Genevieve’s face was inches away from Armand’s. She found his breath bitingly cold, and she shivered involuntarily in response.
Nonetheless, she did not show signs of backing away. She met Armand’s gaze and retorted, “Why, Mr. Faulkner, aren’t you aware of the messy relationship between Cooper’s father and your Aunt Samantha? Cooper was merely a pawn in Samantha’s hands. She tricked him into killing my parents.”
Armand’s gaze darkened as he demanded, “Does this mean you’re letting him off the hook?”
“Yes. He has also expressed his remorse to me.” Genevieve’s lashes quivered. “Plus, Coop and I—”
Her husband interjected curtly, “Don’t call him that.”
At the same time, he tightened his grip on the back of her head, clearly expressing his displeasure.
Genevieve took a deep breath and instantly dropped the term of endearment. “I grew up with Cooper, and he’s my ex-husband. We have a lot of history together.”
Armand’s displeasure ballooned, and he jeered, “You’re a real saint. You can even forgive the person who killed your father.”
In the past, Genevieve would have fired a scathing reply back at Armand.
Now, she merely blinked and shot him a small smile. “Drive us back to Regality Gardens, Mr. Faulkner. Talking about serious matters in the car exhausts me.”
Armand glanced at her before moving back to his seat and putting on his seatbelt.
The car cruised out of the hospital parking lot. Genevieve noticed some mints in the armrest compartment. She grabbed one and ripped open the wrapper. “Are you returning to the office later?”
“I’m not.” He had asked Steven to push all his morning schedules to the afternoon.
She murmured an acknowledgment while fiddling with the mint wrapper. “How are you going to deal with Grandma’s death? Can I return to work at Central Group’s translation department?”
Armand’s grip tightened slightly on the steering wheel, his gaze turning grim.
Though the Faulkners were a huge bunch, Harriet had always doted on Armand. She continued to favor him even as Armand suspected her knowledge of his horrid behavior. She was one of the few people in the Faulkner residence who had made him feel welcome.
Her death was naturally a huge blow to Armand.
However, he could also clearly tell that Genevieve had treated Harriet like her biological grandmother. Plus, with her injured vocal cords back then, how could Genevieve have infuriated Harriet with her words that led to her sudden death?
Armand knew who the culprit was, but his hands were tied.
“I’ve arranged for someone to deal with the news. You can return to work tomorrow if you want.”
“Mm, in that case, please ask Steven to help me apply for a few more days of leave.” Genevieve lowered her gaze. “It’s Patrick’s funeral tomorrow. I want to give him a final send-off.”
“Okay,” Armand agreed after a moment of silence.
His car pulled into the compound of Regality Gardens in a jiff. After parking the car, Armand entered the elevator together with Genevieve.
The elevator slowly ascended, and the air in the elevator remained somber.
Armand kept his head lowered as he peeped at Genevieve beside him. She was busy tapping away on her phone.
When her vocal cords were injured, Genevieve had relied heavily on texting. Armand’s eyes were sometimes exhausted from reading the sheer volume of words on the screen.
Now that Genevieve could speak again, she had been conversing with him politely as though they were new acquaintances. Her formal tone discomfited him.
Armand fidgeted with his slacks and asked, “When we left the hospital, you mentioned asking Cooper for a favor. What was it?”
“It’s just a small thing,” replied Genevieve without lifting her head.
“What small thing?”
She realized he would not drop the topic until he got an answer. Thus, she confessed, “I asked Cooper to meet Marilyn and get a violin named ‘Night Breeze’ back from her.”
Armand recalled that Patrick had gifted the violin to Genevieve to congratulate her on getting a job.
Marilyn had taken a fancy to the instrument and coerced him into stealing it from Genevieve.
As Armand remembered the dreadful things he had done to Genevieve in the past, his heart swelled with unease. He offered, “I’ll ask Steven to get it back for you.”
