After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 132: Alice York Says, "I Don’t Remember
"Jean, come quickly. Let me introduce you. This is my lifesaver, Miss Alice."
Vincent Hawthorne said with a warm smile, gesturing for Jean to come over.
But at this moment, Jean Hawthorne didn’t dare take a single step forward. She swallowed hard, trying her best to conceal her guilt. "S-so it’s her."
"That’s right. If Miss Alice hadn’t discovered that I was still faintly breathing that night, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you today. A moment’s delay, and I wouldn’t have made it."
Vincent Hawthorne himself felt a deep, lingering fear just thinking about that night.
He had reviewed the security footage: he’d had an attack and collapsed on the floor, falling into a deep coma. Everyone had assumed he was dead and fled in a terrified stampede. But then, Alice York had walked in. He didn’t dare to imagine it—if she hadn’t found him when she did, he would have undoubtedly died that night.
At this, Vincent Hawthorne’s eyes grew hot. He turned to look at Alice. "Miss York, maybe you didn’t get a clear look at my face while you were performing first aid—the lighting in the room was quite dim. But you must remember calmly reviving me and calling an ambulance, right?"
Alice’s face was devoid of expression. "I don’t remember."
Vincent Hawthorne froze. "How could you not..."
He had gone to great lengths to ensure he hadn’t identified the wrong person. He had verified the details again and again, including the time Alice arrived that night, the time she left, and the time she departed from Washington. He had it all down.
It had been less than a month.
’How could Alice possibly not remember?’
"Miss York, please think carefully," he urged. "That night, you were passing outside the private room when a sudden scream caught your attention, and then..."
Vincent Hawthorne was cut off mid-sentence by Alice’s cold voice. "Is it so important to you whether I remember or not?"
"Of course, it’s important."
Vincent Hawthorne’s tone was sincere and firm. "You’re the person who saved my life. I came to Silvanus specifically to repay you for that life-saving debt, and I did so with the utmost sincerity."
"’The utmost sincerity... a life-saving debt,’" Alice drawled. "Mr. Hawthorne, you’re being far too generous..."
A sarcastic smile touched Alice’s lips, and her gaze fell on the pair of siblings in the distance. "Your nephew provoked my cat, then slammed it to death. Your niece, unable to distinguish right from wrong, tried to force me to kneel and apologize. The two of them, working in concert, are so arrogant it’s infuriating. If this is your way of repaying a life-saving debt, I’m afraid it’s more than I can bear."
At Alice’s words, Jean Hawthorne’s panic was visible for all to see.
Finn Hawthorne, however, maintained a faint smile, as if whatever was happening was of no concern to him.
"Th-this... how could this be?" Vincent Hawthorne was stunned. He looked at Jean. "Is what Miss York is saying true?"
Jean hurriedly shook her head. "Dad, it’s all a misunderstanding."
Vincent Hawthorne exploded with anger. "If it’s a misunderstanding, then get over here and explain it to Miss York immediately! And Finn, you get over here and make it clear, too!"
Alice watched this scene unfold. She said nothing, only letting out a soft chuckle.
’Family is family. They’re just putting on a show.’
Alice crouched down to pick up the kitten.
Wyatt Sterling lowered his gaze, watching as she gently scooped up the kitten and cradled it. The blood from its nose wasn’t yet dry and smeared onto her hand, but she didn’t seem to care.
"Have a maid come and take care of it," Wyatt Sterling ordered.
The butler nodded and was about to turn to summon a maid.
But Alice spoke up. "No, it’s fine. I’ll take care of it myself. Nathan can’t see."
She didn’t want Nathan to see, afraid it would upset him. Nathan wasn’t like other children. He couldn’t handle such a shock—it would cause problems.
Alice turned to leave, holding the kitten.
When Vincent Hawthorne saw Alice leaving, he quickly called out to her, "Miss York, wait!"
Alice paused.
Vincent Hawthorne walked over quickly. Seeing the dead kitten in Alice’s arms, his face filled with pain. "Is this the kitten that Finn... killed?"
Alice met his gaze, her eyes filled with cold indifference.
Vincent Hawthorne sighed, then turned to Jean and Finn. "What are you two standing there for? Get over here and apologize to Miss York. Now."
Jean remained motionless.
Finn shot a sideways glance at Jean’s face. With a smirk, he nudged her with his elbow. "Aren’t you going to go, Sis?"
Jean stood with her back ramrod straight. "All we need to do is explain. It’s not like it’s a big deal."
With that, Jean walked toward them, Finn following with a smile.
"You cause trouble the second you arrive. I knew I shouldn’t have brought you two." Vincent Hawthorne’s face was stern and serious. "Hurry up and apologize to Miss York."
Finn held up his hand. "Second Uncle, my hand hurts."
Vincent Hawthorne shot back, "Does a hurt hand stop you from talking?"
Finn chuckled. "The pain from the fingers goes straight to the heart. When it hurts, I tend to ramble. I can’t guarantee I won’t say something else unpleasant to my dear uncle’s lifesaver. That would just make things worse."
Vincent Hawthorne’s face fell. He was clearly at his wit’s end with Finn. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Jean, you do it," Vincent said. He knew Finn’s temperament, so he had to rely on Jean to apologize to Alice and resolve this matter as quickly as possible.
Jean was usually arrogant, but she wouldn’t create too much of an embarrassing scene when it came to her father. So she complied. "Miss York, I’m sorry. I misunderstood the situation."
’She assumed the apology would be the end of the matter.’
But Alice’s response was, "I don’t accept your apology."
Jean’s face changed. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Didn’t I just say? I don’t accept your apology. Unless..." Alice trailed off, the corners of her lips curling into a smile.
It was a chilling smile.
Vincent Hawthorne immediately said, "Miss York, please, name your price. Anything, as long as it can make amends."
Jean, however, felt a growing sense of foreboding.
And just as she feared, Alice’s next sentence was, "You will kneel and apologize to my kitten."
At these words, everyone’s expression changed. Even Old Master Sterling roused himself to look over. ’He had thought clearing up the misunderstanding would be the end of it. Why is this girl so unforgiving now that she’s in the right?’
"Miss York... how can a person kneel to a cat?" Even Vincent Hawthorne clearly found the demand humiliating.
Jean’s face went cold. "Are you insane? When will this end?"
Alice’s voice was calm. "Didn’t Mr. Hawthorne say anything was possible, as long as it made amends? It’s just kneeling to apologize to my cat. Is that so difficult?"
Finn sneered. "You’ve got a lot of nerve, demanding that for a dead cat."
Hearing Finn utter the words "dead cat" so nonchalantly, a crack finally appeared in Alice’s stoic expression. "This kitten could have lived."
"Miss York..." Vincent Hawthorne began, attempting to reconcile again.
Alice cut him off. "Mr. Hawthorne, there’s no need to say anything else. Apologize to my cat, and I’ll accept it. Anything else is off the table."
Jean hadn’t expected this outsider to the Sterling family to be so difficult and arrogant. She immediately cast a pleading look at Wyatt Sterling. "Third Master Sterling, won’t you say something? She’s being completely unreasonable."
Wyatt Sterling had been standing quietly beside Alice all along, showing no intention of intervening whatsoever.
But now that Jean had spoken, all eyes in the room turned to Wyatt Sterling.
