Ch. 191..200

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 191

He knew that he made a huge mistake in the past and wanted to make amends with Hesper. Even though she refused to accept it, he would still use his means to secretly do it as an apology for the hurt that he

caused.

Ernest shook his head.

“What I want to tell you about is related to that kiddo, but not entirely.”

At his age, if there were things that he couldn’t figure out before, he would have by then. “Your marriage to Hesper was my fault. You didn’t trust her when you married her. Had I put more thought into it, I wouldn’t have agreed to let you two get married.” Ernest sighed. Trust is something every couple should have toward each other. How could I expect you to support each other and spend the rest of your lives peacefully if you don’t have that?”

Rickard frowned.

He made a lot of mistakes, but he didn’t trust Hesper in the beginning because…

Rickard suddenly remembered what she had said.

Hesper defended herself countless times. She said she didn’t drug anyone and she didn’t know what happened, but he never believed her.

He thought that she did something so terrible out of love for him.

“I guess you know what I mean.” Ernest sighed. “Think harder. Think about who Hesper was those years. ago and ask yourself if she was really capable of such a thing.”

Something in Rickard’s heart suddenly collapsed.

Because he didn’t believe in Hesper, she had to go through such turmoil and was framed for countless things. She finally cleared her name after three years.

Could everything that had happened… be just as Hesper said three years ago?

Maybe she really didn’t know what happened and she didn’t play any mind games in order to marry him!

All those years of mistreatment….

Hesper brought out a platter of peaches and smiled. “Have some peaches, Grandpa! I took one just now. They’re so sweet!”

Rickard lowered his head, suddenly afraid to look her in the eyes.

Hesper… How much pain did I cause you?

After the three left, Rickard immediately asked Benji to investigate what happened all those years ago. He needed to get to the bottom of it, no matter what it took.

Benji was shocked but immediately started.

Seeing Hesper’s perseverance, he had always believed that there was a misunderstanding between the two of them. However, never did he imagine that Hesper might have been framed for the very first incident!

Four years had already passed, so it would be hard to investigate, but there must be some clues.

If they had enough time, every minute detail could be dug up and the truth would be out.

Meanwhile, Hesper felt fulfilled after meeting Ernest.

She thought there was no one she would miss even after living in Genecity for years, but Ernest changed.

her mind about that. Hesper was missed and loved.

“You seem to love Great-grandpa. I love Great-grandpa because he’s very nice to you.”

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Children might actually be very sensitive to some emotions. Hesper nodded. “Great-grandpa is nice. I love

him.”

Remembering that she forgot to read the message from Julian, Hesper took out her phone but realized that he hadn’t sent anything and she was the last to reply.

But she remembered that there was an unread message.

Hesper checked and saw that no one else had sent her a message either.

“…maybe I remembered it wrong.”

Hesper didn’t think too much about it because no one would touch her phone. Even though Rickard was next to her phone, he had no reason to touch it.

After a long day, Hesper still hadn’t started on her assignment. She could delay work till the next day, but if she didn’t start that assignment right then, she would be late.

She couldn’t help but laugh. Her child was old enough to attend school yet she was still worried about university assignments.

Renfrew was tired after being out for the entire day. Hesper gave him a cup of warm milk and went back. to her study to start work.

In the meantime, on the other side of the ocean, Julian was shoved into an unfamiliar place with a blindfold on.

“Isn’t he the student of that old thing? Looks young.”

It was a noisy place and the person speaking had a strong accent. Julian’s eyes were blindfolded, so his other senses were amplified.

“Really?”

Another young person’s voice was heard. He sounded like a teen, somewhere between teenage and young adult, but he sounded cold.

The first voice chuckled, then said, “I don’t mean that you’re not good enough because you’re young, but how many others are as good as you?”

Julian was forced to sit. There was the smell of metal in the air and he guessed that he was in a factory.

“Alright, the boss says that Dr. Zink should stay here for a while.”

Suddenly, a female voice was heard. “Dr. Zink is a VIP, so you better watch your mouth. Also, Trez, come with me. The boss wants to speak to you.”

Julian wasn’t completely ignorant of his predicament The ‘trouble’ he mentioned to Hesper previously was the person the woman called boss.

One week ago, a group of people suddenly showed up at his door and asked him to get in touch with his professor because some bigshot needed surgery.

