Chapter 82: Invitation to a Reunion
Giving Alina a meaningful glance, Wilson's face was covered with guilt. His gaze was determined as he steeled his resolve. Wilson muttered, "Alina, you must come out of this stronger in the future. We are husband and wife. I've promised that I will take good care of you and take responsibility for your future. So, I am hoping that we can face our problems together, instead of you bearing all the burdens alone. At the very least, don't get hurt because of me. I wouldn't want to see that happen.
"I want to see you smile without trying to hide your happiness. I don't understand it myself, but I like to see you beaming widely, with sincere and heartfelt delight."
At that moment, Alina's body twitched. Wilson was shocked by the sudden movement and asked hurriedly, "Alina, how are you feeling?"
Alina opened her eyes, but they were glazed over. After a long while, she managed to squeeze some words out of her throat. "I'm thirsty!"
"Okay, I'll get you some water right away!" Wilson poured some water for Alina nervously. Then he helped her up in his embrace and brought the water to her lips. Wilson looked at Alina, who was gulping down the water thirstily. He reminded her in a gentle voice, "Drink slowly so that you don't get choked!"
Alina finished the last drop of water in one gulp. She had never been so thirsty before this.
"How are you feeling now?" Wilson put down the glass and looked at Alina, his eyes wide with concern.
Looking at the nervousness in Wilson's eyes, Alina's heart skipped a beat. How long had it been since a man took care of her like this?
Even though he was a scumbag, Wilson really cared for her wellbeing!
She nodded and forced a smile. "Well, I'm fine."
"Lie down and get some rest." Wilson gently set her head down on the pillow and asked kindly, "Are you hungry?"
Alina nodded again. "Yes, I'm a little hungry!"
Wilson stood up and immediately called Bill. He urged impatiently, "I've just asked you to get some breakfast. Why are you so slow? Hurry up!"
Bill was speechless at Wilson's sudden phone call.
"F*ck, I should've just smashed my phone into bits!" Bill cursed.
Fifteen minutes later, Bill came back with their breakfast.
Ignoring Bill's annoyed expression, Wilson took the bag from his hand. He placed it on Alina's bedside table and took out her breakfast of porridge and bread rolls. After that, he helped Alina up, placed a pillow behind her as support, and carefully fed Alina small mouthfuls of the porridge.
Bill was taken aback at Wilson's sudden change. He had never seen such a caring and considerate side of Wilson before.
Sure enough, this was the power of love!
Bill couldn't help but think of what had happened the night before yesterday. His cheeks blushed red involuntarily. What a shame that he was the one who got taken advantage of!
Alina's fever subsided after she had completed her drip. Bill excused himself naturally and left Wilson's apartment.
Alina tried to get up from bed and go to work, but Wilson held her down. "No, you are too weak. Bill mentioned that you should stay in bed for at least one more day."
"But I really don't want to be lying on the bed all the time!" Alina retorted unwillingly.
Therefore, Wilson found a compromise. "Alright then, you can get up after lunch. I'll ask Jayden to come over in the afternoon to teach you self-defence."
If Simon saw Wilson acting like this, he would be shocked. When did Mr. Wilson ever compromise? He was a domineering and overbearing man, in every decision, it's his way or the highway. "That's great!" Alina smiled and nodded.
Wilson continued, "Let's go and pick a gift for Grandfather tomorrow. Three days later, it would be his birthday. Can we overnight at the Wilson Family's estate the night after tomorrow?"
He posed this in a questioning tone. Wilson never had the habit of asking for permission in the 28 years of his life.
"Of course!" Alina nodded. Either way, she had planned to stay at the Wilson Family's estate to accompany Wilson's grandfather for a few days. It didn't matter whether it was sooner or later by a day.
At the thought of choosing a gift for Lincoln, she started thinking of what price point of a gift would be appropriate for him.
When she took out her phone, she was surprised to see that the Scott Group's share price had increased again. It had hit its limit-up within a day. Alina looked at Wilson with admiration in her eyes. "Wilson, the share price had hit its limit again."
"Yep," Wilson smiled and said in a nonchalant tone, "Today is merely the second day. We will hit the stock price limit at least three more times. Remember to buy in!"
"Alright." Alina nodded. She firmly believed in Wilson's prediction. She immediately called Rosie, reminding her to sell off the Scott Group's shares once the stock price had soared.
However, Rosie sounded nervous over the phone. "Alina, please help me ask for a few days off. I have something to deal with, so I can't come to work for the time being. I will remember your financial advice. See you around!"
When Rosie hung up in a hurry, Alina muttered to herself with the phone in her hand, "What happened to her? She's acting so mysteriously. Could it be that she's looking for Damon again?" Wilson's eyes twinkled with a smile. Although she was naive, he loved her genuine innocence.
He took the remote control and turned on the television. "Take good care of yourself and rest in bed. Don't play with your phone too much, just watch some television for a while. I'll go to the study to deal with some work, we'll go out for lunch at noon."
He didn't notice how naturally he spoke to Alina with affection and love.
Alina nodded obediently. "Okay!"
She scrolled through the channels that were on the television. A popular TV series was currently playing on-screen at that moment.
