Chapter 773

The older man clicked his tongue softly. “If I keep lying in bed, your mother’s going to start treating me like a critically ill patient.”

“That’s because you’re stubborn,” the woman beside him replied without hesitation. “The doctor still hasn’t allowed you to move around too much.”

Josh immediately leaned closer to Grace and whispered, “Here we go again.”

Grace pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. Meanwhile, Naomi simply stood there quietly, watching them with growing confusion.

Dad?

Mom?

Only then did the realization truly sink in. The two people standing before her now were Cale’s parents. Her chest tightened instantly.

Naomi had never truly imagined herself standing like this in the middle of Cale’s family, especially after all the chaos that had happened in Carrington Bay.

And suddenly, she felt painfully out of place inside this warm home.

Cale, who had been standing near his father, finally turned toward Naomi. His gaze softened slightly.

“Dad. Mom.” His voice remained calm. “This is Naomi.”

For a few seconds, silence settled over the room. Nathan and Riana’s attention shifted fully toward Naomi.

Instinctively, Naomi lowered her head slightly. “I-it’s nice to meet you.”

Riana looked a little surprised. Clearly, she hadn’t expected an unfamiliar girl to arrive alongside Cale and Lydia today. Her eyes lingered on Naomi for several seconds longer.

A pale face worn down by exhaustion.

Eyes filled with caution.

And the expression of someone who still hadn’t truly felt safe,

“Naomi?” Riana’s attention slowly returned to Cale. “Who is she, Cale?”

Without realizing it, Naomi subtly stepped back until she was standing slightly behind Cale. Hearing the woman’s overly gentle voice only made her more nervous.

Nathan, meanwhile, appeared calmer. Though his face still looked pale, his gaze remained sharp and observant. He briefly glanced at Cale before looking back at Naomi again.

And strangely enough, that simple question only made Naomi even more aware that she had brought far too much trouble into this house.

In her mind, Cale’s mother was probably already thinking badly of her.

Apparently, Lydia noticed the shift in Naomi’s expression immediately. Before Riana could say anything else, Lydia quickly stepped in with a small smile.

1/3

+25 Borive

“Mom,” she said softly, “I’ll explain everything after breakfast.”

Riana turned toward her at once.

“A lot happened in Carrington Bay,” Lydia continued carefully. “And I think we really need to have a serious conversation later.”

The atmosphere instantly changed.

Nathan looked at Cale again, his gaze sharpening. “Was it that bad?”

Cale didn’t answer right away. But his silence alone was already enough of an answer.

Riana slowly let out a breath while gently holding onto her husband’s arm. “Then we’ll talk later.”

Nathan still looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but the paleness on the man’s face hadn’t escaped Cale’s notice.

“You should go back and rest, Dad,” Cale said flatly.

“I’m not that weak yet.”

“The doctors seem to disagree.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes slightly. “I’m your father.”

“And I’m the son trying to make sure his father doesn’t end up back in the hospital.”

Grace immediately covered her mouth to suppress a laugh, while Josh shook his head faintly as though he had witnessed conversations like this far too many times already.

Meanwhile, Naomi quietly observed everything.

The way Cale spoke to his father.

The cold tone that somehow still carried unmistakable concern beneath it.

And the way this entire family seemed so naturally close to one another.

Oddly enough, it only made Naomi feel even more out of place among them.

“Naomi.”

Cale’s voice suddenly pulled her from her thoughts. She quickly turned toward him.

The man was now standing only a short distance away, watching her calmly.

“Yes?”

Cale fell silent for a moment before finally speaking in a lower voice. “Come with me for a minute.”

Naomi blinked in confusion. But before she could ask anything, Cale had already started walking toward one of the side corridors of the mansion. Still, before he could get too far away, Naomi finally gathered the courage to speak.

“Um… for what?”

Cale stopped and looked back at her sharply.

“To talk,” he replied. “What else?”