He knew his professor well enough. If it was someone that he wanted to help, he would help them. without them needing to seek him out. However, if it was someone that he didn’t want to help, no one would be able to persuade him to do it.

There were a lot of people who tried to reach him through Julian, but most of them eventually turned around because they knew it was impossible, except for this group. They followed him around and

stalked him like a bunch of bandits.

He thought that was the worst they could do, but then they kidnapped him.

At the final moment, he managed to send half a text to Hesper but he didn’t know if Hesper could tell that something was wrong.

However, what he didn’t know was that his messaging app was hacked, so his message didn’t manage to

get sent out.

Monday soon came. Hesper stayed up late for two nights and finally finished her assignments for both work and school. She wished she could split into a few to finish the tasks.

When she remembered how she had confidently told Matthew that she would be able to take care of both. sides and not delay any work, Hesper felt overwhelmed.

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“No way, your dark circles are terrible.” Jessie was shocked at how tired Hesper looked. “Did my dad give too many assignments? Is this school violent?”

Hesper didn’t know what to say.

Jessie quickly skipped to the next topic. Hesper realized that if she didn’t pay absolute attention, she wouldn’t be able to keep up with her. She didn’t know how to feel about that.

She wondered why Jessie’s weird ideas didn’t end up on the design board. If they did, Professor Jenkins. wouldn’t be so troubled.

At the university, Hesper felt more relaxed. She attended classes during the daytime and worked during the night. She would bring Renfrew around for all kinds of delicious food, so life was quite comfortable.

Lane Holdings’ growth was better than expected. Rickard would sometimes visit Renfrew, but he didn’t stay long. He would bring some of Renfrew’s belongings over and never mentioned that he wanted to bring him home.

That was great because Hesper didn’t want Renfrew out of her sight, not even for a day.

Jessie wasn’t shy around Hesper. Ever since Hesper gave her her address, she visited very frequently.

Hesper remembered the first time Jessie saw Renfrew. Her chin almost hit the floor, as if she saw a

monster instead of a child.

“You’re kid is that big now? I thought…”

Jessie swallowed the rest of her words, but Hesper could guess what she was going to say. She had thought that Hesper aborted it instead of getting married.

“Hello, are you Mommy’s friend?”

Renfrew had always been friendly and adorable. He immediately stole Jessie’s heart.

“Yes, I’m Jessie, you can call me Aunt Jess. You’re so adorable!”

“…” Hesper felt helpless as she looked at Renfrew, who immediately warmed up to Jessie. She thought the reason she couldn’t catch up with Jessie was that she didn’t speak enough.

However, after Jessie left, Renfrew held onto Hesper and complained. “Aunt Jess talks so much.”

Hesper stifled a laugh. She felt sorry for Jessie, who was wrapped around Renfrew’s finger.

Moments like these seemed to fly by and Hesper lost track of time as she juggled studying, work, and Renfrew. Her life was very happy and fulfilling.

That was until Nathaniel called.

“What? What did you say happened to lan?”

It seemed to be windy there, so Nathaniel’s voice was choppy.

“He’s currently in shock, but his professor showed up and said that there’s a chance of recovery. They’re currently in surgery.” Nathaniel’s voice wasn’t very clear, so Hesper was confused.

“Did you get the message he sent to you before he disappeared?”

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Rickard looked at the files in front of him and started questioning himself for the first time in his life.

Benji compiled the truth of what happened those years ago and placed it in a folder on his desk. The past. would be opened along with the folder, and the truth would come out.

Rickard was suddenly afraid to look at it, fearing that the ending would be as he imagined, but he also feared that it might turn out otherwise.

However, regardless… It was time to face the truth.

When Hesper walked into the Duval Tower, she didn’t know if she was angry or disappointed.

It was a bright sunny day outside, but she felt cold. It was time for class.

Hesper remembered that she had forgotten to tell Professor Jenkins that she would be absent because of her hurry to get there. She took out her phone and texted him. Maybe because she didn’t look well, he was fine with it.

Since she had gone to Duval Tower a few times before because of their partnership, the receptionist remembered her and came over to welcome her. “Ms. Lane, do you have an appointment? What time is it? I’ll inform Mr. Lynch.”

Hesper looked down. “I don’t have an appointment. I called Rickard and said I wanted to see him.”

The receptionist remembered Ms. Lane’s relationship with her boss, so she didn’t say anything and gave Benji a call. Benji was mostly friendly. Sometimes, the receptionists would annoy the guests and they would ask him for help.

