Early morning.


    Yesterday, Carl was abruptly awakened, and this morning, he finally had a chance for revenge.


    Seeing William also dozing off on a bench, Carl silently approached him.


    He swiftly kicked William’s shin, causing him sharp pain.


    Startled, William red at Carl and grabbed his cor.


    “You want to fight? Is it my fault for waking you up when it’s already morning?”


    Carl calmly exined, pushing William away and adjusting his cor with disdain on his face.


    The hospital corridor was quiet in the early morning, and William suppressed his anger, not wanting to disturb Nana and the other patients. He sat back down.


    “I’ll leave once Nana wakes up.”


    He coldly responded to Carl, lowering his head in contemtion.


    Carl paid no further attention to him and turned to enter the hospital room. He spotted Nana standing by the window, gazing at the rising sun.


    “Nana, you’re awake so early?”


    Carl approached, wanting to ce his hands on her shoulders.


    But before he could make the gesture, Nana turned around expressionlessly, her lifeless eyes fixed on Carl as she asked, “Has William left?”


    “Not yet.”


    Carl didn’t like mentioning William’s name, especially when he was with Nana.


    “Oh, I’ll go out for a moment.”


    Nana didn’t exin her intentions to Carl, only gesturing for him to help look after their still-sleeping daughter.


    Leaving the room, Nana saw William deep in thought, his eyes fixed on the ground.


    “William.”


    Nana walked over to the bench, her dimmed cheeks showing a hint of gratitude.


    “I’ve troubled you these past few days. Thank you.”


    Nana pursed her lips and smiled faintly. When someone is in extreme sadness, even their smile carries a sense of bitterness.


    William raised his chin and saw Nana’s forced smile. It didn’t sit right with him.


    “Nana, you don’t need to thank me.”


    William stood up.


    He wanted to give Nana a hug, but seeing her suppressing her sadness, he felt a sense of reverence instead.


    Suppressing the emotions surging in his heart, William calmly spoke, “After the incident, I med myself for not being by your side immediately. I feel guilty.”


    William genuinely regretted it. If he had visited Nana frequently these past few days, perhaps he could have saved Jerry and Tracy from the fire.


    However, life cannot be assumed.


    “It’s not your fault.”


    Nana gently shook her head, and her smile became even more bitter.


    The two of them exchanged a few brief words in the corridor before William went to work at thepany.


    He knew that Nana hoped to see him living a positive life, so he tried to live up to her expectations.


    Leaving the hospital, William walked along the sidewalk.


    He intended to find a breakfast stall to quickly solve his morning meal, but when he saw a newly opened lottery shop, he suddenly had a thought.


    Pulling out a lottery ticket from his wallet, William held his phone in one hand and carefullypared the numbers in two ces.


    This focused activitysted for half a minute, and disappointment filled William’s face.


    “Ah, I knew I wouldn’t be that lucky…”


    William shook his head, bitterly muttering to himself as he tore up the losing lottery ticket.


    However, before he crossed the road and entered the breakfast shop, he bought a few more lottery tickets to alleviate the monotony of his daily life.


    Morning.


    Carlpleted the discharge procedures.


    He helped Nana carry their belongings while she held Janelle, who was sucking on a pacifier.


    Upon hearing about Nana’s discharge, Hailey specially drove over to pick them up.


    She also acted as a mediator.


    “Hello, Hailey!”


    Nana recognized Carl’s former agent and greeted her with a faint smile.


    Hailey, usually a tomboy, had a rare touch of femininity today, from her tone of speech to her attire.


    “Nana, get in the car quickly. It’s windy outside, don’t catch a cold.”


    Hailey, like a caring older sister, had a gentle yet straightforward demeanor.


    The car headed towards the hotel where Nana had made reservations, deliberately taking a slow route that often encountered traffic.


    Halfway there, Carl entered persuasion mode.


    “Nana, don’t stay at a hotel. Let’s go back and live in our new house together, okay?”


    “If you feel inconvenient with me around, I can continue living in the apartment and not disturb you and Janelle.”


    “I n to hire two nannies from the domestic service center. One will be dedicated to taking care of Janelle, and the other will focus on cleaning and cooking.”


    “Nana, just listen to me this once. The day after tomorrow is the funeral of your parents. There will be a lot of things to handle, and staying in a hotel is not appropriate…”


    Carl spoke earnestly, but it only resulted in Nana’s refusal.


    “No need, thank you.”


    Nana rejected Carl and continued to focus her attention on their daughter.


    Hailey nced at the two of them through the rearview mirror and coughed softly, ready to use her persuasion skills.


    She used reason and emotion to convince Nana, cooperating with Carl to make her give up the idea of staying in a hotel.


    But…


    No matter how slow the car was, they eventually arrived in front of the hotel.


    Nana expressed her gratitude to the two of them.


    Inside the hotel room, Carl looked around at the furnishings, feeling anxious and helpless about Nana’s stubbornness.


    “How long do you n to stay here?” he asked.


    Nana paused her action of washing the baby bottle. “About a week.”


    “Then why not…”


    Carl didn’t finish his sentence, realizing that Nana wouldn’t agree. He tried topromise, “Can I apany you at your parents’ funeral the day after tomorrow? Someone needs to take care of Janelle.”


    “Um, thank you.”


    Nana continued washing the baby bottle, her body stiff, and her face devoid of any radiance.


    However, Carl didn’t feel happy about it. Instead, he felt even more bitter in his heart.


    Nowadays, Nana couldn’t say three sentences without saying thank you.


    Wasn’t everything he did his responsibility and obligation?


    Carl pondered, perhaps in Nana’s eyes, he was merely Janelle’s biological father, and their rtionship was no different from strangers.


    On the other side, Grace closely observed Nana’s actions.


    She knew that during Nana’s hospital stay, Carl and William took turns taking care of her every day.


    She also knew that Carl was arranging the aftermath of Jerry and Tracy’s passing.


    In addition, she had also found out about the hotel where Nana was currently staying.


    In the living room of the Waters family vi, Mrs. Watersined about the maid’s iplete floor cleaning and scolded her a bit before seeing Grace going downstairs.


    “Grace, are you going out?”


    “I want to go to the countryside to rx.”


    Grace had the appearance of a frustrated daughter-inw, her eyes and voice filled with grievances.


    Mrs. Waters understood what was bothering her and sighed, “I know you’re not happy about it, and I’m bothered too. But what can we do?”


    Mrs. Waters shrugged her shoulders. While she had her assertiveness, she also understood social conventions.


    “Now that Nana’s parents are gone, they are deceased. I can’t forcefully bring Carl back at this critical moment.”Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Mrs. Waters didn’t want to bebeled as heartless and ruthless, but of course, she couldn’t make Carl obediently listen to her every word like before.