Chapter 19 She Doesn't Love You to Death and Refuses to Divorce, Does She?
Robert cautiously glanced at the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of Alaric leaning against the back seat. His cold eyes briefly scanned the scenery outside the window before he closed them to rest.
Robert quickly regained his composure; Alaric's earlier irritation was just a fleeting moment.
"Mr. Hughes, should I move these things to Crown Hill Estates?" he asked.
Alaric opened his eyes, responding with a faint, emotionless nod.
Inside Garden Vista Estates.
Saskia looked at Cordelia's increasingly red eyes, her face showing hesitation.
Cordelia noticed Saskia's sympathetic gaze and forced a smile, pretending to be strong.
"Saskia, I'm fine."
"Get some rest early."
Saskia nodded, sighing lightly. "Mrs. Hughes, you should go upstairs and rest early too."
With that, she returned to her room.
In the large living room, Cordelia was left alone. Tears quickly rolled down her cheeks, and she hurriedly wiped them away before heading upstairs to her bedroom.
In the room, all of Alaric's belongings had been packed up, leaving only Cordelia's items.
Seeing the suddenly much emptier room, Cordelia bit her lip, trying to control her emotions, and went into the bathroom to wash up.
The next morning, Cordelia woke up, applied delicate makeup to cover her fatigue, and went downstairs to head to the hospital.
When Cordelia checked on Janet in her hospital room, Alaric was not there, but a familiar light fragrance lingered in the air.
Her eyes immediately locked onto the aroma diffuser on the counter, her expression darkening.
Janet followed Cordelia's gaze and smiled.
"I told Alaric yesterday that the room smelled a bit unpleasant, so Alaric had Robert bring me this diffuser today."
Cordelia raised an eyebrow and responded naturally.
"It smells nice."
Janet's eyes lit up, as if finding a topic of conversation. She said enthusiastically, "You think so too?"
"The first time I smelled this scent, I thought it suited Alaric, so I bought it as a birthday gift for him."
"I didn't expect that after all these years abroad, Alaric is still using this diffuser."
Listening to Janet, Cordelia frowned, the light fragrance making her stomach churn.
She resisted the urge to gag.
Noticing Cordelia's discomfort, Janet paused and asked with concern.
"Dr. Stone, are you feeling unwell?"
Cordelia replied calmly, "I'm fine, just haven't been eating regularly these days, and my stomach is a bit upset."
With that, she completed Janet's physical examination, gave some instructions to the nurse, and quickly left Janet's room.
As she reached the door, she almost bumped into Alaric who was coming in.
Cordelia stopped abruptly, avoiding a collision with Alaric.
Alaric looked down at her, expressionless.
The light fragrance from him made Cordelia gag again.
Alaric's gaze was cold as he stared at her.
Feeling uncomfortable, Cordelia pushed past Alaric and strode back to her office.
Inside the room, the nurse and Janet heard the commotion.
Janet's hand tightened slightly. "Dr. Stone seems very unwell."
The nurse, recording Janet's temperature, replied nonchalantly.
"Irregular meals often cause stomach cramps. Many doctors here have this issue, especially Dr. Stone, who has a lot of patients and often doesn't have time to eat."
Upon hearing this, Janet's expression relaxed a bit.
But the next moment, she saw Alaric turn and walk towards the direction Cordelia had left, and her hand clenched again.
Cordelia returned to her office, taking a moment to regain her composure.
She sat back in her chair and looked up to see Alaric standing at the door.
Alaric glanced at her and walked in, asking indifferently, "Feeling better?"
Cordelia paused at his words and replied softly, "Better."
Alaric gave a cold smile. "I was asking about Janet."
Cordelia froze, biting her lip. "I was talking about Ms. Martin."
Alaric sneered. "There's a dispute over the ownership of the land in the west suburbs that the Stone Group bought. Didn't your sister tell you?"
Cordelia frowned, not understanding why Alaric suddenly brought up the Stone Group.
Seeing her confusion, Alaric looked away, not continuing the conversation, and left.
Cordelia quickly stood up and followed him.
"What's wrong with that land?"
Alaric glanced down at Cordelia's hand gripping his arm.
People in the hallway were glancing their way.
Cordelia took a deep breath and let go.
Alaric didn't answer, heading to Janet's room.
Just as Cordelia was about to turn back, Hannah approached. "Cordelia, I have a patient with a complex case. Can you take a look?"
"Sure."
Cordelia took a deep breath, refocusing on her work.
After finishing, she returned to her office. Passing Janet's room, she saw Alaric helping Janet out of bed.
She quickened her pace, but Alaric's low, somewhat pleading voice stopped her.
"Cordelia!"
Cordelia frowned and stopped.
"Mr. Hughes, what do you need?"
Alaric looked at her, expressionless. "She needs to use the restroom."
Cordelia frowned. "Where's the caregiver?"
Janet looked embarrassed, glancing between Cordelia and Alaric, speaking softly. "Alaric, it's okay, I can manage."
A mocking voice sounded from inside the room. "Isn't helping patients part of your duty as medical personnel?"
Cordelia noticed there were others in the room besides Alaric and Janet.
She glanced at the man on the sofa, whose smile was mocking and challenging.
Cordelia knew him, Alaric's friend, Julian Pierce.
He and Alaric were friends and rivals.
He had liked Janet for years.
When Janet went abroad, Julian followed her.
Cordelia's gaze turned cold, she placed her pen in her pocket, and walked over.
Janet looked even more embarrassed.
"Dr. Stone, it's okay, I can manage."
Cordelia replied calmly, "It's fine."
She took Janet's arm from Alaric and helped her to the restroom.
Just then, Janet's caregiver returned and took over from Cordelia.
Julian wanted to say something, but Alaric's sharp look silenced him.
As the restroom door closed, Cordelia looked at Alaric with a calm expression.
"If you want to humiliate me, Mr. Hughes, it's unnecessary. Ms. Martin is just a regular patient to me. This is too childish."
She glanced at Julian, her expression disdainful. "I know the principles of being a doctor better than you."
With that, she turned and left.
Julian sat on the sofa, stunned for a moment, then said softly to Alaric, "Wasn't she supposed to be madly in love with you and unwilling to divorce? This doesn't look like love."