Chapter 371: Julia’s Arrival

Julia arrived in the city. Instead of going to James’ home, she went to Justin’s home.

Justin had already told Natalie that Julia was aware of everything between them, so there was nothing for her to worry about.

As soon as Julia arrived, she hugged Natalie, who had come downstairs to welcome her.

"It’s so good to see you after so long," Julia said happily. "And I am so happy that, finally, my granddaughter is back with her real family."

Natalie offered her a gentle smile, while Julia looked at Justin. "You brat, you kept from me that you own NextEra Corp."

"Wasn’t it a good surprise?" he asked, not minding her anger.

"It was indeed good. If you were any poor man, I wouldn’t have let you have my granddaughter," Julia countered.

Natalie didn’t know what to say or how to react to their banter. In her mind, she thought, Justin looked at her, his gaze scrutinizing her. Natalie immediately looked away, as if he could see the dirt in her mind—her expression like that of a thief being caught.

"You better take good care of my granddaughter," Julia warned him in a strict tone.

"I’m already doing it. You can ask her," Justin replied.

Julia looked back at Natalie and said, "If he bullies you, tell me. I will teach him a lesson for you."

"Yes, Grandma."

"I was going to come here earlier, but then all of you went to Belvorn again, so I had to delay...." Julia continued talking non-stop as the two women settled on the sofa in the drawing room.

Justin didn’t interrupt their conversation.

After a while, Julia asked them, "How are James and Caryn? Are they getting along well?"

Natalie hesitated a little before speaking. "We haven’t met them since they came back from Belvorn."

Julia was surprised. "You haven’t met them? They are your parents. You should be spending some family time with them."

Natalie looked at Justin, who came to her rescue. "Julia, they’ve been together for barely over a day. Let them settle first. It would be better if we don’t disturb them yet."

As Julia looked at Natalie, she nodded in agreement with Justin. "Also, Grandma, due to my mother’s health reasons, she isn’t allowed to be surrounded by too many people."

Julia had to agree with the two.

-----

The doctor was there to check on Caryn, along with the latest report he had received.

"Mrs. Harper, the reports are indeed great, and your immunity has improved quite well with the advanced medicines we’ve used since the start," the doctor said. "There are no signs of infection, even after your prolonged exposure outside. But we still have to be careful for a while."

Caryn couldn’t help but notice how the doctor had changed the way he addressed her. He had always called her , but now...

The servants in the villa had also started addressing her the same way, and she wondered if James had instructed them to do so.

She happened to glance at James, who was standing to the side with his hands in his pants pockets. There was a light smirk on his lips as he looked back at her, his gaze as if he could see exactly what was going on in her mind.

He was clearly pleased with the way she was being addressed- Mrs Harper.

The doctor continued, "Now, you no longer need to wear a mask all the time when you are at home or around the usual people. It’s only necessary when you’re in a crowded place or surrounded by too many people. Soon, even that won’t be required. It’s time for you to start exposing yourself to the outside environment, step by step."

Caryn hummed in response, while James asked, "So she doesn’t need to maintain distance from the people she regularly interacts with?"

"Yes."

"How close can one be?" James asked. "How frequent?"

Caryn frowned at the questions, immediately understanding his intentions.

The doctor seemed to have caught on as well and said, "Mr. Harper, as her husband, you can start being close to her—step by step, as I said before."

James hummed and looked at Caryn, who glared at him as if to say, In response, James smirked, as if replying, James then turned to the doctor. "And about her legs?"

The doctor continued, "Regarding Mrs. Harper’s ability to walk normally, we can start her physiotherapy next week. She has been bedridden for a long time, and her legs are very weak. With rehab, I’m confident we can overcome that as well. It’s not just her legs—her entire body is weak. With proper nutrition and exercise, she should be alright in the coming months."

Caryn was glad to hear it. She had been in this wheelchair for so long that she had almost forgotten how to walk and how it felt to have a strong body. This sickness of hers had eaten away at her body for years. Thankfully, her mind was strong, and she had remained sane enough to handle everything.

After discussing things for a while, the doctor left.

As James stayed back, she looked at him. "Aren’t you going to leave? I have important work to do."

She was overseeing the documents for her company. Despite Eric asking her to focus on her life, she couldn’t be idle all the time, especially now that she was getting better.

"Mother is in the city," James informed her.

Caryn fell silent at this. She used to have a good relationship with Julia in the past. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Julia had been fond of her and had already accepted her as her daughter-in-law in her heart.

Out of all the people, Julia was the one she could never be disrespectful to, despite how arrogant she acted with others. Even today, she held respect in her heart for the old woman.

"She’s staying at Natalie’s home at the moment," James added. "Tonight, I’m inviting them for dinner."

Caryn simply hummed.

Seeing her unusually quiet, James spoke. "Just act the same way with my mother as you always have. I believe she still likes you just as much as she did in the past."

She hummed again.

"I also want you to meet my adopted son, Justin. I hope you’re fine with that," James said.

Caryn had heard a lot about Justin Harper and had gone through his business strategies while navigating the business world. She could say she was truly impressed with the way he worked.

But she wasn’t sure how he was in person. Then again, it didn’t matter to her. She had nothing to do with him. To her, he was just James’ adopted son and the heir of the Harper family.