Chapter 308 Why Did He Never Once Mention Her?
The heat inside the shopping center had been turned up, but Courtney’s hands and feet were still cold.
A familiar figure finally showed up on the escalator. And yet, she hesitated, taking advantage of the promotional standee outside a store to hide herself away from Alexander’s line of sight.
Courtney could clearly see the woman next to Alexander. The woman looked young. She was clad in a white fur coat and a pair of pale blue jeans, her outfit completed with a pair of tan boots. The woman’s long hair brushed past her shoulders. A gray coat hung over her arm as well. She surprisingly seemed very refreshing and put-together.
If what Cameron said was true, then this girl was probably the one she was talking about.
The pair came up from the first floor, each of them carrying a paper bag from a baby shop. Courtney didn’t even need to give it much thought; she could already tell what was inside those bags.
She had no idea what the girl said, but Alexander actually lowered his head and laughed.
After they walked out of the shopping center, they hailed a taxi and left.
Courtney saw all of this from the entrance to the Pinnacle Shopping Center. She couldn’t hear anything from the rush of people passing her; all she could hear was the cold wind whistling past her ears.
When she returned home, Courtney took a shower as usual and got into bed. She attempted to regulate her emotions, hoping she could pretend that she didn’t know anything when Alexander came back later.
This woman that had popped up out of the blue had to be a liar, but Courtney couldn’t just tell Alexander directly that the woman was lying and that she couldn’t have given birth to the child.
Unless she could prove everything, Alexander would simply think that Courtney shouldn’t have said something like that.
Should she be honest, or use a bigger lie to correct an earlier lie? All Courtney felt was conflict.
Meanwhile, a young man sat by the bed inside a suite at Melrose Hotel. The drunkenness on his face from an hour ago had completely vanished now, and his eyes were absolutely clear. A little sharp and cold, even.
A phone rang then. He looked down to glance at the incoming call before he picked it up with a blank face.
“Hello.”
“Are you done yet?” The voice of a man came over the phone, questioning him. “How many days has it been already? How did you even convince me in the first place that you’ll be sure to finish this little job?”
“These things take time. She’s different from all the women I’ve encountered before.”
“I’ve told you before that Courtney is no ordinary woman. I don’t need you to actually seduce her; just getting a few videos is enough. As for how, that’s up to you. Didn’t I give you the drugs already?”
At the mention of the drugs, Leon’s expression darkened a little. His gaze shifted over to the little paper packet on top of the bedside cabinet.
“I did use the drugs, but she didn’t drink them.”
“Then what in the world have you been doing tonight? You at least have a video of her sending you back to the hotel, right?”
“Nope.” Leon paused for a few seconds. “I got a taxi myself. I’ll look for another opportunity next time.”
“You don’t have much time. Don’t come crying saying that I didn’t give you a reminder: if you don’t give me what I want soon, then you won’t be able to get the money to pay back your remaining gambling debts.”
At that, Leon gradually paled.
The call was cut off, and the room once again fell into silence. The room was still filled with the scent of alcohol. When he took a deep breath, he could seemingly still smell a hint of a light fragrance, and when he lifted his head, he saw the white jacket hanging on the clothes rack.
His cold, sharp gaze softened a little at the sight.
The next morning, the sky was aglow with the rays of the rising sun.
Sunlight streamed in through the curtains, scattering across Courtney’s face. It was a little blinding, so she raised a hand to block the rays. Instantly, the signs of sleepiness on her face dissipated greatly. When she sat up, her blanket still in her arms, she was still a little lost and confused.
When did she fall asleep last night?
The house was quiet. Judging from the perfectly smooth, undisturbed pillow on the other side of the double bed, Alexander never came home last night.
Gripping the corner of the blanket, Courtney thought of last night’s events.
Suddenly, beeping sounds came from outside the bedroom, signaling the door being unlocked. Her expression froze. She quickly tossed her blanket aside, got out of bed, and pulled open the bedroom door.
“Alex—”
Oliver had two bags filled with breakfast food hanging off his arms as he took off his shoes. At the sound of the door opening, he looked up to see Courtney standing by the bedroom door, still clad in her pajamas. He stiffened a little when he saw her, swallowing what he was about to say.
“Hey Courtney, what’s with that expression?”
“Nothing.” Courtney returned to her senses. “Why are you here? It’s still early.”
“Oh, I came here to get something. The school’s going to have a drill at the end of this month, so I probably won’t be able to come back for the time being. I got breakfast for you since I was on the way here anyway.”
Oliver had brought a lot of food. Clearly, he had also bought breakfast for Alexander.
“Have some food first. I don’t know what you like, so I ended up buying a little of everything.”
However, Oliver had always been quick to pick up on others’ feelings. Although Courtney hadn’t voiced it, he could already sense her unease. It seemed that Alexander hadn’t come back last night. Oliver was about 80 to 90 percent sure that something had cropped up between them.
Courtney sat down at the dining table. Although she had snapped back to her senses, her mind still wandered a little.
Oliver stuck a straw in the packet of soy milk he had brought and pushed it over to her. “Drink up while it’s still fresh,” he advised.
“Thanks,” Courtney answered, her tone dull and troubled.
Oliver watched her, noticing how she barely made a dent in the soy milk even though she had been sipping away for a long time. At last, he couldn’t help but ask, “Something on your mind?”
“No,” Courtney denied with emphasis.
“It’s because of Alexander, isn’t it?”
Courtney furrowed her brows at that. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yep, pretty obvious.” Oliver sighed. “Ever since I got to know you, most of the time, the reason behind your mood swings can be boiled down to Alexander. So, I didn’t even need to second guess myself. What has he done again this time?”
Again, huh… His words weighed on Courtney’s heart for some reason. Instantly, a suffocating feeling crashed over her.
“Nothing.” It involved Jordan’s identity. Courney couldn’t talk much about it. “Feelings aren’t really something that can be explained properly. Didn’t you say that you’re here to get something? You should do that.”
Seeing how she had no intention of spilling the truth, Oliver didn’t press the issue. After he had eaten breakfast and gotten what he needed from his room, he returned to school to prepare for the drill that was supposed to be carried out at the end of the month.
Courtney arrived at the Hunter Group. There was still over an hour to go until she was actually expected at work. The security guard by the entrance of the building yawned as he opened the door, but he immediately froze when he saw Courtney. Instantly, his eyes snapped wide open as he made himself look like he was wide awake and alert.
“Good morning, President Hunter.”
Courtney gave a simple nod in greeting before walking in and entering the elevator. The elevator then pulled up to the tenth floor. The secretaries and assistants weren’t in yet, so the entire floor was pitch-dark. Just as she was about to switch on the lights, Courtney noticed a weak light in the distance through the corner of her eyes.
It was coming from the CFO’s office.
She paused, and in the end, she didn’t turn on the lights. Instead, she made her way over to the CFO’s office with light steps.
The door to the office was ajar, a yellow light streaming through the crack. A familiar figure was behind the desk inside, having laid his head down to sleep.
Courtney stopped by the door, her emotions complicated when she remembered the events of last night.
She couldn’t figure out why Alexander didn’t return home last night, but she figured that he had returned to his office and spent the entire night here after he had sent the woman off. He has nothing to do with the Hunter Group in the first place; he only helped me because of my own carelessness. But if he’s willing to offer his unconditional help with such a task, why isn’t he mentioning a word about that woman?
