Chapter 310 Tidy this place up
“You’d better tidy this place up, it’s a mess.”
Stephan smiled. “Leave it to me.”
Alana went to her grandmother’s hospital room. Sure enough, her grandmother had woken up.
A nurse was tending to her, feeding her breakfast.
Miranda and Joan had also arrived and were sitting in the room.
As soon as Miranda walked in, she saw the caregiver tending to the old lady and was quite surprised, after all, they hadn’t planned on spending the money to hire a caregiver at first.
The caregiver wasn’t someone they’d hired, so it was highly likely that...
Just then, Alana walked into the room.
Miranda seized the moment to ask, “Alana, why did you arrange for a caregiver for your grandmother? You did this on your own. We’re not paying for this caregiver!”
Alana shot Miranda a glance. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to pay for it.”
Hearing this, Miranda felt a surge of satisfaction.
She felt much more at ease now.
With a caregiver looking after the old lady, they wouldn’t have to keep a constant watch on her themselves.
After all, caring for the elderly is a real hassle, she found it to be dirty, tiring work.
Joan glanced at Alana, then kept looking behind her, hoping to catch a glimpse of that man.
“Alana, where’s your boyfriend? Isn’t he coming with you today?”
She had made a real effort to look her best today, putting on makeup and styling her hair, hoping to salvage some of her image in his eyes.
Alana didn’t say a word; she couldn’t be bothered to respond to Joan.
Joan stomped her foot in frustration.
What’s that sourpuss Alana getting so cocky about?
Did she really think that just because she was dating a rich boyfriend, she could act all high and mighty in front of her?
Hmph, she wasn’t about to let that bitch have her way!
Alana took on the role of caregiver and personally fed her grandmother some porridge.
She noticed that Grandma didn’t seem quite herself today; she looked a bit haggard and listless.
“Grandma, did you not sleep well last night?”
Grandma glanced at Alana, as if she wanted to say something but held back.
In the end, she just shook her head helplessly.
“It’s okay, Grandma’s fine.” Alana didn’t think much of it and patiently helped her grandmother finish her porridge.
When she was done, she took a tissue and wiped Grandma’s mouth.
Grandma saw how Alana personally attended to every detail for her, showing such thoughtfulness and patience.
But when she glanced over and saw Miranda and Joan acting as if none of this concerned them, she felt a surge of frustration.
Neither her daughter-in-law nor her granddaughter could hold a candle to her granddaughter’s thoughtfulness and warmth.
Grandma spoke up on purpose, “Lana, you’re so good to me, Grandma doesn’t have anything to repay you with.”
“When you get married someday, Grandma will prepare a generous dowry for you.”
Upon hearing this, Alana wanted to tell her grandmother that she had already received the wooden box yesterday, but with Miranda and Joan present in the hospital room, she held her tongue.
As soon as Miranda heard this, she couldn’t sit still. “Mom, what nonsense are you talking about! Her own parents aren’t even preparing anything for her. You’re not even her real grandmother, how could you possibly prepare a dowry for her?”
Joan was deeply resentful. “Grandma, Alana is just your fake granddaughter, while I’m your own flesh-and-blood granddaughter. Why are you preparing a dowry for her but not for me?”
Grandma was furious. “Look here, Alana is my granddaughter, and she takes care of me every day and even spends money to hire a caregiver. As for you, my own granddaughter, the moment you walk in, you just plop down in a chair and won’t budge. You barely say a couple of polite words to me and that’s it.”
“Your mother is just as bad as you. She promised to take good care of me at home as soon as I got out of the hospital, but as soon as I was discharged, she left me at home and didn’t even check on me.”
“I fell in the bathroom and nobody even knew. If the neighbors hadn’t found me in time, I would’ve died at the bathroom door, my body would’ve gone cold before any of you even noticed!”
“You ungrateful brats, and you have the nerve to say I’m biased toward Lana? Isn’t it only natural that I favor her? I treat well whoever is truly devoted to me, isn’t that perfectly normal?”
Miranda and Joan were left speechless by her retort.
But deep down, they didn’t approve of the old woman preparing a dowry for Alana. The old woman’s meager savings weren’t even enough for them to divide up.
If she were to use it for Alana’s dowry, what would be left for them to divide?
Thinking of this, Miranda couldn’t help but say, “Mom, where’s the little money you have on you, and the deed to the land back home? Why don’t you take it out and leave it with me? You’re getting on in years and your memory isn’t what it used to be. What if you forget where you put them and can’t find them? That would be a real hassle, wouldn’t it?”
Joan nodded. “That’s right. The house back home is up for demolition, it’s worth over four million. If you lose it, that four million will be gone!”
Grandma sneered, “You’re not really keeping it safe for me, you just want to keep it for yourself, don’t you? Don’t worry, my memory is still sharp. There’s no need for you to go to all that trouble.”
Miranda and Joan were speechless.
With their true intentions exposed, the mother and daughter fell silent for a moment.
Alana remained silent.
Just then, Stephan walked in, breaking the awkward silence.
“Grandma.” His tone as he called her “Grandma” had grown increasingly familiar and affectionate.
Seeing Stephan appear, Grandma’s face lit up with a smile again. “Hey, come here and keep Grandma company.”
Stephan immediately walked over and sat down next to Grandma, joining Alana.
Grandma looked at Stephan with a gentle gaze. “You’ve been here with Lana for several days now, haven’t you?”
“You’ve worked so hard, staying by her side all this time and running around taking care of everything for me. Alana told me that you covered the medical expenses for my surgery. And if you hadn’t promptly called in that doctor from the city to operate on me, I almost wouldn’t have made it out of the operating room.”
“You truly are my savior. Thank you.”
Stephan smiled. “Grandma, it’s only my duty. Lana cares about you and doesn’t want anything to happen to you, and I don’t want her to be sad or upset because of this either.”
Grandma sensed the sincerity in Stephan’s tone and said from the bottom of her heart, “You’re a good man. It’s Alana’s good fortune to have met you.”
Even her own family had nearly given up on her at a moment when her life was on the line.
And he was merely her granddaughter’s boyfriend, he had no responsibility or obligation to her, yet he still saved her without hesitation.
She was deeply grateful.
Stephan replied earnestly, “Grandma, meeting Alana has been a blessing for me, too. Without her, I might never have known how to love someone.”
Grandma smiled and nodded. “This child sure knows how to say things.”
Alana thought to herself, this was just standard procedure for Stephan.
But hearing those words come from his mouth, she couldn’t help but feel a warm glow in her heart.
Grandma couldn’t help but take both their hands and place them together. “Alright, you two must take good care of each other and stay together for the rest of your lives. I hope that in my lifetime, I’ll get to see Lana marry the man she loves, have children, and live a happy, fulfilling life.”
Hearing this, Stephan clasped Alana’s delicate little hand tightly with his long, strong fingers and said earnestly,
“Grandma, to make your dream come true, I’ll work twice as hard. Work twice as hard every single day!”
After saying this, he calmly glanced at Alana, as if waiting for her to share her thoughts.
Alana couldn’t help but feel her cheeks flush.
This man was so sly, he was saying all this on purpose.
Grandma looked at her and asked with a smile, “Lana, what about you?”
Stephan raised an eyebrow and gave Alana’s finger a gentle squeeze.
Alana bit her lip. “Grandma, I... I’ll do my best, too.”
Grandma couldn’t help but burst into laughter, her spirits lifted.
The atmosphere in the hospital room was lively.
Meanwhile, Miranda and Joan sat off to the side, feeling like two huge, bright, unwanted guests.
The mother and daughter had come with a specific purpose in mind.