Gregory shoved 181
Chapter 181
Feeling their eyes on her, Natalie took a deep breath and spoke carefully.
“Xander has always liked sticking close to me. I just moved into a new place recently, and he wanted to come stay with me for a bit. But I messed up and didn’t take care of him properly, and he ended up getting sick.”
“What?” Eleanor’s face changed instantly. She might not like Anathea, but when it came to Xander, she was extremely protective.
The second she heard he was sick, she panicked and immediately turned on Gregory. “Why didn’t you tell me something this serious?”
Gregory stayed calm. “It was just a fever. The doctor checked him out. He’s fine now.”
“Fine?” Eleanor was furious. “You’re his father! How can you be so careless? How is he really?”
Holden didn’t care about punishing Gregory anymore–he was just as worried. Grabbing Eleanor to steady her, he snapped at Gregory, “Enough talking around it! How is Xander right now?”
“The fever’s gone, but he’s not eating much,” Gregory said flatly.
Honestly, he was stressed as well. Xander had been fussing nonstop these past two days, asking for the food Anathea used to make and wanting her to stay with him.
Gregory was used to handling billion–dollar deals, but when it came to coaxing a little kid, all that business savvy was useless.
For the first time, he was at a total loss. All he could think about was finding Anathea as soon as possible.
He hadn’t realized just how much she’d held this family together. Now that she was gone, everything in his life felt out of order,
and he didn’t know how to deal with it.
He was starting to realize that he wasn’t used to life without her anymore.
Before that feeling could settle too deep, Natalie quickly chimed in, “I can help! I know how to get Xander to eat!”
Natalie walked up to Gregory and looked him straight in the eye, sounding absolutely confident. “Trust me, Greg.”
Later at 10:00 pm, in an apartment in downtown Syntherra, the room was a mess of tangled sheets and heavy breathing.
Hannah leaned weakly against Dominic’s chest, catching her breath.
The marks scattered across her neck said it all–he hadn’t held back at all.
And that was exactly his intention. The more she tried to avoid letting him leave obvious marks, the harder he went. It was his way of punishing her.
Hannah knew it too. She didn’t fight it. Instead, she just endured it though a shadow of sadness passed through her eyes. It seemed she’d need an extra layer of foundation before her next appearance on camera.
Still, seeing how satisfied Dominic looked, she figured he finally cooled off.
Grabbing a box of pills from the table, she opened it and downed one with water.
Dominic was pleased with how cooperative she was for once. He even wiped the water from the corner of her lips.
“This mess wouldn’t have happened if you’d just done this in the beginning.”
“Better late than never, right?” Hannah put on a soft, pitiful look. She then rested her cheek in his palm and looked up at him.” Since I’m trying so hard to make it up to you, will you help me out one more time?”
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Chapter 181
She was an actress. Pulling off the perfect heart–melting expression was second nature for her.
Dominic stared at her for a long moment, as though he could see fight through the act. But he didn’t call her out.
He just lazily pinched her chin. “When I called you the other day, Im pretty sure I heard a kid in the background.”
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Hannah’s fingers tensed under the covers, but she quickly recovered and laughed it off. “It was the neighbor’s kid. My phone must’ve picked up her voice during the call.”
“Really?” Dominic’s gaze sharpened as he studied her.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but something about Hannal felt different.
She still looked the same, but the sharp edges she used to have were gone. She was softer now, carrying a warmth that he’d only seen in new moms at baby showers.
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