That was, indeed, Alexander‘s thought. After he felt her warm presence, he finally cased up.
Elise didn‘t dislike Alexander‘s contact, but the gazes from
the other families in the lobby was uncomfortable. With no other choice, she tugged on the hem of his s
hirt. “We‘re at a hospital,” she reminded.
Alexander reluctantly pulled back before he held her by the arm and thoroughly inspected her. Once he
had confirmed for himself that she was unhurt, he relaxed. “Why are you all the way here?”
Elise shrugged helplessly and brandished the bill in her hand. “I was forced to come.”
.Alexander took the bill from her, seemingly understanding the gist of the situation
when he saw Janice‘s name on it. “Since when were you two close?”
Elise squeezed out a pained smile. “Is ‘no idea’ a good answer?”
In truth, Elise had no idea how she ended up getting involved with Janice either. In her worldview, there
were only two colors–
black and white. There was no room for gray. She and Janice were already like fire and water; they sho
uld be constantly butting heads with each other.
It was Elise‘s fault for being so soft–
hearted. She had wanted to maintain a good relationship with her classmates, but she never expected
Janice to try and climb up the status hierarchy. Now, she couldn‘t shake her off even if she wanted to.
Just my luck, Elise mentally lamented.
Alexander‘s lips curved up. “The friendship between girls is always a mystery,” he joked.
“You can stuff it.” Elise had a sour expression on her face. “A passing acquaintance is not a friend, and
a one–
off act is not enough basis for friendship. I can even say that the president is my friend, but is that possi
ble?”
“With how skilled and talented you are, that‘s not out of the realm of possibility,” Alexander said with a s
traight face.
Elise immediately pulled a face, squinting to glare at him.
It was then that Alexander knew he had crossed the line, so he immediately changed his tune. “Okay, I‘l
l stop teasing you. Since you don‘t want to stay here, come with me. I‘ll let Cameron handle this.”
“Great. I‘ve had to put up with the smell of disinfectant the entire morning, and I’m
sick of it.” Now that Elise already knew that Janice was a giant pain, all she wanted to do was keep a wi
de berth from her. She didn‘t even care that she was causing more trouble for Alexander anymore.
Alexander
smoothly pulled her outside. “There‘s a new restaurant that opened recently. The vibe is nice. It‘s a goo
d place to relax.”
“Sure.” Elise‘s lips thinned for a moment as she smiled. She had no intention of telling him about the tru
th with Janice. She just hoped that this would be the end of having to do anything for Janice. From now
on, they would not get involved in each other‘s lives.
Alexander wasn‘t lying. The restaurant was in the suburbs, far away from the hustle and bustle of the ci
ty. The air was fresh, the environment serene. If Elise focused, she could even smell a faint
sweet scent floating in the air.
The restaurant was built around a lake. It was an open–
air establishment. Every few yards, there was a pavilion, and they all had booths. She and Alexander pi
cked a spot with a better view of the lake, and they ordered all of the restaurant‘s signature dishes.
Elise was starving after all that busywork earlier that morning; she had already begun to dig in even tho
ugh not all of the food had arrived.
Alexander poured a glass of warm water and placed
it within her arm‘s reach. “Don‘t worry. I won‘t be stealing your food,” he said, seemingly as a joke.
Elise froze
for a moment before she belatedly came to her senses. She had been rude by eating like that, so she h
astily stopped.
Alexander actually wanted to tell Elise
that she didn‘t have to be so restrained around him, but his heart melted at the sight of her bashfulness
. He selfishly drank it all in for a while, engraving this honest side of her in his heart. His only response t
o her was a faint smile.
Right at that moment, Alexander‘s phone rang. He glanced at the screen through the corners of his eye
s. It was Cameron.
There was no need for Cameron to call him over the minor nuisance that was Janice. So, it had to be a
bout Matthew.
“I‘m going to take this call, okay?” Alexander asked for her permission, picking up his phone to head to
an empty pavilion nearby.
“Go ahead.” Elise was overjoyed on the inside. This
way, she could eat to her heart‘s content without having to worry about her image.
The moment Alexander left, Elise grabbed one of the desserts, scooping up a large spoonful to wolf do
wn. Instantly, a satisfied smile rose on her face. “Oh, that just hits the spot–”
The food on the table was plated beautifully. All of it tasted absolutely wonderful and delicious, but the d
esserts were mind–blowing.
Just as she was about to take another bite, a rich male voice rang out above her. “Get the pastry chef t
o send two more of his signature desserts to this booth.”
Elise caught sight of Johan staring at her sinisterly the moment she looked up, a pretty woman in
skimpy clothes by his side. His arm was wrapped snugly around the woman‘s slender waist. It was mor
e than evident just how close those two were.
At the memory of Janice lying weakly but stubbornly in a hospital bed, Elise couldn‘t
help but feel her stomach churn. All of a sudden, her appetite left her.
However, Johan seemed enthusiastic. “If you like the food, you can come here more often. This restaur
ant is one of my investments. If you ever come back here again, everything will be on the house.”
Elise‘s expression chilled. She put down her food and deliberately put as much distance between them
as she could. “There‘s no need for that. I‘m not one to accept charity. I‘m not so poor that I can‘t even p
ay for a single meal,” she said blandly. With that, she steepled her fingers, supporting her chin with her
hands as she looked up at him. A harsh glint shone in her pretty eyes. “If you have the time to make idl
e chit chat with a woman you have no ties to here, why don‘t you
direct some of that attention to those you share your bed with?”
Johan didn‘t know about Janice‘s pregnancy. He instinctively looked at the woman next to him upon he
aring that. Thinking that Elise was talking about her, a sly look flashed across his eyes. He then reache
d out and seductively gripped the woman‘s chin. “Tell Miss Sinclair
here how I treat you,” he said, seemingly in a teasing way.
The woman smiled bashfully. “Everyone in Tissote knows that you‘re the best at
understanding a woman‘s heart. Naturally, you‘re the kindest man out there.”
A pleased look appeared on Johan‘s face. He then turned to look at Elise and smugly raised an eyebrow
“Yeah,” Elise said evenly. “You cast a wide net.”.
This guy was a casanova, no
different from any other playboy out there. He‘d go for any woman he could lay his eyes on.
Johan instantly picked up on Elise‘s implications. She was clearly mocking him fo. being a “manwh*re” a
At this, he gritted his teeth, his expression changing. A cold look was present in
his eyes now. This woman‘s words are as barbed as ever, leaving no room for mercy. He hated it with ev
He released his hold on the scantily–clad woman and walked into the booth. Placing both palms
on the table, he leaned over to look at Elise. “You know me so well, Miss Sinclair. Could it be that you ha
smile.
“Eyes for what?” Alexander‘s rich voice instantly shattered the sinister atmosphere hanging over the boo
Johan immediately straightened up at Alexander‘s
voice. By the time he blinked, Alexander was already right in front of him. When their eyes met, their gaz
After standing off against each other, Alexander lowered his gaze to condescendingly scan Johan from h
honeyed words? Your greed? Or maybe how you‘re impotent because of how you overindulged while st
“What did you say!” Johan‘s eyes bugged out of his skull, his fist unconsciously clenching up.
Alexander, however, was unbothered. He maintained his smile as he slowly answered, “What? Was I rig
For a moment, Johan was struck speechless, unable to answer Alexander‘s question. His chest heaved
One could attack a man for his looks, his height, or his physique. But the one thing one could never
attack a man for, though, was his virility.
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