As Kris Cooper read the news one by one, his gaze grew deeper.

He pulled open the drawer and took out a cigarette, placing it between his lips. He searched the desk for a lighter, but instead bumped into the corner of a photo frame.

With a thud, the photo frame hit the ground.

He hurriedly bent down to pick up the frame; the glass had shattered, and the photo slipped out. He reached out to pick up the photo.

In the photo, Liliana Davis was sitting in the middle, with Kris Cooper and Vera Wave leaning against her on either side. Vera was smiling brightly, while Kris was turned, gazing in her direction.

This was the only photo of the three of them together with his mother. After her passing, he had kept it on his desk.

His fingers gently traced the new scratch across the surface of the photo, stopping at Vera’s face. Kris Cooper’s mind flashed back to the image of the two as children.

...

"Brother Nathan, will you protect me like a knight protects a princess?"

"Of course, I am Princess Vera’s knight."

"What if someone bullies the princess?"

"The knight will always stand in front of the princess."

"How long is forever?"

"It’s until death."

"Brother Nathan, I don’t want you to die."

"I won’t, it’s just a metaphor. It means I’ll always protect you like a knight until I die."

"Really?"

The little girl looked up at him, asking.

...

Sitting back in his chair, Kris Cooper carefully leaned the photo against his computer screen and slowly exhaled two words.

"Of course."

...

...

Concerned for Vera’s safety, even though there wasn’t much work at the company these couple of days, the next day, Kris Cooper still brought her to the office. Instead of sending her to the Planning Department, he took her to his own office.

He took some fruits and snacks from the fridge, placed them on the table, and personally fetched her a glass of water.

"I have a meeting to attend, for about an hour. You can sit on the terrace and read a book, or if you’re still tired, take a nap in the lounge."

"Alright, I’m not a child." Vera sat in his chair. "Mr. President, just go to your work. I can take care of myself."

A knock on the door sounded, and Tommy Taylor walked in to notify Kris Cooper about the meeting.

"Then I’m off to the meeting."

"Go on!"

Vera smiled and waved him off. Kris Cooper picked up his computer from the desk and left with Tommy Taylor to attend the meeting in the Conference Room.

Sitting in the chair, bored, Vera pushed the little wobbly toy on the desk, popped a strawberry into her mouth, and walked to the bookshelf to pull out a book. She sat back, nibbling on fruits while reading.

After reading a few pages, she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly picked up her phone to call the old house.

"Aunt Feng, it’s Vera. Grandma’s medication seems to be running low. Please remind Aunt Li to go to the hospital. The prescription is ready; she just needs to pick it up."

"Got it."

Aunt Feng hung up the phone and immediately went to the courtyard to inform Aunt Li.

"Alright, I’ll go now. You take care of the old lady."

"Don’t worry."

Aunt Feng smiled and nodded.

Aunt Li changed her clothes and left for the hospital to get the medication for the elderly lady, while Aunt Feng came over to keep her company and chat.

After sitting for a while, Grandma Wave stood up. "The weather is nice. Shall we go for a walk by the river?"

"Sure, let me grab the keys and some water."

Aunt Feng got up to get the keys, took a water bottle, and helped the elderly lady out the door.