Chapter 182 That Gentle Alaric Seems to Not Exist
Cordelia returned to the room and lay down on the bed, with Amber already fast asleep beside her.
Images of Amber and Alaric together kept replaying in her mind, making her feel inexplicably upset and bitter.
She reached out and gently brushed the stray hair from Amber's forehead behind her ear, gazing at her sleeping face with increasingly tender eyes.
The next morning, Cordelia sensed movement beside her. Opening her eyes, she saw Amber lying at the edge of the bed, sliding herself down toward the floor.
After her feet touched the ground, Amber squatted down to put on her shoes and walked into the bathroom by herself.
Watching her well-behaved manner, Cordelia felt a pang of heartache.
Amber was just too sensible.
She rarely cried or made a fuss since she was little.
After she learned to walk on her own, she became even more well-behaved.
When Amber came out of the bathroom and found Cordelia awake, she happily climbed onto the bed, threw herself into Cordelia's arms, and acted cute.
"Mommy."
Cordelia gently rubbed Amber's head and played with her on the bed, suddenly feeling like she didn't want to get up.
But she had to go to work.
After getting Amber washed up, she took her downstairs for breakfast.
After breakfast, Cordelia left for the hospital.
Amber held Allegra's hand, standing at the entrance of The Stone Manor, waving goodbye to Cordelia's car.
While waving, she noticed her bracelet was missing. Her expression showed shock, and she immediately ran back into the house on her little legs.
Seeing this, Allegra quickly followed.
Amber searched the living room for a long time but couldn't find the bracelet Alaric had given her. Unable to describe what it looked like, she burst into tears out of frustration.
She kept saying "Mr. Hughes" over and over, mixed with a bunch of unclear words.
Allegra really couldn't understand what Amber was trying to say.
When Dominic and Donald came home, Amber ran straight into their arms, calling out "Mr. Hughes" repeatedly.
Dominic walked over and reached out to pick up Amber, but she pushed his hand away.
Donald sighed helplessly and took out his phone to call Alaric.
Seeing Donald calling Alaric, Amber stopped crying even though tears still hung at the corners of her eyes.
Noticing Amber looking at him expectantly, Donald handed her the phone.
Amber held the phone with her small hands and put it to her ear.
"Why is Amber crying?"
Alaric's gentle and patient voice came through, making Amber feel even more wronged.
She pouted, and the tears she had just stopped began falling again. Pointing at her hand, she cried, "It's gone."
"It's gone."
Hearing Amber's words, Donald looked helpless and gently tapped the back of Amber's hand. "Your hand is right here, isn't it?"
Amber pursed her lips, unable to remember how to say "bracelet," and tears of frustration kept falling.
Hearing her words, Alaric immediately understood she was talking about the bracelet.
Listening to Amber cry, his feelings were complicated.
Something Cordelia didn't want had become a treasure to Amber, even making her cry.
When he handed Amber to Cordelia last night, the bracelet was still on Amber's wrist.
He had wrapped it around twice to fit her, so unless Cordelia took it off, it wouldn't normally fall off.
Clearly, Cordelia had seen the bracelet and removed it, possibly even throwing it in the trash.
Alaric felt a tightness in his chest, but he quickly calmed down and gently comforted the emotional Amber.
"If we can't find it, I'll take Amber to buy an even prettier one."
Amber stopped crying and obediently nodded.
Then, realizing Alaric couldn't see her nod, she responded with a tearful "okay."
Seeing her mood settle down, Alaric glanced at his watch, his tone serious.
"I'll come pick you up in half an hour."
Amber obediently answered, "Okay."
Dominic stood to the side watching Amber talk to Alaric, feeling uncomfortable.
He had watched Amber grow up and spent much more time with her than Alaric had.
But Amber had never shown such dependence on him.
He sighed quietly, feeling somewhat unhappy.
After ending the call with Alaric, Amber returned the phone to Donald and pulled Allegra's hand, asking her to go upstairs to help her change clothes.
Donald watched her excited manner with an indulgent smile.
The Hughes Group, conference room.
The senior management present had all heard Alaric's conversation with Amber.
They never expected Alaric to have such a gentle side.
They had never seen this side of him before and were quite shocked.
Noticing everyone's curious looks, Alaric's eyes darkened slightly as he set his phone aside. Looking at the supervisor who had been reporting, he spoke in a low tone.
"Continue."
His voice returned to its usual cold and serious tone, making everyone wonder if that gentle voice earlier had just been their imagination.
Cold, serious, composed, and distant—this was the normal Alaric.
Twenty minutes later, the meeting ended on time.
Alaric was the first to leave the conference room, with Robert following behind.
As they went downstairs, Janet and her team were filming in the lobby of the Hughes Group office building.
"Hello everyone, I'm Janet. I previously promised to make a video about the work environment inside the Hughes Group, one of the world's top 500 companies in our country. Here I am today."
As Alaric stepped out of the elevator, he came face to face with Janet, dressed in a pink suit, explaining things in front of the camera.
His deep eyes darkened instantly, and he immediately looked at Robert beside him.
Robert's expression stiffened slightly, and he frowned.
"I'll have them leave right away."
Alaric responded coldly and walked toward the company exit.
Seeing Alaric, Janet's smile became even sweeter.
"Alaric."
She walked toward Alaric with a smile, her expression gentle and dignified.
As she approached, her cameraman naturally followed with the equipment.
Janet pressed her lips together and raised her hand to cover her mouth, speaking softly to Alaric.
"I heard the Hughes Group has a talent recruitment plan coming up, and graduation season is almost here. I'm helping you make a promotional video."
Alaric's eyes remained cold as he refused, "No need."
As he spoke, he continued walking forward, maintaining a certain distance from Janet.
Janet noticed Alaric's aloofness toward her, but she maintained her friendly smile. Turning to face the camera, she said,
"Mr. Hughes is too busy to deal with us, so let's go upstairs ourselves. I'm quite familiar with the Hughes Group."
She remained composed, showing no embarrassment at being ignored by Alaric.