Nathan had slept so deeply that he didn’t wake until dusk was falling. When he finally opened his eyes, a wave of exhaustion still lingered in his body, though the pain had eased considerably.
He glanced out the window at the darkening sky. Worried that Zinnia might be hungry, he instinctively pushed himself up, wanting to get out of bed.
He had barely lifted himself when he noticed Zinnia keeping vigil by his bedside. He immediately eased down.
Zinnia rested her head on the edge of the bed with her eyes closed in sleep. Her long, thick lashes drooped, her lips pressed tight, and even her brow was furrowed.
No one knew what she was dreaming of. Her expression stayed just as serious, even in her dreams.
These days, Zinnia hadn’t been resting well, either. After keeping watch over Nathan for so long, exhaustion finally overtook her, and she dozed off by the bedside, her breathing soft and even.
Nathan quietly watched Zinnia’s sleeping face. Suddenly, he heard her murmur softly in her sleep, “Nathan, you have to get better. I promise I’ll do my best.”
Hearing her words, Nathan felt his heart melt. Seeing her brows tightly furrowed, he instinctively reached out, yearning to smooth them away with his fingertips.
Before his fingertips could touch her, Zinnia suddenly jerked awake. Her eyes flew open as she bolted upright.
Seeing Nathan awake, Zinnia jumped to her feet and looked at him with concern. “Nathan, you’re awake. How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?”
Zinnia hadn’t had a single peaceful sleep since Nathan’s accident. Every night, she’d lie awake, afraid something might happen to Nathan while she was asleep. She would always wake up in the middle of the night, startled and anxious.
If Nathan hadn’t forbidden her from entering his room, Zinnia would probably have sneaked in at midnight just to check his pulse and breathing, making sure he was still alive.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” Nathan said softly, meeting Zinnia’s concerned gaze. His heart ached with guilt. It was his fault that she had to put up with all this.
“Let me check your pulse,” Zinnia said, gently taking Nathan’s hand.
When Nathan first returned after being bitten by the snake, his internal energy was in chaos as the two opposing poisons battled within him, making diagnosis impossible.
But after three solid hours of sleep, his condition gradually stabilized.
Zinnia’s eyes sparkled with joy as she checked his pulse. “Nathan, it’s working. Giselle’s method really worked. The poison in your system has stabilized for now!” she exclaimed.
Nathan’s energy flow had long been in turmoil, never reaching equilibrium. It left his body in a constant cycle of weakness and exhaustion.
Giselle’s medical skills were average, but she had a knack for researching cute little things, especially poisonous ones.
But now, after Nathan was bitten by the snake, the two extremely potent venoms clashed inside his body and unexpectedly brought him to a stable equilibrium.
Nathan looked down at Zinnia and said softly, “Now can you stop worrying so much?”
“Who’s worried about you?” Zinnia retorted stubbornly.
Nathan chuckled softly and said, “Then how come I heard you murmuring in your sleep that you hope nothing will happen to me?”
Chapter 334
Zinnia didn’t buy it. “That’s nonsense. I’d never talk in my sleep,” she retorted.
“Zinnia, didn’t you know?” Nathan’s eyes crinkled with amusement as he looked at her. “When people are exhausted and restless, they sometimes talk in their sleep without even realizing it.”
In an instant, Zinnia’s face burned with embarrassment. She had really been exhausted lately. Every night, her mind was restless with worries, making it hard to sleep.
Zinnia turned away with a huff. “You know I’m worried, so you have to get better, okay?”
After hearing Giselle’s words today, Zinnia finally felt a ray of hope in her heart. With that hope, a sense of relief washed over her.
“Zinnia, don’t tell anyone about my condition stabilizing for now,” Nathan said, looking at her seriously.
“Others? Does that mean Quincey can’t know, either?” Zinnia said, thinking of Quincey. Right now, Quincey was the only other person who knew about Nathan’s condition.
