After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 162: Knowing Wyatt Sterling Is Gone, It’s a Good Time to Make a Move on Her
It was the dead of night.
As Alice York slept fitfully, she heard a dog barking outside.
Startled awake, she reached out and felt the man sleeping beside her. Not wanting to disturb his sleep, she quietly got up, intending to go take a look outside.
But just as she lifted the covers, Wyatt Sterling’s hand reached out and pressed her down. "Go back to sleep."
"Third Uncle, there might be someone outside, or else the dog wouldn’t keep barking," Alice York said, yawning. "I’ll go take a quick look."
"I’ll go. You sleep."
With that, he got up, threw back the covers, and got out of bed.
When the door opened, the barking sounded much clearer than it had in her sleep. Alice York grew a little worried, but Wyatt Sterling was already gone, so she could only wait.
She didn’t know how long she waited. Drowsiness washed over her until she could barely keep her eyes open. Suddenly, she realized the barking seemed to have stopped. She gave her head a sharp shake to clear it a little. Seeing that Wyatt Sterling still hadn’t returned, she immediately got out of bed.
She had just shuffled to the doorway in her slippers when the door was pushed open from the outside, revealing a tall figure standing before her.
She had gotten up in such a hurry that she’d forgotten to turn on the light, so she could only see him by the moonlight.
"Was someone out there?" she asked, gently tugging on his sleeve.
Unfortunately, the moonlight was too faint for her to make out his expression.
The man led her to the side of the bed. "No one was here."
"Then why was the dog barking nonstop?"
"A stray dog was passing by," he said succinctly, pulling her to the bed. "It’s run off now, so it won’t be noisy anymore. Go back to sleep."
"Oh."
Although it sounded a bit far-fetched, it was the middle of the night, so she didn’t overthink it.
After Wyatt Sterling lay down as well, she quickly snuggled into his arms, clinging to him dependently. The man patted her back gently, as if coaxing a child to sleep, and soon, Alice York drifted off again.
She slept soundly until dawn.
The next day, when Alice York woke up, the pillow beside her was already cold.
She changed her clothes and went downstairs. Grandma, who was busy feeding the poultry, saw her and asked with a cheerful smile, "Little Girl, did you sleep well? Is the mattress alright? I swapped it out for you, but I was worried it might be too soft and you’d find it uncomfortable."
"I always sleep well whenever I come back, and the mattress is perfect," Alice York said, stepping forward to help.
Grandma’s hands were covered in feed, so she used her elbow to nudge her away. "Go look in the pot. I boiled some corn for you."
"Okay."
Alice York went to the kitchen and got two ears of corn. She started nibbling on one and saved the other for Wyatt Sterling. However, after searching all over, she couldn’t find any sign of him. Even Mason Cheney was gone.
If the car wasn’t still parked outside the yard, she would have thought they had already left.
"Grandma, have you seen Wy... Wyatt?" Alice York asked while chewing on her corn, nearly saying Wyatt Sterling’s full name.
Grandma shook her head. "Nope. Haven’t seen anyone all morning. I just figured they were all sleeping in."
Alice York stopped chewing, her cheeks puffed out. "What about Finn Hawthorne?"
Grandma shook her head again, saying she hadn’t seen him.
Now Alice York started to panic. ’It’s impossible for everyone to be gone so early in the morning. But the car...’
Recalling the dog barking in the middle of the night, all sorts of doubts surfaced in her mind. Clutching the corn, Alice York ran out of the yard.
She tried the car door and found it unlocked. When she pulled it open, she saw her phone sitting on the passenger seat.
Why was her phone here?
She unlocked the screen and saw a text message from Wyatt Sterling: [I’m heading back to Silvanus early. You can return on schedule.]
After reading the message, the tension in Alice York’s nerves suddenly eased.
’Thank goodness. He just went back early.’
’He must have been in a hurry to leave overnight.’
Alice York happily turned around, phone in hand, only to be so startled by Finn Hawthorne, who had suddenly appeared in front of her, that she dropped it.
"Are you crazy?!"
She bent down to pick up her phone.
