The Kiss that Sparked it All

Chapter 2784

Madeline couldn’t help but scoff. “That’s ridiculous. If what that witch said was true – if then how could they live such a he really had the power to stir up the real estate market hard-knock life before?”

It was only after they were brought to the Tanners that they could finally break from their plight.

Just the thought of the past made Madeline’s face darken with a scowl.

If she could, she’d sever all ties with those memories. She didn’t care if people called her ungrateful. Let them walk a mile in her shoes, then they’d understand. But no, Madeline was done with that life, done with the shadows that had once engulfed her every day.

She would never allow Imogen to disrupt their new life, the life they had painstakingly built. They could only move upwards, never glancing back.

“Where to start?” Madeline pondered. If Imogen wasn’t going to tell her the truth, then she’d find her own way to that man.

The next morning, Regina left the house early. She had made plans with Ablett a couple of days earlier to take a group of kids from the local orphanage out for a day of fun. She was volunteering.

On the way there, Daphne repeatedly warned her about safety, emphasizing that under no circumstances were they to lose any of the kids.

“Oh, come on!” Regina replied with a grin, “Please calm down! It’s not like I’m the only staff there. We’ll bring every single one of those kids back to the orphanage safe and sound

Even though Regina had volunteered at the orphanage several times before, Daphne n failed to repeat her cautionary spiel.

It wasn’t annoying to Regina; on the contrary, she found it endearing how her friend ha found her calling.

Daphne’s patience with the kids, in particular, had taken Regina by surprise.

Daphne once said something that struck a chord with Regina: to them, visiting the orphanage was just another activity, and the kids were passersby in their lives. But for those kids, the orphanage could be their home for good.

Regina had asked if they ever considered sending the kids to adoptive families. Daphne, after mulling it over time and again, had shaken her head. If a child really needed a home and a destined family came along, she’d let them be together. But for Daphne, such decisions required extreme caution. The kids were there because they had already been hurt and abandoned once by adults. She couldn’t bear the thought of them going through that again.

“It’s such a hard work for you to manage everything by yourself. Why don’t I do a feature on the orphanage? I’ll get the word out so good people can come to lend a hand?”

Daphne chuckled. “Nah, you can skip that. I can make the decisions on my own. The orphanage is running fine, and I fund it without anyone meddling. Plus, advertising it might lead to more parents recklessly abandoning their kids, thinking they’re giving them a chance at life. No, I don’t need that kind of publicity.”

Regina sighed, realizing the potential downside. If the orphanage became too well-known, it could worsen the situation. Anyone who tend to abandon their child for whatever reasons may come to knock on Daphne’s door

But the orphanage was doing fine. Daphne’s family was wealthy, and they could provide the children with the best of everything. With Daphne’s family’s standing in the community, those looking to partner

with them would weigh the merits of making donations to her cause.

Daphne would accept donations with open arms. Whether those partnerships could be materialized was another story and up to her father’s discretion.

“You’re quite the businesswoman.” Regina teased. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Daphne rolled her eyes. “I’m not forcing anyone’s hand. The adult world is all about quid pro quo. Believe it or not, even if I lay out all the pros and cons, they’d still be willing to funnel their money into my orphanage.”