A Farewell After Being Reborn

The driver opened the car door for lan, who paused as he was stepping in. After giving it some thought, lan turned around and entered the house.

He found Sage and Donald staring at a tablet by the coffee table and discussing the many attractions in Colville. She wore a sweet smile, one lan had not seen for a while.

"Grandpa," lan called out to Donald.

Donald turned around. "lan, aren't you heading back?"

"Yes, I'm about to leave, but I need to apologize to you for something," confessed lan. "Sage injured her hand due to my negligence.”

That was when Donald noticed Sage keeping her other hand hidden in her dress pocket. "What's wrong? Where are you hurt? Let me take a look!"

Sage shot lan an irritated look and displayed her bandaged palm. She reassured Donald, "I accidentally hurt my hand by pressing it against some rocks. It's almost healed now."

Donald still felt sorry for her. "You can't take pain. You cry at the slightest extraction. They must have disinfected your hand before bandaging. How did you endure the pain?"

Sage was indeed a fussy and spoiled character in the past. She'd cry and wail over every single minor ailment, only calming down after Donald and the maids pacified her and fed her medicine.

The scene reminded lan of the time Linda forced him to visit the sick Sage at the Joyner residence. He vividly recalled Donald praising Sage for being brave and coaxing her to take the medicine.

She spat out the medicine after a taste and complained that it was too bitter. The maids had to bring her candies and honey to make her take the medicine.

However, this time around, Sage did not frown or respond in any way when the doctor disinfected her wound, applied the medicine, and bandaged it.

Although lan disliked Sage's previously fussy demeanor, he felt disturbed by her uncharacteristic calmness this time.

"Grandpa, it's all my fault for failing to protect her," lan apologized again.

"What happened yesterday?" Donald pressed on.

“It's not a big deal.” Sage didn't want Donald to worry about her. She turned to lan and urged, "Since you've delivered your gifts and conveyed your message, it's time for you to leave."

Instead of leaving immediately, he calmly replied, “Let me know your date of return beforehand. I'll send my driver to pick you up."

Sage's patience was wearing thin. "We'll talk about that later. I have more to discuss with Grandpa. Just go about your day. We don't have time to talk to you."

After being told to leave a few times, lan did not shamelessly hang around. He left the main hall after bidding farewell to Donald.

"Sage, what happened between you and lan? And how did you get hurt? And why did he apologize to me?" Donald was plagued by questions.

Sage selectively shared the details of yesterday's event with Donald. She told him that she injured her hand when she dodged a passerby and knocked into a trashcan. lan felt guilty because he was present but failed to save her on time.

Donald knew Sage was hiding the truth. But seeing that she had become more opinionated, he decided not to probe any further. Changing the topic, he asked, "Mrs. Holcomb Senior's birthday is in a few days. Are you still going to proceed with the divorce from lan?" "Of course." Sage picked up the tablet. “Drop the topic, Grandpa. Let's continue checking out the attractions!"

lan sat in the car in silence. The driver, sensing his employer's foul mood, cautiously questioned, "Mr. Holcomb, where are we going?" Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

lan told the driver the name of a hospital. The driver immediately headed in that direction.

“Is it true that we need to attend to our wives no matter what urgent situation we're in?"