After getting the ointment, Chloe went to wash her hands. By the time she came out, he had already taken off his shirt.

His body was still wrapped in gauze, and his fair skin bore several old scars.

The scar from one gunshot wound was still dark.

It hadn’t been long since it healed.

Chloe stared at the gunshot wound, her eyes flickering for a moment.

She began to unwrap the gauze from his body, revealing over a dozen crisscrossing knife wounds of varying sizes.

As she applied the ointment to each wound, the man’s body tensed the moment her fingertips touched the injury.

Chloe’s brow furrowed. "Even if it hurts, you have to bear it. Don’t move."

Walker’s hand, resting on his thigh, clenched into a fist. His voice was low and raspy. "It doesn’t hurt. It’s itchy."

Chloe paused. Suddenly, she no longer wanted to apply the ointment for him.

Walker closed his eyes and said, "I’m not numb. I can feel it, but I can bear it. You don’t have to be so wary of me." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Chloe scoffed. "Not a single word out of your mouth is true. How could I possibly believe you?"

Walker’s lips quirked, but he didn’t say anything more.

Chloe resumed applying the ointment. This time she wasn’t so careful, quickly finishing the wounds on his back before tossing the tube into his lap. "Do the ones on the front yourself."

Without waiting for him to react, she turned and walked away.

Walker: "..."

He opened his eyes and watched her slender, straight back, a flicker of resignation in his gaze.

’What a heartless woman.’

...

Chloe was organizing some files in her room when her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and saw it was a call from her grandmother.

’Hm?’

’Why would Grandma be calling at this hour?’

’Did something happen?’

"Hello, Grandma."

Chloe answered the call, her voice gentle.

"Chloe, your mother is critically ill. Did you know?" Her grandmother’s aged voice came through the phone, making Chloe’s heart ache inexplicably.

Chloe gripped her phone tightly. "Grandma, how do you know?"

"Your father contacted me," her grandmother said. "Chloe, I want to go see her."

"Grandma..." Chloe disagreed, wanting to stop her.

"Chloe, I know what you’re about to say. She did many things wrong, it’s true. But she is my daughter, after all. I gave birth to her, and I raised her. Even though so many unpleasant things happened between us... we’re at this point now. She could be gone at any moment. I don’t want to dwell on the past anymore. I just want to go see her."

Her grandmother cut her off, sighing as she spoke, her tone now tinged with a hint of sadness.

A sadness for her own daughter.

’Mothers are always like that, willing to make compromises and endure grievances. As long as their children are all right, nothing else matters to them.’

’Unfortunately, Autumn Linton and Charles Reed weren’t parents like that.’

’No.’

’They just weren’t like that to *her*.’

’Towards Sunny Reed, they were doting and affectionate.’

Chloe pushed aside the chaotic thoughts and said, "Okay, I’ll go with you."

Her grandmother said, "You can just drop me off. You can wait outside for me."

Chloe got up as she spoke. "I’m coming to get you now. We’ll talk more once I’m there."

"Okay."

After hanging up, she grabbed the paternity test report and headed straight downstairs.

Walker was in the living room. When he saw her, he asked, "What do you want for dinner?"

"I have to go out," Chloe said flatly. "My grandmother wants to see her, and I’m taking her."

At her words, Walker’s brow furrowed slightly. He immediately stood up. "I’ll go with you."