For several days following the family dinner incident, Asher didn’t return to the Blackwood
manor.
Lady Blackwood Sr. called him numerous times. Initially, he answered, asking her why she
was targeting Kimberly.
Lady Blackwood explained her reasoning, claiming that Kimberly had been victimizing her
precious granddaughter Grace.
Asher explained that the situation was nothing like what Grace had described, but Lady
Blackwood wouldn’t listen. She firmly believed that Asher had been bewitched by Kimberly and refused to believe her sweet–granddaughter Grace would lie.
When communication proved futile, Asher ended the call..He didn’t answer any of Lady
Blackwood’s subsequent calls over the following days.
During this time, Lady Blackwood Jr. also phoned to attempt reconciKimmytion. Upon
learning that her adopted daughter had been stirring up trouble, she felt somewhat
displeased with Grace.
Grace continued to fan the flames in the old lady’s ear, attributing numerous “offences” to
Kimberly, one of which was driving a wedge between Asher and his grandmother, causing
discord in the Blackwood family.
Lady Blackwood Sr., who had initially harboured only mild discontent toward Kimberly,
now thoroughly detested her prospective granddaughter–in–law after Grace’s instigation.
Monday morning, Kimberly was awakened by her alarm. She struggled to open her eyes, preparing to get up for work, but felt a bone–deep chill throughout her body. Her head was pounding unbearably, and she couldn’t stop coughing. When she took her temperature, it registered a concerning 39°C (102.2°F).
The flu had been making its rounds recently, and she had unfortunately caught it.
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Kimberly called in sick to work and responsibly checked herself into hospital for treatment.
After completing the hospital admission procedures, Kimberly considered informing Asher but remembered he was dealing with a difficult project recently, working late into the
night. She decided against it.
She didn’t want Asher to worry.
She was an adult, perfectly capable of taking care of herself. It was just a minor flu–there
was no need to trouble Asher.
Kimberly arranged for a private nurse and domestic help.
Initially, the flu had made her voice hoarse, but after receiving IV medications and taking
two rounds of oral medicine, her voice returned to normal. When Asher called, she was
able to conceal her condition.
“Kimberly Jordan is actually in hospital?” Grace couldn’t hide her delight when she received a call from her friend Olivia Spencer.
Olivia confirmed: “Absolutely true. I was visiting a friend at the hospital yesterday and happened to see her completing admission paperwork.”
Grace asked eagerly: “Was she alone? Asher wasn’t with her?“.
“She was alone. I asked my friend who works at the hospital, and she found out that a hired nurse has been caring for her these past two days. It seems Asher doesn’t know she’s ill and
hospitalized.”
“I see,” Grace replied, her mind already formulating a plan.
Asher returned to his townhouse after a long day’s work.
As he switched on the lights, a figure suddenly lunged forward. Instinctively, Asher grabbed the intruder in a defensive hold.
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“Ouch! That hurts! Asher, it’s me!” Grace cried out in pain as she looked up.
Asher frowned and released her. “How the bloody hell did you get in?”
Grace rubbed her arm. “The housekeeper let me in.”
After massaging her arm, she pointed toward the dining room. “You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ve prepared dinner for you.”
Grace, who had been the housekeeper’s daughter before being adopted by the Blackwood family, had learned to cook from an early age. Sometimes she would personally prepare meals to please Lady Blackwood Sr.
Asher walked to the dining room. The table was set with two steaks, two glasses of red wine,
with candles and roses as decoration.
A romantic candlelit dinner.
Grace’s intentions couldn’t be more obvious.
Displeasure flickered across Asher’s face. “Why would you turn up here unannounced? We
have household staff to prepare meals. I don’t need you to cook for me. Besides, I’ve
already eaten. And more importantly, you need to stop harbouring these inappropriate feelings for me.”
Upon hearing this, Grace’s face paled. Her lips trembled as tears welled in her eyes. “I’m
sorry, Asher. I didn’t think this through properly. I just wanted to surprise you.”
She bit her lip, looking wounded. “Since you’ve already eaten, I’ll clear all this away.”
Grace began clearing the table.
Before Asher had returned, Grace had been fantasizing about the two of them dining together–flickering candlelight, fragrant roses, wine–induced warmth, everything perfectly romantic! But now her plans had been ruined, and she felt deeply frustrated.
She needed to act while Kimberly was in hospital.
Grace’s gaze fell on the wine.
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Asher had gone to the living room and was no longer in the dining area.
Grace took out a powder she had prepared in advance and mixed it into the red wine.
In the living room.
Asher removed his jacket and draped it casually over the sofa.
He leaned back, long legs slightly bent, tiredly rubbing his temples as he took out his phone to message Kimberly.
Just got home. Has my Kimmy gone to sleep?]
There was no reply. It was eleven o’clock–she was probably asleep.
He felt a slight disappointment.
At that moment, Grace approached elegantly with a glass of wine. “Would you like some
wine, Asher?”
Asher was known for his appreciation of fine wines. His home contained an impressive
collection of valuable vintages, with an entire wall of the ground floor dedicated to a wine
cellar. Each bottle was worth thousands or tens of thousands of pounds, with some exceptional ones valued in the hundreds of thousands.
He had a habit of enjoying a small glass of wine to relax when tired, which Grace knew well.
Grace walked over with the glass and sat beside him, leaning in closely.
Displeasure crossed Asher’s face as he pushed her away by the shoulder. “You should leave.
I’ll have my driver take you home.”
Grace looked on the verge of tears. “What’s wrong, Asher? Have I done something to upset
you?”
“Don’t come here again,” he replied coldly. “Give up these ridiculous ideas of yours.”
“Asher, I know you’ve been terribly busy and tired lately. I only wanted to show my concern. Do you really need to be so cruel to me?”
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“I have a girlfriend. I don’t need your concern.”
Asher called his driver, instructing him to take Grace home.
“If you don’t want me to stay, I’ll go. But please drink this wine–I specially bought it for you
at auction.”
Grace handed him the glass.
Asher accepted it.
Grace watched him nervously, waiting for him to drink.
Just as the glass touched his lips, his phone screen lit up.
Asher set down the wine and picked up his phone, his expression immediately brightening.
It was a message from Kimberly.
[I fell asleep earlier. Just woke up to drink some water before going back to sleep.]
Reading her message, the ice in Asher’s eyes instantly melted, his features softening like
warm sunshine on an April day.
[Good. Drink your water and rest well. I’ll come see you tomorrow.]
[No need. I’ll be terribly busy tomorrow, likely working late. I want to rest early when I get
home.]
[The day after tomorrow, then.]
Kimberly sighed. Her flu had hit hard, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be recovered by then.
After hesitating briefly, she sent another message.
[I’ll be busy then too. I’ll come see you when things settle down a bit. You’re quite busy yourself these days–please take care of your health.]
Grace sat nearby, watching as Asher texted with a tender expression, a gentle smile playing on his lips.
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He was clearly messaging Kimberly.
Grace was consumed with jealousy.
“Crash!” The wine glass Sed on the floor, glass spreading everywhere.
Asher looked up, meeting Grace’s eyes with an icy stare.
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