“Miss Lillian, Mr. Conrad is asking you to get in the car. It’s time for dinner.”
“Oh,” Lillian responded indifferently, then casually flicked her expensive clutch and proudly walked away from John’s side.
John didn’t dare stop her. He didn’t even have the courage to approach Conrad and ask Lillian for an explanation.
Lillian walked over to Conrad, and he instinctively wrapped his arm around her. Only when she was in his embrace did he feel something real.
“Did you have fun?”
At this point, Lillian honestly didn’t care what he thought or how he saw her.
She shrugged. “It was whatever.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? Why bother getting your hands dirty when you could have let me handle them?”
“I only feel good when I do it myself. Sorry.” Lillian said this without looking at him, then climbed into the car, tossing her clutch aside and crossing her arms, ready to sleep.
Conrad stood outside for a while before getting in the car.
As for John and his wife, he didn’t care what would happen to them tonight or in the future.
Conrad saw Lillian leaning against the car door and reached over to pull her back. “What do you want for dinner?”
Lillian opened her eyes, her gaze a little vacant. “Anything.”
Conrad swallowed. “I’ve been busy lately. How about I take you abroad to relax? Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”
Lillian replied, “No need. I still have to work on my graduation project. My grandmother would have loved to see my graduation certificate. I don’t have time to travel, and I don’t want to.”
These past few days, this was the most she had spoken to him.
Even though her attitude had completely changed, Conrad didn’t want to disrupt the balance between them. “Okay.”
Lillian closed her eyes, but Conrad knew she wasn’t sleeping.
He watched her leaning on his shoulder, and although he had pulled her over, he couldn’t help but feel a slight stir in his heart and lowered his head to kiss her.
But at the crucial moment, Lillian turned her head to avoid him. “I don’t want to have sex.”
Just those sharp words.
Conrad froze, staring at her intently.
Lillian remained expressionless. “Grandma just passed away, and I don’t want to.”
Conrad murmured, “Okay.”
He surprisingly agreed, respecting her wishes.
This was completely unlike his usual self.
Lillian didn’t have the energy to think about whether it was because of her grandmother or if he had suddenly changed.
When they arrived at Hillside Villa, George, Gordon, and the others had already left.
As Conrad got out of the car, he pulled Lillian with him, insisting on holding her hand tightly.
Lillian couldn’t shake him off and had no choice but to let him.
When they reached the door and were changing into slippers, Conrad froze in place. “Why are you here?”
Lillian was caught off guard when she locked eyes with an elderly lady sitting on the sofa. Her hair was graying, but she exuded an air of elegance.
“It’s rare for Grandma to visit. Why aren’t you happy to see me?” Old Mrs. Brown complained.
Conrad replied, “It’s nothing, just that if I’d known you were coming, I would have had someone come get you.”
“Forget it. I know exactly what you’re thinking.” Old Mrs. Brown said, then looked at Lillian and at the hand Conrad was holding.
Lillian tried to pull her hand away, but Conrad wouldn’t let go, holding it tightly as if it were a vice.
Old Mrs. Brown understood. “What a beautiful girl. Come here and let me have a look.”
Conrad turned his head to glance at Lillian’s reaction before pulling her toward Old Mrs. Brown.
Lillian felt uncomfortable, having never imagined she would meet Conrad’s family.
“You’re even more beautiful up close, such a well-mannered child.”
Lillian let her praise her, showing no response.
Conrad thought she usually liked to charm the older ladies, even chatting with people in the hospital’s other rooms. Yet now, when faced with his grandmother, she didn’t say a word.
“Grandma, her family had some troubles, so she’s not in the best mood.”
“I know, dear. How about going out to the lawn for a walk, girl?”
Hearing those words, Lillian was on high alert.
Conrad sat down and said, “Is there something you need to say here? What good could there possibly be to talk to her about?”
“Are you afraid I’ll eat her? Come on,” Old Mrs. Brown said, leaning on her cane as she tried to stand up.
Though her hair was already graying, she hadn’t experienced the wear and tear of life, and with proper care, she appeared much younger than other women her age.
Lillian didn’t want to face her, but she had no choice but to follow her outside.
“Take a look at this.” Old Mrs. Brown took a document from the housekeeper’s hands.
Lillian paused, instinctively taking a step back.
“This is something your grandmother asked me to give to you.”
Lillian wasn’t sure if she had heard correctly.
Old Mrs. Brown sighed and said, “I received this land sale contract this morning. It’s Kristin’s will. I’m not sure why it was only handed to me today, but I think she had probably prepared it early on, knowing her health wasn’t great. There’s also a letter she wrote to me-please take a look at it.”
Lillian didn’t understand, but she solemnly took the envelope.
Inside was the land for the factory her father had bought for her grandmother. The letter contained a yellowed photograph of two girls with braids, smiling brightly at the camera.
“I was in the same troupe as Kristin back then. Later, I returned to City N, and my family arranged a marriage with the Brown family. Communications weren’t as convenient at the time, and I only had their home address. After that, I didn’t know much about Kristin’s life.”
“She found me through an old address from my family, saying she had something for me to keep. She asked that, if anything happened, I could protect you. Over the years, many people have asked me for favors, but Kristin was never the type to ask easily.”
Old Mrs. Brown sighed and said, “I never expected you to be Kristin’s granddaughter. I once joked that if she had a daughter, our families could marry off our children to each other. Unfortunately, that didn’t come to pass. But now, our grandchildren have crossed paths. The only problem is, my grandson is a real troublemaker.”
At that moment, Lillian couldn’t pay attention to her words. Her trembling hands opened the letter her grandmother had written.
“Dear Old Friend, I’m Kristin. I’ve taken the liberty to write you this letter, begging you to please grant my request…”
The letter wasn’t long, but to Lillian, it felt like her grandmother’s final words.
It turned out that her grandmother had learned of Lillian’s hardships over the past three years from John. She remembered her old friend and realized that their paths had crossed in such a way.
Someone who had never asked anyone for anything must have felt immense pain when writing this letter, knowing what her granddaughter had gone through.
Her beloved, whom she treasured like a gem, had become someone else’s mistress because of her.
And still, she had to humble herself and ask an old friend for help, hoping to protect her beloved granddaughter.
She feared she didn’t have much time left, and she worried she wouldn’t be able to protect Lillian.
In her final days, she reached out to Old Mrs. Brown, afraid that whatever little she had left would be taken by John. She sent it out quickly, hoping it could give Lillian just a bit of strength.
Lillian’s vision blurred.
Tears fell one by one onto the letter, soaking it through.