"How could you not know this would happen?"


    Anneliese felt the heat leeching off her face. Oh, God. He looks pissed.


    Before she could start spiraling, he suddenly said something that she never sawing. "You must believe that it happened!"


    "Huh?" Anneliese couldn''t keep up.


    Derek patted her arm, not at all shy about spelling things out for her as he continued, "Jonathan is never one for frivolous words. He always says what he means and means what he says.


    "He ispletely devoted to you and only you. You need to trust him! You can''t just run away and hide because of a little bump in the road. You''ll only hurt him that way.


    "You''ll also disappoint both Penelope and me. Do you understand?"


    Anneliese nodded resolutely under Derek''s searching gaze. "I understand, Grandpa."


    "Good. I always knew you were the sensible sort." Derek patted her arm again. He''d had his grief when it came to Anneliese, but that was all in the past.


    After all, she was legally married to Jonathan, which makes her one of them. Her identity as the Fullbuster family''s granddaughter-inw was written in ck and white. So, they shouldn''t be wasting their time with internal conflict.


    Instead, they should be pointing their swords at their enemies, together.


    Besides, Jonathan had his heart set on her. He''d even gone to great lengths just to marry her. Derek knew right then that he could never win that tug-of-war.


    Fortunately, he discovered that Anneliese had some redeeming qualities after spending some time with her. Sure, she was still rather na?ve and green around the edges, but she had good character, so he was confident that a diamond in the rough like her would shine in the future.


    Penelope had her hands full with Nishay, and he wasn''t about to dodder around doing nothing.


    He was certain he could get Anneliese to see things his way. It''d be a piece of cake, really. Hmph. Jonathan should thank his lucky stars that he has a grandfather like


    me.


    "But your grandmother is very stubborn," Derek continued. "Do you have a n to win her over?"


    "Time," Anneliese answered. "She''lle to ept it if I give her time to think it over."


    "I doubt that''d work." Derek shook his head. "But I do have an idea. Do you want to hear it?"


    Anneliese nodded eagerly, her eyes bright with hope.


    With Derek''s experience in life, she was sure he''de up with a ster n. s,


    her hopes were dashed when he said, "You and Jonathan should hurry up and have a child."


    Anneliese was rendered speechless.


    Was he serious right now?


    He sounded just like Jessica!


    Nishay and Penelope were no longer chatting by the time Anneliese and Derek returned to the ward. Still, Nishay looked rtively calm even though she had her eyes closed.


    Penelope was still all smiles, and it seemed that things had gone well.


    When she say Anneliese return, she waved her over and checked her burned hand again before nodding in satisfaction upon seeing it properly treated Then she exchanged a few pleasantries before leaving with Derek.


    Anneliese walked them to the door. As the door swung shut, she turned to look at Nishay, a question on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to know how their conversation had gone.


    Nevertheless, she wisely kept her lips sealed when she saw the deep furrow between Nishay''s brows. It didn''t help that her lips were still pursed with displeasure.


    So, she was surprised that Nishay never brought up the divorce topic for the rest of the day. She didn''t even say anything when it was time for her to leave.


    In fact, the gifts Derek and Penelope had brought were still sitting in the ward. She didn''t even ask Anneliese to get rid of them.


    Anneliese couldn''t help but feel relieved at Nishay''s eptance, no matter how begrudging. She was in such a good mood about it that Jessica, whom she''d gone to pick up, noticed it immediately.


    "I guess life''s treating you well, huh?" she remarked, not seeing the furrow between Anneliese''s brows.


    Anneliese smiled as she told Jessica all about Penelope and Derek''s visit.


    "I think Grandma''s softening up."


    Jessica beamed. "Well, Derek and Penelope visiting personally proves they value you. Your grandmother objected to your union with Jonathan because she thought you and Jonathan weren''t a good match.


    "She was worried that his family would look down on you or that they''d mistreat you. Now that she sees that her worries are unfounded, it''s only natural for her to ease up on the objections, I''m really happyfor you."


    Honestly, Jessica had shared those same concerns before. After all, Elizabeth was difficult to please, so she felt her worries ease now that she knew how much Penelope and Derek cared about Anneliese.


    After a beat, shemented, "I told you that you should find someone reliable, didn''t I? It''d be so much easier to navigate difficult inws when your husband is a dependable man.


    "But if he isn''t... God, you''re better off praying for an early death to your marriage."


    Anneliese''s smile deepened as she recalled Derek telling her how Jonathan had insisted that she was the only one for him.


    She knew very well she wasn''t easy to love. She was only human and had plenty of ws.


    The only reason Derek and Penelope were being so nice to her was because of Jonathan. They had chosen to treat her with respect because he''d made his stance clear right from the start.