Alina never had the habit of watching television in her spare time because she didn't have any time to herself. She was busy working in the morning, and after work, she had to help out in the kitchen. Her mother would be constantly nagging the whole time while they prepared a feast because her younger brother would be home for dinner.
After dinner, it would already be past eight o'clock. Usually, her brother would hog the television to watch football. As for Alina, she had to work in her tiny room, all the while enduring her mother's continuous abuse. It was tough for her to concentrate with all the racket going on and squeeze out ideas for her landscape designs.
If she was in a hurry to meet a deadline, she had to stay up late. Alina could only focus on her work after the house had quietened down when her mother finally went to bed.
It was a rare moment for Alina to have such leisure.
She had heard from Rosie that the TV series was extremely popular and had a huge budget for props and costumes. Many famous actors and beautiful actresses were cast in that series.
She stared at the screen and wondered with a smile on her face, "No wonder so many people like to watch television. It's really a good way to spend some leisure time!"
Alina adjusted her sitting posture, raised the supporting pillow a little higher, and leaned back casually with her hands behind her head. It felt so good to enjoy herself like this! Suddenly, she saw a familiar face on the screen.
It was a woman, dressed in blue. Her hair was pinned up beautifully and she was wearing purple earrings. Standing under a tree, she suddenly turned back and gave a fleeting smile.
The male lead of the TV series was obviously smitten by her. His eyes shone with delight at the mysterious woman. He closed a paper fan that he was holding in one hand and asked the attendant standing beside him, "Who is that charming young lady?"
"Your Highness, she is Miss Caitlin's personal maid!" The attendant answered respectfully.
The woman standing under a pear blossom tree pretended not to see the man. She walked away slowly, leaving the two men in her wake.
The male lead's gaze followed after her, and his eyes were filled with determination.
Looking at the TV, Alina frowned slightly. She had never heard Rosie mention that Anne was acting in this TV series. She looked really striking on screen.
Although Alina looked down on Anne, she had to admit that Anne's role as a personal maid in this TV series was an astonishing sight.
Since she had nothing else to do, she continued watching the series on the television.
However, before Alina could finish an episode, she received a phone call from her classmate, Amber Becker.
Amber said excitedly on the phone, "Alina, our reunion will be held on the 10th of next month! We haven't seen each other for a long time. See you there during our reunion!"
Alina rolled her eyes. She never joined gatherings like this. It was not that she did not care about her friends, but she felt embarrassed to meet them.
Back then, the incident between her and Ken spread like wildfire. Everyone in their university knew about her break up with Ken. It was all because of Anne's doing, who made sure that everybody knew about their breakup.
She refused politely on the phone, "I'm busy with work recently, so I may not have time to attend!"
Amber's tone changed drastically. In a sarcastic tone, she said, "Come on, stop pretending to be a hotshot! It is old news that you have been dumped by Ken! What could you be busy with? You're just finding excuses to avoid meeting other people. In my opinion, people like you shouldn't even be invited to our reunions, it's just a waste of time and money anyway."
After saying that, she hung up abruptly.
Alina was speechless. Why was Amber angry all of a sudden? Wasn't she the one who should be angry?
She shrugged indifferently and continued to enjoy the show playing on TV. Regardless of her dislike for Anne, this series was really captivating. The cast's performance, plot, and costume design were all top notch.
The series was interrupted by some commercials after a while. Suddenly, Alina's phone rang.
To her surprise, it was Amber again. Alina answered the call but before she could speak, Amber bombarded her with questions immediately. "Alina, I've heard rumours that you are going to marry the president of Scott Group, Wilson Scott! Is that true? I just checked on the internet, her name is Alina as well. Is it really you? It must be someone else with the same name, right?"
Even on the phone, one could detect the resentment in Amber's tone.
Alina blinked incredulously and replied, "No, it's not me!"
Amber immediately sounded ecstatic. "I knew it. How could it be you? It must be someone else with the same name. How could they not believe me? For goodness sake, the president of Scott Group has such power and wealth, he would never give you a second look. Even if you are beautiful and manage to hook up with him, at most you would just be a mistress. Talk to you later!"
The call was cut off again.
Alina rolled her eyes in frustration and blacklisted Amber's contact on her phone.
Although she would not take Amber's words to heart, it was annoying to hear her voice buzzing in her ear like a fly.
After watching TV for a while, Alina's phone rang yet again.
It was another classmate who tried to invite Alina to the reunion. Over the phone, she sounded sincere and pleaded for Alina to attend. Alina refused, saying that she was really busy with work. However, that classmate begged her to arrange her work in advance. She said that the gathering would take less than half a day, and Alina could definitely squeeze out some time to be there.
Subsequently, she received another three or four calls from other classmates. They were all talking about the gathering on the 10th of next month, asking whether Alina would attend or not. Furthermore, they said things like how much they all missed her and they hadn't seen each other for many years.
Alina was extremely bewildered by the unwanted attention. What was happening to her?
It had been more than three years since she graduated. For more than three years, her phone bills were less than fifty dollars a month, she had no one to call and no one called her either. Most of the time, her calls were due to work purposes!
What was the purpose of their sudden enthusiasm and nostalgia from her classmates? ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