Chapter 0388


    He asked the question with uncertainty and patiently waited for her response.


    Candice hesitated as she nced at the hospital bracelet on her wrist. The doctor had told her to


    stay in the hospital for two days and get some rest before being discharged, and Alex had promptly


    arranged for her admission.


    With the mess involving Redshade Corporation and Henry, a ticking time bomb, she didn''t know


    how to exin to Hanley.


    She felt like she hadn''t done anything right.


    Sensing something was wrong, Hanley asked with a softened tone, "Has something happened?"


    Candice sighed. "Hanley, I feel like I’ve let you all down."


    She briefly exined the situations involving Quentin, Sonia, and Henry, keeping her hospital stay a


    secret.


    She felt like she would be finding excuses for herself if she told him that she had been admitted to


    the hospital.


    Hanley hadn''t expected Sonia to be Quentin''s assistant, and he seemed determined not to let


    Candice off easily.


    After a moment of contemtion, he consoled her, "Don''t worry too much. An assistant like Sonia


    can''t interfere too much. As for your father and the situation with Darius, it might not be as


    complicated as you think. But it''s okay. I''ll be on a ne tomorrow morning. I''ll talk to you when I get


    there. Rest well tonight."


    Hanley''s voice was deep and maic; when he spoke slowly, it had a soothing effect.


    Candice hummed in response. She knew there was no use overthinking, but she couldn''t help


    worrying about causing trouble for Hanley.


    It was a habit she had since childhood. She was always afraid of inconveniencing others.


    Hanley spoke softly, "Your anxiety makes me wonder if I''ve been too strict with you. How about I


    ask Nadia to prepare a Sris travel guide for you? Perhaps you can have fun and rx a little."


    Sensing his teasing tone, Candice smiled and replied, "Sure. When you get here, we can explore


    those ces together. That way, during the team-building event, we can—"


    She was interrupted as the door suddenly swung open.


    Alex entered expressionlessly, holding two bottles of water. After cing them on the table, he


    coldly asked Candice, "Do you want to take a bath or just freshen up?"


    Widening her eyes, Candice quickly ended the call with Hanley and asked Alex, "Can''t you knock


    before entering?"


    Alex nced at her phone. "Did I disturb something?" he asked with a mocking tone.


    Ignoring his cryptic question, Candice replied while holding her phone, "Dinner is over; you can


    leave."


    Alex, with an emotionless face, stated, "The doctor said you should have someone to apany


    you to avoid any idents."


    Candice frowned. "I can ring the bell to call the nurse myself."


    Enraged, Alex sneered, "Do you so desperately want to paint me in a bad light, Candice?"


    Candice met his gaze directly. "I will exin to them."


    "I highly doubt that." Alex took off his coat and threw it onto the couch while saying coldly, "You can


    rx. I’ll leave in the morning."


    He left no room for discussion.


    Candice knew that nothing she said would change anything. Besides, the doctor had just warned


    her not to get agitated.


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    Hence, she decided to send a message to Hanley, apologizing for abruptly ending the call.


    Hanley''s reply came almost instantly. “Are you busy?”


    Looking at the words on the screen, Candice guessed that Hanley must have heard Alex''s voice


    earlier. She rubbed her forehead and decided to tell Hanley everything that had happened today,


    including her current hospital stay and Alex being forced to stay due to the doctor''s


    rmendation.


    Seeing the typing indicator showing that Hanley wasposing a reply, Candice felt a headache


    coming on.


    She lifted the nket to get up for a wash, but she heard Alex''s voice before her feet touched the


    ground. "Are you taking a bath or just freshening up?"


    Candice remained expressionless. "Does it concern you?"


    Equally cold, Alex responded, "The doctor said you shouldn''t get out of bed or shower today. It''s


    better to have someone help you freshen up."


    Candice halted her movement. If she couldn’t leave the bed and could only ask someone for help,


    who else could she ask?


    The answer was obvious.


    After a brief contemtion, Candice decisively grabbed her phone and opened a delivery app. She


    ordered some simple toiletries, then she promptly stopped talking to Alex.


    Right then, a message from Hanley came in.


    It was a simple one.


    "Take care of yourself."


    The private hospital had one advantage over the public ones—it didn''t have that strong smell of


    disinfectant.


    Since her pregnancy, Candice had been sensitive to smells, so she felt rtivelyfortable


    tonight.


    After freshening up, shey down to sleep without bothering about what Alex was doing.


    He could stay if he wanted to. She couldn’t stop him anyway.


    In the middle of the night, it seemed to rain again outside, and the cold wind blew in.


    As Candice was struggling to get up and close the window, she felt the cold breeze disappear. Her


    frowning forehead slowly rxed, and she fell back asleep.


    The lights in the entire ward were off, with only a faint glow in the farthest corner.


    Alex sat behind theputer, his gaze fixed on the screen, reviewing the files that hadn''t been


    dealt with during the day.


    When Candice woke up the next morning, Alex was no longer in the ward. He had indeed kept his


    word and left in the morning.


    She checked her phone and realized that it was not even 7 AM yet.


    After sitting on the bed for a while, she lifted the nket, intending to go to the bathroom.


    Last night, with Alex present, she hadn’t gone to the bathroom at all.


    When she came back from the toilet, she was nning to order some breakfast when she saw


    Sawyer carrying a bag of breakfast into the ward.


    "Mr. Elysian went back to the hotel for ast-minute video conference in the morning. He asked me


    to bring breakfast for you."


    Looking at the bag of breakfast, Candice said, "Tell him not to trouble himself."


    Sawyer smiled, ced the breakfast down, and left.


    Candice enjoyed her breakfast leisurely. Then she suddenly received a call from Hanley.


    “Send me the address of the hospital. I''ming over now," he stated.


    Candice asked, "Aren''t you arriving around noon?"


    "I was feeling a bit worried about you, so I decided toe earlier." Hanley''s voice was calm and


    deep.


    It was two hourster when Hanley arrived.


    He didn''t look like he had just taken a long-distance flight; instead, he looked clean and refreshed.


    "I didn''t want to pass any germs to you, so I took a shower at the hotel beforeing," he exined


    in a low voice. "How are you feeling? Do you have any difort?"


    When Candice met Hanley''s burning gaze, her heart skipped a beat.


    Inadvertently lowering her eyes to avoid his gaze, she coughed lightly and was about to speak


    when she heard Sawyer’s voice at the door.


    "Mr. Elysian, should I tell Candice about this?"