Chapter 53
"Grandpa is no longer here.He is so idle.If he shows sincerity, you shouldn't refuse.Scott's only concern is that, you tend to
overthink"
Scott could be considered as a good man.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have chased Demi and the others out of the Misty Bridge back then.
If Anika could only lessen her burden with people, there was no need for him to remind her.
Zac smiled and looked at her when he smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen.
"But this chicken soup is also perfect.You can bring some to the company tomorrow”
He looked at her and couldn't help but think, "Oh, I've got Frederick to buy a microwave oven and put it in his office now."
‘So that if you're worried that I will get hungry, you can always bring me some soup and water in the future: Zac hesitated as he
saw Anika's knitted brows.
He paused a little and slowly put his arm on the sofa.
"What's wrong?" he asked with a frown.
"Are you ...very busy tomorrow?" she asked.
Zac did not answer.
"Are you alright?" he asked curiously.
Anika shook her head, "Nothing.If you're busy, you don't have to pick me up tomorrow”
Zac seemed to have noticed that she was avoiding him.He looked deeply at her eyes.
"Do you have an appointment with someone?" His thin lips twitched.
"No." she answered and saw that Zac still wanted to ask more questions.
"I mean yes ...I'm going to clean my parent's tomb."
She closed her eyes and lowered her voice.
Tomorrow is the death anniversary of her parents.
Every year, on the Misty Bridge, Anika would set aside everything and go to Rivulet Mountain to sweep her parents’ graves.
In the past, Oliver had always been with his grandfather.
He would also pretend to be there, but now, she was the only one left.
Anika thought for a moment, but quickly erased it.
She didn't think she was in a position to ask Zac to accompany her in sweeping the tomb.
She suddenly felt frustrated as she thought about it.
She suppressed her emotions and was about to stand when she heard a gentle voice from the man behind her.
"Yes, I understand.I'll accompany you."
Anika's eyes were slightly wide as she turned to look at him.
"I just thought that it would be the same if I kept the chicken soup at home." Zac smiled.
After saying that, he helplessly patted her head.
His eyes were as deep as ink.
"Don't hide anything in the future, okay?" He said slowly.
Anika was slightly stunned.
"Yes," she replied, smiling.
On Thursday, the two of them didn't go to work.
The driver picked them up early in the morning and drove them to the cemetery.
Elliot and his wife died more than ten years ago, and the two of them were buried together in the old cemetery of XN in S city.
The Bentley stopped at the entrance of the cemetery at the foot of the mountain.
Zac took a few bouquets of Hibiscus flowers from the trunk and slowly walked up the mountain with Anika.
The early morning sun wasn't too intense.
Yesterday, it had just rained lightly.
The wind was filled with dense water mist, and one could smell the fresh smell of the soil.
Halfway up the hill, the two of them ran into a family of three who had brought their child to sweep the tomb and brushed past
them.
Perhaps the innocent child was too tired to walk, and was raising his tender face to act adorably towards his parents.
Looking at the family behind, Anika silently stopped her footsteps.
She was clearly amazed by the view.
"I used to feel that other people had parents who loved and admired them so much” she said, shaking her head and smiling
softly.
She was less than four years old when she was kidnapped, and Anika's impression of her parents was extremely vague.
She only remembered that there seemed to be a person who looked like a mother, with a very gentle voice.
In the orphanage, older children learned to take care of their new siblings and acted maturely in order to help the dean.
She had waited until she returned to the Meyer family, but she wasn't able to see her parents again and didn't have the chance
to show her love for them.
In Anika's few memories, she had never experienced a day being held and cherished by someone.
But she had seen the room that her parents had bought for her, and she already considered it as their way of showing their love
to her.
Her parents must have loved her a lot.
They never stopped looking for her for so long.
They did not even consider having another child, in order not to make her jealous and sad.
Zac gazed at her disappointed face.
