Chapter 342 Jordan’s Birth
Early the next morning, Courtney went to Alicia’s house with fruits and flowers.
Because William had to go work in Kyoto, he left during the night. When Courtney went over, only Alicia was in the living room trimming a pot of bonsai.
“Miss Hunter is here.”
The servant opened the door and led Courtney in. “Oh, Miss Hunter, how nice of you. You always bring so many things when you visit.”
Before Courtney could speak, Alicia’s voice sounded from the living room.
“You bring fruits and flowers every time you visit. Anyone who doesn’t know better would think that you were visiting a patient.”
Hearing this, Courtney hurriedly gave a dismissive wave of her hand, then walked over and huffed, “Aunt Alicia, you really have no sense of taboos when you speak. You’re going to jinx yourself.”
Alicia grimaced. “Although you went to the United States before finishing college, you were still a medical student. How are you still so superstitious?”
Courtney chuckled and sat down on the sofa. “Isn’t it better to be superstitious? I just want you to be healthy and live a long life.”
“You not angering me to death is already good enough.”
As soon as Courtney entered the house, Alicia hadn’t been in a good mood. Her pot of bonsai, which initially looked to be in good condition, had been trimmed bald. Looking at the wrecked plant, Courtney silently mourned it for a few seconds.
“Are you still angry about what happened last night?” Courtney squatted beside the coffee table and watched Alicia mess with the horrific-looking pot of bonsai. “It’s not worth it getting angry over such a trivial matter, Aunt Alicia.”
“Is it a trivial matter?”
Alicia’s brows furrowed.
“It was the first time our two families were meeting, and the Hunter Family doesn’t have a good reputation in the first place. I was afraid that you would be scorned by the Duncans after you get married. Everyone from your Uncle Stephen’s family really doesn’t know better. I was already ashamed of them, and now, we’re completely humiliated.”
Alicia was only behaving like this because she was concerned for her, which made Courtney feel moved. She took Alicia’s arm and leaned on her shoulder affectionately.
“Aunt Alicia, you’re so impressive, so how can you be humiliated so easily? And don’t you already know what kind of people Uncle Stephen and his family are? If Old Master Duncan were to run a check on them, he’d probably find out about their personality too. But, Alexander and Grandpa aren’t such people, and they already know that I’m not close with Uncle Stephen’s famIly.”
“Look at how they behaved last night. Did it look like they wanted nothing to do with you?”
When Alicia spoke of this, she got angry. “Before even greeting anyone, they were in such a hurry to ask you to do errands for their family. They’re simply terrible.”
“Didn’t I say no?”
“Even if you said yes, I wouldn’t allow it.”
Alicia raised her eyebrows. “Who do they think they are? If your grandfather didn’t adopt him because he pitied him, he would’ve been farming in the countryside now. He’s just a b*stard who has nothing better to do in life.”
As Courtney listened to Alicia rant, she found that her tone was the same as when she was a child. She was fluent when she complained, and she never repeated the same thing twice. When she was young, she used to be afraid to hear her aunt chew someone off, but now, it felt comforting.
“Aunt Alicia.” Courtney held back her laughter. “If you continue trimming, your plant will be bald. It’s looking less and less like a plant.”
Alicia looked down at her plant, then glared at Courtney. “Foolish girl, I realize that you actually have a big heart. I really can’t be bothered anymore.”
“That won’t do.” Courtney leaned on Alicia’s arm and shook it, acting like a spoiled child, which was something she rarely did. “You have to plan my wedding. If you don’t bother about me, then what about the wedding?”
After being shaken by her, Alicia’s anger dissipated. “Why is it that you’re turning into more of a child now that you’re getting married? You’re not as composed as when you were young.”
She was complaining, but deep down, she was filled with warmth.
One could tell whether a woman was doing well from her state. A happy woman would tend to behave more like a child, as she didn’t have to worry about anything.
“It would be great if Alexander didn’t already have a son. I really don’t want you to be someone’s stepmother. Anything you do would be wrong, and since they’re a wealthy family, you’ll be held responsible for anything disastrous that happens in the future.”
At this point, a small portion of the joy in Courtney’s eyes dimmed while she said solemnly, “Aunt Alicia, there’s something I want to tell you. Don’t be shocked.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about Jordan.” Courtney pursed her lips. “Jordan’s birth.”
“……”
…
It was already evening in Oreus, and Oliver was helping the worker tidy up the tables, chairs, and benches of the inn. During winter vacation, more tourists had come to Oreus for a holiday, so the place was easily turned into a mess.
“Mr. Oliver, has the madam not recovered from her cold yet?” The worker chatted with Oliver while wiping the table, a worried look on her face. “I haven’t seen her for several days. Even if you have a cold, you can’t stay in the room all day, right?”
Oliver frowned and glanced toward the second floor. A locked wooden door could be seen through the gap between the wooden stair railings. It was the door to his mother’s room.
“The weather’s gotten too cold again, so we’re keeping it like this so her condition doesn’t get worse from the wind. Ask the chef to cook some bland dishes later. I’ll send it up.”
“Okay.” The worker nodded, then asked, “Wait, Mr. Oliver. Why did you come back with the madam? I didn’t ask you then. Didn’t you say that you were busy with school and could only come back around the mid-winter holidays?”
Oliver simply answered, “I’m not busy anymore.”
“Then—”
“Mia, why do you have so many questions today?” Having grown impatient with her questioning, Oliver grabbed the rag from her. “Just go and clean up the reception desk. I can handle it here. My ears hurt from your constant chatter.”
“I can’t be bothered to ask either.”
Mia wasn’t angered by this. She just sighed and rolled her eyes before going to the front desk.
“It’s no wonder the madam is always worried that you won’t be able to find a girlfriend. With your temper, only a daft girl would fall for you.”
At the moment, Oliver wasn’t in the mood to argue with her. Since returning from Melrose City a week ago, Fiona had locked herself in the room and had never once stepped out. He or a waiter would deliver all three meals to her, but she didn’t eat much either. When he went to visit her at noon, he noticed she had lost a lot of weight.
The sky was getting darker. Today was Oreus’ Folk Festival, so most of the guests had gone out to release lotus lanterns by the lake, which was why the inn was deserted.
Mia, who was working the front desk, was dozing off with her head propped up on her chin when she suddenly heard the ringing of the wind chimes on the curtain at the door.
“Is this Hostel D’Amour?”
A male voice sounded, causing Mia to wake up abruptly. “Yes. Are you checking in?”
“Yes.”
“Have you made a reservation?”
The man, who was wearing a black wide-brimmed hat and had a DSLR with him, shook his head. “No. I’m in a hurry. Do you still have a room?”
“Hold on for a second. I’ll check.”
Mia tapped away on the computer for a while. When she looked up again, she showed her signature smile.
“It just so happened that one room checked out at noon, but since it’s close to the holidays, the room hasn’t been cleaned yet because the cleaners have all left. Please wait for a moment.”
The man nodded.
“Okay.”
