Daddy, We Have Found Mommy

Daphne Anderson forced her eyes open, only to find herself breaking out in cold sweat.

She covered her burning forehead with her palms. It had already been five years since that incident.

Why would she still dream about something that had happened such a long time ago?

She rose from her bed and walked towards the bathroom to wash her face. She felt refreshed after splashing her face with cold water.

Holding on to a cup, she went downstairs to retrieve some water.

"No! I don't want to do it! I don't want to be married to that perverted old man!"

"The third son of the Russell family is an old and ugly man! Everyone knows about that! No woman in Stafford dares to get married to that man!"

"He was involved in a fire accident five years ago. Besides ruining his face, that fire also changed his personality! He's a monster inside out! I heard that he likes torturing his previous two girlfriends as well. You can't just marry me off to this monster!"

A woman was shouting from the top of her lungs in the living room. "Plus, I shouldn't be the one to be married off to him. Daphne should do it instead. She's not even a virgin anymore! She has given birth before, so I'm sure she is a lot more experienced in this field! Daphne should be honored to be given this opportunity!"

"Dorothy!"

Dorothy's father, Caleb Anderson scolded her in a stern tone, "Daphne is your sister!"

Dorothy Anderson gritted her teeth and said with a cracking voice, "Dad, I'm your biological daughter, not Daphne. She's just someone whom you mistook for as your biological daughter when we were born. Because of her, I had to endure living a poor life for the past 18 years! Now that I'm back to the Anderson family, I've built my own career from scratch. You can't just force me to marry this man now!"

"She's right."

Evelyn Scott, who was standing at the side, added on, "Dorothy has created a name for herself in the business industry. She is our pride and honor. How can we sacrifice her just like that?"

"Besides, we've raised Daphne for 23 years. It's time for her to repay our kindness."

After Evelyn finished speaking, the family of three looked at Daphne, who was standing on the second floor.

Daphne fingers turned white from tightening her grip on her cup.

Everything was clear to her now.

The Anderson family wanted to establish good relations with the Russell family. However, they didn't want to send off Dorothy for the task. That was why they were thinking of sacrificing Daphne for the marriage.

Daphne heaved in a deep breath and walked downstairs. Then, she reached out her hand at Caleb and said, "Let's discuss the terms and conditions for this."

Caleb was confused as he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"If you want me to pay off my debts by getting married to that man, it's only fair for me to set up a contract between us. If I don't do this, I'm sure you'll still use the same excuse to force me to do all sorts of things for the Anderson family."

Caleb was shocked when he heard that. The rest of the family were stunned as well.

"You don't want to do it? Fine."

Grabbing a paper and pen, Daphne wrote down a few lines of words and signed the contract. "You don't have to put on an act around me anymore. I agree to get married in Dorothy's stead."

After Daphne finished speaking, she went straight to the kitchen to get some water. Then, she walked upstairs.

Dorothy rushed towards the table and took the piece of paper.

Everything was written in black and white.

"I, Daphne Anderson, have hereby cleared my debts. I have repaid the Anderson family's kindness of raising me for 23 years by getting married to the Anderson family."

Everything went as the Anderson wanted. It was almost unbelievable.

Dorothy looked up and stared at Daphne, who was walking up the stairs. She muttered, "Mum, is Daphne out of her mind? Is she really abandoning her boyfriend by agreeing to this?"

Almost instantly, Evelyn covered Dorothy's mouth with her hand. Then, she looked up at Daphne. She was worried that Daphne might change her mind.

However, Daphne had heard everything.

She laughed bitterly. Two days ago, she still had a boyfriend, who was in a relationship with her for 6 years. Her boyfriend was a good person who was willing to give up everything for her.

But now, everything perished in front of her eyes.

Daphne thought that it didn't matter who her marriage partner was. After all, the only difference was that she would only be living in another place.

......

Three days later, Daphne arrived at the Russell family.

Mr. Russell did not register their marriage right away. Instead, he wanted her to live in the family's villa for a period of time before making the decision.

Although none of the women in Stafford was willing to be married to this man, Mr. Valentine wouldn't just marry any other woman either. In other words, he was also a picky man.

Caleb informed Daphne that she must establish a good relationship with Mr. Russell. After they got married, Caleb hoped that the Russell would provide funding for Anderson's Group.

At night.

Daphne sat inside the bedroom quietly as she waited for Mr. Russell arrival.