Nathan said firmly, “Don’t tell anyone.” As he recalled Giselle’s words, a shadow crossed his eyes. When it came to Zinnia, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down. He couldn’t fully trust anyone.
Zinnia and Nathan descended the stairs to find Fiona reading in the living room. Looking up from her book, she remarked, “Oh, you two were home after all. The house was so quiet that I thought you’d gone out.”
Realizing Quincey wasn’t downstairs, Zinnia asked, “Where’s Quincey?”
Fiona replied, “Quincey said he found a lead on what he was looking for. It was urgent, so he left without telling you.”
Later that afternoon, while Quincey and Fiona were chatting with some of the elders in the small town, Quincey received a phone call.
His expression shifted abruptly, and without another word to anyone, he took off immediately. Fiona vaguely caught something about “flowers” in his hurried words.
But since Quincey had always been as elusive as a ghost, Fiona wasn’t all that surprised by his sudden departure.
At her words, Nathan’s eyes lowered. ‘Quincey found a lead, yet he didn’t tell me right away,’ he thought.
Fiona set her book aside and looked at Zinnia. “It’s getting late, Zee. What do you want for dinner? I’ll make it for you.”
“Let’s make some soup. We still have dishes left from lunch, so there’s no need to cook much. How about we just stir-fry some bok choy and make tomato and egg toast?” Zinnia advised, glancing at Nathan beside her.
Nathan had put his mask back on, hiding his face once more.
Fiona had never even seen what Nathan really looked like.
After a long afternoon nap, some color returned to Nathan’s lips, but he still couldn’t handle anything too heavy. Rich were definitely off the menu since they’d be tough for him to digest.
“Oh, Zinnia. You want to go vegetarian now?” Fiona teased, genuinely surprised to hear her volunteer for veggies.
Having watched Zinnia grow up, Fiona knew better than anyone that the girl had always hated vegetables. Just mentioning them would make Zinnia wrinkle her nose. For Zinnia to bring it up herself was truly odd.
Zinnia pouted and said sweetly, “Tomato and egg toast doesn’t really count as vegetarian.”
“Fiona, what were you looking at?” Zinnia asked before Fiona could respond.
Chapter 334
“I was just tidying up the coffee table and found the photo album I took of you as a kid. I couldn’t help flipping through it,” Fiona said, pointing at the album on the table.
Zinnia came downstairs and looked at the photo album. Flipping to a random page, she puffed out her cheeks and complained, “You guys even took embarrassing photos of me!”
Fiona looked at the photo. It showed five-year-old Zinnia clutching a small spoon, feeding herself from a cute bowl.
Beside her was fifteen-year-old Nathan, who was holding a fork with green vegetables and trying to coax them into Zinnia’s mouth.
Zinnia kept her lips tightly shut, pouting pitifully. It was an utterly adorable sight. Back then, Nathan was patiently trying to get her to eat her veggies.
Every time Nathan tried to get Zinnia to eat her veggies, he had to coax her endlessly, promising all sorts of things, like a new stuffed animal, the prettiest flowers, picking her up after school, or making her favorite lamb chops for dinner.
She’d rattle off a whole list of little demands, pouting pitifully about how much she was suffering and insisting Nathan had to spoil her. Only then would she reluctantly chew her vegetables.
She was a typical greedy little girl who always wanted more, even after getting her way.
Back then, Nathan would quietly listen as Zinnia talked, gently coaxing another bite of veggies into her mouth. When she finished, he’d always agree with whatever she wanted.
Sometimes, Zinnia would prattle on with a mountain of requests, so many that even Fiona couldn’t keep track, but Nathan remembered every single one and made sure to grant them all. From the time Zinnia was little, Nathan had spoiled her a lot.
Back then, Fiona stood by, snapping photos of Zinnia and Nathan with her phone. The camera wasn’t great, so the pictures faded and yellowed with time. It was a gentle reminder of those bygone days.
At the sight of the faded photographs, Nathan’s eyes softened with warmth.