Chapter 142 Are They Kissing?
Hearing this, Terry glanced at Cordelia. She looked calm and composed, sitting quietly beside Thomas.
He immediately nudged Kenna with his foot, signaling her to save any questions for Thomas until they got home.
Kenna caught Terry's look, nodded, and stopped asking. She politely changed the subject.
When dinner ended, Thomas offered to take Cordelia home.
Kenna nodded and watched as Thomas and Cordelia left.
Only after seeing them get in the car did Kenna turn to Terry and say:
"Something feels off. Call Mom and ask her what Alaric's ex-wife's name is."
Hearing this, Terry frowned, a heavy look flashing in his eyes.
When Alaric suddenly walked into the private room earlier, he had felt something was wrong too. Now that Kenna mentioned it, his expression changed, and he immediately called Marigold.
After Thomas drove out of the restaurant, he finally had a chance to ask what he'd been holding in all through dinner.
"You're Alaric's ex-wife?"
Cordelia's expression didn't change much when Thomas guessed her identity. She nodded calmly.
"Yes."
Thomas took a deep breath. "So Amber is his daughter too?"
Cordelia nodded slightly and answered without expression. "Yes."
Thomas paused, thinking about how Alaric had looked at him with such hostility earlier, and said quietly:
"He doesn't seem like he doesn't care about you at all."
Cordelia looked straight ahead, a faint smile on her lips, and said softly:
"If Ken's marriage partner was your cousin, could you not care at all?"
Hearing Cordelia's words, Thomas's face changed dramatically. "I'd kill him."
A faint smile appeared on Cordelia's lips. "Right, so this has nothing to do with love or not loving. I'm his ex-wife, you're his cousin. Any man would mind this kind of pairing."
Thomas paused, feeling like what Cordelia said didn't quite make sense, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong.
He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
But since Alaric had divorced Cordelia because of his first love, maybe his hostility really was like Cordelia said—not much to do with love.
"He still doesn't know Amber is his daughter, right?"
Cordelia nodded. "Didn't I tell you before? He thinks Amber is my child with someone else."
Thomas was taken aback by this.
Thomas laughed awkwardly. "So you two have this kind of history."
Cordelia nodded.
Seeing how calm she looked, Thomas couldn't help but sigh. He understood Cordelia's feelings all too well.
It's just that Cordelia's personality was similar to his—unwilling to show the pain that emotions brought.
When Thomas and Cordelia were in Astoria, they stayed in pretty close contact.
Since they both worked in medical fields, they had plenty to talk about.
In Astoria, Thomas often caught Cordelia staring at Amber in a daze. Her eyes clearly showed she was seeing someone else through Amber, or observing similarities between Amber and that other person.
"Have you thought about telling him about Amber?"
Cordelia's eyes darkened. She sighed softly, leaning back in the passenger seat, and said quietly, "Janet came to me for surgery three years ago."
"She has problems with her uterus, and she didn't take good care of herself. If she gets pregnant and wants to give birth, it could be dangerous."
"If I tell him about Amber's identity, it means that if he and Janet get back together someday, he'll definitely fight me for custody of Amber."
She couldn't risk it all on Alaric's uncertain and wavering love.
Hearing Cordelia's words, Thomas fell completely silent.
As Cordelia spoke, she turned to look out the window, hiding her melancholy eyes.
How could Thomas not understand the bitterness in her heart?
"I'm Amber's godfather. I absolutely won't let anyone take custody of Amber away from you."
Hearing this, Cordelia looked away from the window and at Thomas, unable to help but smile.
"I knew you were a loyal friend!"
Thomas smiled back. "Of course I'm loyal."
The two chatted and laughed all the way to the entrance of The Stone Manor.
Just as Cordelia was about to get out of the car, Thomas's phone rang.
Seeing it was Terry calling, he picked it up and looked at Cordelia with an expression like he was facing certain death.
"I'm done for."
Cordelia looked at him with some sympathy.
Kenna must have noticed something was wrong earlier and called Marigold to ask.
Cordelia wasn't surprised by this outcome.
Her identity would be discovered by them sooner or later.
Thomas took a deep breath and answered.
"Dad."
Before he could finish, Terry's angry voice came through the phone.
"Get back here right now."
Thomas immediately answered, "Okay."
He hung up after that.
Cordelia opened the car door and got out, smiling helplessly. "Think about how to explain on your way back."
Thomas shrugged and said lightly, "What else can I explain? Worst case, I'll just admit there's something wrong with my sexual orientation."
He spoke casually, but his expression showed no sign of relaxation.
After all, their parents' generation wasn't that open-minded yet. If Thomas really came clean about everything, his life would definitely be chaotic for a while.
He had just gone through a breakup and wouldn't be understood by his family—he'd definitely fall into a very depressed state.
Cordelia clearly remembered her own state when she was divorcing Alaric. If it hadn't been for Evelyn and Donald's wholehearted support, she probably wouldn't have been able to get through it either.
Cordelia looked at Thomas and smiled faintly. "I can always be your shield."
Thomas's expression showed some emotion.
"I didn't save you for nothing back then."
Cordelia smiled and reached out to give Thomas a brief hug.
"We'll both get through this and completely stop caring about their existence."
Thomas responded softly, his voice a bit choked up.
Cordelia patted his back without saying anything, waiting until Thomas had controlled his emotions before pulling away.
After Thomas steadied his emotions, he opened the car door and got out. "I'll go inside and see Amber."
Cordelia nodded.
The two went inside together.
At the corner across from The Stone Manor, Robert sat in the car, watching as Cordelia actively opened her arms to Thomas, and the two hugged for a long time.
From their position, they couldn't see what was really happening, but if it was just a simple hug, it wouldn't last that long.
Maybe they were even kissing.
Robert felt the air pressure in the car drop. He sat stiffly in the driver's seat, not even having the courage to look up at Alaric sitting in the back.
Because he knew that Alaric's expression must be extremely dark right now.