"Pop!" After she heard that sound, the entire villa was shrouded in darkness. It seemed like there was a power outage.

Facing the total darkness, Daphne trembled with fear.

She was really afraid of the dark.

After what happened to her five years ago, she was terrified of the dark. She would even need to switch on her night light at her bedside for her to fall asleep peacefully.

Now that she was in a new environment, she was already worried in the first place. She couldn't believe that there would be a power failure the moment she entered the household.

Subconsciously, Daphne hugged her knees as she shivered in the dark.

She was so terrified that she didn't even notice that the door swung open.

In pitch-black darkness, she could feel something touching her legs and it got onto her hands as well.

A cold and slimy substance was rubbing on her hands continuously.

All of a sudden, Daphne's complexion turned pale and the blood drained from her face.

She let out a scream of fright as she retreated backward. As she was backing off, she hit her back against the ice-cold wall. It was so painful that she almost fainted.

In the dark, the unknown creature kept crawling towards her.

A low and hoarse voice echoed into the air as it said, "My wife, my beloved wife, I'm... I'm your husband..."

All of a sudden, the lights in the room lit up.

Finally, Daphne could see the creature in front of her.

It was a man with a distorted face!

Looking closely, he didn't resemble a man at all...

The man had a hunched back and he looked like a dwarf. Even his hands and legs were in black. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with his arms and legs.

Clad in a bathrobe, he laid on the bed as he stared at her with his black and hollow eyes.

His face...

That wasn't a face at all. There were a lot of scars on it and his facial features were contorted in different angles. He looked like a monster from the depths of hell!

"Ahhhh!"

Even though Daphne was mentally prepared to meet Mr. Russell, she couldn't suppress her fear when she saw the creature in front of her calling out her name.

Mr. Russell giggled as he said, "Oh my pretty wife, why are you screaming? Are you afraid of me?"

"You've already agreed to get married to me..."

Daphne was almost going crazy!

Shivering from head to toe, she crawled down the bed frantically as she stormed outside. She wouldn't even dare to look back as she ran.

Daphne was so frantic that she didn't even realize that she had knocked into a flower pot in the corridor and hurt herself.

"Hahaha!"

When Daphne disappeared into the hallway, the 'man' on the bed crawled out from his bathrobe. He took off his mask and gloves, revealing his mischievous and adorable face. "Don't even dream about being my mother!"

The small kid jumped down the bed and ran towards the study excitedly. Then, he said, "Bro, I scared another woman away!"

In the study, a little boy, who looked exactly the same as him, lowered his head as he read his book. He replied in a soft tone, "Okay."

The little kid felt angry as he sat on his chair. He said unhappily, "Do you even care for our daddy? It's obvious that he refuses to get married, but grandpa still insists on finding him another fiancé. This is the third one, you know?"

The kid's brother raised his eyebrows as he replied, "Yeah." He seemed unusually mature for his young age.

The little kid was speechless when he heard his brother's reply.

Though his brother was smart, he had a cold personality and he didn't like to talk much. The boy was exactly like his father!

The little kid flattened his lips and ran towards the main study on the third floor. He pushed the door and said, "Mr. Sebastian Russell, I have to say, I'm not impressed by your third fiancé!"

The study was brightly lit.

A man was sitting at the main desk. Beneath his white sleeve, he wore an exquisite watch that matched his manly demeanor.

Lowering his head while reading his documents, he had defined facial features with a pronounced jawline.

After he flipped through a page, he said, "Retract the funds I distributed to Anderson's Group tomorrow."

The butler bowed his head and said respectfully, "Yes."

After that, the butler hesitated as he tried to take back his words, "Sir, I think... Miss Anderson seems different than the previous two candidates."

During the day, it was the butler who invited Daphne into the house.

She looked very pure and innocent with her bright eyes. On first impression, she seemed like a likable woman with no ulterior motives in mind.

When Daphne first arrived at the Russell family, she didn't talk a lot. The only thing she asked was what Mr. Valentine liked and disliked.

It seemed that she didn't care about the rumors at all.

Ever since Sebastian Russell kids spread the rumors about his crazy personality and his disfigured face, it was impossible to find a woman who was bold enough to be Sebastian's wife.

The butler didn't want his master to miss the opportunity to meet a fine woman like Daphne.

However, Sebastian, who was sitting at the main desk, didn't seem fazed at all. He said, "She couldn't even pass that one simple test. She's just the same as the others."

The butler was speechless.

