Lilian Jackson made a fuss and left.
Koa Jackson, however, didn’t mention a word about what she had said, and neither did Mia Ginger offer any explanation. In truth, she had no way to explain.
Mia knew well about Camilia Davis’s disgraceful past.
Eastern Peak Village was the largest and most chaotic urban village in Cloud Capital. The care Louis Cox had provided for her and her mother over nearly a decade was impossible to erase.
Rumors are terrifying, yet she had no way to refute them.
The only thing she could rely on was Koa Jackson’s trust.
Mia Ginger was lost in thought, forgetting that she was holding a kettle. Scalding hot water poured out of the spout, spilling on the table.
On the hospital bed, Camilia Davis promptly called out.
"Oh." Mia was startled.
"The water’s overflowing," Camilia said, pointing nervously, cautiously probing, "What are you thinking? You’ve been absent-minded all morning."
"Nothing much." Mia Ginger smiled casually.
Tilting the cup, she poured out some of the overflowing hot water, wiped the rim, and handed the cup to Camilia, speaking softly, "Have some, it’s mixed, should not be too hot."
Camilia took the cup, holding it in her hands without drinking.
Mia turned her head to tidy up the table.
Camilia had originally been in a regular ward, but after Louis Cox found out, he insisted on arranging a private room for her. Now, she owed him a significant favor again.
As she thought about this, she finished cleaning the table and went to throw out the trash.
Louis Cox arrived at the ward with a fruit basket.
Camilia was sitting with the cup, tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes red.
"What’s going on here?"
Louis paused at the doorway, put the fruit on the table, cast his gaze around, and asked, "Has Mia Ginger been here?"
"Yes." Camilia answered, wiping her tears.
Louis glanced at her, then shifted his gaze elsewhere, "Where’s Aunt Miller?"
"She went out for lunch." Camilia placed the cup on the table, tears falling again from her reddened eyes, choking up as she said, "You tell me what sin I’ve committed, that I had the wicked thought to take her away back then."
"Don’t talk about the past," Louis said, looking towards the door, shrugging, "There’s no point."
"This child has suffered alongside me for more than ten years," Camilia said, tearing tissues to wipe her eyes, "When she was in elementary school, her Chinese teacher suggested having a hobby of meaningful collecting. Some students in her class collected stamps, some collected little butterfly ties. I didn’t have enough spare money for her to do these, so Mia collected buttons, found a canning jar, and after school, she’d wander the alleys, if she met someone she knew, she’d go up and ask, ’Auntie, do you have any spare buttons at home? Can I have some of the pretty ones?’..."
Camilia covered her mouth with tissues, unable to speak through her tears.
Louis’s hand at his side clenched involuntarily, feeling heartache.
He had known Mia Ginger since she was seventeen.
Back then, she was only eleven, fair and slender, even if rarely in new clothes, her chin was always slightly lifted.
Cold and proud, like a little white lotus blooming from the mud.
She made people’s hearts itch unbearably.
He liked her from the first glance.
"The year I returned to Cloud Capital, I knew she was wealthy, but I couldn’t give her up," Camilia continued, "Tell me how I could do something so selfish, making her suffer with me, and still dragging her down now..."
"Stop it." Mia had returned, looking at her with a stiff expression, reproaching, "Can’t you rest if you’re uncomfortable? Why say these things?"