“Is it you?”


    There was no response on the other end of the phone, only the sound of steady breathing. Nana had just been about to ask more questions, but now she already knew the answer.


    She lowered her eyes and unconsciously clenched her fingers around the edge of her phone as she tentatively asked.


    The person on the other end of this call could very well be William.


    After Nana spoke those words, five seconds passed before suddenly, without a word from either side, the call was disconnected.


    But that didn’t matter anymore.


    Nana knew in her heart that it was him. She let out a sigh and hung up too. Even though so much time had passed since theyst spoke, she still missed William deeply at this moment.


    Nana turned halfway towards where Carly in his hospital bed and nced at the room door. Inside were joyous feelings of survival after disaster; outside were feelings of despair and hopelessness.


    Her heart felt like it was being crushed by a heavy stone weighing thousands of pounds, suffocatingly ufortable, unable to breathe or speak for several seconds.


    Eventually Nana turned back around and pushed open the room door with a heavy heart before walking inside looking troubled still.


    She sat down beside Carl’s bed again; he had noticed how different she seemed when she came back earlier but waited until now to ask, “What’s wrong?”


    “It’s nothing,” replied Nana weakly with an attempt at smiling through exhaustion, “It was just some telemarketer who talked too long.”


    Carl nodded thoughtfully as if he understood what happened then reached over to hold onto one hand while saying softly, “You’ve been working hardtely… and you’re pregnant too… don’t push yourself too hard.”


    “I’m fine,” said Nana shaking her head slightly while trying to force herself into showing some happiness for Carl even though most timestely all she could think about was William’s face.


    [How is he doing right now?]


    …


    After Carl regained consciousness from hisa-like state, Nana visited him almost every day in hospital; even Mrs. Waters’ attitude towards Nana softened somewhat although most times there wasn’t much warmthing from Mrs. Waters’ face when they talked together.


    “He’s doing better now. His condition has stabilized for the most part; if he can stay awake consistently then I’d say this kid has good luck on his side! We’ll keep giving him fluids intravenously for another couple days or so until we feel confident enough that he can go home safely but remember. Don’t push himself too hard once discharged!”


    Rory breathed a sigh of relief as Carl finished his acupuncture session, and a smile of rtive ease appeared on his face.


    Nana nodded repeatedly, and Carl felt guilty. He also nodded and said, “I understand. I’ll take care of myself. It’s been tough for Rory these past few days. I really feel bad about it.”


    “I know you feel bad, but both of you need to stop putting yourselves through this,” Rory said in a serious tone that made Nana and Carl exchange nces with each other before falling silent.


    Three dayster, after the doctor confirmed that there were no major issues with Carl’s health, Nana went toplete his discharge procedures from the hospital. However, she was not prepared for what awaited them outside the hospital doors: a group of reporters holding cameras and microphones surrounded them along with many fans.


    As soon as they saw the two emerge from the hospital doors, they swarmed around them like bees buzzing around honebs asking all sorts of questions directed mostly at Nana.


    “Miss Lawson,” one reporter asked aggressively. “Is it true that Carl got into an ident because of you?”N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.


    “Miss Lawson,” another chimed in quickly before she could respond to the first question. “There were pictures circting online showing that Carl proposed to you at an airport but you didn’t ept it then; is this ident rted to any changes in your rtionship?”


    “Carl,” yet another reporter interjected sharply while ignoring Nanapletely now as if she wasn’t even present there anymore. “Are you really dating Miss Lawson? Why was she by your side when you had an ident?”


    The questions kept getting more pointed and aggressive, making it hard for anyone to answer anything coherently or calmly under such pressure. Nana hadn’t expected any such thing happening today.


    But things took an even worse turn when some crazy fans suddenly appeared out of nowhere throwing eggs at her while shouting excitedly, “It’s all your fault! If not for you, he wouldn’t have ended up here or dyed filming! Do you know how much money he has lost because of this?! It’s all because of YOU!”


    This statement seemed like a call-to-arms which triggered simr reactions from other fans too, leading to chaos breaking out right outside the hospital entrance. The security guards had their hands full, trying their best just to keep things under control so nothing got out-of-handpletely.


    Carl frowned deeply especially after seeing eggs sttered over Nana’s clothes which made him nervous too.


    He quickly took some tissues from one guard nearby, wiping off egg stains on her clothes before impatiently clicking his tongue disapprovingly.


    He looked at those fans who blocked Nana’s way forward shielding her protectively away from further harm caused by those unruly elements present. There were still creating ruckus without any regard for others’ safety or well-being whatsoever!


    “I know you all like me very much and I understand that you are worried about my job and career, but you cannot me her for it. The airport proposal was my idea. I really like her and even n to marry her. If you me her because of me, I don’t want that to happen, especially if it hurts innocent people’s safety! If you like me, please respect everything around me!”


    As expected, the power of being a celebrity is strong.


    After hearing Carl’s words, the fans who were just causing amotion slowly quieted down. Even the girl who threw eggs at Nana hesitated before walking up to them and apologizing.


    Nana didn’t expect Carl to speak up for her or his fans to apologize. She paused for a moment before smiling and shaking her head saying, “I’m okay; don’t worry.”


    Carl saw that everything had calmed down and turned towards Nana with a smile as he held onto her hand saying “Let’s go.”


    The security escorted Carl and Nana out while Nana subconsciously looked towards the man beside her, feeling warm inside even without realizing she was smiling.


    In fact, on the second day after Carl woke up from hisa, Tracy noticed Mrs. Waters’ attitude towards Nana had improved significantly so she slowly became more relieved. She moved out of the Waters family home into an apartment hotel booked by Nana but Jerry also came over.


    When two elders get together there are naturally many things to talk about.


    After watering the flowers on their balcony, Tracy thought about Nana again and couldn’t help but sighing, “I wonder how well she is doing in the Waters family? When she was with us, we never let anything bad happen to her; we could never bring ourselves to scold or yell at such an innocent person. Look at Carl’s mom acting as if poor little Carl has been wronged by Nana! During those two days at their house, I saw how often she gave our daughter dirty looks.”