Chapter 137 The Scent of Infidelity
But Alexander was nothing if not gentle.
No roughness, no taking—every move was tender beyond measure, gradually wearing down her ability to resist.
No one could refuse such gentleness...
Grace struggled to hold onto her last thread of reason. "Alexander... mmm... don't..."
He seemed like a stranger.
She felt like a stranger to herself too.
It was as if the whole world had changed.
The temperature was rising rapidly...
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from outside.
The door burst open.
"Mommy, I'm home!" Max's cheerful voice rang out as the two children announced their return from school.
Alexander immediately snapped back to reality, pulling away and releasing Grace.
Grace quickly sat up on the couch, pretending to gather the scattered papers from the floor.
Alexander had been so busy lately that the nanny had been handling school pickup duties for both Max and Liam.
The two little ones tumbled into the living room, playfully shoving each other. When Max saw Alexander and Grace sitting on the couch, he glanced around and his gaze suddenly fixed on Grace's dress.
Her dress was wrinkled, as if something heavy had been pressing against her, causing natural creases.
One of her legs was still draped over Alexander's, not yet pulled back.
Max rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes, sensing something was off.
Seeing Max's serious expression, Grace felt a spike of anxiety. "What's wrong, Max?"
Liam curiously followed Max's intense stare at Alexander and Grace, then scratched his head in confusion, rolling his eyes around.
"Something doesn't feel right," Max declared.
Grace's face grew more tense. "What doesn't feel right?"
Liam opened his mouth and asked with a beaming smile, "Grace... were you playing... the baby-making game... with Daddy?"
Before he could finish, Max quickly covered his mouth with a look of disgust and said teasingly, "You go take my backpack to our room first."
He then tossed his backpack to Liam.
Liam shouldered one backpack and hugged the other to his chest as he headed toward the bedroom.
The nanny followed cautiously behind. "Liam, let me help you with those bags."
Liam shook his head. "I do my own things myself."
Max had taught him that.
The nanny smiled with approval. "Liam's becoming such a good boy."
Max walked over to Grace's side, glancing sideways at Alexander before bending down to smooth out the wrinkles in Grace's dress.
Grace sat perfectly still, watching Max's every movement, not daring to breathe.
Alexander, in contrast, remained remarkably composed, showing no trace of guilt in his eyes, his expression perfectly natural.
A silent standoff between father and son.
Only then did Max relax his guard. "Mommy, what would you like for dinner? I'll cook it myself."
"I'd love... New Orleans-style chicken wings," Grace replied.
"Perfect," Max said.
New Orleans chicken wings were simple enough—just wash the wings, marinate them in sauce, and pop them in the air fryer.
The moment Max turned around, as if in challenge, Alexander wrapped his arm around Grace's shoulder and leaned down to steal a quick kiss from her lips.
Grace held her breath in shock.
Max, with his back turned, didn't see it, but Liam caught the whole thing.
He'd just finished putting the backpacks in the room and was walking back to the living room when he saw Alexander kiss Grace. His eyes widened as he covered his mouth, feeling like pink bubbles were floating all around him.
Noticing Liam staring intently behind him, Max turned around suspiciously, but Alexander had already returned to his original position, casually flipping through documents with one hand while the other traced his lips with his fingertip, as if savoring the moment while pretending nothing had happened.
Grace didn't have nearly as strong a poker face—her cheeks flushed slightly, and she felt like a guilty thief.
This was provocation...
This was definitely Alexander's way of provoking Max.
Max tried to find any crack in Alexander's expression.
Alexander simply looked up, meeting his gaze with raised eyebrows. "What?"
"Nothing."
Max shot him a warning glare before turning toward the kitchen.
Grace turned to glare at Alexander, whispering, "What are you doing?"
"He seems to hate seeing us intimate," Alexander observed.
"Well... he gets jealous," Grace explained.
"That's not a good habit," Alexander said.
He looked up with a slight smile playing on his lips. "Though he'll have to get used to it eventually."
"Get used to what?"
"Get used to you and me being intimate."
Grace's face burned even redder.
She murmured, "Max just depends on me, that's all."
Alexander corrected her, "That's not dependency—that's possessiveness."
He understood Max's possessiveness toward Grace.
After all, the two of them had been inseparable for seven years, sharing a bond deeper than what he and Liam could ever match. But when possessiveness kept building, it could become an unhealthy obsession.
It was natural for little boys to depend on their mothers, but it couldn't continue forever. Max was seven years old now—he needed to learn independence.
Liam shyly snuggled closer, wrapping his arms around Grace's neck and wheedling, "Grace, I want some too."
Grace laughed helplessly. "Want some what?"
"Kisses." He puckered his lips and looked at Grace expectantly.
He'd seen Alexander and Grace kiss mouth-to-mouth, and he wanted that too.
"Would you like to give Daddy a kiss?" Alexander asked.
Liam immediately backed away, covering his mouth and shaking his head warily.
"Why not? Do you really dislike Daddy that much?" Alexander asked.
Liam mumbled, "No! That's weird!"
He didn't really understand kissing, but the thought of doing it mouth-to-mouth with Daddy made him instinctively recoil.
"Then you can't kiss Grace either," Alexander declared.
Liam asked indignantly, "Why not?" Why could Daddy do it but not him?
"Because proper young gentlemen don't kiss ladies casually," Alexander explained, knowing Liam wouldn't understand the concept fully. He emphasized, "Boys and girls can't just kiss anyone, or they have to take responsibility."
Liam puffed out his chest and put his hands on his hips. "I'll take responsibility!"
Grace couldn't help but laugh.
Alexander suddenly turned serious. "Absolutely not!"
Liam glared right back at him with equal intensity.
Over Grace, the father and son seemed on the verge of a relationship crisis.
Liam looked Alexander up and down with disdain, like he was sizing up an enemy.
Alexander remained stonily unmoved. "No means no."
Heartless!
Furious, Liam turned to Grace to complain, pointing at Alexander while his little mouth formed an extreme pout. "Meanie! Big meanie..."
He didn't even call him "Daddy" anymore.
"Don't be upset, Liam." Grace pulled him into her arms and kissed his cheek. "How about I kiss Liam's cheek instead?"
Alexander said matter-of-factly from the side, "I want one too."
And right in front of Liam, he brazenly leaned his handsome face toward Grace.