Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 229 - 226: Surnames

The impression of that person in her mind had changed from a clear outline she could imagine as a child, to a now vague and indistinct image.

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Sienna Thornton sniffed, took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and pulled out a few tissues to wipe Melinda Linton’s tears.

She held Melinda Linton’s hand tightly, swallowed, and asked, "Mom, think carefully, did Dad ever mention what his home was like? For example, did he live in a company-assigned apartment, or in a standalone small building? Or more specifically, maybe he lived in a courtyard?"

She wanted to get all the facts straight today and didn’t want to waste any more time. She wanted to find that person quickly! Whether he was alive or dead, she wanted to put an end to the search for her father at this stage.

If that person was no longer around, she would accept it and cherish him in her heart henceforth, live well, and let go of this obsessive search. A life burdened by obsession was truly exhausting! She didn’t want to waste her limited time and energy on such matters; she had a career to strive for and love to safeguard.

Melinda Linton, with red-rimmed eyes, twisted the tissue in her hands, thought for a while, and said, "He should have lived in a standalone small building. He said his home had a yard with a dog tied up. Every time he returned, the dog, even before seeing him, would know he was back and always run to the gate to greet him."

"Okay, what else?" Sienna Thornton asked urgently, "Did he ever mention how many siblings he had? What did his parents do?"

"He was an only child, and his mother was a teacher..."

Before Melinda Linton finished speaking, Sienna Thornton interrupted: "Did he say which school his mother taught at? What subject did she teach?"

Melinda Linton shook her head: "He might not have said, or I might have forgotten."

The small glimmer of hope that had just ignited in Sienna Thornton’s heart was extinguished again.

She slightly calmed her emotions and squeezed Melinda Linton’s hand: "Mom, if you remember anything else, please call me, okay?"

Melinda Linton, with red-rimmed eyes, glanced at her and, as she was about to stand up, held her hand and softly said, "Annie, take care of yourself, don’t work too hard."

"Alright."

-

After talking with Melinda Linton, Sienna Thornton left with Simon Forrester.

On the way back, Sienna Thornton relayed the two rather valuable clues Melinda Linton provided that evening to Simon Forrester, and Simon called the person who was helping them search.

After the call, Simon Forrester freed one hand to hold hers: "So your biological father was a teacher’s child, no wonder you insisted on teaching for three years."

"He could also be a cadre’s child," Sienna Thornton stared at the windshield, her face calm, "During that era, the standalone houses in Brimfield were either farmhouses in the suburbs or villas belonging to senior cadre families in the city. From how my mom described that man’s attire, he couldn’t have been a farmer; he was most likely the child of a high-ranking official family. I suspect his father was an official, and his mother was a teacher."

Simon Forrester, glancing at the road conditions, nodded in agreement after hearing her, but soon asked puzzledly: "How could she not even know his name? Just a surname?"

"My mom was illiterate, and in those days, village people had a lot of respect for teachers, calling him ’Mr. Thornton’ politely, and naturally, my mom followed suit, so she only knew his surname was ’Tang’."

"If she couldn’t read, could it be that it wasn’t ’Tang’ but ’Tang’? After all, these two characters sound alike."

Hearing this, Sienna Thornton was also stunned, turned to look at him, and after a moment, said in a daze: "We can’t rule out that possibility."

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I want to say a few words here for Melinda Linton.

Sienna Thornton’s biological father was teaching in the village at the time and fell in love with Melinda Linton.

Back then, Melinda Linton was only eighteen years old, at the most beautiful age for a girl. She was very pretty and quite tall (imagine a beauty from the 1980s, like Rosamund Garland), and this very beautiful Melinda Linton was also gentle, kind, and spoke softly, yes, she was the kind of girl who was rather weak, liked to cry, but also very innocent and cute. Sienna Thornton’s biological father taught her to read, told her stories, and spoke of the world beyond the mountain. Melinda Linton admired and adored Sienna Thornton’s biological father because of this. Mr. Thornton at the time was just in his twenties, and college students of that era were actually rather naive. The beautiful, gentle Melinda Linton practically embodied all of Mr. Thornton’s fantasies about women.

They fell in love, and Mr. Thornton went home to cancel the engagement his parents arranged, but was unsuccessful. He was placed under house arrest and, months later, returned to find Melinda Linton, but she could not be found. At that time, because of an unwed pregnancy, Melinda Linton was driven out by her family, and no one knew where she wandered.

Later, someone introduced Felix Raines to Melinda Linton, and despite Felix Raines being poor and unattractive, Melinda Linton married him because she knew if she didn’t find shelter, if she continued to wander, both she and the child in her belly wouldn’t survive. So she married Felix Raines with a big belly, and she never forgot her mission. They lived in a very poor rural area, but she never let Sienna Thornton do farm work since childhood. Although Felix Raines had strong opinions about this, she insisted, even enduring Felix Raines’ beatings and scoldings, she still supported Sienna Thornton through high school. It was really not easy for her. As I wrote earlier, Sienna Thornton was admitted to Z City No. 1 High School with full marks in physics and math in the high school entrance exam. Still, Felix Raines hid the admission letter, and Sienna almost didn’t get to study. Later, the admissions office staff, not seeing her report, came looking for her and happened to find Melinda Linton at home. Melinda Linton contacted a village brick hauler that night and gave all her savings of thirty yuan to Sienna to let her quickly go with the new admission letter to report to Z City No. 1 High School. Sienna Thornton left, and her life changed due to that night’s escape. As for Melinda Linton, she was beaten half to death by Felix Raines. But having sent her eldest daughter away, she felt that even if she died under Felix Raines’ fists, it was worth it. Melinda Linton really sacrificed a lot for Sienna Thornton; you could say her entire first half of life was lived for Sienna. Knowing she owed her other two children, later when Sienna Thornton settled in a big city and asked her to leave the Raines Family, she refused, and this was the reason. They were all her children, and that’s all she could do. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Some readers say Melinda Linton was too weak and didn’t dare to resist; her personality was indeed soft, but if she had strongly opposed Felix Raines, given Felix Raines’ nature, he might have stabbed them both with a knife. Felix Raines’ temper was really bad, very violent and aggressive! So Melinda Linton was soft, also for her own survival and her eldest daughter’s.

As for the character of Felix Raines, he indeed had a bad temper and would resort to violence, abusing Sienna Thornton as well. But to a certain extent, Felix Raines provided food and shelter for Melinda Linton and her daughter and did not do anything sordid to Sienna. So while Felix Raines was vile, he did not deserve death. Thus, Sienna would argue and even fight with him, but never thought of killing him.