The hospital room was cloaked in silence for a long moment. No one seemed to know what to say.


    M found herself at a loss, unsure of how to break the tension without causing offense. This family''s situation was simply too bizarre.


    The scene was awkwardly frozen.


    After a while, she felt that saying nothing was just as rude. Just as she was about


    to speak, Nathaniel hesitated but finally broke the silence.


    "Could you, perhaps, help me take care of the child for a few days?"


    "Why should she?"


    Eugene was the first to object. "Nathaniel, how could you even ask my sister to look after your child? Do I need to remind you how you treated her in the past?"


    "Eugene."


    M gently chided him, but she didn''t agree to the request either.


    She felt a deep sympathy for the child''s plight, yet her history with Nathaniel was fraught with tension. While she could separate the child from the adults'' issues, it didn''t mean she felt no resistance.


    Nathaniel had no counterargument, his expression sour.


    He had known Lysander and Giselle since they were kids and had never respected M, who had once stepped in to force a rtionship with Lysander. Given Lysander''s obvious dislike for her at the time, Nathaniel had been dismissive and critical.


    He never imagined he''d one day have to plead with M.


    But the child...


    He gritted his teeth, stood up, and bowed deeply. "The past was my mistake. I''m sorry."


    M''s brow furrowed slightly, but she said nothing.


    Eugene let out a derisive snort.


    Maintaining his bowed posture, Nathaniel continued, "I truly ask for your help. Julian''s mother went to prison when he was just three. His memory is iplete. I''ve only told him she went far away, but he''s always been searching for her. He mistook you for his mother when you saved him. Given the current situation, I beg you to care for him for a few days, until he stabilizes. I promise I''ll take him back soon without causing you more trouble. I''m begging you."


    Eugene was about to scoff at Nathaniel''s emotional plea but M stopped him with a nudge.


    Frowning, Eugene called out, "Sister!"


    M shook her head at him, then turned to Nathaniel. "I can help, but I won''t ept your apology, nor do I n to forgive you."


    She wasn''t interested in Nathaniel.


    The deliberate or idental slights, the verbal and behavioral abuse from the past had faded in her memory, but her instinctive aversion to him lingered.


    The past was behind her, but that didn''t mean she had to forgive.


    Those past experiences weren''t something she could just brush off with a few words. To forgive so easily would be a betrayal to the vulnerable, suffering, and helpless version of herself from back then.


    She simply couldn''t like him.


    Nathaniel suppressed his relief and nodded vigorously. "I''m extremely grateful! Once the child is better, I''ll take him away as soon as possible. I promise the Pembroke family will express their gratitude and offerpensation." M ignored him.


    Eugene was visibly displeased, shoving Nathaniel out of the room, leaving only the child behind.


    "Sister, how could you agree?" he eximed, frustrated. "You can tell he''s not genuinely sorry, he''s only doing this for the child!"


    M shook her head, gazing down at the sleeping child in her arms, gently stroking his soft hair. "The poor child, losing his mother so early."


    Eugene fell silent.


    He sat by the bed, leaning against M, his voice filled with longing. "I wish I were really your child."