Chapter 96: The Pitiable Ones

"Huh?"

At nine o'clock in the evening, John, who had just finished school, pushed open the door to his home. What greeted his eyes was an extra pair of women's shoes placed by the shoe cabinet.

"Did Mom come back?"

John muttered to himself, changed his shoes at the entrance, and walked into the house.

Since regaining his memory, John had been placed in the class that Grace was in charge of, becoming a freshman in high school, despite having nearly half a year of academic delay.

But John had a solid foundation to begin with, and the curriculum in the first half of the freshman year wasn't too different, so he was still able to keep up to some extent.

Moreover, with Grace being the class teacher, she naturally took extra care of John, and overall, things were quite good.

And ever since his memory returned, John gradually began to see his tragic background in a more detached way.

He felt fortunate that when he had nothing, he met the kind "Aunt Grace," who was like two extra lights on his dim and rugged path of life, illuminating John's way forward.

So, amidst his sorrow, John also found warmth, even though there was no blood relation.

But John was still willing to sincerely call Mark and Grace mom and dad from the bottom of his heart.

This... might also be the softest and most vulnerable spot in Grace's heart, who couldn't have children.

John seized this vulnerability well, which became the main reason for Grace's gradual surrender in the future...

John, muttering to himself, put his school bag on the sofa and then faintly heard intermittent crying.

Although the sound was very faint.

But John still faintly heard it.

Following the sound of the crying, John tiptoed to the door of Grace and Mark's bedroom.

Pressing his ear to the door, the sound of crying became much clearer.

"What's going on? Why is Mom crying?"

John was a bit surprised and gently pushed open the door.

The moment he pushed open the door, a thought flashed through John's mind, that Grace might be so sad and upset because she had returned home and entered the bedroom, and was reminded of the scene where she was almost raped by the security guard Thorne, so she was crying out of fear.

At least, that scene was not only etched in Grace's mind but also in front of John's eyes.

In fact, from here on, John also had a bit of emotional fluctuation. At least to some extent, both he and Grace were pitiable people.

Toyed with by fate.

And unfairly pitiable people!

But the reality of the scene shattered John's guess.

The moment he pushed open the door, he saw his mother Grace, dressed in a thin nightgown, collapsed on the floor, her body half-leaning on the bedside table, her long hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. There was a ring thrown on the floor nearby, and a photo of Mark and Grace together on the bedside table.

Although John was still young.

But he was very smart. When he saw Mark and Grace's wedding ring thrown on the floor by Grace, he already had a general idea of what was going on. He just thought that because Grace had almost been raped, there was a rift between Mark and Grace, after all, Grace had gone to find Mark before.

But what he didn't know was that Mark actually had no idea about the incident where Grace was almost raped by the security guard Thorne. Grace had never told Mark, perhaps out of good intentions.

But this good intention also caused a rift between Mark and her.

Moreover, Mark, who was in Germany, had already cheated and slept with another woman, which happened to be discovered by Grace.

However, neither Mark nor John had thought that far.

John, who pushed open the door, looked at Grace's back with a pained expression in his eyes. But Grace was still crying and didn't notice that the bedroom door had been opened and John had already walked in.

Listening to Grace's mournful crying and watching her trembling shoulders, John felt a pang of heartache. Over these past few months of getting along, they had truly exchanged sincerity for sincerity.

John, who had lost all his relatives, had long regarded Grace as his own family. So when he saw Grace crying sadly, John almost instinctively walked behind her, picked up the ring she had thrown on the floor, and gently placed it on the bedside table in front of her.

Then, he squatted down behind Grace and silently hugged her from behind.

Grace, who was crying softly, noticed the movement behind her. When John's arms wrapped around her back, Grace's body suddenly trembled, and the tears rolling down her face were instantly held back.

John, who was hugging Grace, didn't realize that his hands were placed where they shouldn't be, on Grace's breasts.

Neither the heartbroken Grace nor John, who wanted to comfort her, noticed this. John hugged Grace from behind, resting his head on her back, his cheek rubbing against her long hair, his eyes slightly narrowed without saying a word.

In fact, John didn't know what to say or how to comfort Grace either.

So he could only silently hug her like this. Although there was no blood relation between the two, as a child and a mother, both Grace and John had perfectly settled into their roles.

John hugged Emily tightly from behind like an ordinary child comforting his mother, even though he didn't speak.

But his broad arms still gave Grace a sense of security.

After her body trembled and then stiffened, she squatted there in silence until much later, when the tear marks on her face dried and her emotional fluctuations subsided. Only then did she reach out and pick up the ring on the bedside table, wiping her tears as she stood up.

John naturally let go of Grace and slowly stood up as well.

"Are you hungry? I'll make you something to eat!"

Grace wiped her tears, tightened her nightgown, and her slightly flushed cheeks still had a trace of tears from crying.

"Okay!"

Hearing Grace say this, John nodded and didn't say anything else.

However, it was still a bit embarrassing to be caught crying in the bedroom by her own son.

Grace, who got up, didn't stay in the bedroom any longer and hurried to the kitchen to cook for John.

John, on the other hand, was a little dazed as he watched Grace's retreating figure.

It wasn't until much later that John snapped out of his reverie. He looked down at his hands, and the scene of him hugging Grace from behind involuntarily flashed through his mind.

It seemed that it was at that moment that his hands had grasped a place they shouldn't have.

At that time, John was only thinking of comforting Grace. Neither he nor Grace, who was being hugged, felt anything amiss. But now, recalling it, John's face couldn't help but turn red.

After all, although John and Grace were in a mother-son relationship, they had no blood relation.

And John was no longer a child. The sexual fantasies of a teenager in puberty, coupled with a mature woman like Grace, would inevitably have some impact on John, who had regained his memory. However, Grace would only gradually realize this impact much later.

John's hug, on the contrary, made Grace feel a warmth and care different from Mark's.

At least, when Mark's infidelity brutally hurt her, there was still a son, John, by her side, who could hug her from behind when she cried, giving her warmth and comfort.

This act not only rapidly warmed the mother-son relationship between John and Grace, who had regained their memories, but also relieved Grace, who had always worried that John would reject her.

In her view, her sincere treatment had finally won John's recognition.

Although there was no blood relation.

But many of the things John did moved Grace deeply, such as the time when she was almost raped by the security guard Thorne. If it weren't for John's reckless help, she might have really lost her innocence.

A son with no blood relation could risk his life to help her. Isn't this the purest form of family affection in the world?

Every time she thought of this, Grace felt a wave of comfort, even though she was still immersed in the sadness of discovering Mark's infidelity.

But at least she still had her son with her and was not completely alone.

Thinking of this, Grace cooked more diligently...