Anastasia on the sofa, asking, “I’m not disturbing you guys, am I?”Alexander shook his head. They were only waiting for news anyway. However, it was strange that he had not received helpful information from his local and foreign networks.“What would like you like to drink?” Alexander asked, then added, “Fruit juice, cola, or—” “Just plain water,” Anastasia said with a smile.Surprised, Alexander nodded and told a maid to serve two glasses of purified water.‘She seems different than before. She used to be plump and was proud yet insecure. Sometimes, she liked junk food; other times, she ate nothing.’Alexander only had a vague impression as he did not have much direct contact with her. He only occasionally heard about Cameron expressing his regret for not spending much time with his daughter.However, Anastasia became close to Lily. After Lily helped neutralize the toxin inside Anastasia, she lost a lot of weight. Now, she was confident and a bit slimmer. Alexander thought Li
“Wait a minute!” Alexander said. After a closer look, he added, unsure of his answer, “He’s…a prince from Yudonia?”Anastasia nodded. “That’s right. He’s Prince Ross of Yudonia. The queen’s eldest son.” “Your dad sent you here?” Alexander caught on. Anastasia replied, “He’s tied up at work and can’t let others see him frequenting your place. So he asked me to visit you and tell you that Prince Ross would visit Hyderland in two days.” “I think I’ve heard about it.” Alexander did not pay much attention to the news since he was preoccupied with saving Lily.Moreover, the prince was nearly forty, but the queen had no intention of abdicating. Like her many other sons and grandchildren, Prince Ross had no absolute authority and would only occasionally pay courtesy visits to other countries. “My dad says it’s an opportunity.” Anastasia was just repeating what her father said. She did not fully understand what it meant or why the visit was an opportunity for Alexander. When she as
“Your father knows what he’s doing. Let’s just do whatever he tells us to,” Alexander said. “Oh.” Anastasia frowned, slightly puzzled. “Well, at least I’ve passed the message. Oh, I heard the twins have returned. Can I see them?” Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “I’ve never seen fraternal twins before!”“They’re upstairs, but I don’t know if they’re awake. Go take a look,” Alexander nodded. Anastasia got up and ran upstairs.“They’re in the third bedroom on the left of the stairwell—” Anastasia had gone out of view before he could finish.Anastasia quickly found the room because the door was open, and the two babies cried. Austin and Mike were in the room since the nanny had probably gone to prepare milk formula.Anastasia saw Mike holding one baby when she entered. The adorable child stopped crying and looked curiously at her with teary eyes. However, the baby in Austin’s arms cried inconsolably, and he seemed flustered.“Please don’t cry. I’ll have to give you a shot if you
“She must have stopped crying because she’s tired,” Austin refused to admit Anastasia was better than him. After all, he had tried tirelessly to calm the baby down, and she hardly needed to do anything.“Yeah, right!” Anastasia scrunched her nose. Her mood improved after seeing the baby lying peacefully in her arms. The babies’ smiles seemed to have made all their recent troubles disappear. “Wow, she knows how to hold a baby better than you,” Mike said, “Why’d you mention giving the baby a shot? Don’t you know children are scared of getting shots the most?” Austin mumbled, “I was just saying. The baby wouldn’t understand, would she?”“Don’t think they wouldn’t. They know if we say nice or bad things about them. When Nicky was little, he would look sad if I scold him.” Mike probably could not stop thinking about his son. That was why he kept mentioning Nick.However, Austin did not stop him because he noticed Mike did not look as sad as before whenever he mentioned Nick. Austin t
“He’s an expert in herbal medicine. Don’t you know?” Anastasia said smilingly. “Really? Can you feel my wrist, too, Mr. Austin?” The nanny was curious. “Of course.” Austin did not turn her down. “I’ll wait until you finish feeding the babies.” “Thanks in advance then, Mr. Austin,” the nanny said happily.Austin looked at Mike. “Would you like me to take your wrist pulse too?” Mike shot him a sidelong glance. “What for? I’m not sick, okay?”“Hey, some illnesses are latent. Maybe you have weak kidneys or something.”Mike snorted and turned away. “My kidneys are working fine. Both of them are!” The two women chuckled. “Come on, it’s like doing a body checkup.” Austin was about to approach Mike when he heard, “Austin, can I have a word with you?”Puzzled, Austin looked over his shoulder and saw Alexander standing at the doorway. The former asked, “What is it?”“It won’t take long.” Alexander turned and left. “Oh, okay.” Austin shrugged and pointed his chin at Mike. “I’ll
Austin and Alexander fell silent before the latter asked, “Who was the first to realize Rhea went missing?”“I was,” Austin pointed to himself, adding, “But I only peeked through the window. I didn’t have the key. Who else could open the door besides you?”Alexander did not answer, but they exchanged a knowing look.“It can’t be him!” Austin shook his head after some thought. “He hates Rhea as much as me. I don’t believe he opened the door for her, let alone free her.”Alexander said, “I agree, but we must think logically. As you said, she couldn’t have vanished. Even if she could become invisible, she’d need to open the door. That means there’s only one possibility. Perhaps it wasn’t Mike, but someone must’ve opened the door for her.”After pondering for a while, Austin said, “Did she only run away when we opened the door?”He shivered, thinking, ‘Did Rhea become invisible and escape when we inspected the seemingly empty house? She could have murdered us!’“That’s unlikely,” Al
Alexander was just as concerned but knew he could do nothing about it. He said, “I think they still need Lily for the experiment. Even if Rhea wants to harm her, they won’t let her.”Austin nodded, “I know, but…”He wanted to say anything could happen but decided against it. However, Alexander knew what he wanted to say. He added thoughtfully, “We must hold on for two more days. Things might improve for us then.”“Two days?” Austin was curious how Alexander was so sure. He soon noticed Alexander’s firm gaze and dropped the subject, saying, “So, should we talk to him about the incident?”The two glanced toward the room at the back.Alexander nodded. “Let’s put that aside first. We shouldn’t assume it was him without concrete proof. It could hurt his feelings.”“You’re right.” Austin sighed and stretched, then curiously looked at Alexander. “Seriously, have you not suspected me before?”Seeing his curious look, Alexander nodded. “To be honest, yes.”Austin was speechless.“Howev
Alexander drove to Dominic’s place that night. As if knowing he would come, the older man had prepared a pot of tea and some dishes. He smiled upon seeing Alexander, saying, “I’ve been waiting for you.”“How did you—”“You must’ve come to ask about the invisible woman, huh?” Dominic cut to the chase.Alexander chuckled. “Didn’t you say it’s nothing but horseshit?”Dominic laughed heartily. “Yes, it’s horseshit indeed! Still, I knew you’d come and ask about it in person. I just didn’t expect you to come this soon. How about we talk over dinner?”He poured Alexander a cup of tea and filled his own glass with wine.Alexander nodded. “Sure!”He glanced around and asked, “Where’s Galen?”“He is playing in the back. I didn’t tell him you’d be coming, just in case you didn’t. I don’t want to disappoint him.” The older man was considerate.Alexander felt bad knowing Galen must have missed him and Lily.“I heard the twins have returned, huh?” Dominic asked after sipping his wine.Ale