As Catherine Batton spoke, she rotated her right ankle, drawing small circles in the air with her foot.It was not too difficult for her to move around anymore. “That’s great.” Josh Batton handed her the two large bags in his hands. “Speaking of which, I bought you some breakfast and snacks.”“I love you, Sixth brother!” Catherine happily hugged the things he brought in her arms, with a satisfied expression etched on her face.Josh grinned at her reaction as he slid his hand into the pocket of his hoodie. He took out a signed photo of Morty Wayne and Jay Corben and passed it to Catherine. “There you go. You wanted this, right?”Joy sparkled inside Catherine and her mood was elevated once more the moment she saw the photo. Delighted with her brother’s surprise, she stared at the photo for a second or two before lifting her head to glance at Josh. “Thank you so much, Sixth brother. There isn’t a single day that I stopped loving you.”Josh simply patted her head again. “It’s not a
“I won’t be around for a day three days later. Will it be okay to let Georgie take care of you that day?” Stanley Batton asked.There were some important tasks regarding the foreign branch of his company awaiting him. Therefore, he had to travel there to settle the issue on his own. “No problem.” Xyla nodded without asking for further details. Stanley smiled at her before taking the basin of water into the bathroom. At that instant, Xyla’s phone vibrated. When she saw the name ‘Master’ was displayed beside the call symbol, all the congeniality within her melted away and was replaced by indescribable, mixed feelings. Intense guilt kicked in and spread rapidly across her whole heart. It was like a pair of invisible hands that were constantly tearing her soul apart, without mercy. Taking a deep breath, she tried to regulate her emotions and remained as calm as possible before she picked up the call.“Hey Xyla, how are you?” The familiar voice of the old man flowed through he
With a face like that, it would be difficult for her to live a decent life, not to mention revenge. Ron Batton was Xyla Quest’s life savior. However, she broke the promise between them. Her heart sank whenever she reminded herself of her irresponsibility and incapability. She found herself standing as rigid as a pole at the gate, her legs frozen to the ground. It took some time for her to recover from her dejection before she dragged her suitcase and strode into the courtyard. The first thing that she saw as soon as she stepped into the villa was a traditional Chinese style courtyard decorated with different species of flowers and shrubs. It looked the same as it was before she left. Spring was definitely the most beautiful time of the year. The cherry blossoms in the courtyard were fully bloomed and the petals were dancing in the air as the cooling wind blew across the house, carrying a tinge of floral fragrance with it.Stepping across the ground covered with fallen leaves
Ron Batton always kept a low profile as he preferred a peaceful and quiet life. He would never invite anyone to come over even on his birthday. When Xyla Quest was staying with him, the two of them would spend his birthday together every year. “Yeah. My son was here initially but he went back this morning after celebrating my birthday yesterday night.” Ron said.His son, who was her father-in-law… As a matter of fact, she had never seen this man before in her life. “Xyla? What are you thinking about?” Ron’s eyes fixed on her face, attentive and brimming with curiosity. Xyla gathered her thoughts immediately. “It’s nothing…”“Hold on. I’ll boil the herbal medicine for you first before we have lunch. Let’s have a little chat after lunch, okay?” Ron got up from the sofa right away, joy streaked through him like a comet. Rising to her feet, Xyla pulled his wrist and argued, “Please don’t make a fuss about it, Grandpa. I’m alright. Let’s just dig in.” However, Ron pushed her
“What’s the deal? Huh? Tell Grandpa…” Flustered, Ron Batton tried to pry the details out of her.Xyla Quest shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”She did not want to give him any trouble since today was his birthday. It would be more appropriate for her to tell him the truth tomorrow. However, Ron insisted on pursuing the matter. “That’s not true, there must be something wrong with you. I know you very well. Are you afraid of giving me trouble because it’s my birthday today? Come on, tell Grandpa! You’re the one giving me a hard time if you refuse to tell me your problems.”Xyla, yet, shook her head once more while trying to maintain her calm facade. “You’re imagining things. I’m just excited to see you because we haven’t met for a very long time.”“Lies… Be honest with me!” Ron demanded as his face went dark again. “Did your sister bully you again? Or it is someone else?”“No one bullied me, Grandpa. You’re overthinking.”“Why are you so down then? You must’ve something on yo
“Besides, I didn’t just cheat emotionally. In fact, I had sex with that man once a few months ago, but it wasn’t intentional.“At the time, I didn’t think about getting a divorce with my husband. That’s why I didn’t tell you the truth,” Xyla Quest said seriously.Ron Batton’s smile widened as he gently patted Xyla’s shoulder. “Xyla, look at me.”However, Xyla didn’t dare to look up at him. Right now, his gaze was like a weapon that could pierce right through her.He could see through the feelings of guilt in the depths of her heart.After mentally preparing herself, Xyla slowly lifted her head and looked into Ron’s eyes.The look in his eyes was the same as usual. In fact, they seemed even gentler.This was something Xyla hadn’t expected at all.At first, she thought she would be met with an angry reaction.“Grandpa, there’s still a lot of stuff I haven’t told you, but I will eventually, bit by bit. I’m really sorry for what I’ve done,” Xyla stammered worriedly.“That’s enoug
After sitting down, Xyla Quest took the initiative to place food on Ron Batton’s plate.Ron ate a mouthful of rice before he spoke. “I’ll arrange for you two to meet in one week. Once the time has been decided, I’ll reach out to you.”“Okay,” Xyla said as she gently bit on her chopsticks with an apologetic look on her face.“Xyla, stay with me for a week if you can. I’ll nurse you back to health,” Ron said.Xyla shook her head. “I can’t, Grandpa. There’s still a lot of work left back in the country.”Ron chuckled. “Very well. I shan’t force you then. Later, I’ll prepare some herbs for you to bring home. You can consume them on your own once you get back.”“Thank you, Grandpa.”***Back in the room, Stanley Batton sent a message to Xyla.“I think I’ll only be able to return to the country tomorrow afternoon due to a sudden delay,” Stanley wrote.“Okay. I’ll look after myself,” Xyla replied.“Alright.”Stanley stopped sending her any texts after that.Xyla did the same and c
When their eyes met, Xyla Quest felt as if her heart was on fire.Her ears couldn’t help but turn red.“Are you hungry?” Stanley Batton asked.“No, but I’m feeling thirsty…” Xyla shook her head.“What would you like to drink?”“Lemonade.”Without saying anything in response, Stanley stood up, walked into the kitchen, and started getting to work in front of the kitchen table.While Xyla watched him work from behind, she felt a warm sensation in her heart.Suddenly, Xyla thought of his sister. She got up and walked to the door of the kitchen and leaned against it as she watched him slicing a lemon intently. “How’s Catherine doing?”Stanley glanced up at Xyla. He carefully dropped two slices of lemon into an expensive-looking acrylic crystal glass. “Yeah. She’s already been discharged from the hospital and is now resting at home.”“Where does she live?” Xyla asked.“In my house,” Stanley answered.“Why don’t we let her stay with us? We can look after each other,” Xyla said.“