Chapter 212 Amidst the Smoke, a Sense of Unreality
Alaric ignored Cordelia's question. He simply sat down in the empty seat next to her.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling that Alaric was becoming increasingly hard to understand.
Perfectly good first-class seats available, yet he came to economy class to grab a seat.
After Alaric settled in, his deep eyes swept past Cordelia beside him and landed on Deborah.
"Dr. Ramirez, long time no see."
Deborah was the wife of Brandon, Aurora's attending physician, so it wasn't surprising that Alaric knew her.
Seeing Alaric, Deborah nodded slightly. "Yes, it has been a long time, Mr. Hughes."
"The last time we met was at the awards ceremony. Mr. Hughes, you're looking more and more successful these days."
Cordelia pressed her back tightly against the seat, trying not to interfere with their conversation.
"Dr. Ramirez, someone your age still contributing to the medical field−that's what we young people should learn from."
Alaric chatted with Deborah in a humble manner.
In her impression, Alaric didn't seem like someone who was particularly good at chatting with elderly people.
But during this flight, Alaric spent most of the time talking with Deborah.
Listening to their conversation, Cordelia felt a bit drowsy.
Robert, however, perked up his ears to listen to their chat.
After all, they still didn't know which hotel Cordelia and Deborah were staying at.
From Alaric and Deborah's conversation, Robert learned the hotel's address and immediately took out his phone to contact the hotel as soon as they got off the plane.
After disembarking, Robert took the initiative to help carry their luggage.
Seeing Robert enthusiastically taking both her and Deborah's luggage, Cordelia said softly.
"We might not be going the same way as Mr. Hughes, so we won't trouble you."
Hearing Cordelia's words, Deborah nodded in agreement. "Thank you for taking care of us during the flight, Mr. Hughes and Robert. You must be in Ravenshollow to handle business. You're both important people with big matters to attend to. We'd feel bad troubling you further and taking up your time."
Robert maintained a polite and respectful attitude.
"We're also staying at the Grand Vista Hotel, so it's on the way."
Having worked beside Alaric for many years, Robert understood what arrangements he should make the moment Alaric chose economy class over first class.
Alaric was very satisfied with Robert's arrangements.
"It's quite hot now, and there's a queue for taxis. We need to get back to the hotel too, so since we're going the same way, let's go together."
Hearing this, Deborah looked at Cordelia, seemingly seeking her opinion.
Earlier on the plane, she had noticed that Cordelia seemed quite uncomfortable due to Alaric's presence.
Cordelia pressed her lips together. Thinking about how Deborah was an elderly person, if she insisted on refusing and they couldn't get a car soon, with the weather being so hot, making Deborah suffer along with her didn't seem right.
After thinking it over, she nodded.
"Then we'll trouble Mr. Hughes."
Alaric noticed Cordelia deliberately keeping her distance from him in front of Deborah, and his eyes darkened slightly.
Not receiving a response from Alaric, Cordelia raised an eyebrow slightly but didn't say anything more. After all, since they were accepting a ride, she had to be humble.
She quietly followed behind Alaric.
The Hughes Group's branch office car was waiting outside.
The branch manager saw Alaric and immediately came forward to greet him.
Cordelia and Deborah had planned to take the car behind, but Alaric arranged for them to ride in the same car as him.
Deborah got in first, Cordelia sat in the middle.
Alaric sat in the position to Cordelia's right.
After getting in the car, Deborah sighed softly.
"Now it's you young people's world."
"I remember when Dr. Stone used to frequently visit our department, she was just a high school student, and Mr. Hughes was still in college."
"Sometimes in a daze, it feels like it was just yesterday."
Just as Cordelia was about to speak, she heard Alaric beside her speak first.
"Earlier on the plane, I heard Dr. Ramirez mention that Dr. Stone often visited your department when my mother was hospitalized. I'm a bit curious−did Dr. Stone already know my mother back then?"
Hearing Alaric's words, Cordelia's heart immediately jumped.
During the three years she was married to Alaric, he never inquired about her past.
No matter how much she liked him, he had always been indifferent to her feelings for him.
Now, three years after their divorce, Alaric was suddenly interested in the past. Cordelia couldn't help feeling nervous.
It was like the fear of having all her privacy exposed.
"Isn't it normal that I knew Aurora?"
Cordelia spoke directly before Deborah could open her mouth.
Alaric stared at Cordelia intently, trying to detect any flaws in her expression, but her face remained calm without any emotional fluctuation.
After all, the Stone family and the Hughes family had business dealings.
Ruth had always liked Cordelia, so it was natural for Cordelia to know Aurora.
But somehow, Alaric felt this wasn't the right answer.
His mind was a bit chaotic, so he fell silent.
Seeing that Cordelia didn't want to bring up the past in front of Alaric, Deborah tactfully stopped talking about Aurora.
After all, everyone has impulsive moments in their youth. Perhaps that period of the past was rather embarrassing for Cordelia.
They arrived at the Grand Vista Hotel.
Alaric went straight up to the penthouse suite on the top floor.
When Cordelia and Deborah got off the elevator, Alaric politely said goodbye to Deborah.
He turned his gaze to Cordelia, but seeing that her attention was entirely on the luggage and she didn't even glance at him, his already stern face darkened even more.
Robert politely helped Cordelia and Deborah deliver their luggage to their respective rooms.
After resting briefly, Deborah came to knock on Cordelia's door.
Cordelia opened the door, saw Deborah outside, and quickly invited her in.
After talking for a while, the two decided to go to the hospital to check on things.
Throughout the journey, Deborah's mind was on the child's condition, as was Cordelia's.
When they arrived at the hospital, they first spoke with the child's attending physician to understand the situation, then went to visit the child in the ward.
Deborah and Cordelia had a simple meal at the hospital cafeteria before returning to the hotel.
The child's condition was much more serious than they had imagined.
Deborah returned to her room. After sitting on a plane for several hours and then going to the hospital to discuss matters, an elderly person's body couldn't compare to a young person's, so she went to bed early after returning to her room.
Cordelia's mind was full of the child's diagnostic report. Unable to sleep at all, she simply got up and went to the hotel's back garden downstairs for a walk to relax.
She had just walked to the pavilion by the artificial lake when she saw a familiar figure.
The top two buttons of his black shirt were undone, his tall and straight figure leaning casually against a pillar of the pavilion, looking lazy yet distinguished.
He held a lit cigarette between his fingers, exhaling a smoke ring. Through the swirling smoke, his extraordinarily handsome face had an unreal quality to it.