Chapter 391 A Thorny Problem
Reed had just been discharged from the hospital the day before, and with such a commotion outside, it was hard for him not to know.
He had remained silent, wanting to see how the successor he personally chose would handle the situation.
The outcome satisfied him. In the face of major issues, Nathaniel did not disappoint him. Whether a company could go far depended not only on immediate interests but also on the character of its leader.
He had chosen the right person. Nathaniel indeed had the demeanor of his younger self.
Reed sat in the study, listening to Ted's report. "Young Master has mostly settled it, but Miss will have to endure some grievances."
Reed rubbed his head and asked after a while, "Did the pregnant woman give birth safely?"
"Our people reported that she had a boy, and both are safe."
Ted had sent people to the hospital in the morning to inquire. The victim had given birth to a boy, and both mother and child were safe. Fortunately, the baby was full-term at the time of the incident, so the impact was not too significant.
Reed seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing they were safe. "That's good. Send some money to the hospital; we'll cover all the expenses."
"Sir, Young Master has already advanced enough medical expenses and apologized to the family."
Reed nodded with satisfaction, "Handled well. When Ashley comes out, have her apologize in person. After all, she did it, and no one can replace her."
"Sir, the guests who were supposed to come for dinner called to say they are busy for the next month and can't make it."
Reed raised an eyebrow, "Put Ashley's marriage on hold for now. It's reasonable for others to avoid us at this time. She needs to change her temper. Where's Marcus?"
Ted paused and said, "Mr. Marcus Heilbronn hasn't been seen since yesterday. The day before, he went to the hospital to pick you up, but there's been no sign of him at home. He might be busy with business."
Reed coughed lightly, "Let him be."
At ten o'clock in the evening, Nathaniel still hadn't reached Aurelia, but to his excitement, Dorothy called.
He hurriedly answered, "Dorothy, Daddy can't reach Mommy."
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.
Aurelia, holding Dorothy's smartwatch, cursed inwardly, 'You bastard, calling yourself Daddy before I even speak. Who do you think you are?'
"Nathaniel, it's me."
Nathaniel felt a bit nervous hearing Aurelia's voice, "Aurelia, I've called you countless times. You..."
"My phone was confiscated by Grandma."
In the morning, Cathy saw the news and, fearing Aurelia would be upset about Chelsea being at large, took away all her internet devices, using the excuse that hers were broken and she needed to borrow them.
Aurelia wasn't stupid; she knew her grandma was worried about her.
Nathaniel felt a bit relieved knowing her phone was with her grandma and that she wasn't deliberately ignoring his calls.
"Aurelia, did you see that trending topic?"
"I saw it."She was angry about him appearing with Chelsea right after sending them away, but she wanted to hear his explanation.
After all they had been through, with those unforgettable misunderstandings, she wanted the truth. They couldn't keep torturing each other like this.
Nathaniel didn't wait for her to ask and explained proactively, "Ashley had a conflict with someone at the hospital and called me. I didn't know Chelsea was there before I went. If I had known, I would have sent Zack."
His tone was sincere, and he was honest. He had no feelings for Chelsea, only disgust.
"Aurelia, can you trust me?" He asked nervously.
Aurelia believed his words but was still angry that Chelsea wasn't imprisoned. Nathaniel must have known beforehand and kept it from her.
"Nathaniel, did you know Chelsea was on probation?"
Nathaniel replied hesitantly, "I knew."
Both were silent for a while before he spoke again, "That day, you were in a bad state. I only told you half of what the police said, fearing you'd be upset."
"Did you ever think that knowing this, while everyone else around me knew, and I had to guess from the internet, would make me even more upset? Do you know how stupid I felt?"
Nathaniel's heart clenched tightly, "Aurelia, I'm sorry. I was waiting for the right time to tell you."
"We agreed not to hide anything from each other anymore, to communicate promptly. When I saw you and Chelsea together on camera, I was angry but still willing to give you a chance to explain. Why did you hide such a big thing from me when you knew how much I cared about it?"
Aurelia's voice choked up at the end.
Nathaniel's heart ached; he wished he could fly to her side right now.
Chelsea's situation was beyond his control. No one's power was above the law. He thought hiding it would spare her pain, but he didn't realize how much it would hurt her when she found out the truth.
"Aurelia, it won't happen again. Chelsea's pregnancy was unexpected. Probation isn't release; she will face legal consequences after giving birth." He could only think of these words to comfort her.
Aurelia calmed down after crying for a while. She had been holding it in all day, and hearing his explanation, she couldn't control herself. She could only talk to him and Joe about it.
Aurelia wiped her tears and remembered that he had hung up on her when she called after landing yesterday. She questioned him, "Why did you hang up on me yesterday?"
Nathaniel felt this was a serious question, "Aurelia..."
He hesitated, afraid to say it. Chelsea had blocked his car, and he feared she would misunderstand.
Aurelia angrily said over the phone, "Speak!"
Nathaniel confessed reluctantly, "Aurelia, don't overthink it. When I left the hospital after dealing with Ashley's issue, Chelsea was blocking my car. When you called, she was clinging to my car, and I was afraid you'd misunderstand, so I didn't answer."
The more he spoke, the less confident he sounded.
It was a suffocating question. He felt his voice trembling. He didn't know when he started caring so much about Aurelia.
Nathaniel carefully held his phone, focusing intently, waiting for Aurelia to explode on the other end. He had already thought of a hundred ways to die.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
