Chapter 549
Katherine had just given birth, and she and the baby were sent to the observation room. They would
not be moved back to the general ward until two hourster.
Family members weren''t allowed to apany them, so Joshua sat right outside the observation room
while waiting.
Sophia yawned. Alexander, sitting next to her, turned to look at her and raised his hand to brush aside
the loose strands of hair beside her ear. “Are you tired?”
“Just a little.”
The time was already eleven o''clock at night. Sophia and Alexander had been in the hospital for nearly
ten hours. Usually, Sophia would be asleep by that hour, let alone that day, after having apanied
Katherine and been on tenterhooks all day.
She let out another yawn after replying to him.
At that moment, the phone in her bag rang.
Sophia nced at Alexander. He let go of her hand to let her answer the call.
After taking out her phone, she noticed it was a call from Joshua.
“It''s me, Sophia.”
“It''s gettingte. You and Mr. Xenos should go back first. Katherine is too tired. Even if shees out
of the observation roomter, she probably won''t wake up tonight.” Joshua regained hisposure
after calming down.
Recalling the scene when Joshua repeatedly questioned the nurse if Katherine was truly just asleep,
Sophia couldn''t help but smile. “All right. I got it. I''lle over tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up the phone, Sophia grinned at Alexander. “Let''s go back, Mr. Xenos.”
She was distracted as she spoke and didn''t notice the few steps beneath her feet. As a result, she
landed on the lower ground and staggered. Fortunately, Alexander swiftly reached out to wrap his arm
around her waist, pulling him into his embrace and steadying her. “Did you sprain your ankle?”
She gazed down at the steps, feeling a little embarrassed, and shook her head. “No.”
If he hadn''t caught her, she would''ve sprained her ankle.
Eyes riveted on her, he picked her up directly.
Sophia, arms ced around his neck, felt self-conscious. “We''re outside, Mr. Xenos.”
“Our rtionship is backed by thew.” Hearing that, she chuckled and rested her cheek against his
chest without protesting.
Since it''s legal, what''s there to be afraid of?
However, at that time, there weren''t many people in the hospital either. Alexander carried her out of the
hospital building. On the way to the parking lot, Alexander and Sophia were the only two people
walking under the streemp-lit path.
The parking lot was also quiet. Alexander ced her inside the car. A car drove into the entrance,
causing Sophia to be dazzled when the high beam shone over.
Alexander shifted his body to block the light for her.
Sophia looked up at him. The man had his back to the illumination. The ray of light from afar shone on
his back, prompting Sophia to think back on the year when she was fifteen. He had rescued her from
those people in a simr manner. After so many years had passed, she thought he seemed to have
changed, yet he hadn''t.
Sophia was unusually emotional perhaps because of the newborn baby who entered their lives that
day. She pursed her lips and leaned forward to kiss Alexander''s thin lips.
His dark eyes gleamed as he stared at her. The next second, he lifted her chin and kissed her red lips.
The car with a high beam drove past their vehicle. Sophia''s heart palpitated. Being held by him, she
suddenly found the car''s interior cramped and hot.
He finally let go of her after five to six seconds. “Do you want to have supper?”
Sophia averted her gaze and responded softly, “Sure.”
She had never had supper with Alexander before.
He caressed her cheeks, leaned down to fasten her seatbelt, and then circled around the car to the
driver''s seat.
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The car slowly drove out of the hospital. Not long after, Sophia saw a bustling street full of supper
stores.
She turned to look at Alexander, who was driving. “Is it all right if we park the car nearby?”
“Okay.”
He had also noticed the long street with many supper stores.
In contrast to the serene atmosphere at the hospital from which they had juste, that lively street
was a vibrant nightlife spot.
There was no ce to park nearby, so Alexander drove to a za up ahead and parked the car in an
outdoor parking lot there.
After parking the car, Sophia and Alexander got out and walked toward the street.
In fact, the stores they had just seen were not very far away. They would reach the stores after walking
past the zebra crossing, moving two hundred meters to the right, and passing another street.
Eleven o''clock at night was the peak hour for nightlifers to have their supper.
The seats inside and outside every store were taken. Sophia looked at Alexander and suggested, “How
about having soup?”
Eating something easy to digest would be better for the stomach at such ate hour.
“Sure.”
Listening to his response, Sophia couldn''t help butugh. “Have you never eaten at these kinds of
ces?”
“I have.”
Alexander came from a well-off family, and his living standards were far more luxurious than ordinary
people''s. Thus, those roadside eateries didn''t seem like ces someone like him would go to eat.
However, he actually had eaten there. Odd enough, the first time he had gone to such a ce to have
his supper, he was alone.
Alexander wasn''t a person who was fond of reminiscing, but as he gazed at Sophia at that moment, he
so rarely talked to her about his past. “During my sophomore year, I argued with my grandpa before I
went abroad. That night, around ten o''clock, I drove out of the Xenos residence. The car ran out of fuel
midway, so I got out of the car and walked for over half an hour. I ended up in the southern market and
saw many food stalls there. Inexplicably, I was drawn in.”
He had always lived in a strange environment growing up. On the surface, his life seemed perfect,
nevercking material possessions. He was born with a wealth many people might not achieve even
after a lifetime of hard work.
However, Kristen only used him and had never loved him, while Zachary had many women outside
ever since Alexander could remember. Beau channeled a lot of effort into raising him but, at the same
time, had great expectations of him.
Alexander''s life was more disciplined than others since childhood. His circumstances were
considerably fine before Eloise''s passing. Perhaps because she didn''t have her own children, she
treated him like he was her biological son. Unfortunately, kind people never lived long. Eloise died of
illness when Alexander was in elementary school. Subsequently, Zachary brought Kristen, Thalia, and
Leonard into the Xenos family.
Beau had never acknowledged Kristen, Thalia, and the others. He was determined to let Alexander
take over Odyssey. As a result, Alexander''s life had turned into a mission for Beau to groom him into
inheriting the family business since Kristen joined the family.
Besides, Beau had strict control over everything about Alexander in order to ensure his only heir''s
safety. That night, as if experiencing a bted adolescent rebellious phase, he sat down at a roadside
stall and ate some barbecue.
Alexander was born with rather sensitive taste buds. The inferior quality of those cheap and stale
cooking ingredients couldn''t be concealed with even arge amount of seasonings.
In fact, he found those barbecues weren''t as delicious as mentioned by others, but he consumed six
chicken wings by himself. After that, he was hospitalized for three days because of an episode of acute
gastroenteritis.
When Samuel asked him what he did that night, Alexander told him he went to have some barbecues.
Samuelughed hysterically and told Alexander they could''ve enjoyed a barbecue feast together
elsewhere instead of eating food from the roadside stalls.
Alexander knew Samuel wouldn''t understand his intention of doing that. Although the barbecue wasn''t
that tasty or hygienic, and he even had to pay the dear price of staying in the hospital for three days,
Alexander never regretted his decision.
If he hadn''t been hospitalized that night, he wouldn''t have sneaked out of the hospitalter, nor would
he have met Sophia, who was abducted by human traffickers, and rescued her.