Benji was surprised when he picked up, his expression turning awkward.

After investigating the past, he felt sorry for Hesper… But it hadn’t even been ten minutes since he left the folder on Rickard’s desk. How was she already there?

The receptionist said that something looked off about Hesper, who didn’t even realize that there was paint on her shirt. That didn’t sound like Hesper.

Even though Benji was confused, Hesper was already there, and he couldn’t stop her. He asked them to send her up as he went to inform Rickard.

As Rickard read through the information, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

All that scheming he despised, including what happened that night… And Hesper turned out to be a victim

all along.

Juniper had been working on a project that needed to start immediately, but since the projects of the Wights were saturated, all the funds were tied up. Wanting to borrow some money from Rickard, Juniper tried to hint at this to him, but he rejected.

Firstly, he had just taken over Duval Group and what Juniper asked for wasn’t small at all. Secondly, he didn’t think that project had good prospects and believed that it wasn’t worth Juniper putting her time. and money into it.

Juniper understood and never brought it up after that, so Rickard thought that she was understanding, unlike others who would do whatever it took to get what they wanted.

But the truth?

While Juniper said it was fine, she actually schemed with her friends to try to make Rickard change his

mind so she could get the money!

The plan was to make Rickard sleep with her. Knowing him, when he realized what happened the next day, he would find a way to make amends because he was a conservative man who respected her.

That was when Juniper spiked Rickard’s drink so she could ‘have’ him. What they didn’t plan on was Hesper drinking the spiked drink instead and Rickard coincidentally bringing her to his room.

Juniper started worrying when she saw what happened. To try to destroy the evidence, she and her friends went to ‘catch them red handed’.

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In the end, Juniper got the money because Rickard felt guilty. He gave it to her after he was forced to marry Hesper.

So that was what Juniper meant when she talked about love. It was ironic.

Rickard placed the folder down and balled up his fists, his eyes turning red.

The truth was too heavy to bear.

He remembered how devastated Hesper appeared as she stood in front of him and Juniper, covered in wounds. He also remembered Juniper holding his hand and saying that Hesper would never be good enough for him.

…But what good was he?

“Mr. Duval, Ms. Lane is here.”

Out of anxiousness, Benji forgot to knock and immediately walked into the office. When he saw Rickard, he realized that Rickard had found out the truth.

“Hesper… Why is she here?”

Rickard frowned. He wasn’t ready to face her, as he was caught off guard for the first time in his life.

However, a moment later, Hesper walked in with no expression and looked at him coldly, standing a few feet away.

No matter what cruel things he said to her in the past, Hesper had never looked at him that way. With

disdain.

Benji noticed that the atmosphere was tense, so he excused himself and left the room to them, closing the door so others wouldn’t be able to peek.

“Hesper, I…”

Hesper’s gaze was a little different. Rickard got up and wanted to take her hand, but she avoided him.

The disgust and cynicism in her eyes grew as she looked at the man before her looking helpless as if he was the one who should be upset.

Why hadn’t she known that Rickard was so good at pretending?

“Don’t say my name.”

Hesper frowned and held back her tears then laughed at herself.

“Rickard, how could I be so stupid? I really thought that you’d changed because of me.” Hesper took a deep breath and continued to calm herself down. “Don’t try to impress me anymore. Do you think that I can’t see through your plans? Whether it was saving me, sending Renfrew to school because of my request, or sitting in the same office with me… All I feel now is just disdain and disgust.”

At first, Rickard didn’t know how he should face Hesper, but as the words piled up against him, he frowned due to his principles of the past twenty-odd years.

“What’s wrong, Hesper?”

“What’s wrong…” Hesper closed her eyes and shook her head. “Ricakrd, do you know what affection is? You don’t know what love is, and you probably don’t know what respect is either. Honestly, I’m tired of your acts. Please get out of my life.”

A Spoonful of Sugar: Don’t Beg for Love Chapter 196

Hesper walked out of the building and finally closed her eyes, thinking back to what happened ten

minutes ago.

The moment she turned to leave, Rickard stretched out his hand to grab her. This time, he wasn’t going to accept rejection. She tried to pull her away a few times but failed.

“Let go of me!”

“I won’t take any of that seriously, Hesper. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rickard frowned and calmly said, “You can’t just pin the blame on me without clearing things up.”

