"Mandy had cancer, and it started from a stomach ulcer. It became stomach cancer..." Su Huang continued her story of her brother's past. Jazzlyn could not help but be taken by surprise as she quietly digested the fact. As a doctor, Jazzlyn could relate to the treatment and caregiving as she closed her eyes, suppressing the pain she imagined.

  "We all thought Mandy was doing well with her operation of removing the affected part when she stayed over in our place for quite some time to receive recovery treatment..." Su Huang held Jazzlyn's right shoulder to comfort her a little.

  "But the cancer spread, and this time, the doctors said it was the last stage..." Su Huang sighed.

  "Ethan was holding high hopes for her recovery. He was just a fresh graduate back then and was very into research. He worked day and night trying to find cures and remedies with both traditional and Western combinations, but to no avail. Even after Mandy passed on, he didn't give up." Su Huang's eyes reddened as they stopped for a traffic light.

  It was Jazzlyn's turn to reach out to pat her left hand to comfort her.

  "We thought he would perish in his world back then, Wei Wei. We all know he was in denial and acted as though all of it was fine, but he wasn't. He was breaking down bit by bit daily. Struggling by himself with late-night insomnias and perhaps to distract himself from suicidal thoughts, he drowned himself in research..." Su Huang explained as she drove, and noticed Jazzlyn was speechless. She decided to spare the details.

  "It wasn't until Su Lan's accident and you came to save her that made him realise he had been grieving way too long..." Su Huang held Jazzlyn's right arm and smiled sadly.

  "You knew how devastated Su Lan was back then. Hilbert was her recovery doctor after she shifted back to Malacca. They got married a year ago. It took him some time to convince Su Lan. It was thanks to you that Su Lan's initial will was revived." Su Lan was glad Jazzlyn managed a smile finally.

  "It was a wake-up call for Ethan to step back from research. He has seen you many times, but you probably didn't notice him back then, cause we can see how dedicated you were with Su Lan's recovery and fussiness. We also know how busy and chaotic it was in the hospital in the city. That's why we shifted her back to Malacca." Su Huang sighed in relief.

  "When Ethan said he wanted to apply for the general hospital you were in, we were all very surprised. Not till Hilbert started spying on him that we know he was interested in you. We all knew he was slow with love. I'm not sure if it was love at first sight, Wei Wei, but I am pretty sure he was attracted to your determination. We knew how excited he was when you reacted to him and how devastated he was when you ignored him because Hilbert has been updating us often." Jazzlyn giggled at the revelation.

  "I'm sure he was very glad you broke up back then. Otherwise, he wouldn't have signed up for the job. Thanks to the many years of research, he ended up picking up on psychology, too. And now, I'm just glad he is a general practitioner instead of an emergency medical officer. Dad can have a breather too..." Su Lan chuckled as Jazzlyn finally smiled gladly.

  "So, now tell me, what made him want to leave before you decided to?" Su Huang teased Jazzlyn as Jazzlyn turned into a solemn face.

  Su Huang did not pester her because she knew the couple would do just fine. "When he resigned, we were surprised and thought you probably really didn't feel the same, and it was just his luck. We were very worried about his well-being since he decided to visit the landslide site a few days ago..." Su Huang was testing Jazzlyn to see her reactions, and she could tell how guilty Jazzlyn was now.

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  Satisfied, she stopped giving Jazzlyn a hard time. "When he told us he was going to bring you home last night, the family was overjoyed! Thank you, Wei Wei!" Su Huang sincerely said as Jazzlyn smiled sadly.

  "So now you know why you're a gem in this family?" Su Huang asked before parking her car while Jazzlyn smiled. Su Huang did not expect an answer, knowing Jazzlyn has a lot to digest.

  "Alright, let's go get everyone's vegetarian mixed rice first before my dad's fried chicken!" Su Huang cheered as they both alighted.

  Jazzlyn had never expected herself to be a gem to others, while to her own family, she was a tarnished gem. After burning bridges, she never expected herself to regain a family who genuinely loved her.

