Chapter 128 Resisting Paternity Testing
Alexander fell silent for a moment.
After a long pause, he nodded slightly, "Mm."
Mary observed his expression, also thinking carefully for a while, "Since you're sure it's your child, acknowledge him sooner rather than later to avoid complications. If you want to marry Grace, I won't object. Moreover, if we can confirm that Max is indeed your child..."
She was still somewhat hesitant.
After all, without a paternity test, she didn't dare to be certain, didn't dare to hope.
But if she saw the paternity test results, she would naturally give her approval.
After all, she had approved of Grace back then too.
Mary didn't forget to remind him, "However, if you're going to marry her, have her learn some etiquette first. Otherwise, if she marries you without knowing proper manners, it'll affect the Hayes family's reputation."
"Got it," Alexander said. "Nothing's decided yet."
Mary said emotionally, "If you really marry her, you need to give her a proper wedding. Back then, when she married you, she got nothing, didn't even have a decent wedding. Since it's such an important matter as marriage, you can't shortchange her."
At her age, she no longer cared about matching social status, focusing all her attention on Liam. Grace was good to Liam, and that was enough.
After all, Liam wasn't Grace's biological child, and being a stepmother was one of the hardest roles in the world.
Alexander said, "I know what I'm doing."
Liam looked up at Alexander, then lowered his head to continue eating.
The next morning.
Grace had just woken up when she saw Jeremy standing at the hospital room door. As soon as he saw her awake, Jeremy's face broke into a smile, "Ms. Foster, you're awake?"
Grace was startled, "Why are you here?"
Jeremy said, "I'm here to handle your discharge procedures."
Grace asked, "Where's Alexander?"
Jeremy said, "Mr. Hayes went to the company. He'll probably come over if he finishes his work. He said he wants to do a paternity test with Max today."
As soon as he finished speaking, Grace's expression changed, "Does he think I'm lying, that I'm deceiving him?"
He didn't believe her, so he insisted on doing a paternity test?
Jeremy suddenly fell silent.
He scratched his head, silent for a moment, "Mr. Hayes probably wants to give Mrs. Mary Hayes an explanation. After all, with a paternity test, it would prove that Max is a Hayes family child, making it more solid and preventing future problems."
Grace said angrily, "How noble is a Hayes family child supposed to be? And what do you mean, future problems? He's just questioning what I said. I won't let Max do a paternity test. Tell him for me - he can believe it or not. I'm not asking him to acknowledge Max anyway. Whether he acknowledges this son is one thing, and whether Max acknowledges him as his father is another."
Jeremy said awkwardly, "But doing a paternity test doesn't take much effort, and it would stop people from gossiping."
Grace said, "If I cared about what others think, how would I have gotten through these past seven years?"
Jeremy fell silent again.
Grace couldn't hide her disappointment, "I don't like this feeling of being doubted."
But she didn't know what exactly she was disappointed about.
Disappointed that Alexander doubted her?
Disappointed that Alexander questioned Max's parentage?
But why should she be disappointed? Disappointment comes from hope - had she ever hoped for anything from this man?
Grace couldn't quite sort out her feelings, but disappointment was the only emotion she could identify right now.
Jeremy said, "Let me handle your discharge procedures first."
He noticed that Grace was overreacting. His guess was that the high-intensity rehabilitation during this period had left her physically and mentally exhausted, making her reactions somewhat sensitive and extreme, her emotions unstable and prone to losing control.
All within the normal range.
Grace nodded, "Okay..."
She watched Jeremy leave the hospital room, then lay back down on the bed.
Two hours later.
Alexander arrived at the hospital. Jeremy had just finished handling Grace's discharge procedures, and the two ran into each other in the lobby.
Alexander asked, "Are the discharge procedures done?"
Jeremy nodded, "All done, she can be discharged anytime. But..."
Alexander raised an eyebrow, "What?"
Jeremy said, "Ms. Foster's emotions seem a bit unstable. Maybe because... I mentioned the paternity test, and she seemed somewhat resistant and opposed to it."
Alexander pressed his lips together, "Why is she resistant?"
Jeremy said tentatively, "Perhaps she feels you don't trust her, that you're doubting her? Anyway... she seems a bit upset."
Alexander paused, then nodded, "I see."
He walked to the hospital room door. The caregiver was packing things up, and Grace had just gotten out of bed and into her wheelchair. Hearing footsteps, she glanced toward the door. Seeing it was Alexander, she said coolly, "You're here."
Alexander entered the room and glanced at the caregiver.
The caregiver immediately said, "Mr. Hayes, everything's packed."
"You can leave now."
Alexander walked to Grace's wheelchair and crouched down to adjust it for her.
He had bought this wheelchair - electric and very easy to operate.
After adjusting the wheelchair, he put a bracelet on Grace.
Grace asked, "What's this?"
"A monitoring bracelet," Alexander said. "Don't worry, it's not a listening device."
As he put the bracelet on her, he realized how much weight she'd lost. Her wrist was so thin, it felt like it might break with just a light squeeze.
She had lost even more weight these past few days.
Grace felt a bit nervous.
She glanced carefully at Alexander. Seeing that he didn't mention the paternity test at all, she was somewhat puzzled, "Aren't you going to do a paternity test with Max?"
"Didn't you not want to?" Alexander raised an eyebrow. "If you don't want to, how can I force you?"
Grace said, "He really is your son."
Alexander said, "I only want to do the paternity test to give my grandmother an explanation."
Grace tensed up, "You told her about this?"
Alexander said, "She was a bit surprised, couldn't believe it. After all, you kept this from the Hayes family for so long. Naturally, she needs to see the paternity test before she'll acknowledge it."
His hands were large but somewhat cold, as they always seemed to be.
Grace pulled her hand back, "I'll do it myself."
She adjusted the bracelet and looked at Alexander, "I don't want Max to do a paternity test. He's your son. I wouldn't lie to you, and there's no need to lie to you."
Alexander frowned, then changed the subject, "I've already sent people to inquire about the situation at the West Suburb Cemetery. The caretakers there have changed several times. Currently, we've only gotten testimony from two people. They said the cemetery has been in an unmanaged state for years. They can't confirm whether anyone has snuck into the cemetery to steal ashes."
Grace said doubtfully, "I pay management fees every year. Why is the cemetery unmanaged?"