Chapter 88 Alaric's Eyes Are Gentle, His Whole Body Relaxed
Donald had just taken his meds and put the chess pieces back in the drawer.
Cordelia walked in, gave Donald a quick nod, and headed upstairs.
Donald was about to go to his bedroom to rest when he saw Alaric come in from outside.
Evelyn had gone to Astoria recently, and the Stone Group had been facing a bunch of issues, which Alaric had helped sort out.
Given how Alaric had been treating Cordelia lately, Donald had let go of a lot of his old grudges.
"Did you handle the online mess?" he asked.
Alaric nodded. "Yeah, it's sorted. Even though they apologized, we're still taking them to court."
"They need to learn their lesson." Evelyn had been trashed online recently, and it had really gotten to Donald.
While chatting with Donald, Alaric kept glancing upstairs.
Donald knew why he was here and didn't keep him talking. He looked towards the stairs.
"I'm going to rest now."
"When you leave, no need to say goodbye."
Alaric nodded, watched Donald head to his room, and then went upstairs.
Cordelia's bedroom door was closed.
Alaric stood at the door for a moment but decided not to knock. He went back downstairs.
Allegra was tidying up the tea cups.
Seeing Alaric come down so fast, she looked puzzled.
She paused, watching him leave Stone Manor with a blank expression.
Had he really given up so soon?
It had only been a few days, and he'd already thrown in the towel on getting Cordelia back?
Allegra scoffed to herself, growing more and more disappointed with Alaric.
Cordelia lay in bed, listening to the sound of a car driving away, biting her lip.
She couldn't resist getting up to check.
She walked to the window, carefully lifted a corner of the curtain, and saw Alaric's car leaving Stone Manor.
As his car disappeared, she let the curtain fall and went back to bed.
Her phone buzzed with a message from Alaric.
[Heading back. Get some rest.]
Cordelia stared at the message for a while, didn't reply, and put her phone on silent.
The next morning.
Cordelia got up.
Her phone was flooded with messages.
Most were from colleagues at Sunrise Valley Hospital, asking how she was doing.
After all, she'd been there for three years, and except for Hannah, no one knew about her relationship with Alaric.
Last night, the Hughes family had made an announcement, so the hospital staff must have found out.
Joe had sent a bunch of messages.
[Dr. Stone, I didn't know about your relationship with Mr. Hughes, so I pressured you to perform surgery on Janet.]
[I deserve to be punished. Please forgive me.]
[It was my greed that caused you harm and allowed Janet to act arrogantly in front of you.]
[I'm sorry.]
Cordelia looked at the messages and rubbed her temples before replying simply.
[Joe, it's no big deal. Don't worry about it.]
Joe didn't respond right away, probably busy with the morning meeting at the hospital.
Cordelia scrolled through her messages and found one from Hannah.
Unlike everyone else's shock, Hannah was way more chill.
She had forwarded a video of Alaric kissing Cordelia and sent a sarcastic meme.
Cordelia smiled a bit and replied with an eye-roll emoji.
Hannah called her right away.
"Did you patch things up with Mr. Hughes?" Hannah asked.
Cordelia got out of bed. "Nope."
Hannah gasped. "Mr. Hughes kissed you?"
Cordelia raised an eyebrow, thinking about Alaric's kiss yesterday—passionate and assertive—and felt her lips tingle.
"Yeah," she responded softly, trying to keep her cool.
Hannah clicked her tongue. "I knew Mr. Hughes would regret it."
"He's regretting it now."
Cordelia tightened her grip on the phone. "Maybe it was just a momentary thing."
Hannah was about to say more when Joe's voice cut in.
"Dr. Lewis, are you talking to Dr. Stone?"
Hannah acknowledged, and soon Joe was on the line.
"Dr. Stone, I'm really sorry about my previous arrangements."
His lengthy apology made Cordelia feel a bit awkward.
"Joe, you've taken good care of me at Sunrise Valley Hospital for three years. Janet is just another patient to me."
"So don't sweat it about the past."
Joe felt relieved after Cordelia's response.
"Dr. Stone, you're so humble. We wouldn't have known about your background if it hadn't been revealed."
The Stone family's second daughter.
Ruth's friend.
And now, Alaric's wife.
Well, ex-wife. They were divorced.
Cordelia smiled gently. "I'm just a regular doctor at the hospital. Joe, you should get back to work. It's important. "
Joe agreed quickly. "Alright, alright."
He handed the phone back to Hannah.
Hannah had been interrupted by Joe and forgot the previous topic. After Joe walked away, she spoke softly.
"This morning, Joe was worried after finding out about your relationship with Mr. Hughes. He's worried you'll hold a grudge over Janet's situation."
After all, Theodore was supposed to perform Janet's surgery, but Joe had arranged for Cordelia to do it.
Cordelia pursed her lips and responded softly.
"It's not his fault. Alaric insisted I perform Janet's surgery."
Cordelia rubbed her temples, feeling frustrated as she thought about that time.
Hannah had to get back to work, so she chatted briefly with Cordelia before ending the call.
After washing up, Cordelia went downstairs.
While waiting for breakfast, she checked her unread messages.
Janet's message was at the bottom.
She had sent it past midnight.
It was a photo from a bar, with Janet sitting next to Alaric, her head slightly lowered, while Alaric whispered in her ear.
They seemed relaxed and intimate, with Alaric looking gentle and at ease.
Cordelia stared at the photo for a long time.
"Cordelia, breakfast is ready."
Allegra's voice brought her back to reality. She took a deep breath, steadied her emotions, and blocked Janet's number.