Chapter 16 The Person Bullying Her is Alaric
Janet's eyes sparkled with anticipation. Cordelia felt a heavy weight in her heart and nodded, "Yeah, it's true."
"They were just a business deal from the start, no feelings involved."
"The divorce was bound to happen."
She tried to keep her voice steady, then walked out of Janet's room.
Janet watched Cordelia leave, her eyes darkening with an emotion hard to decipher.
As Cordelia left Janet's room, she heard hurried footsteps from the room next door.
Cordelia turned and saw a nurse wheeling out an elderly woman with cancer from the adjacent room.
The woman was very old, and her cancer had caused many complications. She had suddenly fallen ill.
Cordelia pushed aside her negative emotions and helped the nurse wheel the elderly woman into the emergency room.
After several hours of emergency treatment, the woman couldn't be saved. As she passed away, she reached out and grasped Cordelia's hand, her weak eyes offering a semblance of comfort.
It was as if she was telling Cordelia not to feel guilty.
The elderly woman had been in the hospital for a long time, fighting cancer for years. She was one of the first patients Cordelia had taken care of. She was optimistic and cheerful, and had good relationships with most of the hospital staff.
Cordelia watched the woman's hand fall limp, took a deep breath to control her emotions, and left the emergency room to let the patient's family come in for a final goodbye.
Listening to the family's cries from the emergency room, Cordelia held back her own sorrow and returned to her office.
Her heart felt heavy, and all her negative emotions erupted at that moment.
She took out her phone from the drawer, her hands shaking, and called Evelyn.
"Evelyn, that lawyer hasn't contacted me."
Evelyn's voice was calm, "That lawyer is a coward. When he heard he had to go up against Alaric in a divorce case, he backed out. I'm still looking for another lawyer for you."
Cordelia bit her lip and softly replied, "okay"
Evelyn could sense something was off in Cordelia's tone and asked, "What's wrong? Did Alaric bully you?"
Cordelia heard Evelyn's concerned voice and tears began to fall from her eyes.
"Evelyn, I regret it."
Her voice was choked with suppressed sobs.
Evelyn was silent for a long time.
When Cordelia got married, the Stone family was at its peak, a prestigious family in Shadowpine. The Hughes Group, however, was falling apart due to internal conflicts.
Ruth was shrewd. Somehow, she found out that Cordelia had feelings for Alaric and proposed the marriage herself.
Donald admired Alaric and, knowing Cordelia was interested, agreed to the marriage.
Evelyn had warned Cordelia back then to marry a man who loved her, not to try to warm the heart of a man who didn't.
But Cordelia insisted that even if she couldn't win Alaric's heart, she would never regret it, not in this lifetime.
Just three years later, the once confident Cordelia was now crying and saying she regretted it.
Evelyn felt conflicted. Normally, she might have reprimanded Cordelia, but now she couldn't bring herself to scold her sister, who had never faced any hardships.
"If you regret it, come home. Learn from your mistakes and move on. The Stone family can still support you."Cordelia listened to Evelyn's words and couldn't hold back her sobs anymore. She quickly hung up the phone and buried her face in her arms, crying uncontrollably.
A colleague passed by Cordelia's office and, having heard about the elderly woman's passing, felt the familiar sting of loss. Even though they were accustomed to life and death in the hospital, it was always tough when someone passed right in front of them.
The colleague didn't enter Cordelia's office to comfort her, knowing that these emotions had to be processed personally.
Soon, the phone on Cordelia's desk rang.
She quickly composed herself, picked up the receiver, and answered.
"Hello, this is Cordelia."
Her voice was slightly hoarse, trying hard to control her sobs.
"Hello, Dr. Stone. This is the ICU. Your father has woken up and wants to see you."
Cordelia paused, then quickly wiped away her tears and replied.
"Thank you. I'll be right up."
Cordelia went to the locker to touch up her makeup, making sure there were no signs of her distress. Then she hurried to see Donald.
Donald was now stable, and as Cordelia went upstairs, the ICU doctor mentioned that Donald could be transferred to a regular room soon.
Cordelia expressed her gratitude and entered Donald's room.
As she opened the door, she saw Alaric sitting by Donald's bedside, chatting with him.
She hesitated for a moment before walking in. Donald immediately smiled.
"Cordelia, you're here."
Cordelia nodded, stepped forward, and took Donald's hand, sitting down on the bed.
"Dad, you scared me so much."
Her voice had a hint of a sob.
Donald immediately apologized, acknowledging that his actions had been impulsive.
Donald had been successful all his life. Suddenly facing failure in middle age, he couldn't accept it.
"Alaric told me that Evelyn saved the company."
"Evelyn can handle everything now, but you are the one I worry about the most."
As he spoke, Donald reached out to ruffle Cordelia's hair.
Cordelia let out a small hum, "If you're worried about me, don't do anything foolish."
"Without you to support me, anyone could bully me."
As she spoke, her eyes reddened. To hide her emotions, she leaned against Donald's arm, preventing him from seeing her tears.
Alaric sat quietly on the side, his gaze heavy on her.
Donald patted her back, comforting her with a few words, and laughed.
"You're married now, still acting like a child. Aren't you giving Alaric a reason to laugh at you? Besides, you're Alaric's wife now. Who would dare bully you?"
Cordelia remained silent.
The one bullying her was Alaric!
She felt Alaric's gaze on her, gritted her teeth, shot him a glare, and looked away.
Alaric's brow furrowed slightly, his eyes darkening.
After a while, the medical staff came to transfer Donald to a regular room.
Cordelia and Alaric stayed with him for quite some time in the new room.
Donald glanced at the clock and said, "It's getting late. You both have work tomorrow. You should head home."
The Stone family's housekeeper also chimed in, "Cordelia, I'll take good care of Donald. You and Mr. Hughes can go home without worry."
"Alright, thank you for looking after my father."
Dominic had already texted her that he was waiting downstairs at the hospital, so she was eager to leave.
But Alaric showed no signs of urgency. As she turned to go, he naturally wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back, and warmly said to Donald.
"I've arranged for some of your favorite dishes to be delivered to the hospital. Since I have some free time today, I'll stay and have dinner with you."
Donald was delighted and readily agreed, "That's great. It's been a long time since we've had a meal together."