True Love Waits novel Chapter 1357

But Matthew and Debbie didn't find the boys' story funny. Debbie, who felt sorry for what they had gone through, held Colman in her arms and asked Matthew, "Didn't you go to find Rika? Why is she not with you?"

"Give her some time." Matthew wanted Erica to come back to him willingly and never leave him again.

"Why do we have to wait?" Debbie gave him a confused look and added, "Didn't you coax her enough? Didn't she want to come back with you?"

Colman suddenly cut in, "No, Grandma. Mommy can't come back now, maybe because she hasn't finished her task yet."

"Task? What task?" Debbie got more confused.

Colman blinked and hesitated for a moment. "Grandma, I will tell you, but don't tell anyone."

"Okay, go ahead."

"Mom has promised the police to find evidence of the crimes made by Kirk Qin and his men. That's what we only know. Mom didn't tell us the details. And when she sent us back here, she hasn't gotten the most important evidence yet."

Matthew and Debbie looked at each other. Then Matthew turned to Adkins and asked with a frown, "Does your mom do this kind of task often?"

Adkins nodded first but then shook his head afterward. "We don't know. Sometimes Mom doesn't tell us."

"I understand. You can go and play now," he said.

"Okay."

The four boys ran upstairs and went back to the games they were playing before Matthew arrived.

Debbie watched them running upstairs and sighed. "Although these children grew up in such a poor place, they don't have any bad habits. I admire Rika for raising them well. It must have been difficult and tiresome for her to take care of them even though Tessie is there to help her."

Matthew didn't say anything. But deep in his heart, he knew that Debbie was right. So he promised himself that he would never let Erica suffer again.

Before going upstairs, Debbie reminded him, "Get Rika back as soon as possible. Don't let her suffer more outside."

"I will." He would definitely take her back. It was only a matter of time.

As night fell, Matthew stayed in his study, looking at the photos taken by EM. Her first winning entry had photos shot three years ago.

It was a collection of five photos called "Different Childhood." In the first picture was a thin girl who was about six or seven years old. Dressed in patched clothes, she was pulling a rope on her back. The rope was connected to a wooden cart behind her that was full of dried wood. Since the cart looked so heavy, the struggle was visible on her face.

The second photo showed the same girl, but this time, her dark face was covered with tears. She was squatting beside the river and washing some clothes, while a fat woman beside her was holding a whip.

In the third picture, the little girl was climbing a steep mountain with her younger sister on her back, to collect some herbs and sell them for money.

In the fourth picture, she was kneeling under the rain and apologizing to her mother.

In the fifth picture, she was peering over the windowsill of a classroom in the village, quietly staring at the characters on the blackboard. The intense yearning for knowledge reflected in her eyes.

The second collection of photos revealed how a nursing home abused the elderly. She took six pictures from different angles, showing the sadness and despair in the elderly's eyes, the arrogance of the staff, and their complacent faces upon receiving some money.