Hesper couldn’t put into words how much she wanted to laugh, but everything Rickard said disgusted her, so she just stared at him coldly.

That coldness made Rickard let go.

“Mr. Duval, Lane Holdings is going to take drastic measures, so you best be prepared.” Hesper looked at him, her pretty hazel eyes frigid. “Don’t forget that we’re competitors. Since you did save me in Salt City, I’ll be merciful. Don’t try to challenge my patience. I’ll let what happened three years ago slide, not because I forgive you, but because I respect Grandpa, so I’m not going to take action. I won’t do that again.”

Rickard shook his head while looking into her eyes. The elegant and cool person finally showed how messed up she was.

“You’re lying. We’ve been…” There was reciprocation… wasn’t there?

Hesper raised her brows, the light of the room shining on her lashes and casting a shadow.

“It’s all fake. We’ve just been lying to each other. Mr. Duval, the next time we meet, it will be at the bidding. I hope that Duval Group is ready.”

Hesper sat on the bed and woke Renfrew up, then opened the window halfway and called Nathaniel.

“How’s lan?”

Nathaniel’s voice was gentle and calm as ever. “Don’t worry, he’s in stable condition. You didn’t pick up when I called you this afternoon. I thought something happened.”

Hesper was silent for a moment, then said, “If lan wakes up, please tell him I’m sorry… If I had seen hist message that day, he wouldn’t-”

“It’s not your fault,” Nathaniel said, cutting Hesper off. “Is this all related to Mr. Duval?”

Hesper didn’t speak, so he gave her some time to think. After a long pause, he finally heard Hesper’s voice. It sounded cold. “Was I too naive, Nate?”

If it wasn’t because of her naivety and sympathy, she wouldn’t have believed in Rickard’s lies, and Julian wouldn’t be hurt.

She thought that Rickard wouldn’t touch her phone and wouldn’t hurt the people around her for something as pointless as possessiveness. The truth was she was wrong, terribly wrong. Rickard was still the same cold, selfish man, except he was better at pretending.

Nathaniel chuckled. It was very light and sounded very near as if he was next to her ear, weirdly calming

her down.

“Naivete and having a soft heart are both good qualities. I should praise you because, after all that you’ve

been through, you’re still a good woman. This isn’t your fault.”

Hesper lowered her head, her eyes feeling warm.

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“But this is a lesson that you needed to learn. Not everyone gets a good outcome from being too sympathetic. Think about the past, about how disappointed you were.” Nathaneil’s voice was calm.” Disappointment doesn’t just happen. I won’t dig into your past, but Matthew told me that you’ve been through a lot. You shouldn’t be sympathetic to someone who did you wrong. It doesn’t matter if he was the culprit or an accessory; he still hurt you. He doesn’t deserve your trust.”

Hesper closed her eyes, then when she opened them again, her tiredness turned into fierceness.

“You’re right. Thanks, Nate.”

Hesper cracked her knuckles, not knowing how to approach the next topic. After much hesitation, she finally said, “I’ve always avoided talking about our marriage arrangement. You know my situation. You’re a gentleman, and I don’t want to-”

“It’s fine.” Nathaniel cut her off again. “Our marriage was arranged by our elders, and there isn’t any benefit to it. Grandpa Arthur isn’t an unreasonable man, As for my family… I’m the only one left. So, if you don’t want this arrangement anymore, we can just do away with it.”

Hesper always felt complicated when it came to Nathaniel, but no matter which angle she looked at it from, she knew she didn’t love him and the relationship was a burden to her.

What Nathaniel said relieved her, but she still felt guilty

“We’ll talk about this when we’re back in Emperion. By the way, I forgot to ask, why did you suddenly go. abroad? Do you have work?”

Nathaniel paused and said that it was because he wanted to surprise her, then decided to end it there.

“Alright, it’s getting late. You probably haven’t rested well, with so many things going on.”

The moon was high in the sky. Hesper didn’t notice it, but she was relieved, and her eyelids were suddenly really heavy. Her mind was more exhausted than her body. She tucked away what Nathaniel said about the surprise and said good night, then was soon unconscious.

In the night breeze, the screen lit up.

“Good night, Hesper.”

The next day, Hesper packed up Renfrew’s things and sent him back to the Duvals.

She hesitated about it but finally decided that if she wanted to take the Duvals down, she would have to be very careful every day from now on. Renfrew wasn’t a burden, but she had very limited time. She couldn’t be sure that she would be able to take good care of him.

