The sky began to light up by the time Anthony and Thalia returned to the hospital.
Kenneth had been transferred to the ward after being saved, whereas Natasha had her injuries tended to. Yet, the woman didn’t feel a hint of sleepiness, and she sat next to Kenneth’s bed, staring at him blankly.
All that had transpired last night felt like a movie, and she couldn’t stop replaying each scene in her head—his every move, his madness, and the way he looked at her.
Every single thing he had done was out of her expectations.
To say there were no feelings involved would be completely false. Regardless of how much she used to despise him, none of that seemed to matter in the face of death.
Kenneth.
You’re such a jerk.
Why did you have to break the balance?
Just as she was deep in thought, a knock came on the door, and Anthony walked in.
“Hey, Nat.”
Natasha smiled faintly as she turned and saw the boy. “You’re back.”
Anthony walked over to her. “How are you feeling? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just a few cuts on my skin, that’s all.”
Then, Anthony’s gaze fell on Kenneth. The man looked ashen as he lay in bed, and there were bloodstains on his thick layers of bandage. “How… is he?”
Natasha turned to Kenneth too. “The doctor said the wounds on his stomach were pretty deep, and he has lost a lot of blood. He’s been stitched up, but it’ll still be a while until he wakes up. On the bright side, he’s not in any danger now.”
Anthony nodded as he heard that and breathed an internal sigh of relief.
In truth, he was touched after seeing the way Kenneth had acted last night and didn’t hate him as much anymore.
He was even worried about the man now.
Natasha placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”
Anthony looked up at the woman, and they nodded at each other in understanding.
Then, Natasha turned to Thalia, who was standing behind the boy. “Oh, thank you for your help last night.”
Not expecting to be cued, Thalia stilled briefly before waving her hands. “Not at all! I’m glad to be of help. It’s no big deal.”
She truly respected Natasha for having raised such an exemplary boy like Anthony.
She’s so pretty and capable! I’m so envious of her.
Natasha gazed at her and said nothing, but a look of dubiousness flashed in her eyes briefly.
It was just for a split second, but Thalia had noticed that, and her smile froze.
When she glanced at Natasha again, the latter had already looked away.
Uh… Was I seeing things just now?
The way she looked at me… It was as if she knows me.
No, rather, it was as if she… understands me.
She froze for a few seconds before turning to Natasha again, but the latter appeared as though nothing had happened.
Thalia blinked several times and eventually came to a conclusion after a moment of reflection.
I must be overthinking.
How could she actually know me?
My eyes are probably just playing tricks on me after a sleepless night!
Yup, that has to be it.
Anthony glanced in Natasha’s direction. “Nat, Thalia is actually… my friend,” he admitted.
As though she had long been aware of this, Natasha’s expression was calm. “Yeah, I know,” she replied with a nod.
“I didn’t mean to lie to you, Nat…” he added, gazing up at her.
Natasha turned to him with a smile. “You have the right to make friends. I won’t interfere with that as long as you protect yourself.”
She evidently had no intention of probing into that.
Initially, he thought he would have to explain himself, Anthony sighed with relief as he heard that.
“Okay, I understand,” he answered, nodding. “I’ll take good care of myself, so you don’t have to worry.”
“I’ll watch over him too,” Thalia couldn’t resist chiming in. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t get hurt—not even a scrape.”
Natasha eyed her for a long while before finally nodding. “Okay. I trust you.”
“Anthony, your mommy is so pretty and smart!” Thalia couldn’t help but gush.
Anthony gave her a glance. “Why are you stating the obvious?”
“You!” Thalia was about to unleash her wrath on the boy, but she held herself back upon remembering that Natasha was here. “You’re so… cute!” she exclaimed, forcing a smile.
Anthony burst into laughter.
Playing it cool, Natasha beamed too.
A discreet sigh escaped Thalia’s lips at that.
For some reason, she felt a sense of trepidation every time she looked at Natasha.
Meanwhile, Thea trembled as she sat on her bed in another ward.
The thought of Kenneth getting injured filled her with worry and anguish, causing tears to spill over the sides of her eyes as she sat on her bed looking like a soulless puppet.
Caroline arrived to see her in such a state.
“Thea! What’s wrong?” the older woman rushed over and gazed at her daughter in unease.
Hearing her mother’s voice, Thea turned her head and replied with a quiver, “Mommy, I think… I think I’m in trouble.” She looked up at Caroline, her eyes full of despair.
“What? What happened?” Caroline asked, caressing the young woman’s back as she wondered what could have happened in a night.
A great tremor overtook Thea as hot torrents of sorrow coursed down her face, and she slowly opened up after a long moment of pondering.
Caroline frowned upon hearing what had ensued. “Thea, how could you be so careless as to involve yourself in this?”
“B-But I didn’t think it’d turn out this way,” Thea mumbled, sniffling between her words. “What should I do? Kenneth was hurt! Do you think he’ll be okay? If anything happens to him… I don’t want to live anymore!”
Caroline grew livid and hopeless at the sight of her precious daughter. “Okay, calm down,” she assured after a long pause. “Everything should be fine. There would’ve already been a stir outside if something had happened.”
“But he received so many stab wounds!”
“Shh!” Caroline motioned her to keep her voice down.
Thea glanced outside and lowered her volume. “I’m really scared, Mommy. What should I do?”
Caroline was frantic, but she knew she had to keep her composure.
“I’ll find out about this,” she assured before leaving Thea a warning. “Don’t you tell anyone else about this, do you hear me? Your life is over if you do.”
Thea nodded fervently. Her face had turned white like a sheet. “I know. I won’t say a word.”
Caroline sighed in frustration. “Get some rest. I’ll look into this.”
Thea nodded again, placing all her hope on her mother.
After arriving at the door, Caroline seemingly recalled something and turned around. “Thea, you didn’t leave any traces of evidence, did you?”
Thea shook her head. “That guy is mentally ill. He’s a complete lunatic.”
Caroline pondered for a moment before smirking. “That makes everything much easier to handle then.”
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