Chapter 53 You Have to Admit, Alexander is Seriously Handsome
"What? Eat all of it? How can I do that?" exclaimed Lillian when she heard Alexander's decree.
"If you can't finish tonight, you'll have it tomorrow. It'll get eaten," Alexander said impatiently. "Now go make the spaghetti. Don't you realize Lucas is hungry?"
"Yes!" Lillian answered bitterly and stormed back to the kitchen.
In fifteen minutes, the spaghetti was ready. Despite Alexander's request, Lillian sprinkled it liberally with parsley.
'Hmph, you don't like parsley? Well, that's exactly why I'm adding it.' Lillian thought to herself.
"The pasta is ready," Lillian announced as she brought a plate over to Lucas first, carefully scooping some onto his plate, urging him to eat slowly.
She then served a plate to Alexander.
"Didn't I tell you not to add parsley?" Alexander asked, visibly annoyed.
Holding a plate in each hand and turning to head back to the kitchen, Lillian overheard Alexander's complaint. She replied with a touch of arrogance, "Parsley is essential in the pasta I make. If Mr. Sinclair can't deal with it, you are welcome to not eat the food I cook at all in the future."
"Alexander, just give me the parsley and I'll eat it," said Lucas, enjoying his noodles. "Go ahead and eat. Lillian's pasta is delicious."
Alexander rolled his eyes at Lillian's retreating back and begrudgingly handed the parsley over to Lucas.
Lillian sat alone in the kitchen, facing four blackened dishes that she reluctantly started to eat. The food indeed tasted awful, and Lucas would have surely complained loudly had he tried it.
"I'm done, Lillian," Lucas declared as he ran into the kitchen and sat opposite her, his curiosity piqued. "Is it good?"
"Why don't you try it and find out?" Lillian suggested, offering him a piece of salmon.
"Really?" Lucas asked, a little skeptical but biting into it anyway.
"Yeck!" he spat out immediately, frowning deeply. "It tastes burnt and awful!"
"It's not that bad," Lillian said, pouring him a glass of water.
"Lillian, you're teasing me," Lucas said, shaking his head like an adult. "But I'm not upset. After all, I like you."
Lillian laughed heartily, then asked, "Was the pasta good?"
"Mmm-hmm, the pasta was really good," Lucas said enthusiastically, his hands propping his chin. "Alexander and I ate it all up."
"Did Alexander eat the parsley?"
"No, he gave it all to me."
'Ah, well, even if he didn't eat it, it still bothers him.'
Lucas watched Lillian eat, concern showing on his face. "Lillian, it must feel lonely eating by yourself with Kelly not home. I should ask Alexander to let you join us, so you don't have to eat alone."
"Thank you, babe," Lillian said, her gaze softening on Lucas. "I'm okay eating alone and you don't have to talk to Alexander about it."
"Are you afraid he'll say no?" Lucas asked seriously. "If Alexander disagrees, then I'll just come over and eat with you!"
Lillian couldn't help but chuckle at Lucas's serious demeanor and teased him jokingly, "So you left Alexander hanging. Aren't you afraid he'll be mad or sad?"
Lucas paused for a few seconds, "Alexander's a guy, and he can handle being alone. You're a girl, and it's my job to be good to you, to protect you!"
"Lucas..." Lillian put down her utensils, exaggeratedly calling out his name and cupping his face in her hands, "Being good to you is worth it!"
"Who's not afraid of being alone?" Alexander suddenly appeared at the doorway, one hand casually tucked in his pocket, eyes landing on Lucas and Lillian who were interacting with the warmth of a mother and son, looking like he couldn't care less about them. He then said to Lucas, "You've finished eating, go upstairs and practice the piano."
"What? Practice again? I'm already tired," Lucas grumbled. When it came to his studies, Lucas dared not oppose Alexander as he knew that Alexander would never allow him to slack off academically.
"Practice piano for an hour, handwriting practice for half an hour—that's your task for tonight," Alexander stated strictly. "Your handwriting has gotten worse lately. Don't think you can let up just because it's winter break. When Kelly gets back, I'm arranging a tutor for home lessons."
"Alright," Lucas replied with a forlorn look at Lillian before dejectedly heading out.
Lillian stood up to clear the dishes. Though she sympathized with Lucas, she knew her words had no weight, and so she said nothing in protest.
Alexander stood there, addressing Lillian, "I have a business trip tomorrow. The plane leaves in the morning. Get up early and make breakfast, don't make me miss my flight."
"Got it," answered Lillian indifferently.
Listening to Alexander's departing footsteps, Lillian turned around in wonder. His demeanor seemed less domineering than before. Could it be just her imagination?
After tidying up the kitchen, Lillian returned to her room. After a long day, she finally could lie down on her comfortable bed for some well-earned rest. She closed her eyes for a moment, then reached for her phone and opened up the forum. At the bottom of the homepage was a display for the number of comments. There were over fifty replies, which made Lillian's eyes widen in surprise.
Lillian had thought that persisting in maintaining the forum didn't mean much since she believed there were hardly any users left. She considered it a good day if her comic got around ten replies. However, the number today truly took her by surprise.
"Hope the creator can update daily—such an interesting comic."
"Is your story real or just a comic? I love Crazia Alex!"
Crazia Alex was the name Lillian had given to Alexander in her comic.
"I love this comic. So interesting, well-supported!"
The comments were filled with everyone's love for Lillian's comic.
After seeing the response to her casual comics, Lillian felt both joy and worry. She was delighted that people actually liked what she had casually drawn; her concern, however, stemmed from the fear that things might turn sour if Alexander or someone they both knew discovered her hobby. Mulling it over carefully, Lillian felt the chances were slim as the social media platforms used by the elite hardly featured forums on the brink of shutting down. No way!
Once she had earnestly replied to the comments on her post, Lillian noticed she still had some time before Lucas finished practicing the piano. Seizing the opportunity, she concentrated on drawing her comics once more.
That evening, whether Alexander said something to Lucas or he was simply exhausted from practice, he went straight to bed after his piano session without calling for Lillian. She was pleased by this and, seeing that it was getting late, she completed her nightly routine and went to bed.
Lillian slept soundly.
In the morning, she awoke in her own bed, stretching luxuriously and humming a tune, appreciating the freedom of her private space where she could do anything she liked.
After getting up and freshening up, Lillian headed to the kitchen. With Alexander away on a business trip that day, she decided to prepare some ravioli he enjoyed. Kelly had made a batch and frozen them, commenting that Mr. Sinclair adored the ravioli she made.
Once the ravioli were ready and Alexander had yet to come downstairs, Lillian thought to call him and climbed a couple of steps before seeing him coming down.
Alexander, in his black pinstriped suit, looked even more dashing. His hair was neatly combed, giving him a clean and comfortable appearance. Silently, Lillian admitted to herself that she couldn't deny that Alexander was indeed very handsome.
