Danielle ignored the completely stunned man and child. Since she had already spoken up, she decided to say everything clearly.
Thinking about what she was about to say, her cheeks turned slightly red.
She raised her hand to cover Rain's ears and looked seriously at Zachary.
"There's one more thing. I used to… well, I hurt you before. Now I want to make it up to you. Will you consider marrying me?"
Boom.
The last shock hadn't even worn off, and now another one hit Zachary even harder.
His lips moved as if to speak, but his throat tightened and no words came out.
Danielle waited for several minutes, but Zachary didn't answer. A flicker of disappointment crossed her face.
Still, she forced a casual expression and waved her hand.
"If you don't want to, that's fine. I was really awful before. But don't worry, I'll change from now on.
I'll treat you and Rain well."
After saying that, Danielle felt embarrassed and quickly picked up Rain, running into the room.
Zachary stood outside for a while longer, confirming he really hadn't misheard what she said.
When he thought about her saying "forget it," a hint of regret flashed through his eyes.
Was she serious?
Who proposes so casually?
His expression kept changing, and finally, with a cold snort, he walked into the room.
Danielle was just about to greet him when Zachary walked past her into the bathroom, face stiff.
She awkwardly pulled back her hand. Maybe later.
When Zachary came out, he saw Danielle patiently feeding Rain noodles with a fork.
A look of surprise flashed in his eyes again—Danielle had already given him too many shocks in one day.
She gently wiped Rain's mouth after he finished eating, then pushed the remaining noodles and nutrient liquid toward Zachary.
"This is what we had left. It's late, maybe you can make do with this."
Zachary had spent nearly all his money on Danielle's medical treatment, leaving just enough to buy nutrients for Rain.
At this point, he didn't care about leftovers—anything edible was good enough.
Even though he was starving and ate quickly, his manners remained elegant.
Danielle found herself staring at him for a moment.
Zachary looked up, confused. "Something wrong?"
"No, nothing."
Danielle quickly looked away and ran into the bathroom holding Rain.
"I'm going to help Rain brush his teeth."
When Danielle came out, Zachary had already tidied up the place.
Rain had fallen asleep in her arms, clutching her shirt, a sweet smile on his face.
Danielle looked at the dark sky outside, then awkwardly glanced at the room's only bed.
"Maybe we should sleep together?"
Zachary's eyes immediately shot her a fierce look.
She quickly explained, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you."
She even raised her hand. "I swear."
His expression only got worse. He pulled a blanket over himself and shut his eyes.
Danielle blinked in confusion.
Men—impossible to understand.
Her body still recovering and exhausted from earlier, Danielle fell asleep the moment she lay down.
Hearing the soft breathing beside him, Zachary opened his eyes and looked at her with a complicated expression.
She really seemed different.
She used to never let him on the bed—the couch was his usual place.
Could she truly be sincere now?
Or… Zachary's gaze narrowed. Was she planning something again?
Two thoughts kept fighting in Zachary's mind all night. He only slowly fell asleep at dawn.
What he didn't notice was that, just as he drifted off, a soft green glow began to shine from Danielle's body. Green plants slowly took shape around her.
But the strange scene only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing into the air. Neither of them noticed anything.
The next morning, Danielle was woken up by a rustling noise in her arms.
She opened her eyes and saw Zachary pulling at Rain, trying to get him out of bed.
Danielle rubbed her eyes. "He's just a kid. Let him sleep a bit longer, what's the rush?"
As she spoke, she pulled Rain closer into her arms.
With Danielle protecting him, Rain had no intention of getting up. He buried himself deeper into the blanket.
Zachary took a deep breath. "Rain, get up. I'm taking you to hunt beasts."
He had no other choice. Before, Danielle hadn't abandoned Rain, but she hadn't really cared for him either. The money she gave was limited.
Since Rain stopped nursing at six months old, Zachary had carried him out to hunt beasts to help support their home.
It had been almost three years now.
Danielle's eyes snapped open. "Hunt beasts? He's just a child! Are you serious?"
Zachary didn't respond. He just gave her a cold, mocking look.
"He's grown up this way. What else could I do? Leave him at home alone? What if something happened?"
Danielle froze. The guilt and pain hit her hard.
She held Rain's small, skinny body close, her voice low.
"I'm sorry. I was a terrible person back then."
She didn't hold back with her words—after all, it wasn't really her past.
"But I've changed. I have money now. I'll take care of Rain."
Her serious eyes met Zachary's complicated, searching gaze.
They were at a standoff.
Even Rain sensed the tension in the air and stayed completely still in Danielle's arms.
Zachary was the first to look away. "You'd better mean it. Protect Rain. If anything happens to him, even if you run to the central zone, I'll find you and kill you."
With that, he turned and walked out the door. Danielle noticed he carried a large, pitch-black blade on his back.
It was the most common weapon low-level hunters used to kill beasts in the polluted zones—simple, but strong.
Danielle knew Zachary was a proud man at heart. She didn't stop him.
"Rain, time to get up. Mommy will make you breakfast."
She paused, then corrected herself. "I mean, Mommy will buy you breakfast."
"Okay, Mommy. I'm getting up."
Once Danielle got Rain ready, the two stared at each other blankly.
She had no idea where to buy nutrient packs. Rain had to pull her along to help.
After walking for a whole street, Danielle finally saw a convenience store.
The original Danielle had been a wealthy young lady from the Duo family. Everything she wanted was delivered to her. Even shopping trips were nothing like this.
So Danielle truly had no idea what regular stores looked like.
Excited, she rushed into the store with Rain in her arms—only to freeze the moment she walked in.
Half of the store was covered in white—pots, pans, even toilet paper were all made from the same pale material.
This special material had appeared after the nuclear pollution. Danielle had no idea how it was made, but it was cheap and mass-produced.
The other half was filled with colorful nutrient packs. The blue ones they'd had yesterday were the cheapest.
The more expensive ones probably tasted better, but that wasn't what Danielle was looking for.
Today, she wanted to see if there was any real, fresh food. Just drinking nutrient packs might drive her insane.
But after searching the whole store, she found nothing. Confused, she approached a staff member.
"Hi, do you have any fresh food here? Like tomatoes? Eggs? Or any green vegetables?"
"What? Did you say fresh vegetables?"
The staff member was so shocked they leaned forward quickly, nearly bumping into Danielle.