Compared to the unexpected encounter Graham and Lynette had on their side, Jenny and Alec had a relatively peaceful time. After landing in Xeridia, they decided to stay at a hotel by the sea. They had a great view of the ocean by simply looking out of their window, which put them in a rather refreshing mood.At this moment, they'd just gotten up from bed after an intense round of lovemaking. Perhaps it was because they'd left work and other worries behind on this vacation, which was rare for them, Jenny and Alec were in high spirits."Shall we go out for a walk?" Alec asked as he hugged Jenny from behind.Glancing at the nearby beach, Jenny nodded. "Okay."With that, the two of them walked out of their hotel and made their way toward the beach.Sunlight shone upon them, casting long shadows in the sand. The setting sun further added to the romanticism of the scene and made it all the more beautiful.Holding hands, husband and wife strolled along the beach leisurely.Suddenly, a
Stephanie and Leonard's wedding took place two months after Jenny and Alec's wedding was held. Ultimately, they chose to have their wedding on a small island in Clusia. It was more convenient for everyone to attend that way.They didn't invite many people—just their family and friends.At that moment, the sun was shining dazzlingly on the island.Jenny's eyes were fixed on the wedding ceremony taking place ahead. Witnessing the ceremony conducted by the priest, she felt genuinely happy for Stephanie. Jenny was glad she'd finally found her happiness.Then, she instinctively shifted her gaze over to Paul, sitting across from her. His eyes were on Stephanie and Leonard too. Besides a slight frown, he didn't show any other emotions. Upon seeing him in a relatively calm state, Jenny breathed a sigh of relief.Actually, Jenny was rather concerned that Paul might kick up a fuss that day and cause trouble for her best friend. However, it seemed that he had come to terms with the situation
With Stephanie's wedding out of the way, it was Zack and Jane's turn next. They were also very eager to get their wedding done as soon as possible without wasting any more unnecessary time.Jenny didn't help much during Stephanie's wedding—she'd taken care of everything herself. Zack's wedding was an entirely different matter altogether. As a fellow family member, Jenny had to help with everything related to her adoptive brother's wedding. Somehow, she was even busier now than when she held her own wedding.She wasn't the only one who was busy. Being the older brother, Gilbert was naturally the busiest among them all. Whenever Jenny saw him, she couldn't help but think that after Zack's wedding, he might really retreat to Mount Wallington to become a Catholic priest. Her mood instantly soured when she thought of that."Gilbert, are you really sticking to your previous plan for the future?" Jenny asked tentatively, feeling a little unsettled.As he was busy with the wedding preparat
Paul didn't feel to need to hide anything from Jenny. He proceeded to explain the whole situation. He then started to blame himself. "Gilbert had warned me before, reminding me that Marigold's condition wasn't good and asking me to check on her, but I didn't think much about it or take it seriously. If only I'd gone to see her, the situation wouldn't have become this dire."Marigold had a brain tumor compressing her intracranial nerves, which led to intracranial bleeding. Due to that, her situation was extremely critical right now.Paul wasn't the only one feeling immense guilt for his neglect toward his sister, Jenny blamed herself too. Marigold had come to her previously, complaining of intense headaches. Although Jenny had suggested a brain CT scan, Marigold chose not to do it in the end, fearing it might adversely affect her baby.Now, it seemed there were already signs back then. If she'd been more proactive in getting to the bottom of her condition at that time, perhaps things
In the evening, under the nanny's guidance, Gilbert managed to put his child to sleep on his shoulder. At the same time, Marigold's surgery also ended.Jenny had changed out of her surgeon clothes and was about to go in to see the child when Alec stopped her. He carefully opened the door to let Jenny peek in through a small gap. "Well, look at that. I guess someone is able to tie him down, after all."Alec was right. Gilbert was completely enthralled by the child. He was so smitten to the point that he'd completely forgotten he was supposed to go to Mount Wallington."How did the surgery go?" Alec asked."I think it was a success, but she needs to focus on recovery after the surgery. I don't think she should take care of the child," Jenny answered.Alec smiled, thinking that it wouldn't be a problem. "Isn't Gilbert doing well taking care of the baby? Maybe he can take care of the baby's mother too.""Are you suggesting..." Jenny dragged out the last word suggestively and laughed.
At first, Marigold only wanted to live better for the sake of her child. However, the more she stayed at Gilbert's villa, she couldn't help but start to have some other thoughts."Since he agreed to let me stay here, does it mean he didn't despise me as much as he did before?" Marigold wondered hopefully.With that thought in mind, Marigold became eager to receive treatment; it could even be said that she was enthusiastic. She wanted to stay alive until her child grew up and live until she and Gilbert grew old together.Gilbert noticed how she'd changed but kept it to himself. He didn't think much about it. He agreed to let Marigold stay with him partly because of the child and partly because of Jenny's intervention. How he regarded Marigold, however, remained mostly unchanged.Apart from occasionally checking on the child from time to time, he didn't really interact much with Marigold. Most of the time, life remained the same for him. He was busy as ever and wholeheartedly poured
Gilbert didn't know what her true thoughts were. He couldn't help but chuckle a little in response to her words. "Why do you consider that extreme? Couldn't going there mean I've decided to let go of the past and begin a new chapter?""Um..." Marigold opened her mouth, looking for the right words. But in the end, she closed her mouth. She realized she didn't have much to say to that. She thought Gilbert was right; why would that be considered an extreme act?Seeing her dazed expression, Gilbert retracted his gaze that was on her and focused on his cooking. "Alright, go wait in the living room."This time, Marigold finally did as she was told. Without a word, she turned and went back to the living room, silently sitting down and looking in the direction of the kitchen. From there, she could see Gilbert's figure faintly."Actually, who's the one still holding on to the past?" Marigold wondered. She didn't have an answer to that. The only thing she got was a headache trying to figure
After finishing their pasta, they each went back to their rooms. Marigold stopped by the next room next to hers to check on her baby.She sat by the bed, looking at the child, who was sleeping peacefully. That little face was incredibly adorable, making her unable to resist the urge to give him a kiss. But she held herself back from giving in to that temptation, as she was afraid of waking the child.Although the child was currently taken care of by a nanny, she knew how much of a ruckus he would make if he started crying at night. Hence, she couldn't wake him up at any cost."My baby, your daddy acknowledges that you're his child." Even though she'd initially made up her mind that she would raise the child alone, with or without Gilbert, she still hoped that Gilbert would acknowledge the child as his. Perhaps deep down, she wished for the child to be able to grow up with a father figure.Growing up in the Wagner family, her father never gave her anything much besides holding the t