On the day of the funeral, the sky was gloomy, and a dark hue covered the vegetation on both sides of the street.
Accompanied by Carl, Nana began to take care of her parents’ affairs.
The whole process didn’t take long, and when they came out, they were holding two dark brown, quaintly shaped urns.
Nana lowered her head, and tears fell drop by drop with each step she took.
Jerry and Tracy only had one daughter, and luckily, there was Carl, who considered himself the son-in-law of the Lawson family.
After the burial, Nana stood in front of the grave for a long time, her swollen eyes dim with sadness.
Carl embraced her shoulder, his voice gentle and soothing, “Nana, your parents rest here. You have to live well for them in the remaining years.”
“Yes, I understand.” Nana nodded lightly.
Her and her daughter’s lives were exchanged for her father’s life, and her mother perished in the flames for that reason.
Just a few days ago, they were two vibrant people, but now they lay in the cold cemetery. Nana felt a deep sense of guilt.
On the other side, William arrived anxiously at the lottery center and handed over the winning ticket to the staff.
“Congratulations, Mr. Lawrence! You’re really lucky!”
The staff shook hands with William and smiled, informing him, “You’re the only winner of the first prize this round, and the accumulated prize money is also quite high.”
“Thank you. Can I claim the prize immediately?”
William’s tone was urgent, making the staff mistakenly think he wanted to cash in the prize quickly.
“Yes, you can proceed with the procedures directly.”
Upon hearing the staff’s response, William thanked him and hurriedly walked inside.
Moments later, when William emerged from the lottery center’s entrance, he had transformed into a multimillionaire.
Soon, William received a notification that the prize money had been deposited. Seeing the long string of numbers, he couldn’t contain his excitement once again.
He had never seen so much money in his life and understood that he would never possess such wealth by working a regular job every day until he died.
Next, William didn’t linger. With a bank card in his pocket containing a balance of eight digits, he rushed to the cemetery located in the suburbs.
The funeral was already over by the time he arrived, and William was a step too late.
He watched from a distance as Carl helped Nana open the car door, and Hailey, sitting in the back seat, handed over a peacefully sleeping Janelle to her.
“I’m sorry, Nana, I came late…”
William stood behind a sycamore tree on the side of the street, watching Nana leave in the car.
After Nana left, he immediately hailed a taxi.
He was no longer a poor boy with an empty wallet. Although his background couldn’t compare to Carl’s, he now had the means to provide Nana with a stable life.
With money comes confidence. William followed Nana’s trail all the way to a hotel and inquired at the front desk about her room number.
At present, Carl had already brought Nana back to the hotel.
Nana was full of gratitude toward Carl for his dedicated help with the funeral.
“Carl, thank you.”
Nana walked up to Carl, giving him a slight smile of gratitude. “Today, everything went smoothly with my parents’ funeral, thanks to your help.”
Upon hearing Nana’s polite words, Carl’s heart suddenly ached.
“Nana, please don’t say such things anymore, okay?”
Carl’s eyes were filled with sadness. “Even if you won’t accept me, at least I am Janelle’s father. It was my responsibility to accompany my daughter’s grandparents on their final journey.”
Although Carl’s words were sincere, Nana’s expression remained unaffected.
She truly appreciated Carl, but she didn’t want to get entangled in a romantic relationship with him anymore.
After a moment of silence, Nana calmly spoke, “Carl, go now. Soon, I will leave this city too.”
This was the first time Nana revealed this to Carl, and he was suddenly stunned.
“What did you say? Where are you going?” he asked urgently.
Nana moved her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then answered, “I haven’t decided yet.”
She didn’t dare to mention Naso, afraid that Carl would go looking for her.
“Are you taking Janelle with you?” Carl’s tone sounded noticeably nervous.
Nana nodded slightly and gazed at her sleeping daughter lying on the bed.
She had already lost her parents, and her daughter was her only reliance now.
“Yes, I have to take Janelle with me. Otherwise, what meaning does my life have?”
Upon hearing Nana’s response, Carl suddenly understood why she didn’t accept his request.
It turned out that she didn’t want to move into the new villa with him because she had already made plans.
Looking at Nana’s indifferent face, Carl suppressed his emotions and asked, “Nana, when will you come back?”
“Maybe I won’t come back anymore.” Nana’s voice remained cold.
It was as if, apart from raising her daughter to adulthood, nothing and no one in the world was connected to her anymore.
“What…” Carl furrowed his eyebrows, impatiently trying to persuade her, “You won’t come back to visit your parents’ graves?”
Nana lowered her gaze silently, not saying a word.
She was an atheist, and even if she paid homage every day, Jerry and Tracy would never come back to life.
In the end, it was just a psychological comfort for the living.
“I will remember them in my own way.” Nana responded indifferently.
The atmosphere in the room turned cold, and Carl didn’t know what to say.
The only thing that kept him calm was his determination to follow Nana.
After a brief pause, Carl, risking rejection, tried to speak, “How about I accompany you? Let’s start anew in a place where no one knows us. We can raise Janelle together, watch her go to college, find a job, get married, and have children…”
Carl’s imagination was beautiful, but before he could finish, Nana interrupted him.
“No, you have your mother and your family. In fact, we are not meant to be together.”
Recalling the time they spent living with the Waters family, Nana increasingly felt that being with Carl in the first place was a mistake.
Some connections were meant to end without a trace.
Nana didn’t believe in fate, but she realized that her life had always been influenced by it.
“We are not from the same world. How could you think like this?” Carl asked incredulously.
Regardless, he couldn’t accept Nana’s decision to part ways with him.
Suddenly, Carl tightly held Nana’s hand, speaking with excitement, “We have compatible personalities, and we understand each other. We also have a daughter now. Aren’t these reasons enough for us to be together?”
Nana bit her lip and remained silent. She didn’t deny that they had a high level of compatibility in many aspects, but marriage required much more than that.
“Carl, let’s stop torturing each other. Just consider letting me go.”
Nana coldly withdrew her hand. Their conversation woke up their daughter, and Nana immediately picked her up, gently patting her little bottom to soothe her.
“You can leave now and don’t come to the hotel anymore. No one can change my decision.” Nana’s voice was even colder than before.
“Fine, I’ll leave.”
Gazing at her resolute figure, Carl turned around with a sense of desolation and walked away.