He held her hand and comforted her with a light smile, "There is no need to envy others, you also have it.’’ Anika was stunned.
She heaved a long sigh of relief and lowered her eyes to nod.
"Yes, I have one too.’’
Although her parents were no longer around, Anika believed that if they were here, they would also love her unconditionally, like
other parents.
Finally, they arrived at the familiar tombstone.
The two faces in the photo were very young.
The man was gentle and upright, but he didn't hide his handsome face.
The woman was smiling.
She was gentle and charming.
Her facial features were somewhat similar to Anika’s.
Anika put down the Hibiscus flower in her arms and silently took out a handkerchief to gently wipe away the dust on the
tombstone.
Zac stood there quietly beside her.
After standing there silently for a while, he realized that she might have something to say to her parents, so he walked a little
further and gave her some space alone.
As soon as the man left, her side instantly became empty.
Actually, Anika didn't have much to say.
In the past, every time she came over, she would simply say, "I have a good life.Don't worry about me.’
"Dad, Mom.Grandpa passed away last month and was buried next to Grandma." She said after reminiscing about the past.
"The old mansion is empty.I gave uncle Boris and aunt May a sum of money to let them go back to their hometowns and retire."
"That man just now is Zac.He's my high school classmate.I'm now married to him and I'm doing well.You don't have to worry
about me."
After a moment of silence, she finally added, "Well, we will be back to see you next year"
Anika slowly touched the photo on the tombstone, then finally stood up and walked towards the man not far away.
Zac lowered his head and looked at her expression.
When he saw her calm face, he heaved a sigh of relief and asked, "Are you done?"
"Yes." Anika nodded.
"Alright, then let's go.’ He said.
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of bouquet in her arms.
He frowned and asked curiously, "Why did you take two bouquets of flowers?"
She ordered four Hibiscus bundles today.
Zac thought that they were for her parents but only two bundles were left in front of the tombstone.
Anika did not reply.
She looked at him with a smile and shouted, "Zac!"
"Huh?"
"Let's go to another place"
Ten minutes later, the two walked around the cemetery and stood in front of the other tombstones.
They were very familiar with the names written on it.
It was Grayson, Zac's father.
Grayson was somewhat a conceited person.
He has a good eye for business and has had a smooth journey since he made his fortune in his early years.
He had only suffered one setback in his life, but he had been sentenced to more than ten years in prison.
In the third year of imprisonment, he was unable to endure the fact that his family's wealth had been destroyed, so he committed
suicide in prison.
This was what most people said about Grayson.
For Zac, even though his relationship with his father was a little rough, Grayson was still a good father who loved his son deeply
but was not good at words.
In Anika's eyes, Grayson was a good man.
She could still remember him standing in the school's office, holding her hand and thanking her endlessly.
She also remembered what she felt when she heard that he was in prison.
She only sighed in her heart because there was nothing she could do to help him.
Glancing at the silent man beside her, Anika put down the two bouquets of flowers in her arms.
"I was thinking that I should accompany you to see Uncle Grayson." she said after a while.
Zac had never mentioned his father to her, but Anika knew what he felt towards his father.
These years, he should not have had an easy time.
Since Zac was willing to accompany her in visiting her parent's tomb, she also wanted to do something for him.
At the very least, she could also show him that she was willing to be his family.
They were both alone now.
Seeing her kneel to clear the weeds beside the tomb, Zac, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke, "Anika".
"What's wrong?" Anika raised her eyes to look at him.
"Can you ... hug me for a while?" The man's voice was hoarse.
Anika was stunned for a moment before nodding, "Yes."
Zac smiled and grabbed her arm.
He held her in his arms and put his chin on her neck.
His strong hands landed on her waist.
After a long time, Anika heard the man’s muffled voice.
"Anika, isn't it good for us to just continue like this?"
Before he could discern the strange emotions flashing through his heart, Zac had already heard her reply in a low voice, "Yes, it's
...quite good"