“Mom, are you leaving me…?” Renfrew’s eyes were filled with hurt. “Please don’t send me away. I’ll be good. Did Daddy make you angry? I don’t want to be away from you. I don’t want to be a kid without a

mom.”

Hesper shook her head as she pulled Renfrew into her arms and promised. “I’ll never leave you. Not only that, I’ll make sure that you’ll officially live with me. I promise I won’t let you wait for too long.”

Renfrew didn’t understand what that meant, but Hesper looked very serious, so he nodded. “I’ll wait for you, but if you leave me, I’ll be very sad.”

Hesper nodded.

“Soon. Trust me, Ren.”

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When Renfrew was back at the Duvals, Rickard finally realized that Hesper didn’t just say all that because she was angry.

She was really going to start attacking him and his family, though he didn’t even know the reason behind  “You haven’t seen eye to eye in a long time,” After a few days of behaving, Sophia couldn’t help but say that after seeing how sombre he looked. Dick, do you really think what we did in the past had nothing to do with you? I don’t think Hesper even likes you now.”

“Sophia.” Julie grabbed her and looked at Rickard warily. She could see more. She was afraid that her son was bewitched by Hesper the fox and would do anything that went against his principles.

She and Sophia used to treat Hesper so terribly. Even if they were Rickard’s family, she couldn’t be sure that Rickard wouldn’t pin all the blame on them for what happened in the past.

Love blinds people.

Rickard didn’t have the energy to bother with his mother and sister. What he had to do was face the obstacles Hesper directed at him. If this had happened a few months ago, he would have retaliated without hesitation and let her and the rest of Genecity know that he wasn’t someone people could simply pick on.

But now, he hesitated.

How could he position Hesper so that neither of them would get hurt?

He had to find out why Hesper’s attitude toward him changed. He wouldn’t believe a word that Hesper said in his office. He would only believe what he saw.

“Benji, check who Hesper spoke to before coming over yesterday.”

“Yes, sir.”

However, Hesper moved a lot faster than he imagined.

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Duval, but you’re a businessman, sa you should understand that profit is more. important than anything. We could still work together when given the chance in the future.”

The factory worked with Duval Group on their biggest project. If they suddenly halted work, it would bring the project to a stop, and the profit that was previously made would not be distributed to them.

Stopping production would hurt both parties, but the factory agreed to the conditions brought up by the Lanes, so one could imagine the offer Hesper gave.

Even if that was the case, was she adamant about hurting the Duval Group even though she would take a huge loss too?

“Alright, but I hope that you understand I will not tolerate betrayal.” Rickard’s voice was calm. “Once bitten twice shy.”

“But Mr. Duva-”

Rickard didn’t bother, hanging up before the man could finish.

Since he called, he probably weighed the pros and cons and decided that there was no point in Rickard wasting time.

A few other companies that were working with them called and requested to cancel their contracts,

saying they would pay the fines. Even though these didn’t affect Duval Group as much as the first factory, it meant that Hesper was declaring war.

She really wasn’t joking around. Hesper was set on running Duval Group to the ground.

Rickard pinched the bridge of his nose. He paid another factory an unusually high price to have them start working, then contacted Benji to arrange for an emergency board meeting.

While the Duval Group slowly fell into turmoil under Hesper’s actions, she didn’t feel anything in her heart. Instead, she calmly started contacting the other factories so Rickard wouldn’t be able to catch a break.

When Matthew noticed what happened in Genecity, he was shocked by Hesper’s sudden change. However, that was what Hesper had gone to Genecity for, to take Genecity out of the Duvals’ hands.

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Hesper was doing well.

“Don’t push too hard. I’m worried that you’ll be too tired, and you don’t know what people will do when they’re forced into a corner. Besides, Rickard is a wolf.”

Matthew couldn’t make out Hesper’s emotions through the phone, but he knew that Hesper’s change. wasn’t out of nowhere.

Anything related to Rickard would affect her emotions tremendously.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m just more aware than I used to be.”

Hesper removed her glasses. Between the company and school, she was busy and life was never more fulfilling. Matthew hadn’t been in contact with her in a while, so it was understandable that he was worried.

“The next time you come over, I might already have tamed the wolf. All the things that I’ve learned were to prepare me for this.”

Rickard was really quick in handling the attacks she launched. There was a back and forth, but Hesper would always end up with the upper ground. All the Duval Group could do was protect their own profits to ensure that they wouldn’t suffer too big of a loss.

