Chapter 250 Do You Believe It Yourself?
Erica closed her eyes, her face showing clear impatience. "Never mind about me. I'm asking you what your attitude is right now."
Maddox was just about to reply when another incident occurred at the construction site—one of the workers accidentally fell from a two-story-high scaffolding.
"I've got a situation here, gotta go."
"Maddox, Maddox," Erica shouted, "you need to give me an answer right now."
Maddox held his phone while rushing toward the crowd. "I really have an emergency, gotta go."
The next second, the call disconnected.
Erica put down her phone and looked at Caroline. "See? That's his attitude."
Caroline said, "He's busy right now. Wait until he's done, then you two can sit down face to face and talk it through calmly."
Erica was restless, muttering to herself, "The doctor said based on the ultrasound, it's been almost forty days. How could I not notice for forty days?"
Caroline comforted her, "Your cycle isn't regular. Being a few days late is normal. Who would've thought?"
Erica picked up the water glass in front of her and drank most of it. "How could I be so careless? Why didn't I take precautions that day?"
"Why are you blaming yourself? He's the one with the problem." Caroline could feel Erica's anxiety.
Erica grabbed Caroline's hand, "Caroline, honestly, I'm really scared. I've been afraid of needles since I was little. If I go through with it, will they have to do surgery? I heard there's medication. Can I just take medication at home?"
This stumped Caroline completely, it was totally outside her knowledge.
"Erica, don't worry too much. If needed, we'll ask around." Caroline had the server bring a glass of warm milk for Erica to help calm her down.
Originally, she'd wanted to complain to Erica about Nash, but the whole evening ended up being her comforting Erica instead.
Caroline got home close to ten. Entering and seeing the dress shoes in the shoe cabinet, she changed into slippers and came to the living room, where Elijah was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
His eyes moved from the TV, his expression still serious. "Where were you? Coming home this late."
Caroline once again felt the parental authority in her blood. Her hands at her sides unconsciously clenched. "I chatted with Erica a bit longer and didn't notice the time."
When she used to live at home, she had to be back by nine every night.
She'd complained to Erica about it that living at home was stricter than college, where dorms locked up at ten, but at home she had to be back by nine.
She was waiting for Elijah to lecture her, but instead, he pointed at the fruit plate on the coffee table. "Want some fruit?"
Caroline was confused.
Elysia smiled, watching the father and daughter. He communicated naturally with the public, but when it came to his own daughter, he became awkward.
"Caroline, come sit with your dad and watch TV for a bit."
Caroline walked over and sat on the single sofa next to them, sitting properly.
Elijah pushed the fruit plate toward her. "Go ahead and eat."
At that moment, the TV was showing news about leaders inspecting industrial projects down south. Only Elijah watched the news channel at home, Elysia liked period dramas, and Caroline liked mindless romantic comedies when she wanted to relax.
Suddenly, the video showed reports of major flooding in the south. Before natural disasters, people seemed so small and fragile. Watching the floodwaters submerge villages and farmland, people's homes collapsing, the floods taking away everything they owned, his mind instantly flashed to the disaster scenes in several villages and towns in Seaside City. He also remembered when Caroline was in danger and he, as her father, hadn't been there to save her. The guilt made his heart feel like it was being twisted into a knot.
He handed the remote to Caroline. "Watch whatever you like."
Caroline froze, looking at the remote held in mid-air. What was going on?
Elysia noticed Elijah's reaction and naturally understood what he was thinking.
All these years of guilt toward his family were something Elijah kept buried deep in his heart.
He wasn't a good husband, much less a good father. He hadn't fulfilled his responsibilities to his family. He was busy with work every day, having to think about thousands upon thousands of families in the entire city, there were more people, more families that needed him.
Elysia said, "If he's giving it to you, take it."
Caroline felt today's family atmosphere was strange. She took the remote and started changing channels, but still chose the international news channel according to Elijah's preferences.
At that moment, they were reporting on overseas situations.
After watching for a bit, Elijah suddenly asked, "Does your department handle the electricity there too?"
Caroline didn't catch on.
Elijah said, "I mean, does Seaside City manage the power there too?"
Elysia couldn't help but laugh. "Elijah, that joke is too dry. If we hadn't lived with you for decades, I probably wouldn't get it either."
Elijah turned his face, completely serious. "Really? Not funny?"
Elysia shook her head. "Not funny. You can tell from Caroline's expression."
Elijah nodded seriously. "I'll be more careful next time."
Elysia said to Caroline, "Your dad told you to switch to what you like. Why are you watching the news channel?"
Caroline switched to a TV drama she'd been following recently, typical trash TV that made Elijah's brow furrow tightly. Caroline kept glancing at his expression, it could only be described with one phrase: a fate worse than death.
"Dad," Caroline said, "let's just watch the news channel."
Elijah frowned and said, "Why watch the news this late at night? This drama is fine. Watching too much news at night keeps you awake."
Elysia smiled with pursed lips. "Right, too much news keeps you awake."
The drama showed various romantic and sweet scenes between the male and female leads, fine to watch alone, but watching with family was a completely different kind of torture.
At that moment, the male lead had the female lead pressed against the wall, saying sweet nothings in a husky voice. Normally, she'd be excited enough to post a long string on Twitter like "OMG they have to be together!" But now, sitting on the sofa with her parents, the air was so awkward that she wanted to disappear immediately. Caroline just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Just one second before the leads were about to kiss, Caroline decisively changed the channel, calmly switching to current affairs news, saying, "Dad, I prefer watching news now. TV dramas are too sappy. I think, as a manager, you need to stay informed about world events and keep up with information. Plus, you need to keep learning in the workplace, watch more news in life to broaden your knowledge, attend more training at work to improve professional skills."
Before she could finish, Elijah said dismissively, "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
Elysia laughed on the side, standing up. "No, no, I just did a face mask. If I laugh like this, I'll get crow's feet."
Caroline smiled without warmth. "I'm just learning from you. We should always—"
"Come on, I hear this kind of corporate speak at the company until my ears are calloused. Please stop."
Caroline scratched her forehead. She looked quite cute like this. Elijah suddenly remembered things from when she was little and laughed too, saying, "Caroline, do you remember when you lived in the countryside with us as a kid?"
Caroline said, "Of course I remember."
Elijah said, "You were really wild back then, climbing into treehouses and garages everywhere. Even the neighbors' dogs would avoid you."
At that moment, Leopold was looking at his phone screen, waiting for Caroline to reply.
North: [Ms. Tudor, there's a package of longing from overseas that needs your signature. Please reply quickly.]