Chapter 409 When Are You Leaving?
“When are you leaving?”
Alexander’s voice pulled Courtney back from her reverie. His words struck her. She initially hadn’t thought about that matter, but from the sound of Alexander’s tone, it seemed that he was already sure that she would leave Melrose City.
For some reason, she ended up saying, “I brought a girl back from the island. Once her adoption papers have been signed, I’ll leave.”
Alexander nodded contemplatively. A pause later, he said casually, “If you need any help, just look for Gale.” After all, Gale’s background would speed up the paperwork process.
He really wants me to leave that badly, huh? Courtney unconsciously dug her nails into her palms. She just felt her hands and feet go cold. All the words that she wanted to say had disappeared in an instant, having been forgotten. After remaining there for a while, she could no longer bear it and left the hospital.
It wasn’t until she reached the entrance of the hospital that Courtney remembered she had been wondering if she should tell Alexander about her pregnancy when she visited him. In the end, however, she had even forgotten to ask after him. And from how he behaved—how he seemed sure that she would leave—she couldn’t open her mouth and tell him. Courtney stroked her lower abdomen, her eyes filled with self-ridicule.
True to Alexander’s word, the Duncan Family’s butler, Harry, brought Jordan to Twin Peaks Manor later that night.
“Miss Hunter, the little master will be under your care in the future.”
Courtney suddenly felt a sense of guilt at the sight of the awkward look on Harry’s face. “Mr. Harry, what did Grandpa say? Is he actually willing to let Jordan stay with me?”
Scott only had a single great-grandson, and he had pinned all of his hopes for a future heir on Jordan. Logically speaking, he wouldn’t have agreed to let Courtney take Jordan with her.
Harry let out a sigh. “Mr. Duncan initially refused, and he even got into a fight with Young Master Alex. Even now, he refuses to visit Young Master Alex at the hospital.”
Courtney just listened.
“Later on, Young Master Alex said—” Harry suddenly paused for a few seconds to look at Courtney hesitantly. “He said that after he has handed custody of Jordan over to you, he will agree to marry whoever Mr. Duncan arranges for him, and have children with said woman. He will have as many children as Mr. Duncan wants.”
Courtney felt like her heart had been struck by a screeching-hot bar of iron upon hearing that. She couldn’t catch her breath for quite some time, and the color slowly drained from her face.
“It’s getting late. I shall go back now. If you have a heart, please bring the little master back often to visit Mr. Duncan.” With that, Harry left the manor.
Jordan sat on the couch, his short legs dangling above the floor. He didn’t seem to understand what the two adults had been talking about. All he did was look at Courtney anxiously. “Mommy, Great-Grandpa said that I can see you every day now. Is that true?” His speech was far more fluent than it used to be, but there were still occasional pauses, making his speech sound a little stilted.
“That’s right.” Courtney squeezed out a smile. “You can stay with Mommy for as long as you like from now on.”
“And Tina too?”
“Yep, and Tina too.”
“What about Daddy?”
An expected question. Courtney clenched her fists. “Daddy, huh? I’ll bring you back to see him if you ever want to in the future.”
“Is Daddy not coming with us?”
“Daddy has his own things to do.”
The words had just left her mouth when Jordan’s gaze instantly dulled. A look of disappointment came over his face. “Why?”
In life, there were many things that couldn’t be explained properly. Courtney had no intention of explaining this matter in detail to the two kids. They were still children, after all, and the world that children lived in was different from adults. Perhaps they would get over things in the future once more time had passed, including her breakup with Alexander.
By the time Elijah brought Tina back from Alicia’s home, both children had seemingly forgotten about Alexander as they stacked towers of Lego in the playroom.
Meanwhile, downstairs in the living room, Elijah handed over an auditing student application for a famous foreign medical university to Courtney. “I’ve already thought it over. I’m worried that you won’t be able to instantly get used to living in the States if you give up everything and come with me. So, why don’t you do something that you’re interested in?”
Courtney was stunned. When she opened the letter, the moodiness and frustration nestled between her brows eased up considerably. “But I haven’t finished my university studies. Is it really okay for me to study there?”
“Yeah,” Elijah gently encouraged her. “I attached the thesis that you wrote while you were still in the US with the application. The dean thought that you have a solid base in this area after he read it, so he was willing to break the rules and admit you. You can attend as an auditing student for half a year. After those six months, if you pass their exams, you can be promoted to a regular student. There won’t be any difference between you and your fellow classmates.”
Being a doctor was Courtney’s childhood dream. Although she hadn’t personally seen her mother bleed to death during childbirth, by piecing together Alicia and her grandfather’s stories, she knew about the doctors’ cruelty back then—they ended up missing the best window for her mother’s survival. Later on, her grandfather abruptly died from stomach cancer, and this weighed heavy on her mind.
In reality, she had never given up on studying medicine. However, the barrier of entry was high. After she had to give up her dream six years ago, she didn’t dare to hope for a chance to reenter this field. And yet, Elijah had paved her this road behind her back. Courtney couldn’t voice all the gratitude she felt then.
“If you don’t want to go, you can give other universities here a try…”
“No.” Courtney took a deep breath before she slowly said, “It wasn’t easy for you to make an application on my behalf. This is a renowned medical school that scores of medical students dream of. How can I refuse?”
“You’re willing to leave behind everyone and everything here?”
“Even if I’m not, I have to.” A self-deprecating look appeared on Courtney’s face. “Besides, I don’t really have anyone here to miss anymore. Citron Apparel has already been handed over to Cameron and Bill. All that’s left now is Dawn’s adoption. Once her adoption is finalized, I can leave.”
“That won’t take too long.” Elijah nodded contemplatively. He didn’t bring up the baby growing in Courtney’s belly. Since she still wanted to go with him after coming back from the hospital, that meant she and Alexander weren’t tied down again because of the child.
To Courtney, this one year was the closing chapter to the accident that happened six years ago. One always had to pay their dues and scrub their life clean before they could truly start over.
Not long after that, the stragglers of Dragon’s gang on the island were wiped out. The police then sent Dawn back to Courtney. To Dawn, who had just started living at Twin Peaks Manor, everything was a new experience, and she got along with the other two children well.
After dinner one day, Courtney brought Dawn’s pajamas to the girl’s room. Dawn called to her. “Courtney, that old guy in the manor said that you’re going to take me to a different country?”
“You don’t want to?” Courtney sat down by Dawn’s bed. “I’m planning to leave this place. You can’t possibly stay behind alone, right?”
Dawn blinked. “Are you going with that old guy?”
