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Maria’s heart ached as she heard her daughter’s words. “What’s wrong? Did Adam bully you again?”
Tiffany, voice trembling, sniffled as she spoke. “Today, Adam ordered lunch from Noble Leaf Bistro for Alicia,
but not for me.
“All the ssmates are saying Alicia is the real Lawrence family’s eldest daughter, and I’m just some poor kid that got dragged home.
“If Adam really wants Alicia back, I can leave–I just don’t get why he has to treat me like this. It hurts my much.”
“Seriously?” Maria burst out, furious. “How could Adam do something like that? I’ll talk to him and see what’s really going on in his head.”
Just as she was about to make the call, Hugh came down the stairs. Maria immediately told him what happened. Hugh frowned. “Adam ordered lunch from Noble Leaf Bistro for her?
“That can’t be right. I’ve frozen all his cards, he quit his job, and he’s basically broke now. I’ve got someone watching him too; he hasn’t even been to Noble Leaf Bistro.”
Maria looked surprised. “Then who could it be?”
Hugh’s frown grew even deeper, shes of Alicia’s almost unreal beauty crossing his mind.
His face turned cold. “Anyone who can afford to order from Noble Leaf Bistro is clearly someone with money. Don’t tell me that she is-”
He left his sentence hanging, but Maria instantly caught his meaning.
She snapped, “Just as I thought. She walks out of the Lawrence family, and the first thing she does is throw herself at some rich guy to be kept.”
Hugh frowned. “We don’t even know who this guy is. If he’s someone our family can’t mess with, it’ll be real trouble. Bringing her back will be a hell of a lot tougher.”
Maria gritted her teeth. “Then we’ll dig up who he is. If he’s out of our league, we’ll drag her name through the mud and make sure he wants nothing to do with her.”
“Alright,” Hugh nodded. “I’ll look into it first.”
*****
Meanwhile, after lunch, Alicia and Sienna chilled in the ssroom for a while.
After powering through two more sses, Alicia packed up around four, nning to swing by the hospital to
visit Hank’s mom and little sister.
But the moment she left campus, Alicia instantly sensed someone tailing her.
IX 57 YOUCATE
Alicia knew right away that it had to be Hugh’s guys. They weren’t out to harm her; they just wanted to figure out where she was staying.
Once they knew where she was staying, Hugh would start putting the squeeze on herndlord.
If Alicia were actually renting from some stranger, she’d be worried about getting them into trouble. But since it was Charles’s ce, Hugh couldn’t do a thing to him.
He wouldn’t dare.
Alicia figured it was better to let Hugh know outright that way Sienna wouldn’t get dragged into this whole
mess.
Looks like hitting up the hospital would have to wait, she wondered. Alicia decided to head back to Linen Bay Residences and regroup first.
Alicia skipped any detours, jumped onto the subway, got out at a station close to theplex, then hoofed it the rest of the way.
After getting off the subway, Alicia saw that her stalker wasn’t right behind her.
Instead of rushing, she casually crouched down to tie her shoces, deliberately giving them time to catch up before she finally made her way to the front gate of theplex.
Alicia went straight through the gate with a quick face scan, but her shadow was stopped in his tracks. That caught her off guard; she hadn’t expected the security to be this tight. <fn809f> Checktest chapters at </fn809f>
‘So, they can only figure out which building I’m in, but there’s no way they’ll know my actual apartment Alicia thought, a bit amused by the turn of events.
Still, part of Alicia wished Hugh would try to mess with Charles, if only to see how that showdown yed out.
But whatever. As long as they saw that Alicia wasn’t living with Sienna, that was good enough for Alicia
When Alicia got back to the apartment, Alicia nced around. The ce was spotless, but felt lifeless–like she’d just stepped into a fancy hotel room.
Alicia really didn’t like that atmosphere. Sure, it was beautiful, spacious, andfortable, but it just didn’t feel like home at all.
After thinking for a moment, Alicia decided to send Charles a quick WhatsApp message: [Mr. Yates, would it be right if I cooked here? I promise I’ll clean up afterward.]
