“It’s too cold outside, Old Mrs. Holt. We should talk inside.” Justin changed the subject. However, Diana waved her hand and said, “Don’t try to fool me, Brandon. It’s already August. How can it be cold? Are you bullying me because I’m senile?”
Brandon? August? Rachel felt her heart skipping a beat. After a lot of persuasion by Justin, only then did Diana enter the house.
There was a nanny in the house. When she saw Justin, she greeted him respectfully and made them tea. Just then, Diana said, “The chef has made peanut brittle today. Wait here, and I’ll get some for you.”
“Wait, Madam.” The nanny wanted to stop her, but she failed to do so. She could only sigh resignedly. “I’m sorry, Mr. Burton.” Noticing that, Justin asked, “Did Old Mrs. Holt’s condition worsen?”
“Yes. As you can see, when she’s having an episode, she’ll mix everything and everyone up. She even called me her aunt this morning.” As they were talking, Diana’s voice resonated from outside, and the nanny quickly answered her. “I should go and take a look before she hurts herself. You should sit down with Miss Hudson.”
When Justin heard that, he nodded slightly. Only when the nanny left did Rachel ask, “What happened to Old Mrs. Holt?”
“She has Alzheimer’s. When I came here previously, her condition wasn’t this serious. At the very least, she was always clear-headed around this time. However, it seems like her condition has worsened.” “No wonder you asked me to come at this time.”
“I think I’ve wasted your journey here.” Justin’s tone was apologetic. “I don’t think this is going to work. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing? It doesn’t matter whether it’ll work or not; I know that you just want to help me. Besides…” Rachel looked out of the window.
“What is it?” “Nothing,” She put on a smile. Besides, Old Mrs. Holt makes me think of my grandma. For some reason, she’s giving me a sense of familiarity. “I heard how Old Mrs. Holt called you Brandon just now. Who’s that?”
“It’s her biological son, but he has already passed away.” “What?” Rachel was startled. Evan was only about fifty years old, and Diana was his stepmother. As such, her biological son should. be younger than Evan, so why had he passed away?
“He died at a young age. He was about eight years old at the time.”
“I see.” “Old Mrs. Holt has lived a tough life. I heard that when she was married to Old Mr. Holt, it was precisely when Hudson Pharmacy fell into trouble. During that time, Old Mr. Holt was still the Hudson Family’s butler. As such, he had put his entire fortune into it. Old Mrs. Holt even had to help people do laundry to help out with the family expenses.”
Everyone knew that the Hudson Family’s Butler Holt was a loyal person back then, but only a few of them knew how much his wife at home had to suffer to fulfill his loyalty.
“Everyone knows that Evan wasn’t on good terms with Old Mrs. Holt since he was young. She tried so hard and finally had her own. biological child, but he died at such a young age.”
Rachel felt pitiful after hearing that. ‘No parent should ever have to outlive their child.” Meanwhile, outside the house, the nanny was talking to Diana earnestly. However, Diana was growing impatient and waved her hand, showing that she didn’t want to hear it anymore. Then, she entered the house right away.
“Susan ate all the peanut brittle that I left for you two, and she’s not admitting it.” Diana was unhappy. “I’m going to ask your dad to send her back tomorrow. I don’t need her here anymore.”
“Mr. Burton.” The nanny followed behind Diana with an apologetic and resigned expression. Justin just smiled and said, “It’s okay. If there’s no peanut brittle, we still have the apricot Danish pastry.”
Only then did Diana remember the pastries. “That’s right, I still have the apricot Danish pastry.” As she said that, she sat on the couch and started to open the pastry box that Justin had bought her.
At this moment, Justin turned around and told Rachel, “Why don’t you go back first? I’ll let you know when Old Mrs. Holt is clear-headed next time.”
“What about you?” “I’ll stay here with her for a while. She’ll lose her temper if we leave together.”
Before Rachel could say anything, Diana seemingly heard them and raised her head sharply. “Who’s leaving? You two just came here. Am I not treating you well?” With an alarmed and upset look, she said, “Here, have some of these apricot Danish pastries.”
Seeing that made Rachel feel her heart ache. “We’re not leaving. No one is leaving,” Rachel quickly said to comfort Diana.
How many elderly people living alone really wanted a quiet environment? All of them wanted their children to come and visit them often. It was impossible for people like Evan, who only cared about their own interests, to take care of others. Moreover, he was on bad terms with his stepmother. He was probably just hoping for her to pass away as soon as possible so that he could inherit her fortune.
Startled, Justin looked at Rachel and couldn’t find any trace of her despising Diana. On the contrary, she was patiently opening the wrapper of the apricot Danish pastry for Diana. “Here, take a bite.”
“It’s delicious. Your dad doesn’t know you’re here, right, Nat?” Nat? Rachel was stunned for a moment and suddenly recalled that Evan had a daughter named Natasha. Diana probably had a good relationship with her, and she was thinking that Rachel was that kid.
“Why aren’t you calling me Granny, Nat? Your dad’s not here. He won’t know.” After hesitating for a moment, Rachel complied and said, “Granny.”
“Yes.” Diana smiled joyously. “Have an apricot Danish pastry. It’s really yummy.” Rachel and Justin only left when the sun was setting and Diana was getting drowsy. Before they left, Diana had fallen asleep on the couch with her hand holding Rachel’s.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble, Mr. Burton.” The nanny sent them to the door and didn’t stop thanking them. “It’s nothing. We don’t feel troubled at all. You can contact me at any time when Old Mrs. Holt needs any help.”
“I know. It’s better to count on you than Madam’s son. Throughout all these years, you’ve come to visit Madam more often than him.” Justin didn’t say much upon hearing that. He just told her to take care of Old Mrs. Holt well before leaving with Rachel.
While they were walking to the parking lot, Rachel asked Justin, “You’ve been coming here to visit Old Mrs. Holt throughout the years?” “Yeah. When she still had part of the shares in her hands previously, I frequented her place…”
“I don’t think that’s the only reason you’re doing this. If it’s really for your interest, you would think of ways to let her transfer her shares to Evan.” After all, Justin had left some leeway for Diana since he knew that Evan was unfilial. If she didn’t have the shares with her, she would have had no place to go in the future.
Justin was startled for a moment, and he didn’t admit to it. “I’ve come to realize that you’re really kind. However, you just don’t talk much, making people think that you’re a cold person. If you’d told me about the things about my grandma during those days, perhaps…” She didn’t continue her sentence.
When she met his appalled and complicated gaze, only then did she realize what she had said, and she was startled too.