But Finn Hawthorne was a step quicker. He picked it up for her and said as he handed it back, "Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you heard me coming."
Of course, Alice York hadn’t heard any footsteps.
She had been lost in thought.
Taking the phone back from him, she looked him up and down. "Why didn’t you leave?"
’Logically, Wyatt Sterling wouldn’t have left him here. It’s too dangerous.’
But Finn Hawthorne just asked, "Leave for what?"
Alice York: "You don’t know?"
Finn Hawthorne looked completely clueless. "Don’t know what?"
Alice York fell silent.
’It seems Finn Hawthorne doesn’t know Wyatt Sterling left last night. But why was Wyatt so at ease about it? Even I’m not sure if Finn would try something, yet Wyatt was this confident. Unless...’
She tossed the other ear of corn to Finn Hawthorne and ran back toward the house.
"Hey, Alice York, where are you going?" Finn Hawthorne caught the corn. It was already getting cold.
Alice York ran to the door of the room Mason Cheney was staying in. She knocked, but there was no answer. She knocked again. Still nothing. Finally, she just pushed the door open and went inside.
The bedding on the bed was folded neatly, and even the slippers he had worn were placed tidily in their spot.
’No way, Mason Cheney left too?!’
’Third Uncle left in the middle of the night and took Mason Cheney with him, so what am I supposed to do? Finn Hawthorne is still here! He was worked to the bone all day yesterday. If he finds out now that Wyatt and the others are gone, I’ll be—in deep trouble!’
"Alice York, what are you doing?" Finn Hawthorne had followed her.
Alice York silently closed the door, pretending she had never opened it. "I was just checking to see if he’s up yet."
Finn Hawthorne: "So, is he?"
Alice York gave a dry laugh. "He’s still asleep. Yesterday was too rough on him, so I’m letting him sleep in a bit longer."
Finn Hawthorne was skeptical. "That doesn’t sound right. How could an assistant who even standardizes his smiles possibly sleep in?"
"..."
She didn’t reply, simply grabbing Finn Hawthorne and pulling him outside. He looked down at her hand on his wrist, an indescribable joy bubbling up inside him.
Once they were outside, Alice York let go of his hand and started ordering him around. "You. Right now, this instant. Go sweep the yard."
Finn Hawthorne didn’t move.
Alice York glanced at him and saw the boy staring at his wrist.
She called out to him again, and only then did Finn Hawthorne snap out of it. He looked up at her. "Huh?"
"’Huh?’ what? Go sweep the yard." ’I have to stay calm right now,’ Alice York thought. ’I have to act like Wyatt Sterling is still here. I can’t be nice to him. If he senses anything, it’s all over.’
Finn Hawthorne had no idea what was on Alice York’s mind, but he didn’t argue with her command. He chose to obey. "I’m on it."
He turned and walked away.
But after a few steps, he came back.
He held up the corn and waved it in front of her, his eyes sparkling as he asked, "Was this for me?"
Alice York: "It’s for the dog."
"..."
Unexpectedly, Finn Hawthorne actually worked diligently all morning.
He didn’t slack off or curse under his breath. Though he had never swept a floor in his life, he was earnest about sweeping the yard. When he thought it wasn’t clean enough after one pass, he swept it a second time, and he did it willingly.
Alice York felt her own guilt growing as she watched him.
She knew he must be trying hard to behave, afraid that Wyatt Sterling would make him suffer.
Thinking about how Wyatt Sterling had already left with Mason Cheney, she guiltily wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Alice York, are you hot?"
Having finished sweeping the yard, Finn Hawthorne walked over and saw Alice York wiping away sweat.
Alice York said guiltily, "I’m not hot."
Finn Hawthorne stared at her. "Your forehead is sweating. Go inside. Just tell me if there’s any other work to be done."
Alice York put a hand to her forehead, blocking her view of him. "...There’s nothing else to do. You should take a break too."
With that, she headed inside.
Finn Hawthorne kept pace with her, asking as they walked, "Alice York, I don’t think I’ve seen Wyatt Sterling at all. He didn’t leave, did he?"
