Chapter 408 The Children Will Go With You
Casey was in the living room, sipping on tea. The dining table hadn’t been cleared yet, so it was in a state of disarray.
Courtney went downstairs and explained to him, her tone a little bashful, “You came at a slightly bad time; we just finished dinner. If you had come a little earlier, you could have joined us.”
Casey, however, didn’t bear a grudge against her. “If I did arrive earlier, then he wouldn’t have been able to have that dinner. It’s better for him that I arrived later.”
“So, you’re here to get Shay.” Courtney immediately spelled out Casey’s purpose for coming. “Why did you call me down then? I haven’t been feeling well the last few days. You’re torturing a sick person here.”
Casey didn’t look too bothered. “There’s something that I want to tell you.”
Courtney was all ears.
“When I found out that you were kidnapped, Shay was still abroad for his concert tour. The tour was already underway, and he wouldn’t be able to do anything even if he came back. That’s why I didn’t tell him.”
“Smart move.”
“However, I’ve also been constantly monitoring the progress of the case. I even personally sent personnel out to try and find a way to save you. In the end, you didn’t need my help. Alexander’s a capable man.”
At the mention of Alexander, Courtney’s face stiffened. “What does this have to do with him?”
“Looks like I made the right choice to come here.” Casey put down his teacup, still looking as polite and mild-mannered as ever. “That depends on whether you want to know the truth, or if you want to continue lying to yourself for the rest of your days.”
“What do you mean?”
“Alexander was the first one to find out about your kidnapping. He was also the one who coordinated the entire rescue plan; it had nothing to do with the criminal investigation team initially. Later, once the criminal investigation team took action, he was worried their actions might alert the kidnappers and in turn cause harm to you, so he arranged for the Blue Eagles Reserve Forces to come with him to discreetly strike a deal with the kidnappers, even though the Blue Eagles were still wet behind their ears. That’s right: he went on the island operation too.”
Courtney stayed quiet.
“But for some reason, he didn’t get to meet you. After Alexander’s return from the island, he went back to work at Sunhill Enterprise, and he’s been working around the clock, going on business trips. If it wasn’t for him being late for yesterday’s summit, I wouldn’t have known about all this either.”
Courtney’s expression was complicated. After hearing Casey’s story, it seemed that Alexander had been busy running himself ragged for her. But why hasn’t he come to see me?
“He actually wasn’t late; he got a high fever on his way, and he lost his marbles because of that. His assistant couldn’t bear to see him in that state, so he sent Alexander straight to the hospital. The tests showed that he had pneumonia, so he was directly admitted for a stay.”
At that, Courtney’s expression froze. A high fever? Pneumonia? So he’s actually the one who saved me from the waters that night?
“I have no ulterior motives, telling you all this. I just thought that most of your friends decided to hide the truth about a lot of details, since they think that they’re doing you a favor. They probably didn’t want you to overthink it, but I personally like it when people just say things as they are and tell me everything. I think that you have the right to know the truth.”
“So you’re not here to make me help you talk to Shay?” Courtney asked.
Casey pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. His fingers were extraordinarily light and pale. “That’s all I want to say. I can resolve the matter between Shay and me myself. I’ve never needed someone else to help me with matters like this.”
Courtney frowned. She could pick up on the underlying meaning in his words.
Casey was mocking her for always relying on others when it came to things with an emotional component. Everyone around her would always help her to make decisions without her input, and she was left in the dark, left ignorant about what she didn’t know.
After Casey had taken Shay with him, Elijah brought her to her bedroom and left as well. Courtney was left in the bedroom with Cameron for company. The two women laid on the bed together, gazing at the starry night outside the window and chatting.
Courtney told Cameron about what Casey had told her, and she also asked Cameron to confirm his words. After all, she couldn’t just take Casey’s word for it. Who knew if he was telling the truth?
Cameron said nothing to that. It was a tacit affirmation. “Actually, I just felt that you didn’t have to know about it. He was the one who caused your kidnapping in the first place.”
Courtney turned her head to glance at Cameron. “Passing the buck after breaking up isn’t a good look either. He may have a hand in causing the kidnapping to happen, but it’s not to the point that he’s entirely responsible for it,” Courtney reminded.
“Fine, let’s just roll with that.” Cameron shrugged. “What about the children, then? Are we just going to forget about Jordan’s situation? And what about the baby in your belly?”
At the mention of that, Courtney’s face stiffened. She pressed her lips together and thought for a long while. “You didn’t tell Gale about this, did you?”
“Nope.”
“Good.” Courtney took a breath. “Keep this between us for now.”
“Why? You don’t want the baby?”
“I haven’t made up my mind yet.” Courtney was being truthful. This time, the power to decide the baby’s fate was in her hands. There was no one forcing her to sign some contract. But, this was different from the situation six years ago. She definitely hadn’t decided whether she wanted the baby or not.
The next morning, Courtney went to the hospital. Just as Casey had said, Alexander had indeed been admitted to hospital. When she knocked on his door, preparing to walk in, she found Fiona sitting by his bed. Alexander looked awful, his thin lips pale and drained of color. He coughed as he signed the document that Josh held out to him. “Take this back to the board of directors…”
(T/N: there’s a paragraph that says that Courtney walks in later)
Josh took the signed document and left the room, and he ran right into Courtney, who had been watching everything by the door for a while now. “Miss Hunter…”
The ward immediately went quiet as two gazes fell upon her.
Courtney forced her lips up into a smile. She used the bouquet of flowers she was holding to block Alexander’s gaze. “I just found out that Alexander was admitted into hospital. I’m sorry for taking so long to visit.”
“No, no, you weren’t late at all.” Fiona hurriedly came over to greet Courtney. “Weren’t you supposed to be at home, resting? Why did you come all the way here? Come, sit down. I’ll get you some tea.”
“You don’t have to, madam.” Courtney walked into the room. “I’ll be leaving soon.”
Fiona was at a loss. Hesitant, she shifted her gaze over to her son on his bed.
“Could you leave us alone for a while?” Alexander said, his voice hoarse.
“Then, have a nice chat, you two.”
The room returned to being quiet. Even the air felt a little stagnant.
Courtney placed her flowers aside. She stood by the end of the bed, keeping a distance away from Alexander. After a long while, she spoke at last. “You saved me.”
Alexander’s eyes were dull, and they didn’t change upon hearing her. “Not really. There were many other people there during the rescue mission. Even if I hadn’t saved you, someone else would’ve.”
He was right.
There was nothing wrong with what Alexander said, but for some reason, it troubled Courtney. Even after ruminating for a while, she still couldn’t think of anything to say.
“I’ve already thought about the children’s custody issues,” Alexander suddenly said, his low voice reverberating around the room. “Tina grew up with you, and Elijah is also her father on paper, so you have the power to decide who she will follow. You also gave birth to Jordan. Louis had mistaken you for someone else years ago, and you were coerced into signing that contract, so it is null and void. That’s why Jordan will also go with you.”
Courtney froze, staring at Alexander in shock.
He was skeletal, and his features were even harder and more angular than they used to be. However, his gaze was even duller now. She couldn’t get a read on his emotions at all.
“I already told Grandpa about this, and he had no objections. Someone will send Jordan over later this afternoon.”
Courtney silently clenched her fists. She felt inexplicably suffocated.
