Chapter 413 Time Waits for No One
Inside a hotel room at the resort, the scent of alcohol wafted around indiscriminately. A bellhop came by with a basin of warm water, placing it on a stool next to the bed. “Here is the water that you requested, Miss Hunter. The hangover cure has been left on the dining table outside. Do you want me to bring it here?”
“No, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. If you need anything, please call for me.” The bellhop eyed the person on the bed. “I’ll take my leave now.”
“Okay.”
Courtney soaked a towel in the basin of water and placed it on Alexander’s forehead. He had indeed drank too much earlier this morning when Gale went to pick up Cameron. No wonder she hadn’t seen any sign of him earlier at the banquet. Initially, Courtney thought that he was deliberately avoiding her, but now, it seemed that she had been overthinking it.
“You can’t hold your liquor. Why did you drink all that wine then? None of Gale’s horde of cousins wanted to help when they were screaming their heads off earlier. You, on the other hand, are a self-sacrificing nut,” Courtney mumbled as she wrung out another damp towel and carefully wiped his hands clean. Alexander’s half-dead form slumped in the washroom earlier had indeed given her a fright.
The room was quiet since Alexander was out cold from all the alcohol. Suddenly, he murmured, “Courtney…”
Courtney stopped wiping his hands for a moment. All of a sudden, she heard him say, “Don’t come back…”
She froze, her lips twitching, curving up into a self-deprecating smile. She tossed the towel into the basin and got up to leave.
By the time Alexander came to, it was already evening. His head threatened to split itself apart from the pounding headache he had. When he shifted a little, the towel on his forehead slipped and fell onto his pillow.
The sound of footsteps came from outside. A female attendant stood by the door, smiling thankfully. “You’re awake at last, Mr. Duncan.”
Alexander sat up and placed a hand on his throbbing forehead. All he remembered was that he had followed the others to the resort after he had drunk himself silly earlier. His stomach had roiled, so he darted away from the crowd to go to the washroom. He couldn’t remember anything after that. “Why am I here?”
“You passed out in the washroom. Fortunately, our foreman brought you to this room to rest. You’ve slept the entire afternoon.”
Alexander brought his wrist up to check the time. It was six already. He did indeed sleep the entire afternoon away. “What about the bride and groom?”
“The married couple set off for their honeymoon right after the wedding ended some time after three. Their flight is probably going to take off soon.”
Alexander nodded thoughtfully. When he pulled the blankets off to get up, he noticed a bouquet of flowers by the bed. His gaze stilled. “Other than your foreman, did anyone else carry me here?”
The attendant was stunned by this question. “I’m not really sure. The foreman ordered me to look after you. He said that it was a woman who discovered you.”
Alexander furrowed his brows. He didn’t say anything after that. It can’t be such a coincidence, right? I must’ve been dreaming.
When he left the resort, Alexander got a call from Gale. “Yo, back in the land of living already, Alex? I thought that you wouldn’t answer this call.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Cam and I are going to board our plane in a bit, and I just remembered that there’s something I haven’t told you yet. Before she left, Courtney asked me and Cam to tell you that she has sent Jordan back to your grandfather’s place. Go pick him up when you have the time.”
“She’s not taking Jordan with her?”
L“Probably. She said that it’s Jordan’s own wish, and he wanted to go with you.”
Alexander’s frown grew deeper. “Did she say when she’s leaving?”
“Tonight.”
Huh? Alexander’s expression stiffened abruptly. “What?”
“The adoption process for the young girl from the island has been completed. Courtney already made bookings for tickets out of Melrose City tonight. I wanted to tell you this, but Courtney said that she wanted to tell you herself. She didn’t say anything to you earlier this afternoon?”
“This afternoon?” Alexander’s expression remained frozen. “Who caught the bouquet earlier?”
Gale paused for a bit, stunned. “Courtney did. Why are you asking this?”
“What time is her flight?”
“Eight.”
No way.
On Gale’s end, the airport announced that the plane was ready for boarding. Gale ended the call under Cameron’s urging.
Meanwhile, Alexander gripped his phone as he urged Josh, who was driving. “Step on it.”
He thought that he had only been dreaming earlier—dreaming of that person, her scent, her smile, and her concern for him, all of which were too familiar to him.
After all that had happened, he had no expectations for Courtney to forgive him for all the harm that he had caused her. Even if she could find it in herself to forgive him, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.
Broken relationships would still have cracks in them even if they’d been repaired; they would never go back to being the same again. He needed time to carefully think about what he needed, and what he could give her. However, before he could figure it out, she was already on her way to leave.
Time never waited for anyone.
By half past seven, the car stopped in front of the airport’s terminal building. Alexander rushed out of the car like a whirlwind and charged straight for the terminal. There’s still half an hour until the flight to New York takes off. I should be able to get there in time.
Josh followed behind him, having booked tickets for the New York flight. He followed Alexander into the plane, where Alexander insisted on going to the first class cabin to look for Courtney despite the flight attendants’ efforts to stop him.
“Sir, the flight is about to take off. You can’t go there…”
L“I’m looking for someone.”
“No, sir. How about this? We can make an announcement for the person you’re looking for once the plane has stabilized…”
Upon hearing that, Alexander immediately turned and headed into the cockpit. “Where’s the PA system?”
LThe captain was stunned.
“Where’s the PA system?” Alexander repeated.
The captain was still caught up in his surprise as he reflexively pointed at the broadcasting equipment next to him.
The next moment, the microphone for the PA system was in Alexander’s hand. His deep and urgent voice reverberated throughout the cabin. “I apologize, everyone. I got on this flight not because I want to fly to the States, or because I want to go to some other country. I just want to look for someone—someone that I accidentally lost. If she’s willing to give me another chance, I will treasure her more than I ever did…”
The flight attendants had already squeezed themselves over to the cockpit’s entrance. Someone attempted to stop Alexander’s broadcast, but Josh locked all the attendants out. He pressed himself against the door, glaring at the captain and signaling for him not to do anything rash.
The captain shrugged, a nonchalant look on his face as he allowed Alexander to continue broadcasting.
“I thought that respecting your wishes and letting you go was the right decision, but when the time came for you to leave, nothing felt right. I know that if I actually let you leave, I will regret this for the rest of my life. Courtney, if you can hear me, please give me the chance to apologize to you, okay?”
His stifled sobs came through in the broadcast, announced to everyone on the plane. The passengers exchanged looks with each other, searching around for the woman called Courtney.
But in the end, no one answered.
“Okay.” The captain waved a hand at Alexander without any remorse. “Time’s up.” At that, he grabbed Alexander by the shoulders and smashed him down onto the control panel, pinning him down. “Call the police,” the captain said loudly into the PA system.
