Thompson had always disliked Jacob. There were many reasons for this––ranging from the latter's
social life to how he would always treat other people.
After the gentlemen exchanged hollow flatteries, Alice finally arrived. The slight bulging of her already
swollen belly utterly appalled Thompson.
It was impossible that this matter had nothing to do with him. Yet, he was not worried about that at all,
because he knew Alice was too prideful to tell him about it.
"Alice!" Thompson walked up and greeted her warmly.
Alice gazed at everyone in surprise and realized that she came at the wrong time today. But she had
no one else to vent her frustration on but Thompson.
"Why are there so many people?" Alice roamed her eyes around everyone, nodding at them to
acknowledge their presence.
Simultaneously, Thompson introduced them to her, to which Alice responded with a smile while shaking
their hands.
With Thompson by her side, she knew she had a strong support system. After so many years of facing
different challenges, Alice had transformed into a courageous and confident woman. Whoever said that
she was a good-for-nothing probably had never seen her in social gatherings.
After greeting everyone and settling to a seat, her belly was even more eye-catching.
"Mr. Thompson, you are really awesome! You said nothing happened, but Miss Alice's belly says
otherwise. Did you not want to tell us that you're going to be a father?"
Joshua teased Thompson while maintaining an amiable tone. It was a standard among them not to
offend anyone.
"Ha-ha! Mr. Joshua. I'll inform everyone when the baby is one month old." Thompson didn't deny and
instead shared a laugh.
Meanwhile, Alice glanced at Thompson in surprise as she heard his words. But soon enough, she
eventually calmed down. 'I didn't tell anyone the truth about the child's father, but it seemed that he had
guessed something.' Alice felt a little scared while doubts began to attack her head. However, she
couldn't say anything in front of so many people.
So instead, she echoed a fake smile to everybody. In the past few years, she had gone through many
things, including going to different places and studying abroad. But whenever she was teased publicly,
Alice would inevitably feel uncomfortable. Yet, she wouldn't make a fuss about it.
"Why have I never heard Mr. Thompson mention what Miss Alice's family does? You're so pretty, so I
bet you're probably a lady from a prominent family."
Joshua continued to flatter Thompson, but his words carried a different meaning. He was right in
pointing out that there was so little they knew about Alice. They could just tell that the woman must be
shrewd.
If not, why did Thompson introduce her with a faking smile? It seemed that Thompson had his
conqueror. Many of these acquaintances thought that Thompson was a fearless man, but they didn't
expect that a woman would subdue and control him.
Hearing what Joshua said, Alice gazed up at Thompson and said, "Unlike Mr. Joshua here, who runs a
conglomerate, my family does some small businesses." Alice forced a smile.
She had just met Joshua and known his status, so she would not dare say something to provoke him.
Sometimes, protecting her own image was more important than protecting her life. So, Alice could only
wear a smile, even if she had cursed the other party thousands of times in her heart.
"Mr. Thompson, you are so lucky to have such a great girlfriend. My wife is really good-for-nothing
except quarreling. That's why I usually don't bring her to events like this if she embarrasses me. But
Miss Alice is different––she behaves decently. I really envy you,"
a fat man among the crowd said lasciviously. Alice didn't say anything and instead just curtly smiled
back at him.
At the same time, Thompson gazed at her with satisfaction. He really needed a decent woman who
could accompany him to these kinds of parties. Although he wouldn't take their flattering words
seriously, it was still good to hear it.
Alice, on the other hand, noticed the slight change of expression on his face. And she felt rather
complacent, thinking that those praises were also directed at her.
Such a conversation made her temporarily forget all her troubles. Alice had already planned what to do
before coming here, and drinking was not one of them.
"Since Miss Alice is here, we are supposed to make a toast. But she gets pregnant, so I'm afraid we
might have to cancel that out. How about we have Mr. Thompson drink her wine for her?"
Joshua teased again. His companions agreed with him.
Thompson laughed as if he was afraid of the man in front of him.
"Okay, Mr. Joshua is right. I'll drink it. Come on, fill it up," Thompson ordered and placed his glass on
the table.
Meanwhile, from where she sat, Alice could see the glass backlighting on Thompson. So, it was hard to
see the expression on his face. But one thing was certain––he was now wearing a smile.
Alice was in a trance as she watched him drink three glasses of wine in a row. He even turned the
glass upside down to prove that he had indeed consumed every drop of the liquor.
Then, he glanced at Alice with a smile, as if saying, "Look, I've drunk it for you."
And as the latter watch Thompson, she felt somehow less alienated from him. Even if she was only in
alliance with him, Thompson was the closest man to her besides Jacob. Alice felt relieved at those
thoughts. There were no absolute enemies in this world, and of course, there were no absolute friends.
"Mr. Thompson, you are great! Miss Alice is indeed important to you. We tried to persuade you to have
a drink before, but you rejected us. I guess it's different now that Miss Alice is here. No wonder heroes
always fall for beauties. Ha-ha!"
The fat man giggled, which made Alice feel sick. But he was right. It seemed that Thompson really
treated Alice differently.
"Don't make things difficult for Mr. Thompson. I'm here to discuss something with him, not to cause any
trouble." Alice blushed. She knew what she should do now.
"Ha-ha! I think Miss Alice feels sorry for Mr. Thompson. She really cares about him. Oh, what a great
girlfriend you have there!"
Mr. Joshua praised drunkenly again, but his words seemed less genuine under the influence of alcohol.
Because when he woke up the next day, he couldn't even remember who she was.
And although Alice was flattered, she wouldn't take such words seriously.
Yet, since she couldn't get any comforts from Jacob, she tried to find it in other places. After all, things
always came back around.
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