However, no one answered on the other side.
Guessing he might be busy, Alia called Benny instead.
"Hello, Alia, what is it?" Benny’s voice ca through, sounding a little groggy, clearly awakened from a nap.
"Sorry to disturb your rest, Young Master Palr. I wanted to ask about the Peak Industries situation. You must know about it too. What’s Christopher planning to do? I just tried calling him, but no one answered."
"Ah... he’s aware of it, but he’s too occupied right now. He probably hasn’t told you—his mom’s not well and was admitted to the hospital last night."
"His mom? You an..."
"Yes."
"What’s the illness?"
"It was initially said to be heart trouble. Older people tend to have that to so extent, but losing her daughter dealt a heavy blow, and it might’ve worsened things. But this morning, I heard from Christopher that she had a full-body check-up, and they seem to have found sothing else. They’re waiting for further test results."
Alia froze.
How could so many things happen at once?
"Around noon... he called , but he didn’t ntion any of this." She hesitated and spoke slowly.
Benny said, "Of course he wouldn’t ntion it. The two of you are like fire and water; how could he possibly tell you about it?"
"I see..."
"As for the company situation, I think Christopher’s approach might be rather passive."
"What do you an?" Alia didn’t quite understand. In her impression, the word "passive" didn’t suit Christopher at all.
Benny offered a succinct explanation: "The Hart family has an elder relative—Christopher’s uncle, well... technically, his grandfather’s brother’s son. He’s never accepted Christopher’s control over Seal-Cloud Corporation and has been challenging it overtly and covertly for years. In the past, Christopher was focused on breaking new ground and was determined to prioritize the company, keeping everyone else in check. But now, with you and the kids, he’s llowed out, viewing things more philosophically. He might be thinking, if they want to seize power, let them have it. After all, they’re still Harts—does it really matter who’s in charge?"
Having been the Hart family’s daughter-in-law for three years, Alia naturally knew about that uncle. She just didn’t expect soone his age to beco so aggressive and confrontational.
Startled by Benny’s words, she said, "Are you saying... he plans to surrender without a fight?"
Benny sighed, "It’s not that he doesn’t want to fight; it’s that he’s stretched too thin right now."
Alia fell silent...
Indeed, his sister’s death, his mother’s illness, himself in a wheelchair, relatives eyeing his position with greed, external threats looming large—how could anyone handle all that?
Money, power—they’re just fleeting illusions, things external to one’s life.
Perhaps it would be better to let go and seek so peace for the remainder of his life.
In any case, with the two of them, they could still support three kids without much trouble.
"Alright, I understand. I’ll talk to him when he’s free."
"Hmm."
After hanging up, Alia felt a heavy weight pressing on her chest. Suddenly, a pang of heartache surged for that man.
They had promised not to hide anything from each other anymore. Yet, facing such imnse pressure, surrounded by enemies on all sides, he hadn’t revealed a single word to her.
Every ti he called, it was to check on her, comfort her, and ask about the kids.
This man... he had truly changed, so, so much.
————
In the hospital, Christopher was engaged in a confrontation with Emma Carter.
Emma leaned against the hospital bed, her gaze level with her son who sat in the wheelchair.
"Christopher, I’ve already lost Wendy. Now, there’s only you. If you still refuse to listen to , then I won’t bother with any treatnt. I’ll just jump off the building and go accompany your sister." Emma’s face was haggard, with significantly more gray hair within just a few days. She looked much older.
Christopher’s expression remained stoic, though anger burned fiercely inside him as he listened to his mother’s words.
Yet, he could not unleash it.
The dical report indicated a high likelihood of his mother having breast cancer, pending further confirmation by tests. If the diagnosis was confird...
He dared not think further. After a mont of silence, he replied in an even tone, "Mom, Wendy’s death wasn’t Alia’s fault; it was Wendy’s. Blaming Alia for this and forcing to end things with her is truly... unreasonable."
"Unreasonable?" Emma raised her voice. "Your own sister is dead, and you can still rationally and coldly analyze right and wrong like this? You call this being reasonable?"
"I’m heartbroken over Wendy’s death too. These past few days, whenever I close my eyes, I see her lying in my arms. That pain and despair will haunt forever. But I can’t let that cloud my sense of judgnt. You all think I’m standing by an outsider and betraying my own sister. But in my heart, Alia has always been my wife, my family, and the person I want to spend my life with. I’ve already hurt her once; I can’t repeat that mistake. Besides, we have three kids together, and I have to protect the warmth and harmony of that little family."
Emma trembled with anger at his words, her lips quivering. She lifted a finger to point at him, and after a long mont, finally managed to curse, "Get out! I don’t want to see you! You’ve disappointed too much!"
"Mom, please don’t get upset; your health is more important." Looking at his mother’s extre stubbornness, Christopher was helpless. He could only turn his wheelchair and leave the room.
At the door, he encountered George Hart coming in from outside.
"Dad."
Father and son exchanged a glance. George’s face remained cold, and he ignored the greeting, walking straight into the hospital room.
Christopher turned back and reminded, "Wendy’s morial service is tomorrow at 9 a.m. I’ll arrange for soone to pick you both up ahead of ti."
Lucas King waited in the hallway. Seeing him erge, he imdiately stepped forward to help push the wheelchair.
Christopher slumped in his seat, reaching into his pocket for his phone, only to discover a missed call.
It was from Alia.
Over the past few days, he had been so overwheld that he hadn’t even noticed when his phone had been switched to silent mode.
Realizing that Alia must have had sothing important to call about, he imdiately dialed back.
The line was picked up almost instantly.
"Alia, my phone was sohow on silent, so I didn’t hear your call."
"It’s fine. I know you’ve been busy."
"Was there sothing you needed?"
"There was, initially. I wanted to ask you about Peak Industries continuously targeting Seal-Cloud Corporation. But since you didn’t answer, I called Young Master Palr instead. He told so details, and now I understand your perspective."
Christopher, assuming she had run into trouble and needed help, relaxed slightly upon hearing this.
"Yeah, Benny and I talked about it too. I just can’t deal with everything all at once these days, nor do I have ti to et those major stakeholders to increase my equity. So... I’ll let it take its course."
Understanding his current situation, Alia responded calmly and gently, "Alright. No matter what decision you make, I’ll support you."
The man tugged at his lips in a faint, self-deprecating smile. "I once joked that the woman would handle the outside world while the man stayed at ho. It seems I spoke it into existence. If I lose my job, I’ll have to rely on you to support us."
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