Natalie sat across from Hector and Charlene. She nced around the room but didn''t see Charles or Sheldon.


    "Where are Grandpa Charles and Sheldon? I don''t see them today."


    "Mr. Holden Senior left The Herbalist''s Sanctuary early this morning with Sheldon," Hector said. He had woken up slightly earlier than them and had heard about it from Matias.


    Joshua had instructed Matias to care for them, so when Charles and Sheldon left, Matias was the first to know.


    "Do you want me to call Matias over and ask him for details?"


    Natalie looked at Marcus, who had juste back with some food. After a brief moment of thought, she shook her head. "Let''s ask Marcus first."


    "After all, Grandpa Charles is his biological grandfather. Let''s see what he has to say."


    Charles leaving so suddenly-right after she had brought Charlene overst night -was a little too well-timed.


    "What''s wrong?" Marcus sat beside Natalie and noticed the serious expressions on both her and Hector''s faces. "Did something happen?"


    "Grandpa Charles left early this morning," Natalie said with a cold expression. "I just brought Charlene herest night, and now he''s gone first thing in the morning. What perfect timing that is."


    Marcus'' face darkened immediately. Without even touching his food, he took out his phone, got up, and walked away to make a call.


    The phone rang for a long time before Charles finally picked up. "Hello, Marcus. What''s wrong?" His tone was calm, with no hint of guilt or hesitation.


    "Grandpa, didn''t I ask you to meet Charlene today? Why did you leave so early?" Marcus forced himself to stay calm, trying to keep his tone even.


    "Marcus, I don''t want to meet strangers."


    "Do you not want to meet her, or are you afraid to?"


    "Marcus, I''ve been away from home for a long time. I miss it, so I decided to go back," Charles said, clearly trying to change the subject. "If there''s nothing else, I''ll wait for you to bring your mother home.


    "I left early this morning and have been on the road for a while now. I''m tired and need to find a ce to eat. That''s it. Bye."


    Charles hung up before Marcus could say another word.


    Marcus clenched his phone tightly as his expression turned even darker. Charles'' actions made it obvious that he was running away because he was feeling guilty.


    At the dining table, Natalie put down her cutlery and walked over to him. "What happened?"


    "Grandpa ran away. He said he missed home and went back."


    "I guessed as much," Natalie said,pletely unsurprised. "Don''t be mad. Come and eat. He can''t avoid it forever."


    "The person behind Grace''s schemes will have to show up sooner orter. But Grandpa Charles running away like this just confirms that he knows Charlene''s family. And the connection isn''t a simple one."


    Marcus took a deep breath. "I might''ve had doubts if he hadn''t run. But now that he has, I''m sure he''s definitely involved in this."


    Natalie nodded. "Yeah. Since that''s the case, let''s have Charlene stay with Hector for now. We''ll eat first, then go see Laura. Don''t be upset."


    "Alright." Marcus calmed down and returned to the table to eat.


    While they ate, Charlene kept ncing between Natalie and Marcus as if she wanted to say something. But every time she opened her mouth, Hector ced more food onto her te, effectively shutting her up.


    Marcus and Natalie ate gracefully but efficiently. After finishing, they only said goodbye to Hector andpletely ignored Charlene as they walked out of the dining area.


    As soon as they left, Charlene red at Hector angrily. "Hey, why did you keep shoving food at me?"


    "What exactly were you trying to say?" Hector didn''t want to argue with her, but he didn''t like the way she kept staring at Natalie and Marcus with those sparkling eyes.


    "You''re 18 now. You''re an adult. You should know what''s appropriate and what isn''t."


    His tone turned cold. "I was being nice by distracting you with food. If you were any older, I wouldn''t have been so polite."


    Charlene''s eyes widened in disbelief. After a long pause, she suddenly stood up, her face red with frustration.


    "I was just fangirling over my favorite couple! What''s wrong with that? Can''t I admire good-looking people? And the reason I only stared at Natalie and Marcus —not you is because you''re ugly!"


    She was so mad that her eyes turned red. "I''m just a harmless fan! Yeah, I might have been a little too enthusiastic, but I didn''t do anything bad! Why are you treating me like this?"


    After yelling at him, she spun around and stormed off.


    "Hey! Charlene! Stop right there!"


    He quickly got up to chase after her. If anything happened to her while she was under his care, Natalie would never forgive him.


    Meanwhile, Natalie and Marcus arrived at the medical room.


    Laura refused to eat or use anything unless it had first been checked by Connie. Otherwise, she didn''t feel safe. After years of being harmed by others, she had developed a deep sense of paranoia.


    "Mom."


    "Laura."


    They greeted Laura, who immediately smiled at them and handed Natalie an artwork she had been working on. "Nat, look. I painted this while I had some free time. It''s not very good, though."


    Laura was a little embarrassed. Ever


    since the poison in her body had been expelled, her health had been slowly improving with proper care. She wanted to do something with her time, but Connie was afraid she would tire herself out, so she had given her a sketchpad and pencils to keep her entertained.


    But what Laura really wanted was to open a flower shop.


    If Marcus and


    and Natalie weren''t


    married or expecting children, she nned to run the shop by herself But if they got married and had kids, she would hire an employee to help run it so she could take care of their children instead.


    Not being able to take care of her own child had been the biggest regret of her


    life.


    So if she ever had grandchildren, she was determined to be the best grandmother she could be.


    Natalie took the artwork from her. It


    was a sketch of The Herbalist''s


    Sanctuary, depicting greet neatly divided herb fields, and various flowers and trees. Small houses were scattered throughout.


    Though the drawing wasn''t particrly refined, it conveyed a sense of tranquillity and harmony.


    "Laura, this is beautiful." Natalie didn''t hold back on her praise. "If you like


    drawing, I can ask Connie to get you more art supplies."


    "There''s no need. I prefer gardening," Laura said with a warm, gentle smile.


    "Once I recover, I''ll go back to Dithoria City and open a flower shop.


    "It doesn''t have to be big. About 200 or 300 square feet of space will be enough. I can handle that on my own."


    She was already looking forward to her new life back in Dithoria City.