As mourners stepped forward to offer flowers and bow, they would exchange polite gestures with the family mbers.
George Hart looked significantly more haggard and aged, his face grief-stricken as he nodded or bowed.
Christopher sat in a wheelchair, unable to move easily, rely nodding at each visitor. His eyes looked dull and colorless; whether it was due to grief for his sister’s death, worry for his mother’s terminal illness, or both, was hard to tell.
Benny Palr and Lucas King were present, helping to greet the guests and family friends.
Alia saw him, and her heart tightened suddenly. If not for the special circumstances, she just wanted to step forward to hug him and let him cry his heart out.
Finally, it was their turn.
They stepped forward to present the white chrysanthemums in their hands and walked to the family’s area.
When George Hart saw them, he was visibly surprised. His expression suddenly turned extrely stern and sharp as he looked at Alia.
Snow Fitch was secretly worried, fearing that the old man would make things difficult for Alia.
However, George Hart still had so decorum.
In such a setting, he couldn’t let people see a joke, so he rely nodded at Snow Fitch in acknowledgnt and turned a blind eye to Alia.
Alia didn’t mind his cold face, even thinking that his attitude was already not bad. She walked directly to Christopher, softly calling, "Christopher..."
This call of "Christopher" made the man’s body tremble, and his hollow eyes suddenly lifted, showing a glimr of light.
"Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you not to co?" Christopher spoke, his voice deep and sowhat hoarse.
Alia’s heart ached upon hearing this, she whispered, "I should be here."
Their eyes entangled, oblivious to those around them.
Snow Fitch, watching the continuous flow of guests arriving behind them, subtly nudged her friend’s arm. "Let’s go for now, we’ll talk after it’s over."
Alia nodded, taking advantage of shaking hands with Christopher for comfort, murmured, "I’ll be waiting for you in the side hall."
They walked away, and Benny Palr, noticing them, was a bit surprised, "You’re really brave."
Alia said, "I have a clear conscience."
"Yes, but there are many people here. I’ll have soone take you to a private lounge over there; it’ll be a while before Christopher finishes here."
"Okay."
They waited in the lounge for about two hours when soone finally entered.
Lucas King hurriedly said, "Madam, the lady of the family ca over earlier, but she fainted from grief. President Hart is now accompanying her back to the hospital, so he probably won’t have ti to see you."
Originally, Christopher was concerned about Emma Carter’s health, fearing her excessive grief might affect her condition, and did not bring her to the funeral ho.
But how could Emma Carter not show up at her daughter’s morial service?
She found a way to co over on her own.
But after only a few minutes, seeing her daughter’s portrait in the mourning hall, she suddenly lost control of her emotions, overwheld by grief, causing her to faint again.
The scene was chaotic for a while, George Hart had to stay to preside over the morial service, thus Christopher hurriedly accompanied Emma back to the hospital.
Upon hearing the news, Alia nodded, "Okay, I understand. You go ahead."
Lucas King was about to leave when Alia called him back.
"Lucas, these days... please take care of him, and give a call if anything cos up. Thank you for your hard work."
Lucas King sincerely replied, "Madam, there’s no need to say that. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on President Hart, and I’ll contact you if there’s any issue."
"Alright, thank you."
Since she couldn’t et him, Alia and Snow Fitch left the funeral ho.
Snow Fitch was still a bit surprised, "I didn’t expect you to have such a calm trip."
Alia glanced at her, "It seems like you were hoping sothing would happen to ."
"How could I! I’m just worried about you."
Alia didn’t reply, thinking there’s nothing to worry about; the real concern was for Christopher.
Their family had faced continuous issues, even the internal Hart family mbers watched with a mocking attitude, not to ntion how outsiders would take advantage of their plight.
She was so afraid Christopher couldn’t hold on...
On the way back, Snow Fitch continued scrolling through her phone in the passenger seat, suddenly asking, "By the way, are you still following that novel?"
"Novel?" Alia understood and replied casually, "I’m not in the mood... what’s been written so far?"
"It’s been stopped."
"Stopped again?" Alia thought of the author Ginny Davies, who had previously invited her for a eting, saying they had interviewed the latter part’s "story" direction. Why stop again?
"Yes, the author said she wants reality to mirror art—which ans... when the male and female leads in real life reconcile, that’s when her story will offer a grand finale. So, every day in the comnts section, people ask if they got back together today, did the male lead succeed in proposing? Also, do you know why the online rumors didn’t gain traction this ti?"
Alia guessed, "Could it be that the readers defended automatically again?"
"Right! The critics and trolls were, although only hinted at, still refuted by the novel’s fans, and with the end of the year bringing many hot news items, the attention on this wasn’t as drawn, and it got buried."
Listening to this, Alia found it incredible.
A group of strangers, just because of a fictional romance novel, supported her in such a way—doesn’t this exactly show that true feelings exist in the world, and those malevolent creatures cannot prevail over goodness and justice?!
————
As the year-end approaches, various company annual etings were in full swing.
It’s the first year Venus established its Asia-Pacific branch, and with remarkable achievents, this annual eting had to be grand and splendid.
Alia was so busy she was overwheld, not having ti to find Christopher, so they just chatted a bit on WhatsApp each day and called each other at night.
Christopher was also working continuously, but despite this, he still rembered to arrange accommodations for the woman and child, setting up another place for them to live.
"There aren’t many pieces of furniture there. Go check and see what else is needed and tell Lucas, he’ll arrange for soone to buy it."
"Don’t worry, I can handle this myself, you don’t need to worry."
"Mm..."
"Have you eaten?" It was already past seven in the evening, and since he had ti to call, it must an he was free.
"About to eat, what about you?"
"Our company’s annual eting is today, I saw your call and sneaked out to take it."
"Oh..." The man was a bit annoyed, "I even forgot about that."
They had clearly discussed it on WhatsApp the day before, but he forgot altogether when he got busy.
"It’s fine, take care of yourself, I’m still busy here, let’s talk later, you go eat."
"Okay, bye-bye."
After hanging up, Alia glanced at the ti on the screen, thinking that the annual dinner should end by nine. She decided not to attend the later programs.
She hadn’t seen him for three days, and she was concerned about his condition.
Since he couldn’t make ti, she would have to go to him.
So, after the dinner concluded, she packed a late-night al prepared by the restaurant, confird with Lucas King that Christopher was still in the hospital, then drove over.
She didn’t ntion it beforehand, wanting to give him a surprise.
However, when she arrived at the hospital, she couldn’t find his presence on the floor where Emma Carter was hospitalized.
Outside Emma’s ward, she stood watching for a while. Inside, Emma lay quietly; whether she was asleep or not was unclear. She looked much more haggard than usual due to her illness, without her typically domineering deanor, which looked heartbreakingly fragile.
A nurse passed by behind her, and she quickly turned around, asking in a low voice, "Excuse , do you know where the family mber of this room went?"
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