her eyes at her without knowing anything. And just like that, that small baby managed to charm Mu Chenyan's, cold heart.
*End of Flashback*