The room was eerily quiet in nighttime.
The children kept their father company until very late. In the end, they couldn't resist falling asleep.
Dave had two beds brought into the spacious room, which caused the place to seem filled to the brim. The kids made do, lying down wherever they could.
Natasha wasn't asleep. She was lying beside Kenneth's bed, watching him with wide eyes.
As time ticked away, there was still no sign of Kenneth waking up.
The golden hour for when he could still wake up was fast approaching. No one spoke of it, but she knew everyone was on tenterhooks.
Frankly, Natasha didn't know if he would wake up, but her intuition told her that he would.
She believed that Kenneth, a person of such pride, would allow himself to lie there indefinitely.
That was simply not his style.
Watching his open hand, Natasha wrote and drew on his palm with her slender finger.
“Kenneth, you'll wake up, won't you?” Natasha was lying by his bedside, gazing intently at him.
However, the person on the bed still showed no reaction.
Watching him, her tears fell uncontrollably. They followed along the corners of her eyes, dropping one by one onto the bedsheet.
Natasha drew countless words and drawn countless circles on his palm before she inevitably fell asleep.
However, just as she fell asleep, Kenneth's hand suddenly moved. He gently held the hand resting in his palm.
The next morning, Natasha suddenly opened her eyes. Feeling as if she had been dreaming, she turned her gaze to Kenneth. However, when she saw him still lying there, her heart gradually sank again.
Anthony seemed to notice something. He looked at her and asked, “Nat, were you dreaming?”
Natasha sat up straight, looked at him, and nodded. “Mhm!”
“What did you dream about?” Anthony asked.
“Your dad waking up!” Natasha said.
Speaking of that, Anthony looked at Kenneth. After a moment of silence, he said, “Yes, Daddy will definitely do it!”
Natasha smiled. “People often say dreams are the opposite of reality. It seems they're not wrong after all...”
Seeing the disappointment on Natasha's face, Anthony spoke up. “Nat, you're too tired to rest properly. Why don't you go lie down on the bed?”
“No need. I'm not tired!”
“How can you not be tired? Ever since Daddy's incident, you've been staying here non-stop. Nat, you always tell us to live well and eat well, but what about you?” Anthony asked.
“Am I not doing well?” Natasha retorted.
Anthony sighed, then looked at Denise, signaling her to do something.
Denise stepped forward. “Nat, isn't this the outfit you wore when you arrived? You should freshen up and change your clothes. Surely, you're not planning to wait for Daddy like this, are you?”
Natasha looked down at herself, realizing something she hadn't noticed if her daughter hadn't spoken about it.
Furrowing her brows, she said, “I was in such a rush when I left that I forgot to bring a change of clothes!”
“I've brought it for you!” Denise said.
Natasha looked at her.
“Thalia reminded me!” Denise said.
Hearing that, Natasha was slightly taken aback. “I didn't expect her to have such a thoughtful side!”
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