Chapter 259
The only thought Victoria had when Alaric caught her wrist was, It’s cold.
His hand seemed to have just held ice and had a great difference in temperature
compared to her warm hand, so she couldn’t help shivering while glancing at his
pale face.
They had bodily contact after all, so he could naturally sense her reaction and
immediately withdrew his hand when she had sat down.
After the stewardess was gone, Victoria spoke without any change in emotion.
“Weren’t you reluctant to let me in?”
He maintained a dark expression and remained silent, though he felt that Terrance’s
strategy was pretty sound. The more Alaric behaved like he didn’t want her close to
him, the more she would think he might be hiding his condition from her. So, she
wouldn’t avoid getting closer to him, which was the exact result that he wanted.
Sure enough, she asked after a brief silence, “Have you been discharged?”
“Of course. Do you think I’m going back for a stay when I return?”
His tone wasn’t friendly but considering that he was taking her to see her grandma,
she couldn’t get angry at him. “If you haven’t fully recovered, it’s not a bad idea to do
He glanced at her. “Why do you care?”
She smiled lightly. “Why shouldn’t I? Don’t forget that you’re a huge investor in my
company.”
His eyes dimmed slightly while his lips paled a little.
Recalling his cold hand, Victoria told a passing stewardess, “Excuse me, can you get
me a blanket please?”
The stewardess quickly got one and handed it to her. Victoria took it but instead of
using it herself, she spread it out and lay it over Alaric.
Alaric was taken aback and turned to her in confusion.
“Aren’t you cold? Cover yourself up.”
He retorted instinctively, “Who said I was cold?”
“I did.”
“I don’t need it. Take it away.”
She raised her eyebrow. “I’m too lazy to do that.”
She then turned away and ignored him.
He frowned as he sat in his seat. Even if he had protested by claiming he didn’t need
it and telling her to take the blanket away, he didn’t do anything at all. He wasn’t
wearing many layers, so the soft blanket on top of him provided him with more
warmth.
On a rare enough occasion, Alaric maintained his position without moving for fear
that the blanket might fall. He wasn’t going to pick it up himself since he would be
embarrassed then.
Meanwhile, Victoria acted naturally throughout the entire event, even taking out her
laptop and starting to deal with her work right in front of him.
Due to his discomfort, Alaric lay against his seat. He stared at her as she worked in
this position. His gaze was focused on her flawless face–her eyes, nose, lips, and
ears and lingered on them. The way she looked when concentrating on her work
was still the same as that of five years before, where she would be so focused that she wouldn’t care about attention from other people.
He continued staring at her silently and after a while he saw her frown abruptly, her
hands pausing in their movements as she stared at her laptop. He thought at first
that she had noticed him looking at her and felt annoyed by it, though he wasn’t
going to look away.
However, he soon discovered that wasn’t the case because she maintained her
position while staring at the screen as if feeling conflicted. It was then that he
realized she was probably thinking about a problem, and he glanced toward her
screen. After studying it briefly, he found out what she was worrying about and
smiled before saying something to her.
When she heard him, Victoria abruptly snapped out of her focused state and looked
toward Alaric.
“What? Was I wrong?”
She frowned at him though. “Why aren’t you resting?”
He replied, “I’m not tired.”
She didn’t say anything else. Recalling what he had said, she looked at her plans
again and found that his suggested solution was the best option.
“Stop interrupting my work,” she told him.
He looked down and scoffed. “Being kind doesn’t pay.”
“I don’t need your kindness.”
Alaric was enraged by her reply, but he became slightly vindicated and snorted
inwardly after seeing that she had put in his suggestion.
The stewardess soon came over to serve their meals. Victoria didn’t have the time
to eat since she had to write her plans, but then she heard Alaric say to the
stewardess, “Get me a glass of wine.”
Victoria had been typing on her laptop without even looking up, but she abruptly
lifted her head after he said that and stared at him. “You haven’t fully recovered yet.
How can you drink wine?”
“I’m almost there,” he replied calmly. “Just a few mouthfuls.”
She had no words. After some silence, she informed the stewardess, “Sorry, he was
just discharged from the hospital and can’t take alcohol. Can you please get him a
glass of water?”
The stewardess looked at Victoria and then Alaric before nodding. “Okay.”
“Victoria, why are you meddling in
my
affairs?”
Victoria replied emotionlessly, “Because I’m your neighbor now. What should I do if
you drank wine and got sick, thus disturbing my work? You can drink to your heart’s
content after we disembark.”
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