Chapter 165 Have I Found That Person?
Courtney was about to call him ‘Dad’. However, the moment she heard him calling for the nurse, she was dumbstruck.
“How long have I been sleeping?”
Lucian sat up from the bed. Leaning against the bedhead, he looked like he wanted to get out of the bed.
Immediately, Courtney reached out, intending to help him. But, he shoved her away. “It’s okay. I can do it myself.”
As he said that, he got out of bed on his own and reached for his shoes. Feeling the bed with his hands, he managed to come to the end of the bed and headed toward the balcony as he slowly figured out the path through the things around him.
“The weather seems to be quite nice today.” When he reached the balcony, Courtney quickly pulled open the door for him.
“Thank you.” He nodded and went outside to the balcony. “The air is fresh. It must have rained earlier today.”
While he was talking, he stumbled. He was tripped by the chair beside his feet.
“Dad!” Courtney screamed in shock.
Holding onto the chair, Lucian barely got up to his feet. Turning around in disbelief, he stared in the direction where her voice came from.
“Courtney?” He looked stunned, yet his vision was blurry.
She quickly walked up and held him. “It’s me, Dad. You’re so ill. Why didn’t you tell me anything on the phone?”
Other than surprise, there was delight on Lucian’s face too. “Come here. Sit down. Why should I tell you that? It’s normal to fall sick when one ages. My condition is fine. It’s neither painful nor itchy. Apart from some inconveniences during my daily life, there is nothing major.”
He told her what happened to him with a matter-of-fact tone, but still and all, Courtney was upset listening to him.
“Why did you move to a nursing home? Didn’t anyone at home visit you?”
“Your aunt is busy with the company, and Anna is preparing for her wedding. They do come and visit sometimes. By the way, did Anna send you her wedding invitation card?”
Courtney hesitated for a few seconds. “She did.”
She knew about Anna’s wedding, and it was Cameron who told her. She had a lot of friends. Most of them had received her wedding invitation cards, But, as her younger sister, Courtney had not received one.
Now that Lucian was sick, she had to lie to prevent him from getting worked up.
“Anna has been spoiled by her mother. She is bad-tempered, and I know she likes to make a fuss. But, she’s still your sister. I hope you’ll attend her wedding for my sake.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Good.” Lucian nodded his head gratefully. Holding Courtney’s hand, he continued, “I know you don’t like Anna and her mother, but you never complain because of me. You’re a sensible child, just like your mother.”
“You still remember my mom?”
“Of course. How can I forget?” Staring at the air with his dilated pupils, Lucian seemed to have remembered the past. Mixed feelings washed over him, and he sounded solemn. It was as if there was guilt and remorse in his voice.
“I’m still wondering how I should face her when I meet her down there.”
Sitting by the side, Courtney did not know how to comfort him. No matter what she said, it would be inappropriate.
After spending the afternoon with her dad in the nursing home, Courtney drove back home. When she got back, she felt empty. The house was like an enormous box without warmth and affection.
Back then, Lucian thought he had finally met his true love. So, he decided to leave his wife that had always been by his side since the beginning when they had nothing. Yet, in his old age, he had no one around him. So what if he had children? Children thought differently from the way their parents did. The only one who could stay by one’s side forever was their lifelong partner. However, one might not be able to find their soulmate even if they were to pick someone out from the billions of people in this world.
Have I found that person?
The question echoed in Courtney’s mind. Sitting in the darkness for a long moment, Courtney looked like she finally found the answer. She took her phone out to book a flight. After packing her things, she got herself a taxi and headed to the airport. Everything was done in one go.
Compared to July in Melrose City, the summer heat in Kyoto was much worse. Even the city was significantly more prosperous.
When Courtney got off the plane, the sky was completely dark. She was welcomed by the heat the moment she set foot outside the airport. Luckily, it was already late at night.
“Sir, I’d like to go to the Sunhill Hotel on Central Road.”
When Alexander went on business trips, he stayed at his own hotel most of the time.
“Okay.”
It was already midnight when the meeting ended. Alexander left the meeting room surrounded by his staff. As he was walking, he was still reminding them about the contents of the meeting. Beside him was Josh, who was recording the amendments to the contract.
“The conditions they put forward are acceptable, but let’s not act like we are easy to deal with…”
“Okay, I understand. I’ll find them tomorrow morning to make sure that they know we won’t be accepting the new conditions so easily.”
Alexander responded with a hum. Suddenly, his movements halted in the corridor. The three staff behind him stopped as well. They exchanged a glance with each other and looked in the direction where Alexander was staring.
When Josh saw the figure in front of the hotel suite, his expression froze.
“Miss Hunter…”
“Ahem. President Duncan, I’ll bring the others to another suite.” Josh quickly came back to his senses. Sensibly, he brought the other two assistants and left the scene in an instant.
The pair were left staring at each other in the long corridor.
After a short moment, Alexander strode across the corridor. He was unable to conceal the astonishment in his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Taking a deep breath, Courtney plunged into his arms.
Although no words were spoken, an action like this was more practical than any sweet nothings, not to mention Courtney had actually held her head up and kissed him.
Her initiative was soon taken over by Alexander as he pinned her against the wall.
Fishing his room card out from his pocket, Alexander scanned it on the door lock.
After the sound of opening and closing the door in a hurry, there was only the sound of the heavy panting of the couple and the rustling sound of fabric in the spacious hotel suite. Their clothes were jumbled together, tracing the path from the entrance to the sofa.
When passion subsided, the moon was hanging high outside the window.
Courtney lay in Alexander’s arms, and the flush on her face gradually faded. She let out a sigh and said, “I went to see my dad this afternoon. He’s in the nursing home. It looks like he has handed the company completely to my sister and my stepmother. Neither of them visit him very often at the nursing home, and Dad said he misses my mom.”
“So, you came to find me?”
Alexander ran his fingers through her messy hair strands on her forehead. He changed into another position to cuddle her more comfortably. His eyes were closed, and his voice was low.
Yet, Courtney did not answer his question directly. Instead, she continued, “Although I have no memory of my mother, Uncle William and Grandpa told me that she was a cold and arrogant woman. She was very competitive and kept her feelings bottled up. Before my dad met Susan, they already had marital problems; they rarely communicated with each other.”
When she finished saying that, she tried to look up at Alexander. Her eyes met with his defined jawline and his phoenix eyes that were especially alluring when he narrowed them.
She gulped, wondering if he understood what she had just said while beating around the bush.
“When my dad was alive, he was very fond of Mikayla. When our parents made a joke about arranging a marriage for us, I was thirteen years old, and she wasn’t even ten. No one took the joke seriously. It was only when something happened to our family that Grandpa started to look at the joke as my dad’s last wish. No one ever asked about my opinion.”
After Alexander said that, he hung his head down and looked at her. There was mischief in his eyes. “Is there anything else you want to ask about?”
