Repeatedly humiliated by the elderly couple, William stood silently in the corridor.
He never imagined that even after all this time, they would still refuse to accept him, despite Nana’s suffering from Carl’s betrayal and giving birth to a child.
As Carl watched William standing still, he sneered and mockingly consoled, “Mr. Lawrence, it’s important to know your place. I suggest you stop bringing trouble upon yourself.”
Leaving behind this advice, Carl headed towards the direction of the elevator.
Little did he know that William suddenly caught up with him. Just as Carl felt something was off, a half-filled thermos of warm fish porridge was poured over his head.
“You bastard! Let me teach you a lesson!”
William threw the thermos onto the windowsill, cursing fiercely, and then kicked Carl to the ground.
Carl, unwilling to back down, wiped the sticky fish porridge off his face and angrily charged at William.
The two of them once again engaged in a fight, filling the hospital corridor with chaos and the salty smell of fish.
Jerry and Tracy heard the continuous commotion outside and came out to see Carl and William fighting.
“They’re fighting like dogs. Let’s not interfere!” Jerry tugged at his wife’s sleeve and pulled Tracy back into the ward.
At that moment, Nana could only lie on the hospital bed. She vaguely guessed that the two of them had started fighting again and anxiously pleaded, “Dad, could you help me get out of bed? I don’t want them to be enemies.”
“Mind your own business! Just lie down and don’t move!” Tracy stepped forward to stop Nana, resolutely preventing her daughter from getting involved.
The sound of the brawl outside hadn’t stopped yet, and Nana felt distressed and tearful as she tried to persuade her parents, “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry for what Carl did, but why are you taking it out on William?”
Lately, Nana had been defending William, and her parents thought she still had lingering feelings for him. They both frowned deeply.
“Silly girl, we know that William hasn’t betrayed you, but there are other reasons why we have never accepted him.”
Tracy sat down by the bedside and earnestly advised her daughter, leaving the rest of the explanation to her husband.
“Yes, when I investigated this guy’s background, I found out that he often got into fights in middle school and even stole things in high school. He didn’t go to jail because he was underage, but it was said that he almost ended up in a juvenile detention center.”
Jerry looked disappointed, shaking his head as he recounted, “We didn’t tell you back then because we didn’t want you to be hurt after a breakup. But now that you know, you can’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. Just keep your distance from William.”
Nana was shocked by these words. In her impression, William had always been a simple and kind person.
Moreover, in Nana’s memory, William had never mentioned these past experiences.
“Dad, are you joking? William can’t be that kind of person!”
Nana felt her mind in turmoil, unable to distinguish the truth from her parents’ words.
Perhaps they were tarnishing William’s reputation just to make her give up on him.
“How could your dad deceive you?”
Tracy took over the conversation, earnestly reasoning, “We didn’t tell you before because we were afraid it would hurt you after a breakup. But now that you know, you can’t let your emotions rule you. Just maintain your distance from William.”
Jerry agreed with his wife’s thoughts and patiently advised his daughter, “You’re still young. In a couple of years, we’ll introduce you to someone else. Don’t have any more contact with William.”
Nana remained silent at their words. Her mind was in chaos, half-believing and half-doubting William’s unworthy past.
At the same time, Carl and William were escorted out of the hospital by security.
Neither of them had gained the upper hand in the fight, and the end result was that both were injured.
But after the recent incident, Carl became optimistic about the future. He realized that William was no match for him.
With a body full of pain and disarray, Carl drove home. After taking a shower, he hid in his room and searched online for postpartum meal recipes.
Coincidentally, the maid returned from grocery shopping and he went downstairs into the kitchen, immediately starting to prepare the postpartum meal himself.
Although Carl rarely cooked on regular days, he believed that if William could do it, he could do it too.
After preparing the ingredients and cleaning them thoroughly, Carl planned to stew chicken soup for Nana.
The maid stood outside the kitchen, bewildered by the sudden diligence of Carl, who rarely lifted a finger in the kitchen.
Lost in her thoughts, Grace came down from upstairs and entered the living room.
From a distance, she saw Carl busy in the kitchen, and she was equally surprised.
“Emily, it seems like Carl is hungry. Go and help him, will you?”
Upon hearing Grace’s orders, the maid explained awkwardly, “Miss Panchak, it’s not that I’m not doing my job, but the young master instructed me not to enter the kitchen.”
“That’s strange…”
Grace frowned, curious about Carl’s peculiar behavior.
She then walked step by step towards the kitchen, leaning against the refrigerator as she observed Carl chopping onions and ginger.
“Carl, are you stewing chicken soup?”
“Mm.”
At that moment, Carl seemed absent-minded, mechanically responding to Grace’s question.
The pot on the stove was boiling, and he turned around to put the chopped onions and ginger into it.
However, due to adding too much water, Carl accidentally scalded himself with the hot water.
He suddenly furrowed his brows, feeling as if his fingers were being burned in fire.
Witnessing this, Grace couldn’t care less about her curiosity and hurriedly ran over to show concern.
“Carl, is your hand okay? Let me have a look!”
Grace’s tone was filled with urgency, and she tenderly held his hand, feeling sorry for him.
Unexpectedly, Carl remained indifferent and pushed Grace away, expressionless as he responded, “My hand is fine. I’ll rinse it with running water.”
Having said that, he moved to the sink to wash the vegetables, no longer paying attention to Grace beside him.
Although Carl had always been cold and sarcastic towards her, Grace couldn’t help but feel that something was off.
After the chicken soup started stewing, she saw Carl start preparing other dishes, and a vague realization dawned upon her.
Back upstairs, Grace knocked on Mrs. Waters’ room and quickly closed the door after entering.
“Do you know that Carl has returned?” Grace spoke in a hushed voice.
Having just had an argument with her son the previous night, Mrs. Waters was still upset and grumbled with annoyance, “What difference does it make if he comes back or not? I’m utterly disappointed in this son of mine!”
Without wasting any time trying to console Mrs. Waters, Grace sat down beside her and began to report.
“Carl was acting really strange today. As soon as he came back, he started stewing chicken soup in the kitchen and even made some other light dishes.”
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Waters’s curiosity was piqued.
She stared intently at Grace, asking for more details.
Mrs. Waters was Grace’s supporter, so there was no need for her to hide anything.
Grace disclosed everything without omitting a single detail, even mentioning how much salt Carl had put in the chicken soup.
After Mrs. Waters attentively listened to the whole story, she suddenly slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “I understand now! Carl is preparing the postpartum meal!”