Miracle Cutie Chapter 452: He Is Family

Lester still hadn't woken up.

The anesthesia had worn off, but he remained unconscious. He lay there with his eyes closed, restless in his fevered sleep.

Sweat beaded on his skin, and he let out a low moan. "I'm here. Don't be afraid," he mumbled.

He was dreaming about the kid he used to care for.

In the dream, he was back in that time. The kid was following him when he was hit by a car.

Lester had told the kid not to come, but he had snuck out anyway. He was so small, trailing behind quietly without making a sound.

Lester didn't notice him until he heard a crash. He turned and rushed over, and that was when the kid started to cry.

There was so much blood. The kid was terrified, shaking all over.

Lester remembered calling for an ambulance while trying to comfort his little brother on the road.

"Don't be scared. I'm here."

In this fragment of childhood memory surfacing from the depths, Lester could finally see the kid's face clearly.

This time, he recognized the kid. This wasn't Nina.

He just looked a bit like her. They shared some similar features, but this boy's face wasn't as full and cherubic as Nina's. He wasn't as cute.

Lester was lost in the returning memories, and more kept coming.

He remembered taking the boy to the hospital for treatment.

The boy lay in the hospital bed. He didn't blame Lester for not watching him closely. He just scowled, wanting to go back and fight the car that had hit him.

While Lester slept, piecing together these memories, outside his room, Nina was heartbroken to see him hurt.

"He hurt!" she cried, pointing at him through the glass.

"He did get hurt," Benjamin confirmed, holding her. "But the doctors fixed him up."

Nina pointed again. "Nina in."

"You can't go in yet, sweetie," Benjamin said gently. "You can see him when he wakes up."

Benjamin held Nina, and they stood outside for a long time.

Nina refused to leave. Even if she couldn't go in, she wanted to stay and look at Lester.

They had been there for quite a while when Daniel wandered over. "Hey, Nina, you wanna stay in the hospital?" he asked.

Nina hated hospitals. But this time, because Lester was here, she set her little jaw with determination. She was going to stay.

That resolve lasted about half a day.

After half a day, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Mommy, go home," she whined to Amelia.

Staying here meant the doctors kept coming to check on her. She was terrified of doctors.

Amelia kissed her chubby cheek. "Don't you want to stay and watch Lester?" she asked.

Nina wanted to see Lester, but she also wanted to go home. She sniffled, her clever little mind working.

"He go!" she declared, pointing at Lester. "We go home, Mommy?"

Amelia was speechless for a second. "We... we can't do that, sweetie," she explained patiently. "Lester isn't family. We can't all go home together."

Nina didn't like that answer. "He family!" she argued stubbornly.

Amelia sighed, "Telling me that doesn't change things."

Seeing she couldn't take Lester home, Nina spent a miserable, upset night at the hospital.

The next day, under Nina's anxious watch, Lester finally woke up.

Daniel was the first to rush in when he heard the news.

The two just stared at each other for a moment.

"So," Daniel finally asked, blunt as ever, "how are you feeling? You gonna make it?"

Lester narrowed his eyes at Daniel's words.

Erik, who had come with Daniel, elbowed him sharply.

"Could you not be so rude to his face?" he hissed quietly. "He's not gonna die. And with that grudge-holding personality of his, he might just come after you later."

Erik was genuinely trying to warn his friend.

Daniel, however, was fearless. He had Benjamin. He wasn't scared of Lester.

Lester looked at the annoying Daniel but didn't engage.

He just asked, "Who does Nina look like?"

Daniel was confused. "What?"

"I asked, who does Nina look like?" Lester repeated.

Though out of danger, he was still weak, his voice hoarse. He looked at Daniel with barely concealed impatience.

Daniel still found the question weird, but a sudden instinct for self-preservation kicked in.

"My dad says she looks a lot like Benjamin did as a kid," he admitted. "But I don't see it. Benjamin wasn't that chubby, and he wasn't as cute. I think Benjamin looks like her!"

Daniel's ridiculous take made Lester's eye twitch. He really couldn't listen to this nonsense anymore.

"Just shut up," Lester cut him off, a vague suspicion forming in his mind.

He didn't voice it. Instead, he asked another question. "Do you have any pictures of Benjamin as a child? Show me."