Chapter 45 She’s Here With Me
“Tina.” Courtney’s voice deepened as she stared at the little girl.
“Do you think this is appropriate?”
Tina pursed her lips as she felt guilty.
When Mommy talks to me like this, it usually means that she’s really angry.
“Mommy,” Tina tugged on her sleeve. “I just want to play with Jordan for a little while longer.”
Courtney looked at her with a serious face. “Do you know what time it is now? Haven’t I told you this before? You can play at someone’s house, but when it’s time to go back, you can’t insist on staying at someone’s house—that’s basic manners.”
As she was reprimanding Tina, Jordan suddenly crawled over and hugged one of her legs while his other hand was holding the drawing board.
Courtney felt a tight grasp on her leg and looked down. Jordan raised his drawing board, and she read the words written on it, ‘I want Tina to stay.’
“Jordan,” Courtney frowned. She didn’t know what to say because she was always unable to refuse Jordan’s request.
“I have to go, Jordan. It’s too late today, so I’ll bring Tina over to play with you the next time I have a chance, okay?”
Jordan got nervous when he realized Courtney insisted on going back. He quickly wrote on his drawing board and tugged on Alexander’s pants as he tried to show it to the latter. ‘If you don’t let Tina and Miss Hunter stay, then I will stop eating.’
Alexander was stunned as a strange wave rippled through his heart. He looked at Courtney and asked hesitantly, “Why don’t you stay here tonight? There’s a spare room for you and Tina here.”
Courtney froze. “No, that’s not good.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Alexander glanced at her and explained calmly. “If you leave now, Jordan will stop eating again. Besides, his hand injury is not healed yet and he’s stuck at home, so it’s hard for him to see his friends.”
Courtney was rendered speechless by his words.
Tina joined in and said, “Tomorrow is a Sunday, Mommy. There’s no need to go to school or work. I promise that I’ll definitely go home tomorrow—I just want to spend more time with Jordan.”
Courtney finally caved in and poked Tina’s forehead with her finger. “You already know how to accompany others at such a young age; it’s true that girls don’t stay long with their mothers.”
Once they decided to stay for the night, the maids promptly arranged a guest room for them. Courtney took Tina for a bath, and the little girl was so excited that she kept jumping around in the bathtub. As a result, all the towels in the bathroom were soaked wet by her.
“All right, all right, is there no end to this? Do you have to be so happy?”
“Yes, of course.”
Tina smiled brightly at Courtney. “Mommy, I’ve always wanted to have a brother.”
Courtney frowned as she lowered her voice. “It’s not like you don’t have one.”
Tina knew that she had brought up her mother’s painful memory and instantly regretted her words. “I’m sorry, Mommy.”
“It’s okay,” Courtney sighed and stroked her hair. “Stop fooling around and stay put in the water. Don’t get cold; I’ll go and find you a new towel.”
“Okay.”
The son that had been taken away back then was always a knot in Courtney’s heart. Even if she could find the child, Courtney knew that it was highly unlikely for her to bring him back. Nonetheless, she hoped that she could just see him one more time—even if she could only watch from afar to see how he was doing. If he was living happily, there was no need for her to disrupt his life.
As soon as she walked out of the room, Courtney exhaled nervously and felt her heart suffocating with sadness.
Meanwhile, Alexander was drinking water in the living room and turned around when he heard a sound from upstairs to see Courtney walking down. Her light blue dress was mostly soaked through. In particular, her chest area revealed the vague outline of her brasette inside.
He felt his abdomen tightening as he watched, and his mouth went dry.
“Uh, where are the maids?”
Courtney asked hesitantly when she saw him staring at her intently.
Alexander came to his senses and avoided her gaze.
“They just went out to throw the garbage. What are you looking for?”
“A towel,” Courtney pulled her collar and smiled wryly. “Tina got excited while showering and got me soaked all over. All the towels inside the bathroom got wet, so I wanted to ask for some fresh towels.”
Alexander glanced at the door. The garbage disposal place was quite far; since the maids had just left not too long ago, it would take a while for them to come back.
“I have some in my room. I’ll go get it for you.”
Then, he put down his glass and walked toward the stairs.
When Courtney followed behind him to the second floor’s master bedroom, she couldn’t help but feel nervous and clutched her fingers. As she stared at Alexander’s back, she shook her head to dispel the distracting thoughts that popped up in her head.
What am I thinking about?
“Do you want a bath towel or a face towel? Come and see for yourself.”
Alexander stood at the bathroom door and called out to her as she quickly ran over.
“Both.”
There were neatly folded towels in the cabinet next to the bathroom sink. Courtney took two bath towels; as she turned the rest over and couldn’t find any face towels, she figured that they could be on the top. She tiptoed to reach it, but it was quite straining for her with her limited height.
A hand reached over her head as a low murmur came from the dark. “Just two?”
She was a little dazed and nodded numbly. She didn’t know whether he saw it, but she felt that the shadow had further engulfed her body.
As Alexander took the towel, he lowered his head and met Courtney’s dazed gaze—even in the dark, her eyes were exceptionally bright. There was a tug on his heartstrings as his hands froze mid-air.
Under the dim light of the bathroom, the way Alexander was taking the things from Courtney’s back seemed like he was hugging her very intimately. Suddenly, the atmosphere around them turned ambiguous as the temperature in the bathroom slowly increased.
Courtney’s breath became heavier as she smelled the faint cologne on his body; she couldn’t stop herself from taking a gentle whiff.
He smells good.
“Young Master…”
All of a sudden, the sound of the servant knocking on the door interrupted the intimate atmosphere in the bathroom abruptly.
Courtney sobered up when she heard the sound and lowered her head to avoid the gaze that fell onto her, taking a step back to pull a safe distance between them.
Alexander also returned to his senses and looked toward the door with displeasure in his eyes. “What is it?”
He took down a face towel and handed it to Courtney.
Courtney stiffened as she took it. She felt that her heart was still pounding in her chest, and it seemed like it was about to jump out at any moment. This feeling is very strange.
“I just went to the guest room; Miss Hunter’s daughter was alone in the bathroom asking about her mother’s whereabouts. I have looked all over the house and can’t seem to find Miss Hunter.”
Courtney looked at Alexander, but it was too late—he had calmly walked out of the bathroom and replied, “She’s here with me.”
There was only silence outside the door.
