Chapter 53 I Am Really Mad Right Now

Alice's eyes welled up with tears, scared that if she nodded, Henry would say goodbye.

She clung to Henry's crisp suit, feeling all kinds of uneasy, and buried her face in his chest, ready to give in. "Uncle Henry, I really like you. I've worked so hard to be your girlfriend. Doesn't that count for something?"

Henry had never seen someone so boldly admit to tricking him. Well, actually, this was the second time—the first was when she drugged herself with an aphrodisiac that night.

He couldn't help but be amused.

He lifted Alice's chin, looking into her teary eyes. "You admitted it pretty quickly."

"You're so smart. Even if I didn't admit it, you would've figured it out."

"Stop buttering me up. You've been deceiving me for so long. Don't you feel any guilt?"

Alice gently kissed Henry's thin lips. "Not just guilty, but also really worried."

"About what?"

"Worried that you won't want me anymore." Alice sniffled, looking at Henry like a sad puppy. "Uncle Henry, are you planning to leave me?"

Seeing Alice's tearful eyes, Henry felt both angry and amused.

In his twenty-eight years, he had actually become the prey of a young girl from the start.

Alice's fingers slipped through the gaps in Henry's shirt buttons. "Uncle Henry, I didn't set this up to trap you."

Hearing this, Henry couldn't help but smile. Alice was pretty good at arguing.

As he thought this, Alice started unbuttoning his shirt one by one.

Henry grabbed her wandering hand. "I'm really mad right now."

Alice knew that if their relationship cooled, it would be over. So she boldly straddled his lap.

"Uncle Henry, I was wrong. I'll be good from now on, okay?" She lightly kissed Henry's Adam's apple. "Uncle Henry, if you don't want me, I won't have any family left."

Alice was smart and knew exactly how to soften Henry's heart.

Henry's eyes flickered briefly but then returned to their usual coldness. "Get off."

Alice pouted as she got off, then tugged at Henry's slender fingers. "I said I wanted to take responsibility."

Henry pulled his hand away without any change in his expression. "It's your stop. Get off."

"Seriously?" Alice clung to his arm, looking all innocent and cute. "Uncle Henry, can you really bear to?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." Henry's voice was cold and deep.

Alice knew he was really mad.

She obediently got out of the car and stood by the roadside, looking into the car like a statue, even though it was too dark to see anything.

At that moment, the car window rolled down.

Alice smiled but saw Henry hand her a bag of pastries. "Take it."

After taking it, Henry withdrew his arm, rolled up the window, and drove away.

Not until she could no longer see the car's taillights did she sigh deeply and turn to go upstairs.

By the roadside, inside the Maybach.

Henry took a cigarette out of the pack, lit it, and took a few deep drags.

Smoke enveloped his extraordinarily handsome face.

After a while, he saw the light in 1201 turn on and then instructed Ethan to drive.

When they arrived at the old house, just before getting out of the car, Henry said, "Drop the investigation of that kidnapper."

Ethan was a bit confused but felt that this matter seemed to be intricately linked to Alice.

He didn't say much and just followed orders.

When Henry walked into the old house, he saw Dash sitting there, looking seriously ticked off.

Paloma shot him a look from the side. "Your dad hasn't been back long. It wasn't Caleb who brought him back; it was Celeste."

Henry knew Dash had something to say, so he plopped down on the sofa across from them, legs casually crossed, waiting for Dash to speak.

Dash took a sip of tea. "Celeste is quite the catch. Why don't you like her?"

"She's just not my type," Henry said, his handsome face staying cool and indifferent.

Dash's face darkened. "Then what is your type? Your mom has lined up so many candidates. Just pick one!"

Henry fiddled with his cufflinks and then stood up. "It's late. You should get some rest."

"Hold on a minute!"

Henry looked at Dash. "Something else?"

Dash said, "Ophelia just mentioned she wants Alice to be her combat coach. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"I think it's perfectly fine."

"Seriously? Alice was once engaged to Oliver. Now she wants to come into our home. How does that look?"

Henry smirked. "Then tell Ophelia yourself. It's not my problem."

Watching Henry head up the stairs, Dash felt his head throbbing with anger. "What's that attitude?"

Paloma shrugged. "Ophelia learning combat for self-defense has nothing to do with you. Alice is just coming as a coach. Why are you so opposed? Just let it go!"

Dash sighed. "Fine, I won't interfere with Ophelia. But I have to manage Henry! I think Celeste is perfect! On your birthday this weekend, let her accompany you."

Paloma frowned. "That's not a good idea! If she accompanies me, it will confirm she's part of the Howard family. If Henry gets mad, both families will be embarrassed."

Dash snorted. "Do as I say! I'll arrange this marriage!"

Paloma disagreed. "I'm anxious too, but you can't decide Henry's marriage on your own! That's disrespectful to him!"

Dash snorted coldly.

Paloma glared at him and went upstairs.

Outside, the moonlight was faint, casting dappled shadows through the lush trees.

Henry stood by the window, scrolling through Alice's messages on his phone.

It was already midnight, and Alice hadn't sent any messages.

He felt particularly empty inside and couldn't sleep.

He realized that when he slept with Alice, he actually got a good night's sleep.

He grabbed a book from the shelf and leaned against the headboard to read.

The next day, Saturday.

Henry walked into the dining room and sat across from Ophelia. "Have you contacted your coach?"

Ophelia, with her mouth full of breakfast, replied, "Not yet. It's still morning. She'll be here in the afternoon, right?"

Dash frowned. "Ophelia, if you want a coach, you can find one at a professional combat gym. Alice is just a girl and not professional enough. You could easily get hurt."

Ophelia swallowed her breakfast and looked pretty annoyed. "Grandpa, you don't like Alice, do you? Don't think I can't tell. You're totally against her! Just because she was engaged to that jerk Oliver, what does that have to do with me? You can't stop us from hanging out!"

"In the end, we owe Alice an apology!" Paloma sighed, then looked at Dash. "If you don't like Alice, stay in the study when she comes and don't come out!"

Henry nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

Dash fell silent.