Vera’s heart was touched. She lifted her gaze to him, and he reached out, pulling her into his arms. With a rare gentleness, he said, "So, after Mr. Preston wakes up, I’ll be right there with you to honor, respect, and be a good son to him."

But Vera couldn’t hold it in any longer. She collapsed against his chest and began to sob uncontrollably.

’The regrets of her past life, the bitterness of today, and all the grievances from both lifetimes combined... She had been prepared to bear it all alone. But now, she suddenly realized there was this fool. A fool who was always saying cold, contrary things, yet was willing to die with her and face everything life threw at them, together.’

Nothing panicked Nathaniel more than her tears; he never knew what to do when she cried. He cleared his throat and said, "Vera Xavier, you’re getting tears and snot all over me! It’s disgusting!"

Vera ignored him, so he had no choice but to add, "Fine, wipe it on me if you must. You can just wash my clothes later."

This only made Vera cry harder. He sighed in resignation. "Forget it. You don’t have to wash them. I’ll do it myself."

Though her heart was still heavy with sorrow, she couldn’t help but laugh at his words. She gave his chest a light pat. "Nathaniel Nathan, you’re such a jerk!"

Normally, if anyone else had cursed at him like that, Nathaniel would have lost his temper. But coming from Vera, it felt strangely intimate, more like affection than an insult. He reached out and ruffled her hair. "You’re probably the only person in the world who dares to talk to me like that."

Just then, her grandmother’s sobbing voice echoed down the hall. "Zachary, please, you have to be okay!"

Vera quickly pulled away from Nathaniel’s embrace and turned to see Aaron Cheney arriving with her grandparents.

Vera hurried over to them. "Grandma, Dad’s going to be fine. The lead surgeon for his operation is a top brain specialist from Veridia."

Although these words offered her grandmother some comfort, for an elderly person, the very idea of surgery was terrifying.

She gritted her teeth and asked, "And where are those two women?"

"They didn’t come." Vera didn’t hide anything, recounting to her grandmother exactly what she had witnessed earlier. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Her grandmother took a deep, shaky breath. "They’re utterly heartless! To just let Zachary suffer his attack like that! The absolute nerve!"

Afraid the stress would be too much for her grandmother’s health, Vera quickly tried to soothe her. "Grandma, please don’t be so angry. We’ll deal with this after Dad recovers. I’ve always believed that good is rewarded and evil is punished."

Her grandmother looked into her tear-filled eyes, nodded, and took her hand. "Vera, we owe you everything for this. If you hadn’t gotten home in time to take your father to the hospital, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Vera lowered her head. "Grandma, please don’t say that. He’s my dad."

A look of profound relief washed over the grandmother’s face. She was once again thankful that Vera had grown up in the Xavier family. Otherwise, who knew if she, too, would have been corrupted by Rona Langdon.

Her grandmother said, her face filled with gratitude, "Thank heavens you weren’t raised by Rona Langdon’s side!"

Vera looked at her grandmother’s aged face and thought about her own origins. ’Their real granddaughter, Susan Caldwell,’ she thought, ’is even more vicious and domineering than Cara Preston.’ A thousand emotions swelled in her heart. She looked at her grandmother and said, "I will always be your granddaughter."

Her grandmother didn’t understand the deeper meaning behind those words. She assumed Vera was just speaking emotionally from the heart, and so she simply gave a gentle nod.