Chapter 191 Catherine's Identity Exposed
Maurice's eyes lit up a bit when he heard the secretary. "But Juniper's just adopted. What a shame."
"Sir, she's still a Windsor, and she's a researcher. The Windsor Family really cares about her."
Maurice rubbed his chin, scheming. "If the Windsor family has two daughters, then this adopted one doesn't count for much. But if something happens to Catherine, then Juniper's the only one left!"
Maurice thought, 'I need to ally with the Windsor Family, so I gotta pick the best marriage option. The only daughter will get all the Windsor resources, which will help me win the Hughes Family heir race. If Catherine's not an option, I'll go for the other Windsor daughter!'
"Make the arrangements. This is a small matter, you guys can handle it," Maurice ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Outside the Hughes Manor, Oscar waved at Catherine. "Catherine, Sophia and I are gonna prep something. See you tomorrow!"
Catherine nodded. "Be careful. The Hughes Family might come after you."
Oscar waved it off, not worried at all. "Don't sweat it. I'm more worried they won't come after me. Just the Hughes Family? They think they can mess with me?"
Oscar had been in the gemstone game for years and had seen it all.
Owen chuckled. "Your life's getting less valuable. The Hughes Family isn't scary, but their backers, the Blade of Dusk, are reckless."
"They're nothing to me!" Oscar said.
Owen's sharp eyes landed on Catherine, and he said meaningfully, "You be careful too, and tell Juniper to visit me when she can. I care about her as much as Samuel does!"
Catherine got the hint. "I'll let Juniper know."
Watching Oscar and Owen leave, Emilia casually played with her hair. "Catherine, based on my understanding of Maurice, you and your sister should be careful too."
Emilia couldn't be too direct, but she trusted Catherine would get it.
"I will, thanks," Catherine said.
"Leave me your contact info, please!" Emilia said.
It was clear Emilia's life in the Hughes Family wasn't easy either. Catherine nodded and added her as a friend.
"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, Esme won't have a good day!" Emilia said.
Catherine chuckled. "She means nothing to me."
To Catherine, Esme was just a joke, not worth her time.
"Even better. If she were related to you, I'd have to think twice before dealing with her," Emilia said.
"Do what you want."
Emilia just didn't like Esme, and hearing Catherine's words, she felt relieved.
On the way back, Alexander still looked cheerful.
Catherine glanced at him and said lightly, "It's just a piece of jade, Mr. Howard. Haven't you seen anything like this before?"
Alexander chuckled softly, his bright eyes on Catherine. "I'm just trying to figure out the relationship between you and Oscar."
'From Oscar's and Sophia's attitudes towards Catherine, and what happened in the Hughes Manor, if I guess right, this year's King of Stone Gambling has a deep connection with Catherine. Maybe Catherine is the King of Stone Gambling herself! I know Catherine is amazing, but discovering more of her secrets still surprises me, making me love her even more!' Alexander thought.
"The King of Stone Gambling was active in Northern Myanterra around the same time you were there, right?" he asked.
Catherine shrugged, "Just got lucky today."
"Luck? I don't buy it. Luck's nothing compared to real skill, right?" Alexander said, smirking.
Winning the lottery might be luck, but gemstone betting was all about skill.
Otherwise, why hadn't anyone with just luck taken Oscar's place?
Alexander's gaze softened. "Those days in Northern Myanterra are still fresh in my mind, especially when the King of Stone Gambling was making waves."
He knew a lot about the King of Stone Gambling's activities, which oddly matched the Faceless Ones' movements.
Catherine gave him a cool look. "So what?"
Alexander ruffled her hair. "So, Catherine, you're incredible. As a reward, let's hit up the newest restaurant downtown for dinner."
Catherine's heart skipped a beat, her pulse quickening. She looked at Alexander and suddenly asked, "Alexander, are you really this free?"
'As the president of the Howard Group, shouldn't he be super busy? How does he always have time for dinner with me?' Catherine wondered.
Alexander held her hand and answered honestly, "Not free, very busy! But if I don't make time to miss you and be with you, then what's the point? Catherine, you can't take that away from me."
When he saw her, all his stress melted away, and the corporate drama and family politics didn't matter anymore.
After dinner, Alexander took Catherine back to the Windsor Mansion, only leaving after she went upstairs.
Once Catherine got out of the car, the temperature inside dropped. Alexander took off his glasses, his eyes cold. "Annie, Catherine used a sleeve arrow once in Tranquil County. Find out what happened."
"Yes, sir. Should we tell Ms. Windsor about what we found out last time?" Annie asked.
Alexander's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint in them. "No need. If we tell Catherine, she'll dig into it herself, which is too risky. Set up a date for me and Catherine."
Annie couldn't help but ask, "Sir, aren't you worried Catherine will find you clingy?"
'I also feel like Alexander changes every time he sees Catherine. It's just that Catherine's patient and hasn't pushed him away,' Annie thought.
Thinking of Catherine's face, Alexander felt his mood lighten a bit.
"It doesn't matter." Alexander closed his eyes and spoke softly, almost to himself, "When Catherine gets tired of me, I'll disappear for a few days, and she won't suspect a thing."
His voice carried a hint of loneliness and bitterness, which shocked Annie, but she said nothing more.
Alexander had gone to such lengths for Catherine that even Annie, an outsider, was moved. "Shouldn't we tell Catherine?"
"No need to bother her." Alexander chuckled softly, shaking his head, signaling he didn't want to continue the conversation. "Arrange for someone to protect Juniper, keep an eye on the Hughes Family, and make sure Blade of Dusk vanishes from Imperia City!"
"Yes, I'll handle it."
The Hughes Family's actions today had crossed Alexander's line!
They should never have, under any circumstances, targeted Catherine and the Howard Family's only daughter, Juniper!
Meanwhile, Juniper got a message on her phone.
[Ms. Windsor, don't you want to know who set up the incident at Phoenix Lab to harm you?]
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