Chapter 0442
The bar was dimly lit, with Alex concealed in the shadows. After staring at him for quite a while,
Sieg impatiently ran his hand through his hair and said, "Don''t joke with me."
Only then did Alex raise his eyelids and silently look at Sieg. He asked without any fluctuations in
his voice, "Joke about what?"
Sieg looked at him and hesitated. Finally, after downing half a ss of alcohol, he went straight to
the point. "You and Candice—what''s going on?"
Those who were friends with them knew about the tension between Alex and Candice—not just
recently, but for a long time. Many assumed Alex''s indifference toward Candice was due to him
getting tired of her and wanting someone else.
However, only Sieg knew that Alex had once genuinely intended to propose to Candice. It was
during that time that he overheard Candice''s conversation with Daniel.
Candice had solemnly assured Daniel that she wouldn''t marry Alex. She promised to remain Alex''s
secretary and nothing more.
Alex was a proud man; how could he possibly make another move after Candice had made it so
clear?
Sieg couldn''t recall what happened to the ring Alex had at that time, but he vaguely remembered
that their rtionship had gradually faded after that.
Tonight''s bar gathering was initially for a friend''s birthday. Soon, the crowd around them became
lively again.
Sieg didn''t receive an answer to his question, and he didn''t press further. Remembering something,
he resumed his nonchnt expression, raised his ss, and lightly tapped Alex''s while casually
reminding him, "Nina has been getting close to some peopletely. I''ve heard that she’s been
asking people about you. I''ve met her a few times too; she''s quite a smart woman."
Alex hummed in acknowledgment. Sieg tactfully shifted the topic, asking, "Is everything going
smoothly with Sris? The Sui family has been quite activetely."
A shadow passed over Alex''s brow. Sieg leaned back on the sofa, clicking his tongue before saying,
"I still can''t figure out what your father is thinking. How could he kick you out of the headquarters
because of the Sui family? It''s going to be difficult for you to return now."
Alex''s gaze, in the dim and colorful lights of the bar, became deep and cold. After a moment of
silence, he said, "Difficult or not, it doesn''t matter."
Those things were still at the headquarters. He had to get his hands on them.
-
Candice rested at the vi for a few more days until Hanley agreed to let her start working again.
Updates from Sris kepting through messages from Yondu and Ang. The proposals to be
submitted to Redshade Corporation were repeatedly modified as well.
Since Darius called that night, Candice hadn''t contacted him, and even Henry hadn''t contacted her
again.
As for Sonia, she was indeed under medical parole. When Jackson called Candice to inform her
that Yvonne and Ivor had been discharged, Candice was having lunch with Yana.
Her morning sickness was back. She couldn''t stand strong smells and would vomit immediately
upon encountering them. Jackson said, "Yvonne has requested to see you. Captain Raymond
asked me to check your opinion."
Candice rejected it without hesitation. However, in the evening, Jackson called again. Yvonne
strongly insisted on seeing Candice, even to the extent of self-harm for this purpose.
The next day, when Candice went to the detention center, the fog on the road hadn''t cleared, and it
was cold as the New Year approached.
Hanley dropped her off at the entrance, and Candice didn''t ask him to apany her inside. She
had a premonition that this meeting with Yvonne might be thest.
Yvonne''s wounds hadn''tpletely healed. She could have continued recuperating in the hospital,
but she had requested to be discharged earlier than expected.
However, Yvonne''s current condition seemed vastly different from what Candice had anticipated.
Despite the injuries and her overall despondency, there was an unexpected tranquility. The turbidity
and floatiness in her eyes had dissipated. She sat quietly in the wheelchair, looking at Candice.
Candice remained silent, just watching Yvonne.
After a while, Yvonne moved. She sighed gently, her voice hoarse as she asked, "Candy, you must
hate me, right?"
Candice looked at her without saying a word. Yvonne seemed to have expected that as she
continued, "It''s right for you to hate me. When I was in the hospital, I kept dreaming. I dreamed of
when you were a child, always pestering me for candy. You were so cute back then."
As she spoke, tears shimmered in Yvonne''s eyes, and she wiped away the tears with her hand,
reminiscing. "I remember when you lost a tooth as a child, I didn''t allow you to eat candy. You
bought candy with your pocket money secretly because you were afraid I''d find out. You ended up
eating three pounds of candy that afternoon."
As Yvonne spoke, her eyes teemed with memories. She reached out to wipe away the tears again
and looked at Candice.
Candice remembered every detail of her childhood memories with rity. However, hearing Yvonne
bring them up, Candice felt surprisingly unmoved.
She asked Yvonne, "What do you want to say?"
Unable to contain her tears, Yvonne didn''t cry out loud like before; instead, her tears silently fell.
The blurred vision slowly ovepped the current Candice with the little girl who used to lean on her.
Yvonne''s heart felt a pang of bitterness. Choking up, she said, "Candy, I owe you too much. If
there''s a chance, I''ll repay you in the future. I just hope that you..." Yvonne hesitated midway, her
mouth opening and closing several times without knowing what to say.
Yvonne spoke a lot, most of it reminiscing about Candice''s childhood. Some of the things were so
remote that even Candice herself couldn''t recall them.
When Candice was about to leave, Yvonne stopped her and, in a heavier tone than before, said, "In
the future, consider me dead. Having a mother like me is embarrassing."
Candice paused at her footsteps, looking back at Yvonne for a moment before turning away. There
wasn''t a trace of hesitation.
When she left, it was almost 11:00 AM. The sun had dispelled the fog, and the temperature had
be warmer.
Hanley was waiting for her, and when he saw hering out, he didn''t ask anything and drove
away directly.
Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org.
"Hannah booked a restaurant for us; let''s go for dinner," Hanley said.
Candice asked, "Didn''t she say she wanted to go to Sris?"
"She went and came back," Hanley said. "I heard from Yana that you n to visit Stugan City during
the New Year."
"It''s warm over there," Candice replied.
Hanley nodded. “It’s also where we first met. It''s indeed a good ce."
Candice chuckled softly, watching the scenery outside the window recede.
The heavy mood brought on by Yvonne seemed to dissipate slowly, as if the wind outside the
window had carried it away.
Hanley drove them to the restaurant that Hannah had mentioned. Upon arriving, they realized it was
the Thai restaurant they had been to before.
Moreover, when they entered, they coincidentally ran into several familiar faces.
Sieg, Marc, and a few others Candice recognized but couldn''t name were there.