Knowing this filled Daisy Shaw with guilt. Especially after her stomach cancer diagnosis, she believed it was a punishment from heaven, one she rightly deserved.

Such thoughts tormented her, leaving her with no peace of mind.

"I keep wondering... if my mom hadn’t gotten sick, and he hadn’t had his accident, would we have ended up together? Gotten married, had kids, and spent the rest of our lives like that? No, I probably still would have chosen Harry Rhodes and taken the easy path he paved for me. But then, I wouldn’t have been able to claim any moral high ground. I couldn’t have shamelessly said I chose Harry for love, not his money, and then enjoyed all of this with a clear conscience."

Daisy Shaw sighed heavily. "It turns out I’m the kind of person I despise the most."

Yvonne Sutton reached out and held Daisy Shaw’s hand. ’So this is why she only contacted me and wouldn’t let me tell Wyatt and the others.’

"You haven’t gone to see him yet, have you?"

"I don’t have the courage."

"It’s been many years, you know."

"But... he’s been single all this time. Is it because of me...?"

"Don’t jump to conclusions. Just go see him."

Daisy Shaw was searching for inner peace, and only by confronting the storms of her past could she hope to find it.

With Yvonne Sutton’s encouragement, Daisy Shaw finally made up her mind.

She followed Yvonne, and the two of them made their way to the local specialty shop below the courtyard.

Just as they were about to go in, a plump woman came rushing over.

When the black dog saw the plump woman, it leaped on her enthusiastically.

"My good boy, I boiled two bones for you. Go on over to my place and eat." The plump woman patted the black dog, which seemed to understand her. It let out a WOOF and immediately darted off in the direction she had come from.

The plump woman glanced at them before entering the shop. Seeing that they weren’t moving forward, she assumed they were just passersby and went inside without a second thought.

"Lawrence, I made dumplings! Come and eat them while they’re hot!" the plump woman shouted toward the back courtyard.

Soon, Mike Lawrence came in through the back door, a cigarette between his fingers, but the plump woman slapped it to the ground as soon as he got close.

"I told you to quit smoking, but you just won’t listen!"

"I want to quit, but I get cravings."

The plump woman was quick. She slapped him on the mouth. "Still craving?"

Mike Lawrence didn’t get angry; he even started laughing. "Buy me some candy. I’ll suck on a piece when I get a craving."

"Do I owe you something?"

"Fine, I owe you, alright? So when are we finally going to get our marriage license?"

"My restaurant is pretty busy. How about in a couple of days?"

"Sigh, a couple of days, and then another couple of days. Look, my hair has turned gray from waiting."

"Oh, you’re right, there are a lot of grays. I’ll dye it for you tonight when I’m free."

"Then if you come to my place tonight, you can’t leave."

"You old rascal!"

After a few more moments of banter, Mike Lawrence took a wad of cash from a drawer and gave it to the woman, telling her it was the money from selling local products and that she should put it away.

The plump woman didn’t refuse, simply stuffing it into her pocket.

"Hurry up and eat while it’s hot. I need to get back to work."

After saying that, the plump woman left as hastily as she arrived.

When Mike Lawrence walked the woman out, he saw Daisy Shaw. He didn’t recognize her at first, staring blankly for a moment before it dawned on him.

"You... What are you doing here?"

Daisy Shaw walked forward and sighed. "I came to see you."

Mike Lawrence forced a smile. "There’s nothing to see. I’m doing fine."

He paused, then added, "Come in and sit."

He turned to walk inside, but his leg gave way in a limp. He quickly tried to walk on his toes to make his gait seem more normal, but it was an obvious effort to anyone watching.

"My leg’s asleep," he said, making an excuse.

Daisy Shaw’s eyes immediately reddened. "I know everything."

Mike Lawrence stiffened. Then, he dropped the pretense and led Daisy Shaw inside.

Yvonne Sutton didn’t go in, waiting instead under the large pagoda tree.

She waited for a very long time.

Just then, her phone rang.

"Stewart, you’re awake?"

"Mm, I woke up yesterday afternoon. I’ve been moved to a regular ward now."

"That’s great."

"I’m calling to tell you that the police officers came by just now. They said they’ve caught the person who hit me."

"They caught him?" ’So quickly?’

"It was that man who lives across from our clinic."

"I know it was him. I’m the one who gave the police the lead."

"Huh? How did you know?"

"I saw the surveillance footage and recognized him. And actually, the person he was really trying to hurt was me. You just got dragged into it."

"What do you mean?"

"I’ll explain in detail when I get back."

Some things were too complicated to explain over the phone, and Yvonne Sutton didn’t want to keep Stewart Pace from resting, so she ended the call.

She had just hung up when she saw a car driving in her direction. It looked vaguely familiar. As it drew closer, she got a clear look and shot to her feet.

The car pulled over, and Wyatt Shaw got out of the driver’s seat.

He saw her and gave her a little wave.

"You... How did you..." Yvonne Sutton blinked. Then, as realization dawned, her brow furrowed. "You followed me!"

Wyatt Shaw smiled. "You could also see it as me being worried about the safety of you two."

"So you knew I wasn’t just going for a walk, but was coming to find your mother. But instead of calling me on it, you followed me. Hmph, so deceitful!"

"I wouldn’t call it deceitful. I just used my brain."

Yvonne Sutton glared at him. ’What’s that supposed to mean? That I didn’t use my brain?’

They had just exchanged a few words when Daisy Shaw came out, with Mike Lawrence seeing her off.

"I should have been a better host, but my other half is a real firecracker, so... COUGH, COUGH... take care now." After seeing Daisy Shaw out, Mike Lawrence scurried back inside as if afraid of being seen.

Daisy Shaw smiled and turned to walk toward the large pagoda tree.

When she got closer and saw Wyatt Shaw, she kicked him right away, then said to Yvonne Sutton, "This kid is full of tricks and schemes. You’ll have to be on your guard around him in the future."

Yvonne Sutton completely agreed. "It’s best not to get involved with people like him at all."

"You still have to deal with him. After all, even though you two are divorced, you and I are still good friends."

Wyatt Shaw snorted with a laugh. "Mom, now that you’ve gotten that off your chest, can we go back to the hospital for your treatment?"

"After tonight. We’ll go back tomorrow. I’ve come to realize that my life is the most important thing. Every extra day I get to live is a blessing."

Hearing Daisy Shaw say this, Wyatt Shaw breathed a sigh of relief.

"It is getting late, and driving on the mountain roads isn’t safe. We’ll head back first thing in the morning."

That evening, Daisy Shaw pulled Wyatt Shaw and Yvonne Sutton into a drinking session.

"Son, with this illness, I won’t be able to drink anymore, even if I get better. Just for tonight, let’s the two of us, mother and son, have a good drink, alright?"

Wyatt Shaw was afraid that if he didn’t let Daisy Shaw drink, she would pull another stunt.

"Fine, but you have to drink just a little."

"I’ll drink a little, you drink a lot."

After that, Daisy Shaw started a rhythm where for every small sip she took, Wyatt Shaw had to down a full cup. But she wouldn’t let Yvonne Sutton drink, saying Yvonne would have to take care of the two drunkards later.

By the end of it, Daisy Shaw was still sober, while Wyatt Shaw was drunk and slumped over the table.

"I’m surprised this kid can hold his liquor so well. I’m getting dizzy just from my tiny sips." Daisy Shaw said, winking at Yvonne Sutton. "Help him inside. Then, while we have the cover of night, we can make our escape."

Yvonne Sutton’s eyes widened. "You’re still planning to run away?"

"I still have one more thing to do, and you have to help me!"