“Don’t worry, the child will be fine.”
Sitting on a bench, Nana was in a daze when she suddenly heard William’s gentle voice comforting her.
She snapped back to reality and looked up at William in front of her, giving him a slight smile of gratitude. “You saved our family, and I haven’t thanked you yet.”
William looked at the fatigue on Nana’s face and responded with a touch of concern in his eyes. “Don’t say that. There’s no need for thanks between us.”
Upon hearing his words, Nana didn’t know what to say, so she just nodded and continued to focus on her daughter.
Not long after, as the two exchanged casual conversation, Jerry and Tracy were wheeled out of the operating room by a nurse.
“Mom, Dad!”
Finally, Nana saw her parents coming out, and she rushed forward with the child in her arms.
The surgery went smoothly, and Jerry and Tracy needed to stay in the hospital for treatment after their fractured legs were set.
After Nana went into the ward to comfort her parents for a while, she prepared to take her daughter downstairs to complete the hospital admission procedures.
However, as she reached the corridor, just as she arrived at the elevator doors, she saw William coming out from inside.
“Are your parents okay?”
Earlier, William had stayed away, fearing that Jerry and Tracy would react negatively, so he didn’t show himself.
Now that Nana saw him following behind, she smiled and replied, “My parents need to stay in the hospital for recuperation. I’m going downstairs to take care of the admission procedures.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
William immediately spoke up.
Nana thought for a moment, considering that it would be inconvenient for her to go up and down with the child, so she nodded in agreement.
With William’s help, the hospital admission procedures were quickly completed.
The two returned to the door of Jerry and Tracy’s ward, and Nana went inside to persuade them to rest early while William took care of the child.
After a few minutes, Nana pushed the door and returned to the corridor, where she saw William humming a nursery rhyme with an anxious look on his face. She asked, “Has Janelle’s fever gone down?”
“Yeah, I felt some sweat on her forehead when I touched it.”
As he spoke, William handed the child back to Nana.
Both of them sat on the bench. Nana realized it was getting late, and considering that William’s external injuries didn’t require hospitalization, she took the initiative to make a request, “William, you should go back and rest. I can take care of my parents myself.”
“How can I do that?”
William directly refused her, bringing up his own reasons. “Whether we’re lovers or friends, I believe I have an obligation to protect you, so I can’t just leave you at a time like this.”
His tone was serious, without a hint of hesitation.
Nana felt guilty but embarrassedly declined, “How can that be? You also have your own job. Aren’t you working tomorrow?”
“No, I quit my job a while ago.” William shrugged casually as he replied.
“Ah…”
Nana was momentarily stunned. She clearly remembered that before giving birth, William had said he would work harder and take care of them both mother and daughter.
Although time had passed and Nana couldn’t accept William’s care anymore, she didn’t expect him to actually quit his job.
“Why? Was it because you weren’t satisfied with your previous job?” Nana asked, puzzled.
Hearing her probing question, William’s expression grew somewhat melancholic.
“There’s no ‘why,’ and it’s not a matter of being unsatisfied. I just didn’t want to do it anymore.”
William spread his hands, as if it didn’t matter at all.
A long time ago, after painfully breaking up with Nana, he had sworn to never find another girlfriend in this lifetime.
In the following years, he went to the western region to teach, and even when girls showed interest in him, he never felt moved.
William had never truly let go of Nana; he just wanted to silently protect her from a distance.
Even though she had already married and had children.
That was also the reason why William returned to this city. He heard that Nana had started dating an unusual boyfriend who not only came from a well-off family but was also a famous actor in the entertainment industry.
The stark contrast made William even more self-conscious.
He hid in his rented room, silently wishing Nana a lifetime of happiness.
Little did they know, the good times wouldn’t last. Grace publicly announced her pregnancy on the internet, causing a huge uproar and leading to Nana and Carl’s breakup.
After their paths crossed again, William’s desire to reconcile with Nana was reignited.
However, as time passed, he realized that Nana’s heart seemed to no longer belong to him but was truly in love with Carl.
Thus, William went through a period of despair, quitting his job and drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day.
But he couldn’t tell Nana about these troubles, so he casually made a joke, “I’m planning to go hiking and travel around the country before exploring the whole world!”
“Really?” Nana’s expression was somewhat incredulous.
“Well, I still need to prepare in advance for such a big undertaking.”
William continued to use humor to mask the real reasons, and the two of them chatted until dawn.
It was now 6:30 in the morning. Nana rested her head, dozing off while holding the baby, and William closed his eyes to rest beside her.
Suddenly, they were both awakened by a faint noise ahead.
“It’s already morning!”
Seeing a nurse pushing a cart into the ward to administer medication to her parents, Nana quickly handed the baby over to William and hurriedly followed inside.
A while later, Nana came out with the nurse, and she saw William interacting with the baby in the crib, a faint smile on his lips.
From last night until now, William finally saw a genuine smile on Nana’s face. He was also happy in his heart and stood up, handing the baby back to her.
“You take care of the baby first. I’ll go out and buy breakfast for you.”
Without waiting for Nana’s agreement, William strode away.
After about twenty minutes, just as Nana was feeding the baby with formula in the ward, she suddenly heard a knock on the door.
“Is it the nurse?”
Tracy lay on the bed, her voice sounding particularly weak.
Nana immediately guessed that it was William who had returned. Her eyes flickered, and she replied with an uncertain tone, “Let me go out and see.”
With the baby in her arms, having just finished feeding, Nana opened the door and saw William, holding breakfast and sitting alone on a bench, gasping for breath.
“Thank you so much, William, for going out to buy breakfast.”
Approaching William, Nana expressed her gratitude with a sense of guilt.
“I told you not to say that to me!”
Furrowing his brow, William signaled for her to take the breakfast inside to Jerry and Tracy.
Currently, Jerry and Tracy had limited mobility, and it was inconvenient for Nana to go out while carrying the baby. With William staying in the hospital, he became the only person capable of taking care of them.
It was undoubtedly a timely help.
Therefore, Nana accepted the breakfast from William but planned to hire a hospital caregiver during the day to alleviate some of the burden.
She then walked into the ward and placed the breakfast in front of Jerry and Tracy.
“Mom and Dad, breakfast is here. William went out to buy it for you!”