Lila's friend casually tossed Grayson's plastic bag onto the floor. "Just leave it there for now. When the cleaner comes, she can sweep it up with the rest of the trash."
At that moment, the hospital room door swung open, and someone rushed in.
"Lila, this is all my fault. Are you okay? Is it serious?"
It was Walker. His wrist was wrapped in gauze, but the injury didn't look too severe.
"I'm fine—just some bleeding from my head. The doctors checked, and there's no concussion. I just need to rest here for a couple of days." When Lila saw Walker, her icy expression melted into a radiant smile.
"You got hurt too? Does it hurt a lot? It's all my fault—if I hadn't taken you on my bike, this never would have happened."
Lila's tone was full of concern as she fussed over Walker's injury, brushing back his hair and gently examining his wrist.
Honestly, Miles and the others fumed inwardly at this display. Even Indie thought Lila had gone too far. Grayson had come to see Lila—he'd brought a humble gift, but at least he showed up. Yet Lila treated him with icy distance. Meanwhile, Walker had essentially caused Lila's accident, but Lila fussed over him as if he were a hero. Worse, she even took the blame on herself.
To be fair, after dinner, it was Walker who'd insisted on riding Lila on his motorcycle to "look cool." But since Walker and his father had already helped Lila's family resolve that bigger crisis, nobody dared point fingers too harshly at him.
"Lila, you should rest and recover," Jace said gently. "We'll head back now, okay?"
Jace knew that if Grayson stayed any longer, he'd only become more upset—and besides, Grayson, Miles, and Tyler all had afternoon classes at the Business School. With that, everyone stood up and left the hospital room.
Not long after they left, the door burst open again, and a woman swept into the room in a whirlwind of concern.
"Lila, what happened? I heard you were in an accident!"
This woman was in her mid twenties, wearing a pale yellow mini skirt and high heeled sandals, her ears adorned with dangling earrings. She exuded confident, upscale urban elegance.
"Aunt Julia!" Lila exclaimed. If not for the bandages on her head, she would have flung herself into her aunt's arms.
This was Julia Harrington—Lila's aunt, but only three years older. They were more like best friends than aunt and niece. Julia's vivacious, big sister energy put Lila immediately at ease.
Lila had been terrified to tell her parents about the crash, so she'd called Julia first.
"Aunt Julia, it's really not that bad. Just a bit of a head wound. If I'd known it was this minor, I wouldn't have made you cancel work to come here!" Lila reassured her, touching the gauze on her forehead.
Julia exhaled in relief, but then glanced at Walker's wounded arm and frowned.
"I heard you got in an accident with him?" Julia chided Walker. "Riding a motorcycle that fast with a girl? Didn't you think about responsibility? You're lucky things didn't end worse. If Lila had been more badly hurt, could you have handled the consequences?"
Julia's tone was protective—she'd always worried about Lila. And given Julia's slightly greater age and her corporate experience, she instinctively judged that Walker might not be the most reliable young man.
"Aunt Julia, please don't blame Ryan," Lila interjected. "It was Ryan's father who ultimately helped fix everything for our family."
Lila knew her aunt was a masterful talker; she worried Julia might harass Walker and make things tense.
Julia already knew about Lila's family crisis and how frantic everyone had been. She'd tried using all her connections to help but to no avail—until her sister had told her it was resolved.
That's why Julia was curious: who had actually intervened to save Lila's family? She didn't expect it to be Lila's classmate, Ryan Walker.
"Lila, that's just your guess," Julia said, folding her arms. "Ryan, call your dad and confirm—didn't he help our family?"
"Aunt Julia, do we really need to call?" Lila protested. "It's obvious it's Ryan's dad—asking him to confirm feels rude."
She'd already decided in her heart that only Walker could have saved them. If Julia kept doubting, it would embarrass Walker.
"Of course we'll call. I want to be sure. If he truly helped us, we must show our gratitude!" Julia insisted, her brow furrowed with determination.
Walker smirked condescendingly. "Fine. I can't believe how old fashioned you are." He pulled out his phone and dialed.
"Hi, Dad," he said the moment his father picked up.
"Son," came the reply.
"This morning, I asked you to speak to Mr. Prescott at the Tax Bureau about our family's issue with Sterling Gate Group. Didn't you handle it?" Walker asked.