Matthew knew he wouldn’t be able to change Hesper’s mind, so all he could do was remind her to rest and not overwork herself.

Her company was doing well, but something happened with Professor Jenkins.

When Jessie heard that her father was going to lecture Hesper, she put everything that she was doing aside and went over. When she got to the office, she saw Hesper standing next to Xavier with her head hanging low.

“Don’t you know how important this Duval Group competition is?”

Hesper kept her head low. “I know.”

“You don’t know anything!” Seeing that her father was going to start cursing soon, Jessie rushed in to

diffuse the situation.

“What this is?” Jessie rubbed her father’s shoulders and looked at Hesper, who was silent, then signaled at her. “Why can’t you just talk things through calmly?”

Hesper frowned but didn’t say anything. When Xavier saw that, he became even angrier.

“This genius isn’t taking the Duval Group competition seriously. I had to shamelessly ask for a spot, yet she doesn’t even want it.”

Jessie continued rubbing her dad’s shoulders but still didn’t understand what was going on, so she looked toward Hesper.

Even she, someone who didn’t care about competitions, knew how important it was. Many had tried but failed to even get a spot.

Hesper was someone who would take every opportunity, yet she turned it down?

“What happened?” Jessie whispered to Hesper.

Hesper hesitated, then spoke. “Renfrew is Rickard Duval’s son.”

That shocked Jessie and Xavier.

Hesper lowered her head and said, “There are a lot of problems between Rickard and me. I don’t want to talk about what happened in the past. I kept this from you because I don’t want to be reminded of the past.”

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After Hesper spilled the beans, Xavier fell quiet.

Hesper wasn’t a shy person. If it wasn’t something that she absolutely couldn’t talk about, she wouldn’t have hidden it. They were just normal people, different from the Duvals, who were important. In comparison, they were just ants.

Xavier remembered that Hesper didn’t come from the best background, so she must have gone through à lot living with the Duvals.

“This is a really rare chance.”

After a long pause, Xavier finally sighed and waved his hand to let Hesper leave.

Hesper walked out of the office and looked at the campus grounds, then sighed too.

She knew how rare the opportunity was, but after having an intense struggle with herself, she chose to give it up. She was too naive in the past. Now that she had come so far, there was no point chasing. dreams and hobbies.

Where would she find the time and energy for those things?

The right opportunity had come at the wrong time. Life wasn’t perfect; that was reality.

It was late autumn and the leaves had fallen. Stepping on them made a crunching sound. Hesper walked for a long time with her head hung low before suddenly seeing a pair of feet in front of her.

“Hesper.”

Hesper looked up and was surprised to see Nathaniel smiling at her.

“You’re back?”

Nathaniel looked at Hesper, who was before him. She seemed to have lost weight but was as mesmerizing as ever. She looked like a work of art under the evening sun, a painting worth millions.

Nathaniel had not mentioned that he was coming back, just like how he never mentioned that he was going abroad, so Hesper was shocked by his sudden appearance. The two friends were reunited.

“Let’s talk while we walk. We can get some local food,” Nathaniel raised his hand and Hesper saw that he was holding a paper bag, though she didn’t know what was inside. “Here’s a present from Julian to you. I don’t know what’s inside it.”

Hesper couldn’t guess what he might give her. She teased Nathaniel, saying, “lan gave me a present, but you came empty-handed?”

Nathaniel shook his head. “I did. But do you remember that I mentioned a surprise? I came here for that.”

They both got into the car. Nathaniel never liked people following him around, so he always drove. Hesper got into the passenger’s seat and opened the heavy paper bag.

She was utterly surprised by its content. It was a box of medication.

Hesper opened it, and there was a note in Julian’s handwriting.

Julian: This is for Mr. Duval Sr. I remembered this. However, the follow-up treatments will take some time because I…

How have you been? I miss you.

Hesper put away the note because it turned mushy, then looked toward Nathaniel and said, “Why did you.

suddenly want to go for local food? I haven’t had the chance to have a proper meal yet.”

“I knew you wouldn’t eat properly. I’m going to complain to your brother when I’m back in Emperion.” Nathaniel seemed to imagine what would happen, and he smiled. “I lived here for a while and never had the chance to return. It feels like a lifetime ago since I had the food here.”

They talked on the road and soon came to a little restaurant.