Chapter 62 A Significant Reason
Alexander spoke from the other end of the line as if whispering close to Courtney’s ear, instantly reminding her of that particular night. She instantly went red in the face. How could that be possible? I have no recollection of that at all.
“It can’t be possible, right?” Courtney braced herself and asked in reply. “How could I have possibly made such a request?”
I must have gone insane instead of getting drunk.
“What are you suspecting?” Alexander’s questioning voice was heard over the phone. “Why do you think I would make up this kind of request if you don’t believe it?”
Courtney was rendered speechless. Alexander’s right—why would he make up such a request if I didn’t make such a request myself? This doesn’t make sense.
Even though she was reluctant to believe that she had made such a request herself, she would rather believe that she had talked nonsense in a drunken stupor than believe that Alexander was lying to her about this kind of thing. Therefore, she withdrew her remarks right away and stammered, “That’s not what I meant. I was drunk that day. I-I’ll go to your place and pick Tina up right away.”
After she hung up the phone, the taxi driver sped all the way, and she arrived at the Royal Park Manor soon after that.
It was already dark, and Alexander was in the living room with the two kids. Upon seeing Courtney, Jordan became the first to rush at her and wrapped his arms around her feet.
Courtney patted his head. “Good boy, Jordan. Be careful with your hand, and don’t bruise yourself again. Does your hand still hurt?”
Jordan shook his head while staring at Courtney with yearning eyes.
It was normal for kids to have a speedy recovery, so the plaster cast on his hand had been taken off. However, the doctor had instructed him to be careful while using his hand.
The cook, who was serving the dishes, said with a smile upon seeing Courtney, “You came back just in time, Miss Hunter. The dishes are all ready, so you may have dinner now.”
“Huh?” Courtney was startled for a moment. Feeling a little ill at ease, she refused, “There’s no need for that. I’m just here to pick Tina up.”
Alexander closed the book in his hand on the sofa before coming over. “Since you’re already here, let’s have dinner together.”
Tina also nodded. “I’m hungry, Mommy.”
Courtney could only give in and sat herself down; she would appear pretentious if she turned them down again.
“Mommy, have a taste of this sweet and sour fish. I said that this is your favorite dish, and Mr. Alexander made a special effort to ask the cook to prepare this!” Tina blinked her eyes as if trying to present a treasure to Courtney.
Courtney felt even more embarrassed upon hearing this. She shot a fleeting glance at Alexander and said, “Thanks for the effort.”
“Uh-huh.” Alexander didn’t bother with any polite remarks.
He was about to scoop up some food with the spoon in his hand when he suddenly sensed his sleeve being pulled. When he lowered his head, he saw Jordan tugging at his sleeves with one hand while holding his drawing board in the other. A line had been written on the drawing board before he realized it. It read, “Pick some food.”
With that, Alexander spooned some food into Jordan’s bowl in resignation.
Jordan became anxious, though; he kept tugging at Alexander’s sleeve while desperately shooting glances in Courtney’s direction. Only then did Alexander realize that Jordan wanted him to pick up some food for Courtney instead of him.
This little brat! he thought to himself.
Courtney was eating in silence with her head down when a long, clean hand suddenly reached out in front of her. Then, the hand spooned a chunk of meat from the sweet and sour fish’s belly into the bowl before her.
She looked up to meet Alexander’s calm eyes. Looking flattered, she thanked, “Thank you. I can pick the food myself.”
“Eat it. Jordan wanted me to pick it up for you.” Alexander’s chilly voice sounded very natural. He sounded as if trying to assert that he had nothing to do with the action of picking up food for her, but in reality, what he said sounded even more suggestive to the others.
On the first hearing, his words gave the impression of a happy family with loving parents and filial children.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t had dinner together before, but the reason why they had dinner together last time was because Jordan liked the food she prepared. However, after that incident the night before yesterday, it was honestly too difficult for Courtney to have dinner with Alexander as if nothing had happened.
Unbeknownst to her, Alexander had invited her to dinner on purpose.
When he sent her back that day, what she said in the car about them not having to be concerned as adults sounded lighthearted and casual, yet Alexander found her remark deeply uncomfortable. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like she had taken advantage of him.
Aren’t you unconcerned about it? In that case, I’d like to see how unconcerned you can be.
The two kids ate their dinner very slowly as if on purpose. They had spent two hours eating since Courtney came, yet they hadn’t finished their meals yet.
When Tina finally ate the last spoon of food in her bowl at Courtney’s urging, it was already dark outside. Courtney checked the time and found that it was already past 10.00 PM.
“Where’s your school bag, Tina? Pack your things up—it’s time for us to go home.”
Tina blinked her eyes. “Aren’t we staying here today, Mommy?”
Courtney blushed upon hearing this. “No, that’s not going to happen. We need to go home, so hurry up and get your school bag.”
“There’s no need for that. There’s no taxi outside at this time.” Alexander’s voice could be heard from the living room. “The guest room is ready.”
“Hurray!” Tina exulted as soon as Alexander finished his sentence. Jumping for joy, she quickly followed Jordan upstairs, leaving Courtney behind. “Let’s play on the trampoline, Jordan.”
“Hey…” Unable to stop Tina, Courtney quickly turned to face Alexander. “There’s no need for that. I’m here to take Tina home; I won’t be bothering you since I know that you’re very busy.”
“It’s no bother.” Alexander stood in front of a cabinet that displayed a heap of antiques while taking out a jade figurine at random. He continued unhurriedly, “As it so happens, I’m not busy recently. Didn’t you tell me to spend more time with Jordan? These days are perfect since I have time to pick up the kids.”
“This isn’t necessary.”
“I won’t go back on what I have promised someone else.” Alexander turned to look into Courtney’s eyes. He said, “I’ll do what I have promised you.”
“No, you can’t take what I’ve said back then seriously; I was talking nonsense because my mind wasn’t clear after I got drunk. Besides, it’s inappropriate for Tina and me to stay at your home.”
Courtney suddenly felt vexed. She had been taken advantage of for nothing by someone who didn’t take responsibility for it, but why was she feeling guilty right now? She was the one who got the short end of the stick!
“Didn’t you say that you won’t take what happened that night to heart?” Alexander suddenly asked. “What is inappropriate about staying here for a few days as you used to during the weekend? Are you worried about something else?”
Courtney’s heart clenched at his questions, and she found herself quite at a loss.
“I-I’m not worried about anything.” She frowned. Then, she decided to be frank and said, “Aren’t you getting married very soon? There will be misunderstandings if I stay here.”
In fact, this was also one of the reasons why she had told him not to take that night’s incident to heart. It was rumored among the company staff that Alexander was about to get married, so anything unexpected couldn’t possibly happen because of her. Also, she didn’t want to offend Britney.
“Is this the only reason?”
“Isn’t this reason significant enough?” Courtney was puzzled at his unconcerned expression. She braced herself and argued, “It’s indeed inappropriate for Tina and me to stay here.”
After pondering for a moment, Alexander took two steps toward her and curled his lips into a meaningful smile. Then, he spoke in a voice as low as a whisper. “This isn’t some misunderstanding, is it?”
He specifically emphasized the word ‘misunderstanding’ as if to deliberately remind her of something.
