Chapter 126 He Opened His Mouth to Speak, His Voice Severely Hoarse
Sebastian and Jack followed Bruce's gaze and saw Alaric walking in with a cold expression on his face.
"Can't handle what?"
He asked in a deep voice.
Neither Sebastian nor Jack answered.
After all, it was obvious that Alaric wasn't in a good mood.
Bruce and Alaric had grown up together and had the closest relationship among the six of them, so Bruce didn't hesitate at all and said with a smile.
"Of course we're saying you can't handle Cordelia."
Alaric's face, which had just softened a bit, immediately darkened.
He walked to his seat with a cold expression and sat down.
Sebastian and Jack didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
After Alaric took his seat, he didn't refute Bruce's words, clearly accepting it as true.
Julian was the last to arrive. He walked into the room and went straight to his seat, had the waiter make him a cup of coffee, then asked.
"What are you guys talking about?"
Sebastian gave an awkward smile, "Nothing much."
Alaric had already started shuffling the cards.
Julian didn't press further. He took out the cigarettes he'd just bought, placed them on the table, and offered them to everyone.
He first handed one to Bruce on his left.
Bruce waved his hand in refusal, "I quit. Amber has been around me a lot lately, and Evelyn won't let me smoke anymore."
Julian scoffed at this, "Look at you, acting like she's your own daughter."
He then offered a cigarette to Alaric, who didn't reach for it and replied coldly, "I quit."
Julian raised an eyebrow, "Bruce quit smoking for Cordelia's child, don't tell me you did too?"
Alaric didn't answer with a cold face, feeling inexplicably irritated inside.
Julian was tactful and passed the cigarettes to Sebastian and Jack, "Come on, the three of us will smoke."
When the card game ended, Alaric, who was in a bad mood, also had bad luck.
He was the only one among the five who lost money.
Julian, who rarely won money from Alaric, made a suggestion as everyone was leaving.
"It's still early, how about we go to a bar for some fun?"
Alaric didn't refuse. His mind was a mess, and if he went back at this hour, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.
Bruce was getting married to Evelyn soon and rarely went to these nightlife places anymore, so he waved his hand, "No thanks, you single guys go ahead."
"Evelyn keeps me on a tight leash, I need to go home and sleep."
The others immediately looked at him with disgust, "Look at yourself now."
Bruce didn't care and smiled broadly, "People like you who have no one caring about them will never understand the happiness of having someone who cares and keeps tabs on you."
Alaric frowned, his eyes turning cold.
He used to have someone who cared about him too.
A knot of frustration sat in his chest, and seeing Bruce's smug look only made him feel more annoyed, "If you're leaving, then get lost already."
Bruce smiled and really did "get lost," leaving them behind.
Julian watched Bruce's car leave and raised an eyebrow, "That guy who values romance over friendship."
Alaric said nothing and walked to his car. As he got in, he glanced at Julian and said, "Meet at the usual place."
Julian nodded, and the three of them each drove their own cars to the bar.
Alaric got completely drunk that night and his stomach problem flared up. When drunk, he was both strong and bad-tempered.
Robert tried several times to take him to the hospital, but Alaric refused.
Seeing him covered in sweat and in obvious pain, Robert had no choice but to call Cordelia for help.
Cordelia had already gone to bed and was woken by her phone vibrating.
She picked up her phone and saw it was Robert calling, her brow furrowing slightly.
At this hour, unless there was a problem with Alaric, Robert generally wouldn't disturb her.
She got up while answering the phone.
"What's wrong?"
Robert's voice was anxious, "Ms. Stone, Mr. Hughes's stomach problem has flared up."
"He's in a lot of pain right now, keeps wanting to see you, and refuses to go to the hospital."
Cordelia frowned, "Did he take his medicine?"
Robert paused, suddenly feeling like a student who'd done something wrong and was afraid to face the teacher.
"Mr. Hughes didn't take his medicine tonight, and he also drank quite a bit of alcohol."
Cordelia's eyes darkened at this.
She glanced at the time - it was already 2 AM.
"I'll be right there."
She said this and hung up, then picked up Amber and carried her to Evelyn's room.
Evelyn was a light sleeper and opened her eyes when Cordelia entered.
"What's wrong?"
She asked softly.
Cordelia placed Amber beside Evelyn.
"Alaric's sick, I need to go over there."
Evelyn acknowledged this, and seeing Amber shift her little body beside her before falling back asleep, she said to Cordelia, "Then go ahead, be careful on the road."
Cordelia nodded and left.
Crown Hill Estates.
Cordelia arrived at the large flat where Alaric lived.
Robert had sent the password directly to Cordelia, so after going upstairs, she entered it and went inside.
Robert was busy cleaning up.
Before Cordelia entered, Alaric had vomited again. Robert had taken him to the bathroom to rinse his mouth and struggled to help him lie back down on the bed.
He had just opened the window when he saw Cordelia had already reached Alaric's bedroom door.
This was Cordelia's first time at Crown Hill Estates.
During their three years of marriage, Alaric had never brought her here.
All the decor here was in cool tones, very much his style.
Garden Vista Estates, on the other hand, was decorated according to her preferences - no wonder he never liked going back to Garden Vista Estates all those years.
"Ms. Stone."
Robert's expression was already very tired.
Cordelia saw he had dark circles under his eyes - having a boss like Alaric must be tough for Robert.
She glanced at Alaric on the bed and said softly.
"You can go rest, I'll take it from here."
Robert hesitated.
Cordelia pressed her lips together, "You can't really help much by staying here anyway."
Only then did Robert nod, "Then I'll trouble Ms. Stone."
Cordelia nodded slightly.
Robert said nothing more and turned to leave. Soon, the sound of the door closing came from outside.
Alaric was lying on the bed, occasionally letting out muffled groans from the pain.
She walked over and saw that Alaric was still wearing a full suit, with his belt still tightly fastened around his waist.
She went over and struggled to turn Alaric onto his back.
When having stomach pain, you need to loosen the belt to ensure smooth blood flow to the stomach and make the abdomen more comfortable.
She tried several times but couldn't get the belt undone. After all, she wasn't skilled at unbuckling men's belts. Looking at the belt tightly fastened around his waist, Cordelia couldn't help but frown.
She took a breath and decided to find scissors to just cut the belt open. Looking up, she saw Alaric lying on the bed staring at her with a confused look, his deep eyes showing some disbelief.
"You?"
He spoke, his voice extremely hoarse.
Cordelia paused, then looked down to find her hand was still at the belt position, and there was a tent forming in that area.