Charles had just dealt with a pile of paperwork and was taking a breather by the window, trying to clear his head, when his phone buzzed.
He nced down, saw Alicia’s name on the screen–and in an instant, every bit of fatigue he’d felt just disappeared.
His girl had texted him again, the third time she’d reached out first.
A & CD
<b>He </b>shot back a reply: [You can cook?]
Alicia: [I can cook a little, I guess<b>.</b><b>] </b>
Charles: [Feel free to treat it like your own ce.]
Alicia: [Thanks.]
After that, Alicia nced out at the empty rooftop garden and sent Charles another message: [Would it be alright if I put a few potted nts out here?
[I’ll take them with me when I move out, and I promise everything will look just as it was.]
Charles: [Sure.]
Alicia made up her mind to swing by the flower market tomorrow, pick out some nts, and bring a bit of life, and maybe even a sense of home, into that lonely terrace.
But first, Alicia needed to go to the hospital; this couldn’t wait.
As Alicia stepped out of theplex, Alicia looked around. Whoever had been tailing her earlier was nowhere to be seen, so she headed for the subway station.
Once Alicia arrived at the hospital, she checked in with the front desk and had no trouble finding the room where Hank’s mom and his little sister, Sasha Grant, were staying.
Both were dressed in hospital gowns, lying there pale as sheets. Sasha looked especially bad, her eyes unfocused, her whole body weak, and she kept whispering how thirsty she was, asking for water over and over.
Fiona Grant, Hank’s mom, heard Sasha calling and tried to scramble out of bed to pour her some water. Her hands were shaking so much that the cup slipped, crashed to the floor, and hot water sttered all over her feet.
Barely wincing at the pain, she went straight to picking up the scattered shards.
Alicia pushed open the hospital room door, reached out to steady Fiona, and said softly, “Mrs. Grant, let me take care of it.”
Fiona’s lifeless eyes flickered as she looked at Alicia. “W–Who are you?”
“I’m Alicia Lawrence, Hank’s ssmate,” Alicia said. “He’s working a part–time job now, so he asked me to help take care of you for a while.”
“Oh dear, you really don’t have to trouble yourself,” Fiona replied hoarsely. “Hank is just too thoughtless, making you do all this. I’m already grateful you came to see us; there’s no need to look after us, really.”
<b>“</b><b>It’s </b>okay. Just lie down,” Alicia reassured her, gently helping Fiona settle back into bed.
Alicia went to the nurses‘ station to get a disposable cup, filled it with water, and helped <b>Sasha </b>drink a <b>few </b><b>sips</b>.
ncing at the clock, Alicia realized it was gettingte. “Mrs. Grant, you and Sasha haven’t had dinner yet,
19:12 Wed, <b>Oct </b><b>1 </b>
right? I’ll go to the cafeteria and bring something for you. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Fiona waved her hand. “No, that’s okay, really.”
?46)
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“It’s no trouble. Just get some rest. I’ll just pick up a little something,” Alicia said, making sure Fiona and Sasha were tucked in before stepping out of the room.
Even though Alicia was mostly doing this, hoping to get Hank on her side, seeing Fiona and Sasha in such rough shape made her heart ache.
Alicia picked up two cups with straws first, then went to the cafeteria for two servings of pasta. She gave one to Fiona and set the other aside for Sasha, who was still fast asleep.
Alicia pulled out the little tray on Fiona’s hospital bed and propped her up so she could sit morefortably.
Fiona quietly took a sip, trying not to let her emotions show. But as she swallowed, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. “Hank’s already carrying so much on his shoulders because I’m sick.
“And now that Sasha’s ill, too. I honestly have no idea how that boy’s supposed to cope.”
Alicia tried to reassure her. “It’s just a rough patch, Mrs. Grant. Get through it, and things will look up again.”
Fiona dabbed at her tears and let out a shaky sigh. “I’m getting on in years, and I really don’t want to hold Hank back. Sometimes I think maybe it’d be easier if I just left this world.
“But then with Sasha sick, too, now I just can’t do it. If anything happened to me, I’m terrified they’d be all alone. I just want to see Sasha get better, and that’s all.”
AD