To the butler, that wasn't a simple test at all.

Even a 50-year-old man like him would tremble with fear every time he saw Mr. Russell's younger son, Damien's hideous costume, let alone a woman in her early twenties!

The butler sighed. If Mr. Russell continued to act like this, when would he find himself a girlfriend?

The butler was worried for Sebastian.

Right at this moment, the doorbell rang.

Trembling from head to toe, Daphne pressed on the doorbell.

To tell the truth, she really did run far away from the house just now.

Daphne was afraid of the dark in the first place. When she thought of the monster she saw in the brightly lit room, a chill went down her spine.

However, once she calmed down, she felt guilty about her actions.

From the very beginning, she knew that Sebastian was a disfigured man with a twisted personality after the fire incident.

Since she agreed to this marriage, she should keep her promise.

After thinking about it for a long time, she finally came back.

When she pressed the doorbell with a pale complexion, her heart was drumming against her chest.

She didn't have the guts to face Mr. Russell anymore.

However, Daphne knew that she must overcome her fears because she would be living with him in the future.

After the doorbell rang for a while, someone opened the door.

Unexpectedly, the person who opened the door was not Mr. Russell, nor was it the housekeepers or the butler. It was a handsome young boy, who looked around 4 to 5 years old.

There was only one villa around the area. If it wasn't because of that, Daphne would have thought that she. went to the wrong house.

The little boy glanced at Daphne. Then, he turned into the living room. He pointed at the sofa and gestured for Daphne to sit down.

Daphne pursed her lips. Although she didn't know where the little boy came from, she could sense that he didn't mean any harm.

Still shivering from the shock, Daphne sat down on the sofa. Then, the young boy poured her a glass of hot water.

"Thank you."

Holding the glass of water, she calmed down gradually.

The little boy glanced at her and walked to the small cabinet from beside. It seemed like he was looking for something.

"Wow."

At the railing of the second floor, Damien, who was the one who scared Daphne just now, widened his eyes in surprise. Looking at the scene downstairs, he said, "I can't believe she actually came back."

"Daddy, do you want me to scare her again?"

Mr. Russell hid his tall figure in the shadows as he looked at the terrified woman downstairs, who was still trembling. Then, he shifted his gaze and looked at his elder son, who was searching for the medicine box. He frowned slightly and said, "Don't scare her."

Since rumors were spreading around about the fire that happened five years ago, a lot of people were aware of Mr. Russell's change in appearance and personality. However, only a few of them knew that he was gifted with a pair of twins after the fire.

His elder son, Brian, had a cold and quiet personality. On the other hand, his younger son, Damien was a mischievous and loud child.

Brian, who was usually indifferent to his surroundings, was making sure that a stranger was comfortable in his house. He even poured water and tended to her injuries.

"Ouch!"

When the cotton, which was soaked in disinfectant touched the wound on her leg, only then did Daphne realize that she hurt her knees from running on the hallway just now.

She lowered her head and looked at the young child tending to her wounds. With the cotton balls in one hand and the disinfectant in the other, Brian actually looked quite serious about the task on hand.

The lights of the exquisite chandelier shone on his pretty eyelashes, which formed small shadows on his face.

She didn't know that a young child like him could be caring towards adults.

Daphne felt really moved by his actions. Even her voice sounded gentle when she said, "Thank you darling, what's your name?"

"Why are you in Mr. Russell's house?"

After he had disinfected her wound, he put a band-aid on it.

"Brian Russell."

When he was done, he looked up at Daphne and said, "That's my name."

Daphne looked at his adorable face and hands. She couldn't suppress the urge to touch his head, but Brian avoided her touch quickly.

He stood up and walked towards the sofa opposite her. Then, he climbed on it and sat down.

Brian looked unusually mature for his young age. He looked at her and asked, "Why did you come back?"

Daphne wondered about that question.

Then, she smiled and replied, "That's because this is my home from now on."

"Mr. Russell will be my husband in the future. That's why I have to come back."

Brian lowered his head and fiddled with his tiny fingers. "Aren't you afraid?"

Daphne paused. How did this child know so much?

However, she still answered seriously, "I am, but I don't have a choice."

"Since I have promised to marry him, I can't go back on my words."

She was a person who kept her promises. Besides, if she screwed this up and failed to get Mr. Russell to invest in Anderson's Group, Caleb would definitely make things difficult for her in the future.

