Louis halted in his tracks and turned around, but he remained silent. Ever since young, we always fought. And every single time, we caused a ruckus. Never had such a situation whereby we stood face to face yet said nothing ever transpired in the past. Louis' affection for our grandfather was by no means lesser than mine. Considering his attitude right then, it was clear as day that he was holding me responsible inwardly. Aunt Gianna's remark earlier had my throat closing up. The words I initially wanted to say to him were right at the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite bring myself to utter them presently. After a minute or two of prolonged silence, I finally muttered, “Uh... It's nothing. Hurry up and take the flowers. I'll make a few more arrangements.” Having said that, I no longer looked at him. Instead, I lowered my eyes and stared at the white flowers in my hands while slowly arranging them. What else can I say? Indeed, Dominic and Camille are at fault, but I'm the one with the main culpability! I shouldn't have gotten entangled with Dominic again from the very beginning. Whether it was for show or real, we should've been strangers ages ago. Upon hearing that, Louis still didn't say anything. He merely strode off with the bag filled with white flowers. Shifting my gaze to my grandfather's black and white photo, I forlornly sighed. After that, I continued staying at the corner. While arranging the flowers, I kept an eye on the candles to ensure they didn't extinguish. “Liliana, never mind if you don't answer your phone, but why did you turn it off? And why didn't you contact me when something so serious happened?” I jolted when Shannon suddenly appeared and hugged me. After being stunned for some time, I finally found my voice. “Why did you come here?”Hearing my question, Shannon unceremoniously reached out and pinched me at the waist. The pain had me instantly shrinking away. “I can't believe you're asking me that! Were you not planning to tell me about your grandfather's passing if I hadn't come over? And were you also planning to keep me in the dark about Dominic? I've told you time and again to phone me when you're sad, and I'll drink with you! Were you even listening to me?” Her words were exceedingly blunt, but a wealth of warmth suffused me. My eyes turned a tad damp. “All right, I'll be interrogating you later. I'll go and offer my respects to your grandfather first.” Letting go of me, Shannon went to lit a candle and knelt on the cushion respectfully. Then, she offered a prayer. At that sight, I was touched and felt like crying. Later, Shannon got a chair and sat down at the table next to me. She didn't ask me anything about Dominic, merely taking some white flowers and helping me arrange them. “Oh, right...” After making a flower arrangement, Shannon placed it aside and lifted her head to look straight at me. Lowering her voice, she whispered, “You should call Nicholas back. He's frantic about you. In fact, he has been calling me every five minutes today. You really shouldn't make him worry so much when he hasn't even recovered yet.” My movement stilled, and I abruptly recalled seeing Nicholas' missed calls that morning. I was just too busy after that, so I completely forgot about it. As for having turned my phone off, I wasn't quite sure of my mental state right then either. Anyway, after Dominic left my house that morning, I turned my phone off. Having deliberated for a while, I put down the white flowers in my hands and murmured, “Lend me your phone. I'll call Nicholas back.” Shannon handed me her phone without a moment's hesitation. With the phone in hand, I walked away from the funeral altar. Only after I had reached an isolated area did I phone Nicholas. As soon as the phone was connected, the call was answered. “How is it, Shannon? Have you found Liliana? How is she? Is she okay?” Before I could say anything, a barrage of questions came from the other end of the phone. When the questions had finally ended, I uttered, “It's me, Nicholas. Don't worry, for I'm fine.” “Liliana? So, Shannon found you? That's great! You didn't answer your phone, and we couldn't find you, so we were exceedingly worried.” Upon hearing that it was me, Nicholas' voice filled with delight. In the next second, however, his tone changed. He commented solemnly, “I heard that your grandfather passed away. Please accept my deepest condolences. Do take good care of yourself during this time and consider your parents as well as your brother.” I was stunned for a moment, not having expected him to be aware of that matter. But on second thought, it was probably Shannon who told him since she came all the way here. “I will, thank you. Don't worry—I know my limits. You should take good care of yourself and Mrs. Scott, too. How are you both doing recently?” Nicholas then briefly told me about the situation. While he and his grandmother still couldn't be discharged at present, they were already at the recovery stage. Thus, they would likely be fine as long as they recuperated well. During the phone call, he sounded hesitant several times. I reckoned that he probably wanted to inquire about Dominic since news of the latter's engagement had been broadcasted. Nonetheless, he didn't mention Dominic even when we hung up the phone. Well, it's good that he didn't mention him. I don't want to bring that man up ever again.After ending the conversation with Nicholas, I was just going to head back when I spotted a tiny red light flickering in the near distance. It was as though someone was smoking. However, the red light promptly disappeared. I cast a few more glances in that direction but didn't think much of it. I then pivoted and headed back to the funeral altar. Returning the phone to Shannon, I noticed that the candles were burning down, so I went over and replaced them with a pair of new ones. Then, I sat back down. Shannon lifted her eyes and looked at me. Heaving a long sigh, she lamented, “Liliana, this inclination of yours to bottle everything up when you face a problem is really awful. If I hadn't asked for your brother's number when we played that game on Christmas Eve, I truly wouldn't have known how to find you. Do you know how worried Nicholas and I were after seeing the news? Yet, we couldn't reach you. We're friends, so I'll definitely keep you company if something happens!” As I listened to her complaints that were actually infused with concern, I was truly moved. Regardless of whether it was the matter regarding Dominic or my grandfather's sudden demise, I felt much better right then. “Don't worry, Liliana. When your grandfather's funeral draws to an end, I'll go and avenge you. Since that scumbag dared to betray you, I'll pummel him until he's bedridden for life!” “Don't go and look for him. Henceforth, we'll be going our separate ways and have nothing to do with each other. It's more than enough with you keeping me company here.” She certainly won't be able to do anything even if she confronts Dominic when the latter is both wealthy and powerful. Besides, the last thing I want to see now is the people I care about getting hurt again. I don't want to see even a single one of them coming to harm! Perhaps Shannon didn't want to add to my sorrow, for she didn't mention Dominic again after those few comments.When it was almost midnight, I urged my father and the rest of my family to go and rest. Only us, the young ones, and Shannon stayed up. The three days of wake flew past, and the current day was the last. The next morning would be the funeral. When night fell, Dominic turned up.