“Mom, I’m fine,” Nana said awkwardly, signaling to her mother with her eyes to stop talking.
But Tracy was angry and pretended not to see Nana’s signal. “Look at you, you’re so thin now. Have you ever looked this haggard when you were at home? Why don’t you come stay with me for a couple of days and take care of yourself?”
Mrs. Waters understood what Tracy meant and her face changed.
Tracy beckoned Nana over to her side. “Nana, I brought your favorite preserved fruit for you this time. I just made it a few days ago.”
“You have to take care of yourself when we aren’t around anymore. After all, as a pregnant woman who needs taking care of herself, how can you take care of others? Don’t try to be too strong.”
The implication was clear: don’t be underestimated; she wasn’t there as their nanny!
Mrs. Waters spoke coldly, “My son became like this because of Nana’s doing in the first place! And it was she who volunteered to stay here! After all, she owes my son something, owes our family something!”
Tracy couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer and slammed the table angrily, “Is this how your family treats people? Bullying a pregnant woman?”
“My daughter is giving birth for your family’s posterity but instead of gratitude we get treated like this? Has everyone in the Waters family lost their conscience?”
Mrs. Waters glared at Tracy, “Whatever happens between us is none of your business anyway! Even if Nana is from an affluent background herself, so what if she chooses to serve tea in our house!”
“We are the Waters family after all. We are an influential household and Carl is such an outstanding man that anyone would want him. Naturally there will be some price that has got paid. Besides, what kind of honorable thing could someone bring up before marriage anyway?”
“This shows how magnanimous our family really is. If it were any other equally prominent household, they wouldn’t even let her step into their doorsteps because they would find it shameful!”
“You… you… you!”
Mrs. Waters scolded Nana relentlessly until Tracy trembled with anger all over again; unable to sit still any longer, she stood up pointing accusingly at Mrs. Waters but couldn’t say anything coherent out loud.
“It’s all because your son did something good?! We’re the victims here!”
Tracy grabbed hold on Nana’s hand tightly wanting nothing more than leave immediately.
“Mrs. Lawson, you came already?!”
Just as the tension between the two was about to reach its breaking point, Mr. Waters arrived and interrupted Tracy’s words. In fact, he had been listening at the door for a few moments and heard how heated their argument had become, so he quickly opened the door to intervene.
“Nana, why didn’t you tell me in advance? I could have sent a driver to pick your mother up instead of making you stand up like this. Come on, sit down,” Mr. Waters said.
“Nana, help your mom sit down,” he continued.
“Mom, please sit down,” Nana whispered while Tracy still wore a stern expression and held onto Nana tightly as if she wanted to take her away.
Seeing that Tracy was not in good spirits, Mr. Waters continued speaking, “Nana is such a good child; these past few days have been tough on her taking care of Carl here all by herself.”
“Over these past few days, Carl has shown some subconscious signs of recovery. No matter who’s here, he keeps calling out for Nana, Nana.”
“Nana’s a resilient child, quite remarkable. His mother and I have been saying that at home.”
“But because of this, his mother got upset, saying that Carl, her son, is useless around her and only wants Nana.”
With just a few words, Mr. Waters both praised Nana and explained why Mrs. Waters had been in a bad mood earlier.
Upon hearing Mr. Waters’ nonsensical remarks, Mrs. Waters was so infuriated that she left.
Tracy felt somewhat relieved after listening and, being pulled back by Nana, sat down again.
“Carl’s father, it’s not that I want to be angry, but you care for your son, and I care for my daughter. Just now, I… After raising my daughter for over twenty years, I didn’t intend for her to serve others.” Tracy spoke, furrowing her brows.
“I understand, I understand. Have you had lunch?” Seeing Tracy’s improved tone, Mr. Waters quickly inquired.
“I ate on the plane,” Tracy replied.
Mr. Waters then opened the bag he had brought, “Nana, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? I had the chef at home prepare this especially for you, along with the lunch your mother brought. Come, eat some quickly. You mentioned wanting something sour, right? I specifically packed some vinegar for you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Waters. I’ve been having severe morning sickness these past few days, so I need to eat something sour to alleviate it.” Nana nodded, taking the lunch box and thanking him.
Mr. Waters pulled a chair and sat opposite Tracy.
“Nana’s mother, now that Nana’s having a child, once Carl wakes up, we need to start planning their wedding. You know, our family in Guavo, holds a respectable position. We won’t mistreat Nana in any way.”
These words from Mr. Waters somewhat reassured Tracy.
Regardless, Tracy still liked Carl very much, especially now that Nana was pregnant.
However, Carl was still unconscious.
Seemingly sensing Tracy’s concerns, Nana took Tracy’s hand, her tone somewhat tinged with bitterness, “Mom, Carl will definitely wake up soon.”
…
Another week had flown by.
The morning sun shone through the glass windows and onto the large bed where Jane lay half-asleep. Just as she was about to get up, she saw Patrick’s tall figure leaning against the door frame.
“What are you doing outside my room?” Jane gave him an eye roll.
Patrick stepped inside and said, “We’re going to visit Grandpa at our old house today. Did you forget?”
“Oh no!” Jane slapped her cheeks in surprise; she really did forget!
“Go ahead without me,” Jane told Patrick as he left the room. “I’ll be ready soon.”
She quickly got dressed and ate breakfast before joining Patrick on their way to the Pansy Residence.
Mike was already waiting for them at their old home when they arrived.
As soon as Mike saw Patrick’s car pull up, he hobbled over with his cane in hand. “Grandpa, take it easy,” Patrick helped him steady himself. “Jane looks tired; is that boy bullying you?”
Jane shook her head quickly with a smile. “No Mike, I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“If that boy dares bully you again, you tell me, and I’ll give him a piece of my mind!” Mike held onto Jane’s hand, his eyes full of doting affection for his granddaughter-in-law.
“Thank you so much!” A warm feeling washed over Jane’s heart
“Don’t stand around here any longer! Come on inside!” Mike pulled Jane into the villa while Patrick followed closely behind.