  It took Jazzlyn a while to absorb everything that had happened in a day. It felt like she had gone through the time travel portal in just a couple of hours as she sat by the bench at the botanical garden, close to midnight, when everyone had gone to rest.

  She wondered where Ethan was, but she was more distracted by the pitch-dark skies lit with shimmering stars. They were dazzling, and it was a sight she never could imagine seeing. Each time a nice view came by, Isla would cross her mind as she decided to give her a call.

  "Hello! Oh Jazz! How's everything?!" Jazzlyn finally smiled, hearing Isla's excited voice, but her eyes were tearing up again unexpectedly. Jazzlyn wiped them away and took a deep breath. Isla knew she was crying.

  "What's wrong? Where are you, Jazz?" Isla questioned as Jazzlyn sniffed again.

  "Did Ethan bully you?" Jazzlyn heard Ellie asking.

  "You're both together?" Jazzlyn finally spoke, trying to sound normal.

  "Oh yes, we were gaming. Isla stayed over. Oh yes, Luna, find us to..." Ellie wanted to explain, but Isla shook her head to stop Ellie.

  "Later... Now, what happened, Jazz?" Isla asked worriedly.

  Jazzlyn hesitated for a second but knew she could not escape as she began to explain her whole day's discoveries to them both. Ethan was about to take a seat by her side but decided to listen from afar instead, knowing if he were to interrupt her now, she would probably break down before being able to fulfill his curiosity as well as to what his sisters had filled her in about.

  "Oh my gosh! This Si Gina* is finally getting married! I thought she would forever be single!" Ellie cheered as Isla laughed.

  "Si Gina*, it's a happy occasion. Why are you crying? Stop sending us into a panic state!" Isla scolded as Jazzlyn managed to laugh.

  "You know how I always had you both by my side when I left my family..." Jazzlyn wiped her welling tears away before feeling sturdy arms holding her by her side. Her gaze averted to meet with Ethan's comforting gaze as she leaned on him and let her tears flow.

  "Now I had a family overnight..." Jazzlyn finally cried as she tried to hold back, but to no avail.

  "I..." She was lost for words, moving Isla and Ellie to tears too.

  "Jazz... You deserve the best, and Ethan was the best choice you ever made, babe..." Isla cheered while sniffing.

  "Yes, bravely walk forward to the future with him, babe..." Ellie conquered as Jazzlyn regained her composure.

  "Thank you..." She managed to say.

  "Don't need to thank us. Make sure you remember to treat us to free food!" Eliie cheered as Jazzlyn chuckled amid her tears. Ethan helped to wipe her tears away and held her close to comfort her while she was on the call.

  "All you know is eat eat eat... have you been eating healthy?" Jazzlyn calmed down a little and managed to joke with them.

  "Of course! With Isla, who can ever eat junk without being nagged till your ears bleed!" Ellie laughed as Isla retaliated with bickers while Jazzlyn laughed, knowing they did it on purpose to cheer her up, but her bottled-up emotions were exploding, especially when Ethan was just by her side. She did not want to worry the girls, so she quickly ended the call instead.

  "Fine... I gotta go... I will call in the morning and let you both see the magical place I live in..." Jazzlyn said hastily as the girls bid goodbye, leaving Jazzlyn to continue hugging Ethan and sobbing.

  For the first time in a long time, Jazzlyn did not want to hold back anything, especially when she had just started a fresh new relationship. She wanted to be as transparent and honest with Ethan about her feelings, knowing how much he loves her and has sacrificed for her.

  "It will be fine. I'm here..." He comforted her as she met his gaze.

  "Why didn't you tell me any of this? Why didn't you pursue me more obviously and daringly?" Jazzlyn asked him gently as he wiped her tears away.

  "Cause I wanted to give you the time and space you needed to let go of the past... That's the only way to start, fair isn't it?" Ethan said with a smile as she plunged into kissing him.

  Glossary:

  Si gina - a Hokkien dialect directly translates into "this kid," but also means "you are asking for a beating" or "you're asking for it."