Wilhemina knelt down and inserted the silver needle into the acupuncture point on the old woman's knee.

"Seven more times, your legs will be better and you'll be able to walk."

"And, I'll leave as soon as your legs are healed, Grandma."

The old woman asked her, her eyes were teary and her face was gloomy, "Are you really not going to wait for Leon?"

She shook her head and smiled. "I've waited enough."

Leon Pieterson pushed the door open and stepped in.

"Tessa will be back from Grenada tomorrow." He paused and looked at Wilhelmina. "She's been recuperating and studying medicine for three years to help our family. You move to the guest room!"

Wilhelmina's fingertips trembled and the silver needle almost missed the acupoint.

She lowered her head and tidy up the medicine box as he walked away.

Then, she heard the servants gossiping outside. "You heard it? Ms. Holsteyn is probably coming back this time to marry Mr. Leon, right?"

"I heard, Mr. Leon was sent and raised at an educational institution for three years when he was a child and that's when Ms. Holsteyn met him."

"Yeah, a few years ago, the Pietersons had a quite serious internal conflict and Ms. Sophie sent Mr. Leon to the educational institution to avoid more serious problems, while the one who managed the educational institution is the Holsteyns."

"No wonder Ms. Holsteyn went to Grenada to recuperate and study medicine as soon as she came of age. She's fulfilling the Pietersons' wish."

The old woman, Sophie Pieterson, suddenly grabbed her hand and said, "Wilhelm, you're the only daughter-in-law of the Pietersons I recognize."

Wilhelmina said nothing. She had been with Leon for three years and always chasing after him.

But too bad, the only thing on his mind was Tessa Holsteyn, his first love who had gone away to recuperate and study medicine.

In his eyes, Wilhelmina was just a useful tool.

Every time Leon got drunk, she was always the first person whom was anxious to make sobering soup for him and give him acupuncture to relieve his headache.

But he always called Tessa's name when he got drunk.

And every time he injured his stomach from drinking at social gatherings, she was also the one whom delivered a health-preserving soup to his company.

But what she heard from him was that the soup wasn't as delicious as Tessa's.

Too harsh, too heartless, Wilhelmina still felt a stabbing pain in her heart every time she thought about them.

Until she quickly shook her head and locked all the memories into the deepest part of her mind, trying not to drown in heartache.

It was already late at night when she returned to the bedroom.

Normally, at this time, she should be in the kitchen, heating up sobering soup and midnight snacks for Leon who came back from overtime work and social events.

But now, she didn't want to do it anymore.

She just wanted to have a good night's rest and have nothing to think about.

So, when Leon pushed open the door, no soup in the insulated cabinet, no midnight snack on the dining table and normally at this hour, Wilhemina would be waiting for him, making a casserole.

He loosened his tie and called out. "Wilhelm?" And no one answered.

Leon stood in front of the closed bedroom door, his knuckles hanging in the air.

He felt inexplicably irritated and before he could knock on the door, it suddenly opened.

Wilhelmina stood in the warm yellow light, holding a cup of water, with the collar of her pajamas slightly open.

"Leon? Do you need something at this late hour?"

His Adam's apple moved and he suddenly realized that his gaze was on her collarbone.

"Tessa will be back from Grenada tomorrow."

He heard his own voice was as cold as ice.

"You'll move to the guest room tonight."

Wilehlmina's fingertips clenched the glass tightly, causing ripples on the water, reflecting her suddenly pale face.

"Okay."

She lowered her head and took a step aside to make way for him in the corridor, her hair hanging down to hide her expression.

Just as the man strode past her, he smelled a hint of bitter medicinal fragrance.

"By the way~"

He suddenly turned back at the end of the corridor to see her thin and frail figure standing still.

"She's been recuperating and studying medicine for three years to help the Pietersons."

"So?" Her voice was too low to hear.

"When she comes back, you can check on her often and take care of her."

In just a few seconds, the glass in her hand fell to the floor when Leon had already turned around and gone downstairs.

Wilhelmina slumped to the floor, her legs and hands bleeding from hitting glass shards without her realizing it.

She was no longer sleepy. She looked around her bedroom and to be honest, she didn't have many things she could packed up.

In these three years, she never took the initiative to ask Leon for anything.

She only had a few hanging plain dresses given to her by Leon's grandmother, Sophia.

Leon had never accompanied her shopping and the luxury paper bags he occasionally brought back always had the name "gift" written on the label.

