Chapter 38 Playing the Perfect Couple
Imperial Hotel.
The Maybach pulled up to the entrance.
A valet approached and opened the car door.
Alexander stepped out carrying Liam while Grace held Max's hand. They approached the entrance, where a doorman immediately stopped them.
"Excuse me, are you..." The doorman's words caught in his throat the moment he saw Alexander, completely intimidated by the man's commanding presence.
Alexander glanced at Grace, who quickly said, "David is hosting an event here. We're guests at his banquet."
"Ah, friends of Mr. Foster!" the doorman said. "Mr. Foster has reserved the Grand Ballroom. Right this way, please."
The doorman respectfully escorted them inside.
Max suddenly tugged carefully at Grace's hand. "Mommy!"
"What is it?"
"Shouldn't you..." Max said seriously, "Take Daddy's arm?"
Liam also stopped and looked at Grace expectantly.
Grace froze for a moment.
She glanced at the stoic man beside her and shook her head.
"But you have to act like you and Daddy are madly in love!" Max emphasized.
Alexander thought to himself that Max had certainly gotten comfortable with calling him "Daddy" quickly enough.
But strangely, he didn't find Max calling him "Daddy" as off-putting as he'd expected.
Perhaps it was because the little guy was so adorable and well-mannered.
Max started wheedling, "Please! Pretty please!"
Otherwise, how would they look like a loving couple?
Grace felt awkward—linking arms with a man was an especially intimate gesture for her, something she'd never done with any man before.
Alexander held Liam's hand with one arm while casually sliding his other hand into his trouser pocket, yet he subtly angled the arm closest to Grace, creating a clear opening.
He didn't respond to Max's request, maintaining his cold, impassive expression, but his posture seemed to speak for itself.
Grace steeled herself and moved closer, somewhat unnaturally linking her arm through his.
She hadn't expected the contact to affect her so much.
Beneath his tailored suit jacket, she could feel his incredibly fit physique—his arm was solid muscle without an ounce of excess flesh, lean and strong.
He carried a subtle, elegant fragrance that she recognized as Armani cologne.
Grand Ballroom.
Evelyn was greeting guests when she spotted Grace approaching with a man on her arm.
Taking a closer look, she nearly gasped in shock.
The man beside Grace was tall and devastatingly handsome, with features that could make angels weep with envy. His clothing and grooming were impeccable.
There was a reason he looked expensive.
Alexander's suit was pure hand-tailored craftsmanship, ridiculously costly, and it gave him an air of refined luxury.
Evelyn's gaze shifted to Grace, noting the Hermès dress, the ten-thousand-dollar Hermès mules, and the Hermès Kelly bag. From head to toe, Grace's ensemble was worth at least two hundred thousand dollars.
Max and Liam were also dressed in luxury designer children's wear. The family's entire outfit had to cost upward of a million dollars.
Evelyn's eye twitched as Grace approached, and it took her a moment to compose herself.
"Grace, you look... absolutely stunning today," Evelyn said with forced admiration, immediately shifting her attention to Alexander. "And this is?"
Grace's expression grew slightly uncomfortable, but she quickly recovered and made the introduction. "This is my husband."
She then introduced Evelyn to Alexander. "This is my stepmother."
The term made Evelyn bristle internally, but she couldn't show her displeasure in front of Alexander, managing only a stiff smile.
Alexander nodded gracefully. "Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Foster."
Evelyn asked, "I don't believe I caught your surname?"
Alexander replied, "Hayes."
Evelyn's eyes lit up. "Hayes? How interesting! That's quite a coincidence—Grace's ex-husband was also named Hayes. Grace, you really should have told us about your remarriage! We had no idea!"
She seemed to mention Grace's ex-husband casually, then immediately covered her mouth with a look of feigned distress. "Grace, should I be talking about this? Does Mr. Hayes know you were previously married?"
Looking at Alexander's distinguished appearance and obvious wealth, Evelyn couldn't believe Grace could actually land such a man.
He must be her sugar daddy.
After all, what man of his caliber would seriously consider a divorced woman with a child?
Grace knew Evelyn was deliberately trying to humiliate her.
But what Evelyn didn't know was that the man beside her was Alexander—her actual ex-husband.
Very few people had ever seen Alexander's face.
He clearly didn't want to reveal his identity to avoid unnecessary complications, so in Alexander's eyes, Evelyn was performing like a complete fool.
Grace said, "He knew about my divorce when we got our marriage license."
Evelyn's face fell with disappointment, but she pressed on. "How wonderful! Grace, it wasn't easy for you. Finding a good man willing to accept your past and commit to a future with you and Max—that's not easy to come by!"
Her implication was clear: a discarded wife like Grace should be grateful any man would want her.
Evelyn's attention turned to Liam. "And this child is?"
The boy clearly wasn't Grace's—he looked nothing like her.
Alexander said, "This is my son."
He was always protective of Liam's privacy and rarely shared details about him with strangers.
"How old is he? He looks about seven, same as Max," Evelyn said. "Grace, is this child your..."
Alexander's expression darkened.
He didn't appreciate strangers prying into his personal affairs.
"Mom!" Mia approached, interrupting the increasingly tense atmosphere. When she saw Grace with the same man from the real estate office, she was momentarily stunned. "Grace?"
She'd actually brought that man!
Grace glanced at Mia but was immediately drawn to the Himalaya bag deliberately displayed across her chest.
Wasn't this the Himalaya bag she'd put up for auction?
This model was one of a kind.
The bag Mia was carrying was either a fake or the exact one she'd sold for 5.6 million dollars.
No way.
Could Mia really be the wealthy bidder who'd bought her Himalaya bag for 5.6 million dollars?
She was willing to spend that much?
Was Mia actually the person who'd paid 5.6 million dollars for her Himalaya bag?
Mia noticed Grace staring at her Hermès bag and smiled smugly. "Grace, don't you think this bag is gorgeous? Jayden bought it for me."
Grace pressed her lips together, barely suppressing a laugh that threatened to break her composure.
Mia's face turned slightly grim.
What was she laughing about?
She glanced at Grace's Kelly bag—just an ordinary Kelly, nothing compared to the 5.6-million-dollar Himalaya that Jayden had bought her.
Grace said, "It's nothing. I think your bag is quite beautiful. But I heard there was only one of these bags available as a special order. Where did you get yours?"
Mia replied proudly, "Jayden spent 5.6 million dollars on it for me!"