"I... It doesn't matter how bad he looks or how crazy he is. I will try my best to overcome my fears. I will definitely be a good wife to him."

Daphne didn't know why she would say all these to a kid she just met. He probably didn't know what she was talking about.

Perhaps aside from the young child in front of her, she didn't have anyone to talk to in this foreign place.

"He is not ugly."

Brian raised his head and looked into Daphne eyes seriously. Then, he added, "Don't worry."

Daphne didn't know what to say.

Was Brian serious when he said that?

She had witnessed Mr. Russell appearance with her own eyes.

However, it was possible that Mr. Russell didn't want to reveal his face in front of Brian.

She heaved in a deep breath and smiled as she said, "Are you hungry? Let me cook something delicious for you."

Daphne wasn't a talented woman, but she was really good at cooking.

Her heart warmed up when she looked at the cute child in front of her. The only thing she could think of to thank him was cooking him some delicious food.

Brian looked at his watch and said, "You have half an hour."

Daphne was stunned.

"I can't eat anything after eight o'clock. It's seven twenty now."

Daphne stormed into the kitchen in lightening speed.

The kitchen was clean and tidy. And she found enough ingredients and seasonings to be used.

Looking at Daphne, who was working in the kitchen, the two people on the second floor froze.

"Daddy, what do you think she's doing?"

Damien leaned against the staircase railing as he pouted, "Is she trying to use food to win Brian over?"

"Brian is really picky with his food. Everyone knows that."

Sebastian stared at Daphne and something struck his mind.

For some reason, she looked really familiar to him.

Daphne was busy preparing a plate of Japanese-style omelet rice in the kitchen. After spending more than

15 minutes in the kitchen, dinner was served. Aside from the omelet rice, she also prepared some delicious cheese croquettes. "Brian, dinner is ready!"

Brian glanced at the time. There were still 13 minutes left before 8 o'clock.

He jumped off the sofa and walked towards the kitchen slowly. Then, he sat down in the kitchen.

On the second floor, Damien wiped off the saliva on the corner of his lips. He snorted. "I'm sure the food doesn't taste good, though it does smell nice."

"It's delicious."

Brian praised Daphne the moment he put the food inside his mouth. It was as if he had heard Damien's comments from upstairs.

Daphne smiled, "Really? I can prepare more delicacies for you in the future."

Something struck her mind as she asked, "Brian, why are you here so late at night? Where are your parents?"

"Are you Mr. Russell guest?"

Based on the rumors flying around, she was sure that Mr. Russell didn't have children of his own.

Brian frowned and nodded, "Yes, sort of."

"Just as I expected."

Daphne nodded. "Even though he doesn't have good looks, I'm sure he has a kind heart."

Well, considering that Mr. Russell had a child playing around in his house, Daphne felt that he wasn't as crazy as she thought he would be.

"He's not ugly."

Brian took a mouthful of rice and reminded her again in a low voice.

On the second floor, Sebastian squinted his eyes at Damien, who was drooling profusely. It seemed like he was comparing the differences between his two children.

Brian was trying his best to protect Sebastian's reputation. On the other hand, Damien was trying to make the whole world think that his father was an ugly monster.

Damien pouted as he said unhappily, "I don't want a stranger to be my mother."

Sebastian frowned slightly as he turned to leave.

As Brian finished his meal downstairs, it was already 8:10 at night.

He did enjoy his meal to the fullest.

Brian used a small plate to put the remaining cheese croquettes on it, preparing to take them upstairs.

"You should rest early."

When he reached the final flight of stairs, he turned around and looked at Daphne, who was standing rooted to the ground. "Don't worry."

"I will protect you from now on."

Although Brian was a young child with a small figure, he exuded a charismatic aura. He didn't sound or look like a typical 5-year-old at all.

Daphne was stunned for a moment.

When she looked at his small figure from behind, she felt really amused.

Even though she still couldn't get used to her new environment, she wasn't desperate enough to rely on a young child like Brian.

Daphne turned to the kitchen and started cleaning up. Once she was done, she couldn't bring herself to sleep in the terrifying bedroom again.

Finally, she laid on the couch, using her jacket to cover up herself.

In the children's room.

Brian put the plate of delicious cheese croquettes at Damien's bedside.

Damien turned his back and faced the wall. "I won't eat it."

"Oh, okay."

Then, Brian took the plate and put it at the desk beside his own bed.

Damien was speechless.