In the drawer lay a pair of pearl earrings, which he had casually thrown to her the first year they met, saying, "They go with your white dress."

She later found out that Tessa returned the item because she thought the style was old-fashioned.

At the bottom layer were a few yellowed prescriptions, which were the prescriptions for treating his headaches that she had recorded and revised countless times and the edges were already frayed.

She squatted down, gently stroked the handwriting with her fingertips and suddenly smiled.

For the past three years, she had lived like a wandering soul staying in the Pieterson Family.

So then, she put the pearl earrings back in the drawer and took only the stack of prescriptions.

She packed her suitcase and walked to the guest room in the corner of the corridor.

Wilhelmina got up early the next day. For the past three years, she had got up early every day to accompany Sophie to do health exercises and then gave her acupuncture for half an hour as a routine.

Then rushed back to make breakfast for Leon.

She was carrying the medicine box through the corridor and heard an argument coming from the old woman's yard from afar.

"Grandma, Tessa specially brought emerald bracelet from Grenada which brings good energy for your health," he said in a gentle yet compelling voice.

"Take it away!" Sophie slammed her crutch on the ground. "My old body and bones can't bear this kind of fake jewelry."

"Grandma...." Tessa held back herself from crying, her voice trembled. "I know you're angry with me, but I took a lot of efforts to get this bracelet for you. You can touch and feel such a positive energy from it."

As soon as Wilhelmina stepped into the door, she saw Tessa kneeling on a cushion, with a green emerald bracelet on her hand - it was the one Leon had bought at the Heritage Auction last month

"Wilhemina, you're here?" Tessa turned around and smiled at her. "It's just in time for you to help me persuade Grandma. She always misunderstands me ...."

Sophie suddenly snatched the emerald bracelet and threw it at her grandson. "Get out with your fake emerald bracelet!"

The emerald bracelet hit the red bricks wall with a crackling sound and Tessa's tears fell instantly.

Leon frowned and hugged his first love, saying, "Grandma!"

"Get lost!" The old woman coughed violently. "Unless I die, don't let her enter the Pietersons' house."

Wilhelmina rushed over to support Sophie and help her calm down.

Leon gave Wilhelmina a deep glance and then left the yard with sobbing Tessa.

"Wilhelm." Sophie took a breath and held Wilhelmina with her skinny hands. "Leon ... he had really been blinded by that cunning girl, but I only recognize you as my granddaughter-in-law."

Wilhelmina lowered her head and twirled the needle, her hair hanging down to cover her red eyes.

By the time she finished the acupuncture, it was already past breakfast time.

She hurried back to the kitchen and laughed to herself as she almost approached the door.

Now, she didn't need to rush to make breakfast, lunch, or even dinner for Leon, did she?

Sure enough, the dining table was already full of sumptuous dishes, some of which were left over.

Just when she was passing by Leon's door, carrying the medicine box, her footsteps suddenly stopped.

A ray of warm light leaked through the crack in the door. "Leon ...." Tessa sobbed. "Why doesn't grandma like me? I've been working so hard...."

Wilhelmina moved closer to the crack of the door.

"Don't cry," said Leon in a low voice, with a bit of helplessness, "Grandma is old and stubborn. It's not your fault."

"But... why Grandma likes Wilhelmina so much? She didn't do anything."

She bit her lip and asked in a low and sorrow tone, "Is it because ... she deserves to be the Pietersons more than me?"

The man's eyes darkened and he stroked her cheek with his fingertips, saying in a slightly cold tone, "Don't compare yourself with her."

"I'm just ... afraid you'll be in a difficult situation." She lowered her head with a hint of self deprecation in her voice. "After all, Wilhelmina is your fiancée and I ...."

"And you what?" He pinched her chin and forced her to look up at him, "You are more qualified to stand by my side than her."

"But ... will she hate me? Will she think that I stole you away from her?"

Leon sneered, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes.

"She has no right to hate you. It was you who saved me three years ago. For that, you had to go to Canada to recuperate and then study medicine for three years to help our family."

Tessa took the opportunity to move closer, pressing her cheek against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

"And Wilhelmina took advantage of the situation and somehow bewitched my grandma and everyone around her, making them think that she was my savior and forced me to marry her."

Just then, he leaned over and kissed her lips.

His kiss was somewhat punitive, strong and domineering. Tessa trembled slightly, her fingers tightly grasping his collar.

