Having a meal at home was especially relaxing, though Alaric Faulkner hadn’t recovered from his injury and his stomach wasn’t well, so he didn’t eat much.
However, he was in good spirits, accompanying Eleanor Sterling and the two little ones.
After filling up, Alaric even took the initiative to clean up by placing the dishes into the dishwasher.
Touching her belly, Eleanor watched his busy back and sighed quietly. A hint of melancholy quietly spread in her heart.
Then, Alaric also took the initiative to take charge of bathing the two children.
Hearing the playful noises coming from the bathroom, Eleanor’s face turned serious again.
From early on, she had already let Estelle Sterling handle things herself.
Although she’s not young anymore, there’s no denying that having a father makes life different.
After the three had taken their bath, Alaric instructed them to go to their room to sleep and then turned around and came out.
He happened to see Eleanor sitting on the sofa watching him.
Alaric walked over and said, "All set."
Eleanor curved her lips into a smile, "Thank you."
"They are my sons too, saying thanks is too formal." Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel·fire·net
Can’t he chat normally?
Hearing Alaric’s words, Eleanor was speechless. When did her sons become his?
She had already taken Estelle Sterling’s samples and tested them with his, and they weren’t even remotely related by blood!
The rare blood type was just a coincidence.
No, it wasn’t necessarily a coincidence, there was now only one possibility in front of her.
Estelle Sterling was very likely Jasper Faulkner’s child.
Originally, Eleanor had wanted to clear everything up immediately, but now she was hesitating a bit.
Perhaps unwittingly, her feelings for Alaric had changed somewhat. She was afraid that if it turned out to be Jasper, it would be too awkward for both of them.
But avoiding it was not a solution.
Finally, Eleanor decided to go to Aethelgard for the surgery at The Hayes Family, and upon returning, she would immediately take Jasper Faulkner’s sample for testing.
Now that Estelle Sterling had started school, she couldn’t really follow her around.
Eleanor glanced at Alaric and sincerely said, "President Faulkner, may I ask a favor from you?"
Seeing Eleanor’s serious demeanor, Alaric’s eyes darkened, and he nodded, "Go ahead."
"I need to go on a business trip in a couple of days, could I trouble you to look after Estelle Sterling?"
Eleanor thought Estelle would have company with Caleb Faulkner, so she planned to entrust her to Alaric.
Alaric curiously asked, "Who do you usually leave Estelle with?"
Alaric raised his eyebrow, pleased, "Now that you’re entrusting her to me, does it mean I’ve already surpassed him?
Don’t worry, go ahead and focus on your work, I’ll take good care of the house and the kid."
Why did that sound so odd?
Eleanor hastily explained, "I noticed that Estelle and Caleb get along pretty well and thought they’d have company together, so I entrusted her to you. Don’t misunderstand."
Alaric smiled meaningfully, "Hmm."
Despite that, Eleanor felt that he had indeed misunderstood.
She was speechless inside, wondering why she had asked so impulsively, making their relationship seem so awkward.
"No need, I can help," Alaric promised.
Suddenly, Alaric seemed to recall something, and his face instantly turned gloomy.
He asked, "Is Micah going with you?"
Entrusting the child to him and then taking off with the assistant? Inside, Alaric felt a stormy chaos.
Eleanor shook her head, "No, it’s just me."
Not many people knew about her identity; besides Liam Keene who would join as the surgical assistant, no one else was coming along.
Upon hearing this, Alaric breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright then, you go ahead."
It seemed was the first time they had a calm conversation without any undertones.
Eleanor awkwardly cleared her throat, "Good night, I’ll go to sleep now."
After closing the door, Alaric retracted his deep gaze. He could sense the subtle changes between them.
He should soon be able to fulfill his wish.
Eleanor felt something was off with herself, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
In the end, she picked up her phone and messaged Hazel Langley.
Eleanor: "Are you asleep?"
Hazel’s reply came quickly, "No, how was it with Alaric Faulkner? Did you have a good time at dinner?"
Eleanor sat up in one swift motion, bewildered.
"How do you know I had dinner with Alaric Faulkner?"
Hazel sent a sneaky smile emoji, "I saw it on Estelle’s social media."
Eleanor immediately backed out to check Estelle’s social media, but she didn’t find anything now.
She returned to her chat with Hazel, "No, I checked, and there’s nothing there."
Eleanor didn’t think much of it and replied, "Never mind, maybe she felt it wasn’t appropriate and deleted it herself."
Before she could say anything else, Hazel’s call came through.
The two started chatting directly over the phone.
Hazel asked, "Why did you suddenly contact me tonight? Is there something you need to discuss?"
Eleanor cleared her throat, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
After hesitating for a while, she opened up, "I... I feel like things with Hades are a bit weird now."
Hazel chuckled, "How is it weird?"
"It’s just...," Eleanor said, with a conflicted face, "I’m not as resistant to him anymore, and I even have him staying at my place."
Talking about her change, Eleanor also felt somewhat in disbelief; listing it all, she realized there were quite a lot.
Plus, Estelle might very well be Jasper Faulkner’s child, and she hesitated in collecting Jasper’s sample for testing.
"Eleanor, since when have you become so cowardly?"
Hazel tutted from the other end, "What about Faye Sterling’s man?
If you really snatch her man and child away, wouldn’t that drive her crazy?"
"Didn’t someone tell me before not to get involved with Hades?"
"But that same person also said you could start a new relationship."
"Forget it, I don’t want to. Anyway, I’ll be going on a last-minute business trip in a few days, perfect timing to clear my head."
Hazel sighed, "Eleanor, as your good friend, I hope you find happiness. Actually, being in love is quite nice..."
Eleanor squinted suspiciously, "Hey, is there something going on with you? Such sentiments coming from your mouth."
Previously, Hazel seemed indifferent to everything, her heart at peace, seemingly ready to retreat into solitude.
But now, her words carried a hint of sweetness, even saying being in love is nice.
There could only be one possibility, she’s in love!
Eleanor immediately put her issues aside, "Spill it, are you in a relationship?"
Hazel hesitated a bit, "Well... not really, okay, I’ve started a relationship."