Oberlin, as its name suggests, was a city surrounded by continuous mountains, and from the summit, one could see the vast ocean. It was nearing noon, the light rain had gradually stopped, and the sun broke through, casting its rays over the deep blue sea, a sight truly refreshing. Shakira stood quietly for a moment, and soon she heard Walter and the others arriving behind her.


    "Shakira, thank you for your hard work. Are you exhausted?"? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    Sk expressed her gratitude, offering Shakira and Brian warm water. "Take a rest; we''ll tidy up a bit." Some time had passed, and new nts had grown around the gravestone, looking a bit wild. Shakira nodded, feeling tired, and sat down on arge rock with Brian.


    Walter approached and handed her a dry towel. "You''re soaked with sweat; wipe yourself down."


    Shakira felt


    Shak


    Telt her head, "This isn''t sweat; it''s rainwater."


    Walter tossed the


    towel


    I into her arms. "Stinky."


    "That Walter with his sharp tongue!'' thought Shakira. Brian remarked from the side, "The young master may seem cold, but he''s actually caring for Ms. Nelson."


    Shakira, annoyed, wiped the dampness from her head, "I think he''s just taking this opportunity to criticize me."


    Brian scratched his nose, falling silent. After all, it''s not the first time the young master has been so childish with Ms. Nelson


    The ceremony itself went smoothly, attended only by their family. Sk sat before the grave, carefullyying out the offerings, talking about many things. By the end, tears filled her eyes, and Elvis helped her to another area to calm down. Walter stayed in front of the grave for a long time. Unlike Sk, who chattered away, Walter remained silent, quietly burning all the offerings until they turned to ashes.


    An hourter, the group made their way back down the mountain.


    Before leaving, Shakira walked to the grave. With a determined gaze, she murmured, "Uncle and Aunt, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to heal Walter''s legs." After finishing, she bowed and then turned to leave.


    Perhaps it was a blessing from the heavens; the weather was beautiful for about an hour on the mountain.


    Halfway dow


    down the mountain, dark clouds began to gather above them again. They quickened their pace, but in the end, they still got wet getting into the car.


    As soon as Shakira sat in the car, she sneezed.


    Walter nced at her, slightly furrowing his brows, "Already caught a cold?"


    Shakira sniffed, "What? I''m perfectly healthy, I... Ah-choo!" Before she could finish her sentence, she sneezed again.


    Walter''s expression darkened as he signaled Brian to turn up the temperature in the car and raise the partition between the


    back


    seats.


    Noticing that Shakira''s clothes were already mostly soaked, he said, "Take off your clothes."


    Shakira almost bit her tongue and instinctively hugged herself, "Wh-what?"


    G


    Walter looked at her with disdain and scoffed, "Who''s interested in you? It''s still over an hour back, you want to wear wet clothes, go ahead."


    Fine, so I was the one overthinking. But... At the thought of this, she said, "I don''t have any other clothes to change into; you can''t expect me to go without wearing anything."


    Walter tossed his suit jacket onto her. He had kept it in the car before going up the mountain; it was warm and dry.


    Feeling ufortable in her damp clothes, Shakira didn''t hesitate. She turned around, quickly took off the outer garment, and wrapped herself in the man''s jacket. Then, she slipped her hands into the loose suit and took off her inner shirt. She immediately felt much warmer.


    When Shakira turned back around, she saw Walter still in his wet clothes and smiled at him, "Thank you, sir, for your generous offer; you really are such a gentleman!"


    "Heh, the way you looked at me just now didn''t seem very gentlemanly."


    Shakiraughed, "Haha, that was a misunderstanding! Who knew Walter would suddenly show kindness!"


    Walter snorted, his gaze inadvertently, drifting to therge expanse of corbone exposed by her suit. His eyes darkened slightly.


    He pretended to casually look away and spoke in a rigid tone, "My parents don''t like crowds, so I didn''t bring too many


    badly." people with me.


    You and Brian can take the stuff up. I won''t treat you


    Shakira suddenly understood. ''So that''s why. I also didn''t dwell on why Walter only gave his clothes to me and not to Brian. "It''s fine; if you feel like you''ve shortchanged me, just give me a raise or something, and I''d be very satisfied!" Last time Mitchell sent so many clothes, Walter bought them without a second thought, yet he still remembers my debt! When will I be able to pay it off without a raise!?


    Walter smirked. "Then it''s better not to satisfy you; otherwise, you''ll lose your motivation to work."


    ''Great, kindness doesn''t exist in Walter''s world!''


    After returning to the vi, the Sk couple prepared a simple lunch for everyone before heading to a nearby church to


    pray


    Shakira was exhausted, so she went back to her room to rest. After taking a hot shower and preparing to lie down, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen as if something had dropped. Shakira immediately jumped up from the bed. "Why is this happening now!" She quickly grabbed her phone and rushed into the bathroom. Sitting on the toilet, she felt awful. This time, it arrived nearly a week early, and her lower abdomen started to ache. Shakira was so used to this feeling that she knew she would feel miserable in a few hours.


    She hadn''t prepared anything, and Sk wasn''t home. With no other options, Shakira could only call Walter.


    After a few rings, the call connected. The man''s voice was sticky, as if he had just been woken from sleep, with a hint of uncertainty, "Shakira?"


    Shakira let out a low hum, "It''s me..."


    Walter detected the weakness in her voice, "Where are you? When did you go out?"


    "I didn''t go out... Uh!" A sudden wave of pain made Shakira let out a small


    whimper.


    Howev


    Walter didn''t wait for her to finish and quickly hung up the phone.


    after, Shakira heard the sound of her door being pushed open, and the man''s slightlybored breathing came through


    the door, "Shakira!"


    "I''m here..." she responded softly. The next moment, he pushed the bathroom door open without hesitation.


    Their eyes met, and Shakira stared in disbelief, watching Walter''s expression change from worry to panic, and finally retreating awkwardly to close the door.


    With a loud bang, Shakira began to doubt if the small bathroom door could hold.


    0


    Walter seemed to take a moment outside topose himself before asking Shakira, "Where do you feel unwell? Stomach pain?"


    "My period came early; I got caught in the rain and feel awful..."


    "I''ll have Brian take you to the hospital."


    $2,


    "Come back! I just need you to do me a favor." Shakira urgently called out.


    "I ordered sanitary pads through delivery; could you please go to the door and get them for me?"


    There was silence outside the door. Shakira muttered softly to herself, "I know this request might be a bit difficult for him. If I wasn''t feeling so bad, I could go myself; it''s mainly because I''m worn out from the rain this morning..."