Chapter 299 Reunion
Benedict noticed the stunned look on Nicole’s face and the smile on his face grew.
“You were still young back then. Although you weren’t in your twenties yet, you were a decent young lady.”
As she stared at him, old memories seemed to gradually unfold in her mind.
Back when her mother was ill, Nicole used to go on strolls with her. That was when she bumped into an eccentric yet generous old man.
The old man talked a lot and would often stop to chat with Nicole and her mother. As time passed, she slowly began to befriend the old man. However, he disappeared one day. When Nicole asked the doctors in the hospital, they told her that his family had picked him up and that they could not disclose his address.
“Y-You’re the old man from the hospital?!” Nicole asked with uncertainty.
Although the old man back in the hospital was very talkative, he had black hair and looked high in spirits.
Yet, here Benedict was with a head full of gray and a wrinkly face. He could barely stand on his own and looked much older than the man she had met.
In the face of Nicole’s astonishment, he sighed slightly.
“Yeah. Back when I checked into the hospital, everything was fine. Suddenly, the doctor said that they’d detected a brain tumor. My son was worried and immediately transferred me to another hospital.”
So, this is why he left without saying goodbye.
At that time, Nicole was still young at about the age of twenty or so. While prioritizing her studies, she had to take care of her mother as well. She really cherished the old man’s presence because he was someone whom she could express her feelings to.
However, she never asked for his name. She would just politely greet him each time they met. She never thought that the old man would turn out to be Old Mr. Benedict of the Gardner Family.
“Back then, when you left without saying goodbye, my mother was making a fuss about you. She complained that you didn’t keep your word,” Nicole said with a smile.
At that time, he would often complain about how unfilial his children were and how they were too occupied to even visit him. He even insisted on Nicole’s mother becoming his goddaughter, saying that they could look after each other at the hospital.
Back then, Madeline was helpless.
“I’ve sent someone to look for you after that, but there was no news. After so many years, I thought you would just be a passing memory. I did not expect to see you again,” Benedict lamented.
The feeling of nostalgia was strong now that he was much older because reminiscing about the past would bring up a lot of memories.
Nicole lowered her gaze while her hands on the table tightened its grip.
Within a few months after Benedict’s departure, her mother’s condition had suddenly deteriorated. That was when Nicole turned to prostitution for money.
She thought that she could laugh it off by now, but every time she was reminded of it, she felt a sense of weight in her heart.
“Well, not long after you left, my mother passed away after severely falling under the weather. So, I left the country,” she said as she felt her throat constricted.
Benedict expressed his surprise in full disbelief. “No way! Madeline’s condition was fine back then. We both looked at it and the cancer was in the early stages. It wasn’t anything severe!”
Words failed Nicole at this point of the conversation. Back then, she was not prepped with any medical knowledge, so she could only trust what the doctor said.
As he noticed how her expression had dropped, he immediately changed the topic. “Forget it, child. It’s all in the past. Let’s not talk about it anymore.”
She let out a soft hum in response. Perhaps it was because she knew that Benedict was the old man in the hospital that she suddenly had a sense of familiarity toward him.
“Now that we’ve met again, I guess you can say that it is fate. You’ve also given birth to my great-grandson, which has strengthened our fate even more. It seems like we just keep crossing each other’s paths.”
This time, when Benedict looked at Nicole, there was a little more affection in his eyes.
