Chapter 181 She Cares About the Sense of Ritual
Before leaving, Grace slipped the caregiver some money. "Please buy Lily some good food and new clothes," she said quietly. "She's so thin, and her clothes are practically falling apart."
As for the adoption matter, she would need to think it through more carefully.
...
That evening, after tucking Liam and Max into bed, Grace headed to the study where she found Alexander on the phone.
She waited for him to finish before approaching. "Work call?"
Alexander shook his head. "No."
Grace raised an eyebrow. "Then who were you talking to this late?"
"My father," Alexander replied.
Grace looked surprised. "Your grandmother mentioned that your father has been overseas all these years."
"I have business interests abroad. We rarely keep in touch," Alexander said simply.
Grace frowned slightly, suddenly realizing how much about Alexander she still didn't know.
It seemed there was some distance between him and his father—they weren't close.
Alexander noticed her thoughtful expression. "What is it?"
"Don't you get along well with your dad?" Grace asked.
Alexander went quiet for a moment.
Then he said with a wry smile. "He was always busy when I was growing up. After my mother died, he remarried and started a new family. He built his own empire overseas."
After a brief silence, Alexander continued, "I called him because I want him to come back for a visit. I'd like you to meet him."
Grace felt her heart skip a beat.
Suddenly she was nervous. "Meet your father?"
"Yes." Alexander's gaze was steady. "Grace, when I said I want to remarry you, I meant it. What about you? How do you feel about it?"
Grace stammered, "I... I..."
She wanted to say yes.
After everything they'd been through, she'd come to understand her feelings for Alexander. But she held back, not wanting to seem too eager. It would make her feel too forward.
She was a sensitive person, often prone to overthinking and self-doubt.
In her eyes, Alexander was like a golden prince—honestly, she felt like he was wind she couldn't quite grasp in her hands.
When he said he wanted to remarry her, was it just a momentary impulse, or had he thought it through carefully?
Alexander saw her hesitation and his expression grew tense. "You don't want to?"
"It feels too fast," Grace said. "There's no process at all."
She continued, "Most people date for years before getting married. We've never even been on a single date. You want to remarry me without even proposing properly. It feels... too rushed!"
It felt like they were already an old married couple.
But emotionally, she was still inexperienced. Aside from an innocent college crush, she'd never even held hands with a boy or been on a real date.
The way he talked about remarriage—would they just go straight to the courthouse without any ceremony?
That would leave her feeling disappointed. Plus, she couldn't shake the feeling that Alexander wanted to remarry mainly for Liam's sake, not truly for her.
She couldn't help but overthink it, which made her anxious.
She'd always been someone who desperately needed security. She needed to feel overwhelming love before she could be certain a man truly cared for her.
But Alexander was so reserved, always cutting straight to the results without the process.
Alexander suddenly laughed. "You're right—I wasn't being considerate. I didn't give you any romance."
"I do care about romantic gestures!" Grace said firmly.
"So you're not unwilling to remarry me," Alexander said slowly. "You just want there to be a beautiful courtship process first?"
Grace nodded.
She looked up at him. "But you're so busy, you probably don't have time to date me properly, do you?"
"I don't know how to date," Alexander said. "You'll have to teach me."
Grace didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his response. "You don't even know how to date! Dating is much simpler than marriage."
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "How is it simpler?"
"Dating is different from marriage," Grace explained. "When you're dating, you don't need to be responsible for each other or for a family the way you do when you're married..."
She couldn't tell if Alexander was being serious or deliberately teasing her.
If he was serious, he was completely clueless!
Grace smiled mischievously. "Alexander, before I become your wife, you need to figure out how to make me agree to be your girlfriend first."
She was grinning as she said it.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" Alexander asked directly.
"That depends on your performance!" Grace said.
She clasped her hands behind her back and stepped toward the door. "Get some rest. I'm going back to my room."
Grace left the study.
Alexander sat down at his desk with a slight frown.
He was goal-oriented by nature—once he set his sights on something, he'd pursue it relentlessly.
His goal had been to remarry Grace, so he'd focused on "remarriage" as the end result while completely overlooking the process.
Dating...
He'd honestly never studied that particular subject.
The next day, at Crest Corporation, Jeremy walked into the office to find Alexander hunched over a book, frowning as he read.
When Jeremy got closer, he was shocked to see the title: The Art of Romance.
Jeremy was stunned!
"Mr. Hayes?"
Alexander looked up, closing the book with one hand. "What?"
Jeremy carefully pointed at the book in his boss's hands. "Why are you suddenly reading... that kind of book?"
He'd walked in to find Alexander studying it more intently than he'd ever seen him read a financial report.
"What's wrong with this book?" Alexander asked.
"Nothing, it's just like discovering a new continent," Jeremy said.
He walked over and placed a project folder on the desk. Just then, Alexander suddenly asked, "Have you ever been in a relationship?"
Jeremy looked at Alexander and suddenly became tongue-tied. "I have..."
"I've never met your girlfriend. Did you break up?" Alexander continued.
Jeremy was full of questions but answered anyway. "We broke up."
"Why did you break up?" Alexander pressed.
"We just weren't compatible," Jeremy said. "Boss, why are you suddenly asking about my love life?"
Alexander got to the point. "How did you get your girlfriend to date you?"
Jeremy blinked. "Well, I'm good-looking, so I confessed first and she said yes."
"How did you confess?" Alexander asked.
"I told her, 'I like you, will you be my girlfriend?' and she nodded yes," Jeremy explained.
Alexander fell silent.
This answer was completely useless as a reference.
Now it was Jeremy's turn to pry. "Boss, are you asking me all this because you want to learn from my dating experience?"
Alexander was blunt. "Yes."
Jeremy pressed further. "How far have things progressed with Ms. Foster?"
"How far do you think we've progressed?" Alexander countered.
Jeremy considered this. "Hard to say. Your relationship with Ms. Foster is complicated. You had a marriage that didn't work out, you have a child together, but now you want to remarry her?"