Chapter 45
The next day, Alexander indeed brought Sabrina along to the dinner party.
Several of the guests were Lynn's close friends from when she was alive.
They came for two reasons. first, out of respect for the Forbes Group, and second, for the sake of their past friendship with Lynn.
After all, Alexander was not only Lynn's son-in-law but also the president of the Forbes Group. One way or another, they were expected to give him this respect.
Throughout the meal, with Alexander's deliberate efforts to connect them, Sabrina managed to get acquainted with several senior figures. Two of them even agreed on the spot to support her at her upcoming exhibition.
After the event, they returned to the Forbes Family home. Sabrina helped the half-drunk Alexander to the sofa, then went straight to her room to change.
Alexander, having blocked many drinks for Sabrina during dinner, now felt the alcohol hitting him. His throat was dry, and his head felt dizzy and heavy.
He loosened his tie with one hand and tossed it aside. "Charlotte, bring me a glass of water."
"I drank a lot tonight, my stomach feels uncomfortable."
But no matter how many times he called for Charlotte, no one appeared.
Growing increasingly impatient, he stood up abruptly. "Charlotte... where did you go?"
Just as he finished speaking, his body suddenly gave way, and he fell heavily back onto the sofa.
Behind him, Sabrina stood quietly.
After a while, she walked forward and looked at Alexander, who was breathing steadily.
'Alexander, why won't you divorce Charlotte?'
'Why are you still calling her name when you're drunk?'
'Have you forgotten that the person you like is called Sabrina!' she thought.
Just then, Lisa, hearing the commotion, came over.
When she saw Sabrina's twisted expression, she was startled, "Miss Spencer, why are you standing here so quietly? You scared me."
With someone present, Sabrina's expression changed instantly. "Lisa, Alexander is drunk. I was just worrying about how to help him upstairs."
Lisa patted her chest in relief. "Oh, I see."
"Don't worry about it. I'll call someone to help him upstairs."
"Okay, thank you." Sabrina smiled sweetly. "I'll head upstairs first then."
But the moment she turned around, her smile vanished, replaced by a gloomy expression.
Meanwhile, at the apartment, Charlotte received a phone call.
"Charlotte, it's Keith."
Hearing the hearty voice on the other end, Charlotte's face showed a genuine smile. "Mr. Wood, long time no see. Have you been sneaking drinks lately?"
Keith Wood paused, then laughed heartily. "Sure enough, nothing gets past you."
After chatting about daily matters for a bit, Keith suddenly changed the subject. "Today, your husband..."
"...Alexander." Charlotte corrected.
Keith seemed to slap his forehead. "Right, Alexander. Look at my memory."
"It's okay, Mr. Wood, as long as you remember me."
Keith praised her. "Exactly! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't care about the Forbes Family's food and wine."
"But tonight, he brought along a delicate-looking girl, said she was a top student from Aurora College, and asked us to look after her."
Charlotte immediately understood.
It seemed Alexander was already paving the way for Sabrina.
But he shouldn't have dared to secretly use Lynn's connections to open doors for Sabrina.
"Mr. Wood, her name is Sabrina. She's my stepsister."
Hearing this, Keith's temper flared, "No wonder I felt something was off about her when we met."
"She seems gentle and innocent on the surface, but she's full of schemes... Charlotte, you should remind Alexander to stay away from her."
I did remind him. It didn't work.
Charlotte smiled bitterly. "Okay, I'll remind him right away."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they hung up.
The next moment, Charlotte's eyes turned cold...
She would never forget how at Lynn's funeral that year, Sabrina had smiled and leaned in close. "Your mom is finally dead..."
And now she wanted to climb up by stepping on Lynn's legacy?
Not a chance.
The next morning, Alexander woke up holding his throbbing head, sitting for a while before getting out of bed.
It had been a long time since he'd felt like this...
Charlotte used to always remind him to attend fewer social events and drink less. But even when he did drink, she would take care of him when he got home.
That way, he would wake up the next day feeling refreshed, with no discomfort at all.
Alexander rubbed his head and walked out of the room.
But the more he tried to avoid it, the more people reminded him of Charlotte's presence...
After instructing the driver to take Owen to kindergarten, Alexander was having breakfast with Sabrina when his phone rang.
"Mom, why are you calling so early? Did something happen?"
On the other end, Cynthia's exasperated voice came through.
"Alexander, where's Charlotte? Why isn't she answering my calls either?"
Alexander's headache worsened. "Mom, just tell me what you need. You don't need to look for her."
Cynthia muttered several more sentences before finally getting to the point.
It turned out that since Alexander's father Dylan Forbes had died in an accident, Cynthia had suffered from poor sleep quality for years, often experiencing insomnia.
Later, after Charlotte married into the Forbes Family and learned about the situation, she somehow found a medicinal formula. After taking it for half a month, Cynthia's insomnia had completely improved. Her complexion got much better, and people even said she looked nearly ten years younger.
So for the past few years, Cynthia had been consistently taking this medicine.
And Charlotte had been sensible enough to deliver a month's supply on time at the beginning of each month.
But this month, several days had already passed, and Charlotte still hadn't delivered the medicine.
Cynthia had held back until the day before yesterday when she finished the last dose, and finally couldn't stand it anymore. She called both Alexander and Charlotte.
Cynthia believed that no matter how much Charlotte made a fuss, she would never actually be willing to leave Alexander or the Forbes Family.
After all, she was just a helpless orphan. Without Alexander and the Forbes Family, she probably couldn't even afford to eat.
So she should work hard to please them and serve them.
"Tell Charlotte that she must deliver the medicine by tomorrow at the latest."
Hearing Cynthia's entitled tone, Alexander felt annoyed for the first time.
"Mom, didn't your insomnia get better? You don't need the medicine anymore, do you?"
"No!" Cynthia's sharp, harsh voice pierced through the phone directly into Alexander's ear.
"You tell Charlotte that if I don't see the medicine tomorrow, she can forget about staying in the Forbes Family!"