Chapter 176 Whether It's Amber or Cordelia, He Wants to Keep Them by His Side
In the past, if Alaric had shown such disrespect to Terry, Terry probably wouldn't have been able to swallow his pride and approach him like this.
After all, no matter what, he was still Alaric's elder.
But now the Thompson family's food brand had suffered a major blow.
The investigation was over, but many stores still hadn't put their products back on the shelves.
In Shadowpine, Alaric owned the most large shopping centers.
If Alaric's stores stocked their products, other stores would definitely follow suit.
So now he had no choice but to put aside his dignity and try to please Alaric.
"Alaric, there's something I'd like to ask for your help with. Give me a chance to talk to you alone?"
Terry looked at Alaric with a pleading expression.
Alaric walked to the door of Ruth's hospital room and looked through the small window. He saw Amber sitting beside Ruth, carefully feeding her with a spoon.
Ruth was smiling so much her eyes curved into crescents.
His eyes darkened slightly. He stopped and raised his wrist to check the time.
Terry quickly added.
"Just give me five minutes. Five minutes is all I need."
Inside the room, Amber couldn't hold the spoon steady, so Cordelia reached over to help her.
Everyone's faces were full of smiles. This warm scene—Alaric wanted to keep it close to him.
Both Cordelia and Amber.
He turned around expressionlessly and looked at Terry behind him.
"Let's talk at the café across the street."
Terry's face lit up with joy. "Thank you, Alaric, thank you."
Seeing that Terry and Alaric had business to discuss, Kenna left by herself.
At the café.
Terry sat across from Alaric. Facing this cold-faced Alaric, he felt inexplicably nervous.
"Alaric, I want you to—"
Before he could finish, Alaric cut him off coldly.
"If the Thompson family can give up custody of Amber and stop bothering her, the Hughes Group can give the Thompson family's food products shelf space."
Terry's expression stiffened slightly. He looked at Alaric with some surprise, not expecting him to propose this condition.
He looked at Alaric with a searching expression, trying to figure something out from his stern face.
Alaric's eyes were cold. "If you can agree to this condition, we'll talk. If not, let's not waste each other's time."
Terry's expression grew serious, and he began to understand what Alaric was thinking.
"Alaric, do you want custody of Amber?"
Alaric's face remained cold.
Not getting the answer he wanted, Terry fell silent.
When the five minutes were up, Alaric stood up from the sofa.
Seeing him about to leave, Terry's expression changed, and he immediately agreed. "Okay."
"I agree to your condition."
Alaric nodded slightly and said without emotion, "Come to my office tomorrow with the contract."
Terry nodded. "Okay."
Alaric didn't waste another word on Terry and left.
Terry stood there, watching Alaric's retreating figure, his expression serious.
Alaric had previously said he wouldn't turn against Thomas for Cordelia's sake.
But now he was telling them not to fight for custody of Amber.
Could it be that Alaric actually had feelings for Cordelia?
At this thought, he quickly dismissed the idea.
After all, Cordelia was Alaric's ex-wife. Given Alaric's current social status, any little thing about him would become headline news.
So it was normal for him to protect Cordelia now.
Although he had agreed not to fight Cordelia for custody of Amber, that didn't mean they couldn't bring Amber back to the Thompson family.
After all, Amber was Thomas's child.
But for Terry right now, the priority was to stabilize the Thompson family first.
When Alaric returned to the hospital, Donald was just walking out carrying Amber.
When Amber saw Alaric, her face lit up with delight.
"Mr. Hughes."
As she called out to Alaric, she stretched out her arms toward him.
Donald was still holding a food container and almost lost his grip on Amber.
Alaric quickly reached out and took Amber.
Amber happily wrapped her arms around Alaric's neck.
"Mr. Hughes, tomorrow is my mommy's birthday. Have you prepared a birthday present for her?"
Her eyes were bright, looking at Alaric expectantly.
Dominic had already prepared a birthday gift for Cordelia, and she didn't want her favorite Alaric to be unprepared.
In Amber's mind, birthdays meant receiving gifts, and the best gifts from the people you love most.
"My mommy likes—"
Amber rattled off a list of things Cordelia liked—fruits, animals, colors.
Watching her chatter on, Donald couldn't help but smile.
"Are you worried that your mommy won't like the gift Alaric gives her?"
Amber nodded obediently.
"Mr. Hughes should give mommy something she likes."
Alaric nodded seriously and agreed. "Okay."
Seeing him agree, Amber was satisfied.
Donald reached out his hands again. "Amber, Alaric needs to go see Mrs. Hughes. Why don't you come home with me?"
After seeing Alaric, Amber didn't want to leave.
She held tight to Alaric's neck and tilted her little head. "Let's go see Mrs. Hughes one more time."
Donald smiled helplessly.
"Didn't we just see her?"
Amber pouted, reluctant to leave.
Alaric's heart softened, and he said gently.
"How about I take Amber home?"
Amber's eyes lit up, and she nodded.
Seeing this, Donald sighed softly.
"Amber can be a bit clingy. Will this take up too much of your time?"
Alaric held Amber with one arm and took the food container from Donald with his other hand, answering.
"I've finished everything at the office today."
Only then did Donald feel relieved.
Amber fell asleep on the way back to The Stone Manor.
Alaric drove into the courtyard of The Stone Manor. After parking, he got out and opened the door for Donald.
Donald carried Amber with one arm while Alaric helped carry the food container.
Hearing the noise, Allegra came out and saw Alaric following behind Donald, helping with the things.
She quickly went over to take the food container from Alaric's hands and thanked him politely.
After saying goodbye to Donald politely, Alaric left.
Allegra stood there watching, thinking that Alaric was finally acting somewhat like a son-in-law of the Stone family.
What a pity—he and Cordelia were already divorced. He was no longer the Stone family's son-in-law.
If three years ago Alaric had valued the Stone family as much as he did now, he and Cordelia might not have divorced.
And Cordelia wouldn't have to constantly worry about losing custody of Amber.