Chapter 182 The Older, The Wiser
After being mocked by Cameron for no reason, Courtney felt extremely uncomfortable. It feels like I’m being very selfish by deliberately hiding the truth from Alexander and doing many things for my own benefit. But, am I not doing this so that both my children can get along well?
With this self-doubt weighing down on her heart, it left her feeling a little uneasy when she visited her two children at the Duncans’ ancestral home. Especially when she heard Scott praising her for treating Jordan well. It made her face flush for an inexplicable reason. Jordan is my biological son. How can I not treat him well?
“Mommy, it’s been a long time since I saw you and Mr. Alexander coming together.”
During their lunch break, Tina and Jordan sat in Courtney’s arms, one on each side. Tina was chattering away endlessly. It seemed like she liked the living environment at the Duncans’ ancestral home.
“Don’t you know that he is a very busy man? Many things need to be taken care of after the fire broke out at the hotel.”
“But, why are you not going to work, Mommy?”
“I’m on vacation right now. This way, I can spend more time with the two of you. Don’t you like it?”
“I like it.”
Upon mentioning the fire, she turned her head away and rested her chin on the top of Jordan’s head. “Jordan, I’m sorry for not realizing that you were in the cold storage room the other day.”
At first, Jordan had been quietly listening to the conversation between Courtney and Tina. When he heard those words, he hurriedly got up from the bed, found his little drawing board, and quickly wrote several words. ‘It’s okay. I know you would have brought me out if you saw me, Mommy.’
Seeing his well-behaved and understanding attitude, she happily patted his head and said, “Jordan is the best! You know I will never leave you.”
He immediately wrote on his drawing board again: ‘Really???’
His question was followed by three question marks behind it. Coupled with the nervous expression on his small face, it seemed like he didn’t quite believe that she would always remain by his side.
“Of course.” Courtney didn’t understand why he was so worried. She thought that he still retained some traumatic feelings from the fire and felt extremely distressed in her heart.
On the other hand, Tina sighed like an adult before saying, “Jordan is worried that Mr. Alexander has fallen in love with somebody else. To be honest, I’m very worried too.”
Courtney looked taken aback. After receiving an explanation from the two children—one spoke while the other wrote—she learned that the Lewis Family visited the Duncan Residence several times. Mrs. Lewis, in particular, worked very diligently; she mentioned the previous engagement between Mikayla and Alexander many times. Although Scott tried to hide it from the children, he couldn’t keep it from them in the end.
Jordan looked downcast. He wrote a string of words on his little drawing board. ‘I don’t want anybody else to be my mommy.’
She looked at his small and pitiful appearance; it was extremely heartrending. Thus, she hugged him tenderly and said solemnly, “I will never let anybody else by your mommy. If that really happens one day, I will take you away with me.”
After the Duncan Family’s butler came out of Scott’s study, he arranged for several phone calls to be made. Before dinnertime, many cars arrived at the Duncans’ ancestral home, and the relatives and branch family members of the Duncan Family were gathered in the living room.
“It’s neither New Year’s nor a holiday. Why did Old Master Duncan call all of us over today?”
“I came as soon as I received the phone call. I don’t know what’s going on either; I thought you all might know.”
“Could it be trouble in the company?”
“Didn’t we talk about the fire at one of the hotels under the group recently? I’ve always said that it’s not safe to leave such a large company in the hands of Alexander alone.”
Amidst the chatter, only an old man in his fifties sat quietly by the side without saying anything. The old man gave off an insidious feeling. However, he was playing with a string of Bodhi beads in his hands. That string of beads was black and shiny from many years of use.
“Dad, what do you think is going on?” a middle-aged man lowered his voice and asked. His expression was full of doubt. “Old Master Duncan has not contacted us in years. Do you think he called us here because something happened?”
The old man’s eyes shone with a cold light as he said gloomily, “Who knows? Just wait and see; it won’t be because of a trivial matter.”
When the servant knocked on the door and invited them to dinner, Courtney took the two sleepy children to wash up again before heading toward the dining room. She was surprised to see many people sitting at two large, round tables in the dining room—she thought that she was at the wrong place for a moment.
“Old Master Duncan, the young mistress is here.” The way the servant addressed the lady as ‘Young Mistress’ caught everybody’s attention, and they whispered among themselves.
As everybody knew, Alexander was the only son of the Duncan Family. He was unmarried even though he was in his thirties. He also had a son of unknown origins. In any case, nobody had ever heard of him taking a wife before, so where did this ‘Young Mistress’ come from?
“Come here, Courtney. Sit here.” Scott beckoned toward Courtney.
Courtney calmed herself down. In full view of everybody, she hesitantly walked to Scott’s side. Then, she sat down with her two children and tentatively said, “Grandpa, I didn’t know you were having guests over for dinner. Why don’t I bring the children back and come back to visit you another day?”
“No need.” Scott smiled and gave her a comforting look. Afterward, he stood up, looking lively and spirited. “I called everybody here today to announced something to all of you. As all of you know, I only have one grandson—Alexander. He is already in his thirties but remains unmarried. It is said that one should start a family before starting a business, and that has always been something I worried about.”
At this point, Courtney’s mind was in a mess as she vaguely realized something.
“I’m sure that everybody heard the servants addressing Courtney as ‘Young Mistress’. I believe it is also time for me to officially introduce you. I cannot allow this young lady to stay with Alexander without holding the proper status. The Duncan Family is not such an ill-mannered family.”
The entire dining room was in an uproar. A young man sitting at the other table recklessly asked, “Grandpa Scott, are you saying that she is Alexander’s wife?”
“That’s right. Although their wedding has not been held, this matter has been decided. So, I’m letting everybody know beforehand. Courtney Hunter, the young lady of the Hunter Group, is now Alexander’s fiancée. I wanted everybody in the family to get to know her. Once the wedding date has been decided, we will send out the invitations.”
Courtney felt like she was sitting on pins and needles—she couldn’t say a word. If I refute it, it will be a slap in Old Master Duncan’s face. But, if I just acquiesce to it… Besides, I’m still quarreling with Alexander! I’m still mad at him! However, she suddenly understood why Scott was doing this after giving it some thought. It was most probably because the Lewis Family had been pressuring him too much recently. Besides, there was nothing he did not know. I’m sure he knows about the quarrel between Alexander and me. He is deliberately using this method to stabilize my position. One gets wiser with age indeed.
After a series of whispering, somebody took the lead and addressed her as ‘cousin-in-law’. Hearing that word made her skin crawl with goosebumps. The others also followed suit and stood up.
“This is great news! Congratulations! Let me drink a toast to my cousin-in-law—”
The relatives congratulated Courtney, one after the other. However, she simply felt lost as she listened to the butler introducing the relatives to her. Moreover, she soon became tipsy after downing several glasses of wine. She didn’t even know how she left the dining room that night.
