Pursuing My Ex Wife in Full Blooming Spring novel (Naomi)

Naomi did not notice the change in Charles' body language. Instead, she continued munching on her snack happily.

All of a sudden, she remembered the time. It was getting late now, and she needed to go to bed soon.

Naomi wrapped the rest of her unfinished cracker in a piece of tissue paper and shoved it back into the box. Then, she took out the rest of the snacks from the bag and split them into half, sharing the half with Charles. "Here, Charles, have some of these too. They're all my favorite snacks. You should try them."

Charles watched in silence as Naomi shared half of all her favorite foods with him. If this were someone else, he would have turned him or her down. However, because it was Naomi, his heart thumped in his chest as he watched her share the most intimate part of her childhood with him.

"Thank you, Naomi."

"It's no problem."

With that, Naomi closed the box of rice crackers, stuffed it back into the bag, and then stood up with a bag in each hand. Charles knew what she wanted to do and immediately stood up. "I'll walk you up to your room."

With that, he took the bags from her and stepped out of the room. "Let's go."

Naomi was stunned by this. She did not even realize what had happened until she felt the weight of the two bags disappear from her hands. She froze for a few moments, then quickly followed Charles out of the room. "It's okay, Charles. I can handle this myself. You should get back to your room and get some rest."

She reached out to grab the bags, but Charles refused to let them go. Naomi's hand brushed briefly against his, and the two of them froze.

However, a few moments later, Naomi drew her hand back and stammered, "Charles, I..."

Before she could even finish, Charles' phone rang. He paused, frowning at this aptly-timed phone call.

Naomi quickly said, "It's fine, Charles. You should take your call. I'm just upstairs, so it won't take me long. You don't have to walk me."

Her expression was earnest, but she did not try to take the bags from him again. Instead, she stared at him earnestly, waiting for his response. She meant it when she said she did not need him to send her back to her room when she was just a few floors up.

Charles would have insisted on

doing it if not for the phone call. Unfortunately, he knew he had to take this call. He had no choice but to hand Naomi's stuff over and said, "Alright, but remember to text me once you're back in your room."

Although they were in the same hotel, he was still worried about her safety, considering the time of night.

Naomi smiled and nodded. "I will."

With that, she took her stuff from him, bade him goodbye, and walked away.

Charles stood there for a moment. Finally, Naomi's silhouette disappeared past a bend in the hallway, and he dug his phone out of his pocket.

It was his mother, Wendy Queen.

Charles' heart leaped into his throat. "Hello, Mom."

"Are you busy right now, Charles?" Wendy's voice rang out from the other end of the line, etched with panic and anxiety.

Charles could tell that something

was wrong. His mother would never

call him at this hour unless

absolutely necessary. His grip tightened around his phone. "I'm not busy Mom. What's wrong? Did something bad happen?"

"Your grandmother fainted this evening and was sent to the hospital. The doctors say she's had a bleed in her brain. Her condition is very critical right now. Please come home right away if you can."

Charles' expression darkened. "A bleed in her brain? Is she still at the hospital now?"

"Yes, she's in surgery right now. She's been in there for about an hour now, but we don't know what's going on."

Charles glanced in the direction Naomi had left in and finally said, "I'll book my flight home right now."

"Okay. Try to be quick. I...I don't know if this is..."