Chapter 21 He is Spying on Her
Cordelia glanced at the phone tossed beside her, sighed deeply, and picked it up, placing it into her bag.
She really didn't want to answer Kevin's call.
But, Alaric suddenly helping her was unexpected.
"Alright."
She answered crisply. Alaric's deep eyes fell on her, and he gave a cold smile. Now that she had benefited, she suddenly seemed more compliant.
Withdrawing his gaze from her, Alaric's indifferent voice rang out.
"Grandma caught a cold after being discharged from the hospital. She wants us to stay at The Hughes Manor to keep her company for a while."
Cordelia paused, about to speak, but Alaric spoke again, his tone heavy.
"Cordelia, Grandma has always been good to you."
Cordelia pressed her lips together, understanding what he meant, and looked out the window.
"Don't worry, I'll wait until Grandma gets better before telling her about our divorce."
Alaric's face remained cold.
On the way back, neither of them spoke.
When they arrived at The Hughes Manor, Cordelia was the first to open the car door and get out.
After getting out of the car, she immediately looked at Robert.
"Robert, I'm counting on you to handle my sister's matter. Thank you."
Alaric bent down to get out of the car, frowning slightly as he listened to her polite tone, a flash of displeasure in his eyes.
Noticing Alaric's displeased look, Robert gave a sheepish smile and quickly said, "It's not a big deal, really. I'm just following Mr. Hughes's orders."
He wouldn't dare take credit for Alaric's actions.
Cordelia looked up at Alaric, about to thank him, but he walked over and naturally wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Let's go inside."
As he spoke, he pulled her into his embrace with a bit of force.
Her waist was so slender and soft, it felt like he could snap it with just a little more pressure.
He frowned and spoke in a deep voice, "From now on, make sure you eat on time. We don't want people thinking the Hughes family mistreats you and doesn't feed you."
Cordelia remained silent.
They entered The Hughes Manor.
The butler, seeing Cordelia and Alaric return together, greeted them with a beaming smile.
"Mrs. Hughes has been talking about you two all evening, just waiting for you to come back."
Cordelia gave a faint smile and stepped into the living room.
Ruth was sitting in a recliner. Seeing Cordelia and Alaric enter, she started to get up but then seemed to remember something and lay back down.
"Cordelia, you're back?"
Cordelia nodded slightly and walked over to sit beside Ruth.
Ruth immediately reached out and took Cordelia's hand. "I haven't been feeling well lately, so I thought it'd be nice if you and Alaric moved here temporarily to keep me company."
"When I start feeling better, you and Alaric can go back to Garden Vista Estates."
As Ruth spoke, she coughed heavily twice.
Cordelia quickly patted her back.
Ruth coughed for a long time before she managed to stop.
Seeing that Ruth's condition didn't seem feigned, a hint of hesitation flashed in Cordelia's eyes.
Noticing Cordelia's delayed response, Ruth looked at her expectantly and softly added, "Is that okay?"
Cordelia glanced at Alaric, who was sitting on the sofa on the other side.
He sat near the window, the setting sun casting a golden glow on him.
His deep eyes looked at her leisurely, as if all of this had little to do with him.
Under Ruth's eager gaze, Cordelia finally nodded.
"Alright."
Ruth's face lit up, and her spirits seemed to lift.
Alaric casually grabbed a book from the nearby shelf and started to read.
They hadn't joined Ruth for dinner in a long time. After dinner, Ruth's mood improved significantly as she chatted with Cordelia.
Alaric sat on the other side, listening to their conversation.
"I heard your dad woke up?"
"I haven't visited him since his accident. Once I'm feeling a bit better, I'll go see him."
Before Cordelia could respond, Ruth turned to Alaric.
"Alaric, have you visited your father-in-law?"
Leaning back slightly on the sofa, Alaric replied.
"Yeah, I've seen him. I even had a meal with him at the hospital."
Ruth immediately looked to Cordelia for confirmation.
Cordelia nodded lightly.
A moment later, Alaric's phone rang.
Cordelia almost instantly looked up, her gaze falling on Alaric.
At this time of night, Alaric was usually at the hospital with Janet.
Since he hadn't gone tonight, Janet was naturally calling to check on him.
Noticing Cordelia's gaze, Alaric glanced at his phone and said, "It's a call from work."
With that, he got up from the sofa and walked to the balcony to take the call.
Cordelia paused, listening to Alaric's explanation.
Ruth held Cordelia's hand tightly and quickly spoke.
"Cordelia, I know you want to divorce Alaric. For my sake, could you give him a chance? Three months. If after three months, Alaric is still entangled with Janet, then consider the divorce. Is that okay?"
Cordelia looked at Alaric on the balcony, holding a cigarette between his fingers, his expression cold.
As he talked, he suddenly turned to look inside, his eyes meeting Cordelia's. He hesitated for a moment before almost immediately putting out his cigarette.
Cordelia had always disliked the smell of smoke.
Seeing Cordelia looking at Alaric, Ruth also glanced over and gave Alaric a stern look.
Cordelia pressed her lips together and finally replied.
"Okay, Grandma. Three months it is."
Ruth's face lit up with excitement, and she tightened her grip on Cordelia's hand. "Good."
Alaric finished his call and returned to the living room.
Ruth's mood was noticeably better than before.
Alaric raised an eyebrow, glancing at Cordelia.
Her smile was gentle, and she chatted with Ruth with a constant smile on her face.
Alaric seemed to be getting drawn in Cordelia.
The two women seemed to have endless topics to discuss.
After freshening up, Alaric returned to the bedroom, noticing Cordelia hadn't come up yet, so he went to find her.
He found Ruth sharing stories from her youth with Cordelia, who was laughing brightly.
Alaric leaned against the railing, watching for a while.
A passing maid saw Alaric looking downstairs and softly asked, "Mr. Hughes, what are you looking at?"
Alaric withdrew his gaze, his expression calm, "The indoor plants need to be replaced."
With that, he walked back to the bedroom.
The gardener had just replaced the plants yesterday; did they need changing again?
The maid was puzzled, following Alaric's previous gaze, and saw Cordelia's radiant smile, pausing for a moment.
From that angle, he couldn't have been looking at the plants.
It was clear Alaric was secretly watching Cordelia!