Chapter 767

"Chloe, thank you," Annie York said, offering her a smile filled with genuine gratitude.

Chloe Reed typed a message on her phone and showed it to her: "Alright, hurry back now. We need to head inside the station too."

Annie hugged Chloe tightly. "I’m going to miss Grandma so, so much."

Chloe smiled faintly, a gentle softness filling her eyes.

Four hours later, the high-speed train reached its destination.

A car soon pulled up in front of an old Western-style villa. The butler in charge of the estate beamed the moment he saw them arrive. "Madam, you’re back! And Miss Chloe, you’re here too!"

Chloe gave the old butler a polite nod and spoke, enunciating each word with immense effort. "Uncle... King."

Taken aback, Uncle King hurriedly asked, "What happened, Miss Chloe?"

Madam Grant answered for her, "She had an accident and got hurt, but she’s almost fully recovered."

Tension and worry instantly clouded Uncle King’s face. "Is it serious? Did the doctor say when she’ll be fully healed? How could you be so careless, my dear?" Nagging with the warmth of a close relative, he took their suitcases and led them inside.

"Oh, stop dawdling," Madam Grant teased. "I’ve been gone for so long, yet nothing has cured that nagging mouth of yours."

Uncle King chuckled. "You’ve been gone so long I was practically suffocating! I went next door to chat every single day until they got sick of me. I’ve just been waiting for you to come home."

Madam Grant was left utterly speechless.

Chloe could feel the shift in the atmosphere. Being back in a familiar place and chatting with an old friend had noticeably eased her grandmother’s spirits.

"Did you manage to get those earrings back on this trip?" Uncle King asked.

Hearing this, both Madam Grant and Chloe momentarily spaced out.

Those sapphire earrings... how long ago was that? In reality, it hadn’t been that long at all. It was just that so many things had happened one after another, making them forget that Madam Grant’s initial reason for tracking Chloe down in Breyburn was precisely to retrieve those sapphire earrings.

Back then, her grandmother had believed the earrings were a token of love from her grandfather. Since she had lost them, she was determined to get them back. But thinking about it carefully now, they had never truly belonged to her at all. Regardless, she had already passed the sapphire earrings on to Chloe. How they were handled now was entirely up to the younger woman.

Madam Grant’s daze lasted only a second before her expression returned to normal. "I found them, and I’ve given them to Chloe."

Uncle King smiled brightly. "That’s wonderful. Consider it a family heirloom being passed down. Since I knew you two were coming back today, I specifically prepared a whole table of good food—all your favorites."

Once they entered the living room, Uncle King bustled about, fetching their slippers and helping Madam Grant off with her coat. He had been taking care of Madam Grant here for years. Even though his own grandsons were already married and established in their careers, he had no intention of leaving. Madam Grant, in turn, had grown accustomed to having him around. Having someone to chat with throughout the day was a comforting presence.

A crabapple tree stood in the courtyard. Given the season, the blossoms had already withered, and dry, yellowed leaves littered the earth beneath it. Looking out from the living room, the scene carried a hint of desolate decay.

At that moment, Uncle King brought a few crabapples out from the refrigerator and handed them to Chloe. "Miss Chloe, try these. They’re from this year’s harvest. I used most of them to brew some crabapple wine, but I saved a few just waiting for the day you’d visit so you could have a taste."

Chloe offered a bright smile. "Thank... you."

She picked one up and took a bite. The very next second, her small face scrunched up into a tight grimace.