Chapter 183: Kissing Her Back

Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Kissing Her Back

When Nathaniel Nathan reached for Vera Xavier’s arm, he wanted to pull her away but ultimately drew his hand back. A life was on the line, after all. No matter how unhappy he felt, he could only endure it. His expression, however, turned impossibly grim, and a chilling aura radiated from him.

He stood to the side, counting how many rescue breaths Vera Xavier gave the girl. ’I’ll kiss her back that exact number of times later!’ he resolved.

Vera Xavier, her mind completely consumed with saving the girl, didn’t notice Nathaniel Nathan at all. At long last, the girl began to breathe again. She spat out a mouthful of water and started coughing violently.

The surrounding crowd let out a collective sigh of relief. The girl had been saved.

Just then, a middle-aged woman ran over in a panic, shouting frantically, "Lana! Lana, are you all right?"

Seeing the girl on the ground, she threw her arms around her. "I heard you fell into the river! You scared me to death!"

The girl, Lana, sat up with a look of utter confusion. Then, she suddenly pushed the middle-aged woman away and burst out laughing. A moment later, her laughter turned to tears, and she became almost hysterical.

The middle-aged woman was greatly alarmed. She hugged the girl tightly and asked, "Lana, what’s wrong?"

The girl struggled free and continued to cry, scream, and thrash about. Vera Xavier’s brow furrowed. ’Judging by the woman’s reaction, the girl wasn’t like this before. I remember reading about this in ancient texts in my past life. It’s a delirium caused by the shock of drowning that disorients the mind. If it isn’t treated promptly, it can have lasting consequences.’

She quickly said to the middle-aged woman, "Ma’am, try not to panic. Let’s rub the soles of Lana’s feet together!"

Without another word, she pulled off the girl’s socks and began rubbing her feet vigorously. Though the middle-aged woman didn’t understand why, she joined in to help.

After rubbing her feet, they moved on to the palms of her hands. They continued this for some time until a glimmer of clarity returned to the girl’s dazed eyes. She asked the middle-aged woman weakly, "Mom, what happened to me?"

Seeing that her daughter had come to her senses, the middle-aged woman hugged her and burst into tears. "Lana, you’re finally awake! You nearly scared me to death just now!"

Just then, Mr. Sterling came rushing over. He embraced his wife and daughter and said, "As long as you’re okay, everything’s okay!"

As it turned out, the middle-aged woman was Mr. Sterling’s wife, Corinne Walsh, and the girl was their only daughter, Lana Sterling.

Corinne Walsh said to Mr. Sterling, "It was all thanks to them. If it weren’t for them, our Lana would have..."

Mr. Sterling looked toward Nathaniel Nathan and Vera Xavier. He was taken aback for a moment when he saw who they were, but his surprise quickly gave way to eyes full of gratitude. "Thank you!"

Vera Xavier truly hadn’t expected to be the one to save Mr. Sterling’s daughter. She suddenly recalled a report about Mr. Sterling from her past life that said his only daughter had died young.

As Vera Xavier considered this, her gaze darkened. ’In my past life, I didn’t know Mr. Sterling, so our paths never crossed. But in this life, I saved his daughter because I was reborn. This... this is quite a significant change.’

She smiled at Mr. Sterling. A feeling of immense relief washed over him. ’Thank goodness I ran into her on Cobble Street the other day and agreed to carve a seal for her. That’s why she came here today.’

’If she hadn’t come, Nathaniel surely wouldn’t have come either. And if they hadn’t been here, my daughter... she would have...’

He didn’t dare to dwell on this chain of cause and effect. He quickly led Vera Xavier and Nathaniel Nathan to his home so they could change their clothes. But when Vera went to get her bicycle, she discovered it had been stolen amidst the chaos of the rescue...