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Realizing that her words had caused her parents to worry, Joyce waved her hands
frantically as she explained, “Dad, Mom, please calm down. It was my fault. I...”
Joyce related how nervous she was and how she scalded Stanley.
Jonathan and Caitlin's concerns were finally allayed when it turned out that Joyce was the
cause of the problem instead of Stanley making things difficult for her.
“That's why both of you shouldn't overthink it,” Joyce reassured her parents while holding
their hands.
Skeptical of her words, Jonathan stared at her. “Joyce, did he really kick you out of the
room instead of venting his anger on you?”
He didn't want her to lie just because she didn't want them to worry.
Nodding, Caitlin added, “That's right, Joyce. You had better not hide anything from us. It
will only unsettle us further.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWarmed by her parents' concern, Joyce held their hands and shook her head with a smile.
“Trust me. I'm not hiding anything. After I scalded him, I was worried that he would scream
at me, but he surprisingly didn't. Instead, he calmly allowed me to bandage his wound and
feed him soup. It was when my nerves caused me to almost scald him again that he asked
me to leave the room impatiently. That's all.”
The calm manner in which Joyce explained herself finally convinced her parents.
“Thank God. That's a relief,” Caitlin commented.
Staring at Stanley's ward door with a complicated expression, Jonathan wondered out
loud, “Come to think of it, the kid seems to have changed.”
“Oh?” Caitlin gave him a quizzical look. “What are you talking about?”
Jonathan repeated himself, “I feel as if he is somehow different now.”
“What do you mean?” Caitlin's curiosity deepened.
As her visits to the hospital were infrequent and she barely interacted with Stanley, she
wasn't aware of any changes.
In contrast to her, Jonathan, who came by often, managed to notice the difference.
Stroking his chin in thought, he elaborated, “I feel as if he's toned down his temper a lot,
and the hatred he harbored against us has become less intense.”
“Jon, are you kidding me?” Caitlin was amused by his words.
Nonetheless, Jonathan shook his head. “I'm not joking. That's what I truly feel.”
“Actually, I think Dad's right too,” Joyce remarked abruptly. “I'm getting the same vibe as
him.”
“What?” Caitlin was astonished.
Joyce flashed a smile as she explained, “After taking care of him for some time, I'm the
one who's most sensitive to any changes in him. Firstly, the best evidence is the fact that
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmhe didn't lose his temper with me. Also, I didn't notice any hatred or annoyance in his
eyes. That's why I believe Dad's words to be true.”
The surprise in Caitlin's eyes was unmistakable. “But why? Why would he hate us less?”
Silence descended upon Jonathan and Joyce upon hearing the question, for neither of
them had the answer.
No one knew what was going on with Stanley for him to lessen his hatred toward them.
The only way to find out is to ask him, but should we?
Joyce gave her father a look.
After a brief hesitation, Jonathan shook his head. “We had better not. Regardless of the
reason for the reduction in his hostility toward us, we should pretend that we aren't aware.
If we were to ask him about it, we would run the risk of angering him. It would be
troublesome if he reneges on his promise to us due to that.”
Caitlin nodded in agreement. “Your father is right, so let's pretend that we didn't notice,
okay? We should continue taking care of him for the time being and see if there's an
opportunity to leave him in the future. Otherwise...”
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