After His Sweetheart Moved In, He Came Home Every Night-Chapter 167: She Takes the Initiative to Seek a Solution from Wyatt Sterling
However, Alice didn’t directly ask her grandfather why he was showing her these photos. Instead, she simply set them aside, her body language making her lack of interest clear.
The smile on Simon Sterling’s face faded. "Do you see anyone you like?"
Alice feigned ignorance. "What do you mean by ’like,’ Grandfather?"
Simon Sterling said, "Pick one of these four men."
Alice feigned surprise. "Grandfather, are you trying to arrange a marriage for me?"
Simon Sterling didn’t answer. There were some things he couldn’t bring himself to say, so he looked up at the butler.
The butler took the cue and said to Alice, "Miss Alice, the Hawthorne Family’s status and standing are naturally beyond that of any ordinary prominent family. Something as important as a marriage alliance isn’t something that would fall to you just yet."
The words caught Alice off guard. "My mistake. I didn’t know my place."
’Just a moment ago, I thought Grandfather was going to push me into a marriage alliance with the Hawthorne Family, but the second I ask, I’m told I’m not even qualified. It makes sense, I suppose. A grandfather could never say something like that. It’s a job for the butler.’
"So what is Grandfather’s plan?" Alice asked the butler.
The butler replied, "These four are the most exceptional young men of the Hawthorne family. Felix Hawthorne has a fiancée, and Jade Hawthorne has a girlfriend. The other two don’t have officially announced girlfriends at the moment. But none of that is an issue. You may choose any one of them."
Alice’s voice was soft. "Choose one to get close to? Even if I have to be the other woman?"
The butler smiled. "If Miss Alice lacks the confidence, or can’t overcome that particular moral objection, you can also choose between Finn Hawthorne and Francis Hawthorne. As long as the final outcome is the same, it doesn’t matter."
A lump formed in Alice’s throat. She could barely remain in her seat.
’I’m not good enough for a marriage alliance, not worthy of the Hawthornes. So Grandfather wants me to use my body to latch onto one of them.’
’First, it was Kyle and Scott Churchill, and now it’s the Hawthornes. He’s even making me choose from men who already have fiancées and girlfriends. What does that make me... but a courtesan?’
"I don’t want to choose." This time, Alice refused to compromise. "I don’t like any of them."
The butler looked toward her grandfather.
The atmosphere was silent for a moment before Simon Sterling nodded, his tone surprisingly reasonable. "Since you don’t like any of them, Grandfather can’t force you. We’ll just pretend this conversation never happened. Let’s continue with dinner."
Alice felt a sense of dread.
’There’s no way he would give in so easily. This dinner wasn’t just a casual meal, and those words weren’t spoken lightly. Everything was clearly pre-arranged.’
"Eat up. Don’t overthink it," her grandfather said, his face a mask of empathy. "I know the last trip to Washington left you with a deep psychological scar. I thought I should tell you in advance this time. Since you’re not willing, we’ll just forget the whole thing."
Alice remained skeptical.
She slowly picked up her chopsticks. Just as she was about to take a piece of food, her grandfather spoke again. "It’s such a hassle to go back to Rhovan. It’s a long and difficult journey. How about this? We could bring your grandparents here to stay for a while. What do you think?"
CLACK.
The piece of food Alice had just picked up fell from her chopsticks.
Her hand, holding the chopsticks, began to tremble uncontrollably. Finally, the chopsticks slipped from her grasp and clattered onto her plate.
"Get her a fresh bowl and chopsticks," Simon Sterling said calmly.
Alice couldn’t finish the meal. After they replaced her bowl and chopsticks, she couldn’t swallow a single bite. Every attempt felt like a knife’s point stabbing her throat, leaving a searing pain.
Seeing that she truly couldn’t eat, her grandfather didn’t force her. He simply reminded her, "We leave at ten tomorrow morning."
Alice didn’t answer, leaving the dining room like a wooden puppet.
Back in her room, the emotions she had been holding back finally overwhelmed her. Her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor.
"What’s wrong?" Mindy Vaughn rushed over to help Alice to her feet.
Alice grabbed Mindy’s hand and looked up, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with tears. "Do I have any other choice?"
Mindy didn’t understand. "Choose what?"
The butler had come to her earlier that evening, telling her to call Alice and have her return home, saying her grandfather wanted to see her. Mindy had assumed it was about what happened in Rhovan. But seeing Alice so distraught now, it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the Rhovan incident.
"Alice, what happened? Tell me. I’ll help you figure something out." Unable to lift her on her own, Mindy called for a maid to help.
Just then, Nathan Sterling walked over, cradling a small kitten. "What’s wrong with her now?"
"I don’t know. Let’s just get your sister up first. Step aside, don’t get in the way."
Nathan took a few steps back, but his eyes never left Alice.
After they had all gone inside, Nathan looked down at the kitten in his arms. It was very docile, but it wasn’t his original one. They had told him the first kitten ran away, and that this one was a replacement from his mother to make up for it.
’But he knew the truth. The first kitten hadn’t run away; someone had slammed it to death. Someone had told him, hoping to see him have a meltdown. But he hadn’t. He had even accepted the new kitten his mother gave him as a replacement.’
"She probably did her best to protect it," Nathan muttered to himself.
Inside, Alice sat on a small sofa in a daze. She ignored everything Mindy said, no matter how many questions she asked. Finally, Mindy’s patience wore thin. "Just get some sleep. You have to go to Arden tomorrow."
With that, Mindy left.
The door closed, only to creak open again a minute later. Nathan slipped in. He walked over to Alice, squatted down in front of her, and looked up, stroking the kitten in his arms.
Alice was only ignoring Mindy; she wasn’t completely out of it. She’d noticed Nathan the moment he came in. Seeing him crouched before her with the kitten, she asked, "What are you doing here?"
Nathan said, "I came to see if you were crying."
Alice shook her head. "Why would I cry?"
Stroking the cat in his arms, Nathan replied, "Why wouldn’t you cry? You’re not a Transformer."
...
The comment caught Alice off guard. She found she had no rebuttal.
’He’s right. I’m human, made of flesh and blood. Of course I cry when things get this bad. I’m not some machine, devoid of sorrow and joy.’
Her gaze fell to the kitten. "Do you like this one?"
"It’s okay. Not as good as the first one. I found that one myself," Nathan said.
"But it ran away," Alice said, her voice full of sympathy.
Nathan pouted. "You don’t have to lie to me. I know someone slammed it to death."
Alice froze.
"I also know they ganged up on you because you tried to protect it." Nathan’s young face was taut. "In this house, just worry about protecting yourself. I’ll protect my own kitten. Don’t do anything stupid like that again."
Alice’s brow furrowed.
Nathan didn’t say anything else. He got up and headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave, Alice’s voice stopped him. "I’m going to Arden tomorrow. You stay home and take good care of your kitten."
"I know."
After Nathan left, he remembered to pull the door shut behind him.
’That kid seems so cold and unfeeling,’ Alice thought, ’but he really does care about me.’
The thought brought a small smile to her face.
But then she remembered her grandfather’s words at the dinner table, and her mood immediately plummeted.
’No, I have to tell Wyatt about this. He’ll definitely know how to help me.’
Alice immediately reached for her phone. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
This time, however, no matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t get through to Wyatt’s number.