After the kiss, he leaned against her forehead and said in a low voice, "Don't let your imagination run wild."

Wilhelmina trembled as she listened. To her surprise, Leon had never believed that she was the one who saved him back then.

She touched the scar on her heart and couldn't stop crying.

That day, it was raining heavily. Wilhelmina went to the hill picking some herbs and found Leon covered in blood in the valley.

His chest was blackened by the knife wound, his lips were purple and his breathing was weak.

Wilhelmina gritted her teeth, cut her heart, took three drops of her blood and mixed them with herbs, then used silver needles to seal his meridians.

Due to excessive blood loss, she collapsed beside Leon and the last thing she was aware of was hearing Tessa's cry from afar. "Leon!"

Later, Sophie personally came to take her back to the Pieterson Family and held an engagement for her and Leon.

She always thought Leon married her out of gratitude, so she tried to please him. She hoped to build a closer relationship with him.

She didn't want to keep eavesdropping and peeking, so she stumbled back to the guest room.

Inside the room, Leon seemed to hear something and looked outside the door.

But Tessa kept seducing him and he indulged in his desire.

In the next few days, Wilhelmina followed the routine and never left her room except for giving acupuncture to the old woman.

In order to avoid meeting Leon and Tessa, she waited for them to finish eating before going to the kitchen to make some food herself.

But even though if she tried to avoid them, she still couldn't avoid those scenes of pampering and love.

Tessa wanted to eat Croissant Truffle from the west of the city, so Leon drove to buy them himself.

When she was flipping through a magazine, her fingertips lingered on a limited edition bag for three seconds. The next morning, the servant found the same bag at her door.

When she lost her appetite, Leon invited all the chefs in the city to cook for her.

Even when she wanted to have meditation, Leon immediately ordered people clean and tidy up the entire third floor.

Wilhelmina stood silently at the stairs on the third floor, watching the servants move her old bookshelf into the storage room.

She had a lot of medical books she had collected over the years and now she had to make room for Tessa's meditation.

She sighed and turned away and when she went downstairs, she ran into Leon, who had just gone to the auction to buy an ancient european abstract painting with Tessa.

Tessa was holding Leon's arm and was showing off the ancient european abstract painting she had just photographed with a coquettish smile.

Leon's gaze passed over her and fell straight on Wilhelmina.

"Wilhelmina."

He suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist with such force that she frowned.

"Have you been avoiding me all this time?"

Wilhelmina struggled a bit but failed to break free and said calmly, "No".

"You said no, but you haven't been seen for a few days and you haven't even come down to eat. Is it because Tessa is back that you're deliberately giving her a hard time?"

"No, I'm glad to hear she's back. I just figured it out, she's back. I shouldn't be pestering you anymore. You're right, you'll never love me. It was my wishful thinking before," Wilhelmina quickly explained.

But these words sounded extremely harsh to his ears and he should have been happy.

"Wishful thinking?" He leaned close to her ear and lowered his voice. "Are you trying to get my attention this way?"

The girl who had been pestering him for three years suddenly said that she didn't like him anymore? He found it ridiculous.

Wilhelmina looked up, a hint of disbelief flashing in her eyes.

Looking at the sudden change in the expression of the girl in front of him, he became more certain of his guess.

For a moment, he felt somewhat smug. See, Wilhelmina still loves me.

"Don't try to get my attention with these tricks. No matter what you do or what method you use, I will never love you. You'd better give up this idea as soon as possible."

She looked at the man she had loved for three years and for a moment she didn't know how to defend herself.

After all, it was hard to believe that she would really give up on loving him for what she did before.

She no longer tried to give him an explanation. Perhaps only when she truly left him would he believe it.

She stopped arguing and turned away.

But her silent attitude made Leon even angrier.

Leon grabbed her wrist with such force that she stumbled over.

"Since you are so knowledgeable about medical skills ...."

He firmly pressed Wilhelmina's hand on Tessa's wrist and said, "Show her!"

Wilhelmina lowered her gaze to check her pulse and suddenly frowned.

She looked up and met Tessa's smug gaze.

"Well ...." He knocked on the table impatiently and asked her, "What's wrong with her?"

Wilhelmina replied, "She's not sick."

Tessa pulled back her hand and threw herself into the man's arms. "I told you it's okay, it's her who's making a fuss ...."

He hugged Tessa, but his eyes were fixed on Wilhelmina. "Since she's not sick, why did you frown just now?"