Chapter 456 Alaric's Return
"Thanks, Pierce," Cecilia said, giving him a nod.
Pierce snapped back to reality, stammering, "I..."
"Don't sweat it. If anything goes down, I'll handle it," Cecilia reassured him.
Pierce nodded, still looking a bit rattled.
"It's late. Let's bounce," Cecilia said, cool as a cucumber.
She glanced at Dominic, who was still sprawled on the ground, unable to get up, her face showing zero emotion.
Dominic didn't dare make a peep.
He was the one in a pathetic state.
A guy who cared so much about his rep would never let himself be laughed at.
He sucked up the pain, watching Cecilia and Pierce walk away.
He was so mad he was grinding his teeth.
Cecilia and Pierce turned around and saw a man standing behind them. Cecilia's eyes widened. It was Alaric.
Alaric just popped up out of nowhere.
He hadn't mentioned he was coming back today, right?
Oh, wait, he did say he'd be back around this time, but he didn't give a specific date.
Cecilia didn't expect him to show up so suddenly.
The excitement in her eyes was clear as day.
But Alaric looked way more chill, with a cold vibe around him.
He glanced at Cecilia, then walked past them to Dominic.
Dominic's anger turned to fear the second he saw Alaric.
It was like Alaric might actually kill him.
Dominic forced himself to stay calm and stared at Alaric.
"Dominic, I've warned you a bunch of times, but it looks like you didn't get the memo," Alaric said coldly.
Dominic's whole body tensed up, even shaking a bit.
The next second, the veins on Dominic's face popped out as he endured the intense pain.
Alaric stomped hard on Dominic's hand, pressing down so hard that Dominic's face went pale.
Alaric leaned close to Dominic's ear and whispered, "If you touch Cecilia with your filthy hands again, I will kill you."
His voice was so low only the two of them could hear.
Dominic was trembling all over, trying to endure the pain.
After that, Alaric stood up, his shiny black leather shoes leaving Dominic's hand.
Dominic's hand was a bloody mess.
At this point, it probably hurt so much it was numb.
Alaric didn't give Dominic another glance. He walked over to Cecilia and gently hugged her. "Let's go home."
Cecilia nodded.
She turned to Pierce and said, "You head back on your own."
"Ms. Lockhart, don't worry about me," Pierce said quickly.
Then he watched them leave together from a distance.
It was the first time Pierce had really seen Alaric.
Alaric seemed even more intimidating than he had imagined!
They walked out of the banquet hall.
Augustus was driving with Alaric and Cecilia in the back seat.
They were still holding each other.
Their time apart hadn't distanced them; if anything, it made them closer.
The shorter the reunion, the less they wanted to be apart, even for a second.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back today?" Cecilia complained.
"I wanted to surprise you," Alaric said with a slight smile.
"How'd you know I was at the banquet here?" Cecilia asked.
"Augustus told me," Alaric replied.
"So you told Augustus but didn't tell me you were coming back," Cecilia said, a bit miffed.
Alaric hugged her tight and said, "I didn't wanna tell you when I was coming back and then flake out last minute. Didn't want you to be bummed. So I only told Augustus to grab me from the airport once I was sure I was on the plane."
Cecilia felt a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
So, Alaric was just scared of letting her down, which was why he kept it hush-hush.
She clung to Alaric's shirt, burying herself in his chest.
She used to think all that lovey-dovey stuff in novels and TV showed was just BS.
Now she totally got what it meant to be inseparable.
She asked, "How long you staying this time?"
"Leaving early tomorrow morning," Alaric said.
Cecilia felt a pang of disappointment.
"I only got half a day off," Alaric explained. "Things are crazy busy over there, and getting half a day was already a big ask from my boss."
Cecilia felt a bit down.
It meant after tonight, he'd be gone again before she even woke up.
When would this ever end?
Cecilia felt a wave of sadness.
"Just two more months," Alaric said. "Hang in there, we'll get through this."
"So you came back for the baby plan?" Cecilia raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not," Alaric denied quickly. "Seeing you is the main reason, the baby thing is just a bonus."
Cecilia pouted, not buying it.
Yeah, guys' words are often full of it.
As soon as they got back to the villa, they couldn't hold back.
Cecilia thought even soap operas wouldn't dare show this.
Late at night, Cecilia lay beside Alaric, exhausted, and drifted off.
Her body was covered in bruises.
Alaric felt a twinge of guilt.
He gently kissed each bruise, one by one.
He also promised himself he'd control himself better next time.
Alaric kissed Cecilia on the cheek.
Then he slowly got up from the bed and threw on a bathrobe.
He grabbed a cigarette and was about to light it but stopped.
He'd been trying to cut back lately.
He'd heard that guys need to quit smoking and drinking to prep for having a baby too.
He put the cigarette aside and called Cassius.
Cassius answered, sounding half-asleep, "Alaric, it's so late, why aren't you asleep?"
Alaric found it funny that Cassius was knocked out so early, probably 'cause Hugo was strict with him.
Even if he stayed up, he couldn't do anything else either.
"Check out this guy, Pierce," Alaric said straight up.
"Who?" Cassius was so groggy he couldn't remember who Pierce was.
"If I'm not wrong, he's the new assistant VP at the Lockhart Group," Alaric said.
"What? Is he messing around with Cecilia?" Cassius blurted out.
Alaric didn't bother arguing. "Just let me know what you find. And have someone keep an eye on him, but don't spook him!"
"Are they really having an affair?" Cassius asked again.
Alaric hung up the phone.
The way Pierce push Dominic, it didn't seem like something a regular guy would do.
But without solid proof, he didn't wanna jump to conclusions or freak Cecilia out.
After making the call, Alaric went back to bed.
Cecilia was sleeping soundly.
Alaric held her soft body, not wanting to let go.
His eyes flickered.
Some things really needed to be wrapped up soon.
Alaric placed his big hand on Cecilia's abdomen.
The gentle touch made Cecilia feel safe even in her sleep.
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