He muttered unhappily, "Didn't you promise to drive those women away with me? You told me you didn't want a stepmother!"

"How dare you betray my trust! You traitor!"

Brian sat on his bed and glanced at Damien's back. "She's really good at cooking."

"I don't care! She's not our mother!"

Damien scrapped the wallpaper with his fingers unhappily. "I only want my real mother."

On the opposite bed, Brian sighed. He looked at the ceiling and said softly, "But she's dead."

Brian was a lot more mature than Damien. He knew that their mother was never coming back home.

Their father shouldn't be single for the rest of his life either.

That woman downstairs was not a bad candidate.

"She is not dead," Damien muttered.

Damien clenched his fists and shouted, "Mummy is definitely still alive! She's waiting for us to find her!"

Brian closed his eyes and ignored him.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere of the children's room quiet down, with the tantalizing scent of the cheese croquettes wafting in the air.

In the end, Damien climbed down his bed and tiptoed to Brian bedside. Then, he grabbed the plate and munched on the croquettes.

His eyes lit up with joy when the food entered his mouth.

It was really delicious!

It was 10 times better than the food cooked by the maids at home!

"Take the plate downstairs."

When Damien was munching on the second piece, a childish voice echoed from Brian's bed, "Also, I won't allow you to pull pranks on her anymore."

"I like her, so she's under my protection now."

Damien was speechless again.

The corners of his lips turned down. "Brian, you are acting very weird today."

In the past, Brian was indifferent to most of Damien's pranks. But now, why was he trying to protect that woman?

Was it really because she was good at cooking?

While Damien was preoccupied with his thoughts, he took another bite.

It was really delicious.

After he finished the croquettes, Damien took the plate downstairs.

While he was walking down the stairs, he could spot Daphne sleeping on the sofa at one glance.

Curling up into a ball, she was still shivering from head to toe.

Damien walked towards her and stared at her face.

"She's a pretty woman, and she's good at cooking too," Damien thought.

"If only she's my biological mother..."

While Daphne was sleeping, she could feel someone staring at her.

Instantly, she woke up and saw the child from before standing in front of her.

With a plate in his hand, he was staring straight at her face.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked, "Are you... still hungry?"

"Why is he looking at me with an empty plate?" Daphne thought.

Damien pursed his lips. He knew that she must've mistaken him as Brian. However, he still nodded and replied, "Yes."

He wasn't lying, he was still hungry.

Looking at the child's adorable appearance, Daphne's heart melted. She pinched his cheeks and said, "I'll go and make something for you to eat."

Once she finished speaking, she went into the kitchen as she pondered, "Didn't he say that he can't eat anything after 8 p.m.?"

Besides, she did cook a large portion for Brian just now.

Feeling confused, Daphne went into the kitchen and prepared a simple meal for Damien.

The child devoured everything.

Daphne was stunned beyond words.

"Oh wow, this child... he has a really big appetite!" Daphne thought to herself.

She felt shocked when Damien handed over the plate to her as he requested for more.

When he finished eating, Daphne couldn't help but ask, "Brian, you... you're really hungry, huh?"

Damien froze. Then, he giggled, "Yeah, I eat a lot."

He reached out and showed her two of his fingers. "From now on, you should keep making good food for me. Double the portion, okay?"

Damien remembered that Brian might leave the leftovers he didn't like to him. So, he emphasized his point again, "I want you to double the portion, and the food must be exactly the same, okay?"

Daphne was a bit stunned. But still, she nodded and smiled while cleaning the dishes. "You are a growing child. It's natural for you to eat more."

Daphne took out a box of biscuits and gave it to Damien. "This is for you." It was actually meant as a gift for Mr. Russell.

After that, she smiled and touched the child's head. "You should eat well and grow up healthily, okay?"

Damien blushed as he ran upstairs with the box of biscuits.

Daphne heaved in a deep breath. When Damien was out of sight, she went to the sofa and continued sleeping.

Upstairs.

On the table, an expensive phone vibrated, which indicated unread messages.

Sebastian picked up the phone and clicked on it.

The messages were as follows. Brian: Approved.

On the other hand, Damien sent a voice message to his father. While munching on a box of biscuits, he said, "For now, I'll give her my approval. I still don't like her though."

"But she's so good at cooking. I'll compromise, just so I can enjoy good food every day."

Sebastian put down his mobile phone and gave an order. "Please arrange tomorrow's schedule for me. We will be registering for marriage tomorrow.