Ariana moved her aching body gently, but even so, a fierce pain ran through her body, making her wince. Apparently, the stranger had a lot of stamina and cared very little about her own comfort.

As she tried to pull herself together, a sudden memory shook her. Melon and Sonia! She had been missing all night. They must be worried sick.

Ariana frantically reached for her phone and found it lying on the floor among her clothes. The screen was filled with countless missed calls. Her heart pounding anxiously, she dialed back the number that had called her so many times. The moment Melon's tearful voice rang out, Ariana knew something was terribly wrong,

“Mommy, godmother is dying!"

Ariana's question hung in the air, but Melon's tearful state made a coherent explanation impossible. Eventually, he choked out amidst sobs, “Godmother's in the hospital."

Ariana's heart raced with fear, propelling her to dash out for a staff member who could shed light on the previous night's events. Finding one, she asked about it.

“Last night, two ladies fell into the water. Lifeboats came to their rescue, and they were rushed to the hospital. The cruise ship turned back immediately due to the incident, and we're preparing to dock." The staff member shared the tale.

“Are they alright? Did they get injured during the incident?" Momentarily, Ariana was out of control.

“We're uncertain about their condition, but they're at a close hospital," the staff member replied before Leaving.

True to the staff member's account, the cruise ship soon docked. Ariana disembarked hastily, hailed a taxi, and raced to the hospital.

Reaching the ward's entrance, she saw Melon sitting sadly on a chair in the corridor,

Instantly, her eyes welled up, and she hurried over to hug him.

“What happened, my dear? Tell me, what happened?"

Melon's eyes were also brimming with tears as he spoke.

"I messed up, godmother.. godmother, she..

Tears choked him, and Ariana‘s heart sank, dreading the worst.

Unsteady on her feet, she held little Melon's hand and hurried into the hospital room.

There, she saw Sonia peacefully asleep on the bed, her complexion pale.

Seeing this, a fear crept in that Sonia could slip away from her life like Theodore.

Ariana's mind went blank, a profound sense of loss washing over her as she stared at Sonia's face. Tears cascaded unabated.