Chapter 9
Alex felt rather uncomfortable in the speeding car.
He kept turning around to check if Gabriella had followed up. He frowned when he set his sight on the gift box.
How late was she going to be that she had asked him to deliver her gift instead?
Was she really taking this long just to change and put on makeup?
He tried to recall how much time she usually spent getting ready before they went out. If she had never taken long before, maybe she was deliberately stalling this time, avoiding an apology she didn’t want to offer.
And he’d never let that happen.
Still, he could barely recall the times she put on makeup in their six years of marriage. Maybe Lucas was right–Gabriella didn’t have time for that because she cooked and took care of the family all day.
Or she could just dislike makeup in general. As such, he couldn’t recall how much time she usually spent on makeup.
When the car came to a stop, Lucas waited for a bit, but Alex did not budge. So, he opened the car door and hopped out.
Still, Alex did not move. Lucas sneaked back into the car and tugged on his sleeve.
“Dad, we’re here! We’re meeting Aunt Mel!”
After a few tries, Lucas still didn’t get any response from Alex. He tried again, his voice shrill.
Alex finally snapped back to reality. The villa gates outside the car window indicated they had arrived at Melody’s place.
He exited the car, holding the gift box with a wistful expression on his face.
“Dad, what’s on your mind? You were so out of it,” asked Lucas, holding Alex’s hand and unhappily wiggling his nose.
The question reminded Alex that Gabriella was the only person on his mind just now. How did she manage to faze him?
A weird feeling washed over him.
Meanwhile, Lucas protested by tugging at Alex’s hand when he realized his dad was out of it again.
Alex shook his head. “Nothing.”
His careless answer was overlooked by Lucas, who was eager to meet with Melody.
For some reason, Alex’s heart had been racing nonstop, and his mind was cluttered after he met Gabriella. He felt as if something had been ripped out of his chest. He tried to hold onto it but failed.
The feeling did not go away, even after he met Melody at the event hall.
His eyes darted between the main entrance and the time. The longer this dragged on, the more on edge he seemed.
Melody noticed his anxiety, but she had no idea what caused it. After some thinking, she suspected a rather improbable possibility.
An evil glint appeared in her eyes. She decided to hit back at Gabriella later, since Gabriella had promised to step back but didn’t–and she even tried to pull tricks to attract Alex’s attention. Melody looked
up with a sweet expression. Lifting the hem of her skirt, she appeared before Alex.
“Alex, you look quite disconcerted. Gabriella isn’t here either. Did an emergency happen? If you’re worried, go look for her. I don’t mind you not spending time with me on my birthday.” Despite acting thoughtful and obedient, Melody’s voice was filled with sadness. Anyone would feel sorry for her and immediately forget about everything else.
Alex’s expression softened. He looked at Melody tenderly, “Nothing’s happened to Gabriella. Of course, I’ll spend time with you on your birthday.”
Lucas inched closer to Melody with a smile. “Aunt Mel, your birthday is the most important! Don’t worry! We will not leave. When that woman is here, we’ll make her apologize to you in front of everyone!”
This wasn’t Lucas‘ first time refusing to address Gabriella as his mother. In fact, Alex had raised Lucas to behave in this manner. However, Lucas‘ action at that moment suddenly irritated Alex.
He was about to scold his son, but seeing that Melody and Lucas were getting along well, he couldn’t bring himself to speak. The unspoken words suffocated him.
Moments later, he sighed. “Let’s head to the event hall for now.”
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