"Oh!" Walker's father exclaimed, sounding surprised. "I completely forgot to tell you. I did go to see Mr. Prescott, but I waited over two hours and couldn't meet him. He had to leave urgently—so I came back home."
Walker's grin vanished. He'd been absolutely certain it was his father's influence that fixed everything. If not his dad, then who could it possibly have been?
"Got it. Thanks, Dad—for trying," Walker said, hanging up.
He spun around to face Julia. "I just called him. He actually didn't succeed. The only one who reached out to Mr. Prescott was me." Walker's voice rose as he pointed at Julia. "Now do you believe me?"
"Aunt Julia, I told you so," Lila said anxiously. "Asking Ryan's dad to confirm this makes things awkward."
"Still, it's good to have clarity," Julia said, managing a small smile. She hadn't expected Walker to lie, but now that she knew the truth, she accepted it.
Julia breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried sick, so I took the afternoon off work to come see you. Look at all these gifts—your friends really care about you." She surveyed the table, which was piled high with elegant bouquets, gift baskets, and snack packages.
"Take anything you like, Aunt Julia," Lila said, nodding toward the pile.
Julia, being a foodie, couldn't resist digging in. She rifled through the assortment, sampling a few things. Then her eyes drifted to the floor, where a crumpled plastic bag lay half hidden beneath expensive boxes.
"Huh—what's this bag doing here?" she exclaimed, picking it up.
"Aunt Julia, don't touch that. It's trash," Lila said, flushing. That bag contained the wild fruit that Grayson had brought—hardly fitting among the pricey presents. Lila wished she had tossed it outside immediately instead of leaving it here.
But it was too late: Julia had already opened the bag and peered inside.
"Wow—what's this?" she said, picking up a single dark red berry and examining it.
Lila winced. "Umm, Aunt Julia, that's just wild fruit. You can't eat it."
Her heart sank. She imagined Julia thinking, "Great—my niece's friend brings a bag of weeds to the hospital."
"No way this is wild trash," Julia said suddenly, her eyes lighting up. "These are Chilean agate berries!"
"Chilean agate berries? What are those?" Lila asked, startled. The name sounded so fancy.
"Aha—these are one of the rarest berries in South America. They grow only in Chile, under extremely harsh conditions. You can't cultivate them on a large scale; they're extremely scarce. I've only ever seen them once before—our company's CEO served them as dessert at a Celestia Grand Hotel banquet. They're so prized that guests get just one berry each. The flavor is divine—sweet, with a chewy, almost "melt in your mouth" texture. Each bite leaves your entire palate filled with a subtle, refreshing fragrance."
Julia continued, "Honestly, I've been dreaming about those Chilean agate berries ever since. They're so expensive and elusive that even if you have money, you might not find them. But look—someone sent you an entire box! Lila, this gift must have come from an incredibly generous person—maybe even someone who likes you?"
Lila stared, speechless. That bag… was it really the same fruit? Did Grayson—a guy no one took seriously—actually bring something so luxurious?
"Aunt Julia, you're not tricking me, are you?" Lila asked, stunned.
"You don't believe me? Try one—you'll see." Julia popped a berry into her mouth. Her face immediately lit up with delight. "So delicious!"
Watching her aunt savor it, Lila tentatively picked a berry and popped it into her own mouth. As soon as she bit, her eyes widened. The berry was truly exquisite: intensely aromatic, with a hint of creaminess, yet still light and bouncy on the tongue.
Indie and the other friends gathered around, curiosity piqued. Each grabbed a berry.
"Wow—that's amazing!"
"It's so sweet and fragrant!"
In no time at all, the entire box of Chilean agate berries that Grayson had brought was gone.
Julia licked her lips and clapped her hands with delight. "I'm so glad I came. I didn't expect such an amazing treat today. Well, I should be going now."
At the door, Julia turned to Lila. "By the way, who sent you those berries? You absolutely must write a proper thank you note—they're such a precious gift."
After Julia left, Indie piped up, "Lila, you totally misjudged Grayson. He brought something so expensive to wish you well, and you treated it like junk. You really should apologize."
Lila fell silent for a moment, then stammered, "Well… a loser like him couldn't possibly afford Chilean agate berries. Maybe he stole them!"
Indie stared at her in shock. Of course, she didn't believe Grayson had stolen anything—but she wondered, Where on earth did Grayson find such a priceless fruit?
All the while, Lila glared at the now-empty spot on the table, not fully ready to face the realization that she had been wrong about Grayson.