Chapter 91 - 90: Atoning in His Own Way
Yvonne Lowell took a deep breath, walked over to Harrison Lowell, and knelt down, tugging at the corner of his sleeve. "Brother."
Harrison Lowell snapped out of his daze. His eyes, swollen to mere slits, looked down at her. "What is it, Nola?"
"I’m sorry, it’s because I..."
"What are you talking about? This isn’t your fault." Harrison Lowell cut her off, pulling her to her feet.
"Are you hungry? You’re starting to talk nonsense. Come on, I’ll take you to get something good to eat. What do you want? Speaking of which, I’ve never been to the top floor of Prosperity Pavilion. When are you going to take me to broaden my horizons?"
Harrison Lowell was rambling, his words a constant stream, as if trying to hide his emotions.
Yvonne Lowell was stunned for a moment. "Let’s just go home for dinner tonight. Mom and Dad said they’re waiting for us. As for the top floor of Prosperity Pavilion, you can go whenever you want."
"Alright, let’s eat at home then. But it’s a deal—you’re taking me to the top floor next time."
"You can go anytime you want. It’s not like they’d dare stop you if you went by yourself."
"I don’t want to. I’ll only go with you."
"Alright, alright, I’ll go with you."
As they passed Caleb Lowell, he stopped them. "Go wash your face first. You look awful right now."
"What are you talking about?! I’m the most handsome man alive! Don’t think just because you’re my big brother I won’t put you in your place!"
Caleb glared at him, but then simply went to the restroom himself.
...
「Back at the Lowell residence.」
Mr. and Mrs. Lowell, who already knew what had happened, said nothing when they saw his still slightly swollen and red eyes.
Wendy Sutton was the first to stand up and head towards the dining room. "You’re all back? Then let’s eat. I cooked myself today and made a lot of your favorite dishes."
Everyone took their seats in the dining room. Caleb Lowell looked at the large spread of dishes and raised an eyebrow. "It’s a rare occasion for Mom to cook herself. Looks like Yancy and Zachary are out of luck."
"You have a point. I’ll have to rub this in their faces. After all, several of these are my favorites."
Hearing this, Harrison Lowell quickly took out his phone, snapped a photo to send to the family group chat, and specifically tagged Yancy Lowell and Zachary Jacobs.
Charles Lowell and Wendy Sutton exchanged a glance but said nothing.
After dinner, Caleb Lowell went to Harrison Lowell’s room and stayed for a long time.
No one knew what they talked about, but that night, Harrison Lowell posted two Weibo updates.
One said that he would be taking a break for a while and wouldn’t be accepting any jobs for the time being, but he would not give up his acting career.
The other had no caption, just a single picture: the portrait Nana had drawn for him and the scarf she had knitted by hand.
Some anti-fans claimed he was just curating an image and capitalizing on a tragedy, but he paid them no mind.
From then on, on this day every year, he would wear that scarf, take a picture, and post it on Weibo. The portrait would always be in the background.
It wasn’t Nana’s birthday, nor the day she passed away. It was the day the real culprit was found, allowing Nana to rest in peace.
He had people keep an eye on Ms. Sutton and Penny’s situation. Every year, he would make time to visit Nana and Ms. Sutton.
Ms. Sutton didn’t want his help or compensation, so he simply helped them quietly from the shadows.
Later, Penny became the top scorer in the city’s entrance exams and was accepted into Kingsland University. After graduating, she chose to stay and work as a teacher there, fulfilling the dream her sister had.
Harrison Lowell’s relationship with Ms. Sutton and Penny grew closer and closer.
He was atoning in his own way, fulfilling a son’s duty to the mother of the girl who had considered him her guiding light.
Of course, all of this came later.
...
Yvonne Lowell returned to her room and buried her face in her pillow, lost in thought.
Suddenly, her phone rang. Without even looking, she answered, "Who is it?"
"It’s me." Leo Grant’s deep, hoarse voice came from the other end.
Yvonne Lowell paused, glanced at the caller ID. "Big Pretty? What’s wrong?"
"Sorry, I’m on a business trip abroad. I didn’t see it right away."
Yvonne Lowell chuckled lightly. "What’s there to be sorry about? It’s not your fault."
The other end went silent. Because of the time difference, he had just finished work and gone to sleep when the incident happened.
It was only when he woke up four hours later that he saw the trending topics online and the livestream replay.
He could tell that it wasn’t just Harrison Lowell and the girl’s family who were in pain, but her as well.
When Yvonne Lowell heard the silence, she thought he had hung up. "Big Pretty?"
"I’m here. I’ll be back in the country the day after tomorrow," Leo Grant said.
"Oh. Then... I’ll see you when you get back?" Yvonne Lowell said tentatively.
"Yes. Wait for me," Leo Grant said with a small smile.
After that, silence fell again. The two of them just listened to each other’s breathing on the other end of the line.
After a moment, Leo Grant said, "It’s getting late where you are. You should get some rest. Good night."
"Good night."
After hanging up, the gloom in Yvonne Lowell’s heart dissipated a little. She looked at the darkened screen and smiled. ’What a dummy.’
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Leo Grant watched the livestream replay again.
His fingers caressed the image of the young woman on the screen as he murmured softly, "You silly girl."
...
「The next day.」
Harrison Lowell had returned to his previous state of picking fights with the heavens, the earth, and the very air—arrogant and untouchable. At least, that’s how it seemed on the surface.
As soon as he came downstairs, he scooped up Goldie. "You little thing, have you mutated? You’ve only been here two days and you’re already a size bigger."
"WHIMPER WHIMPER WHIMPER!"
’Seeing as you’re upset, I guess I won’t chew you out!’
"Whoa, so you know you’ve gotten fat? Quite self-aware, aren’t you? Why can’t you learn from your big bro, me? Have some self-discipline! Don’t get so fat you turn into a ball!"
Harrison Lowell placed him on the sofa, flipped him over onto his back, belly-up, and wouldn’t let him get up.
"WHIMPER WHIMPER WHIMPER!"
’I give you an inch and you take a mile! Don’t you dare push it, or I’ll pee on you!’
The man and the dog were engaged in a lively morning game of call-and-response, the atmosphere quite ’harmonious’.
If you ignored the fact that Goldie was cursing him out, and that Harrison thought the dog was actually conversing with him.
Just then, Uncle Grant came in. "Second Young Master, the car the Young Miss sent for you has arrived."
Harrison Lowell’s eyes lit up. "I’m coming!!"
He walked out into the garden and saw his new beloved car.
He couldn’t help but whistle. He walked around the car, reaching out to touch it carefully. "This car is seriously cool! The color scheme is great too. Hehe, it’s all mine."
"Tsk, I’ve got a Ferrari LaFerrari, and there’s Lafite in the cellar. I’m just missing a Lamborghini drop-top, or else I could open a bottle of Lafite and dance the cha-cha in the hallway."
Yvonne Lowell watched him from the balcony above and smiled silently.
Something suddenly occurred to her, and she took out her phone to send a message.
Then she went downstairs and walked up to him. "So? How do you like the big ol’ bicycle I got you?"
Harrison Lowell threw his arms around her. "I absolutely love it! Nola, you’re literally my god!!"
"As long as you like it." Yvonne Lowell pushed him away. "Are you free? Want to go somewhere with me later?"