Bring Your A Game

Chapter 20

Bring Your A Game Mr Chapter 20

The first one to step inside the room was Danny, who walked with wide strides, all while he nagged, “Can‘t we take turns to visit her instead of coming in all at once?” He had just taken a few steps when his body stiffened. “Holy crap. Isn‘t that the world–renowned movie star, Cecile Sinclair?”

At that, the rest of the Griffiths following behind him froze as well. Jack nearly dropped the gifts that he had brought, shocked as he was once he got a good look at the woman by Elise‘s side.

Everyone seemed to have been thoroughly shaken by this. Only Alexander‘s expression was still as even as ever. Elise, who exactly are you? he wondered.

Elise herself was also surprised. She was unsure how to break the tension,

Cynthia patted Elise before she stood up and fluffed her hair. Then, she slowly spoke. “Greetings, I am Elise‘s aunt, Cecile Sinclair, but off the stage, I am just Cynthia.”

“Her aunt?” Jack couldn‘t believe his eyes. No wonder Elise ignored me back then. It‘s because her own aunt is an international superstar.And there I was, brazenly telling her that I would bring her around to meet her favorite actors. At that thought, Jack felt even more ashamed.

Alexander glanced at Elise, whose gaze was darting everywhere. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly walked over and extended his hand like a gentleman. “Nice to meet you. You‘re here to visit Elise too, right?”

“I happened to be in the country, so I came to visit her.” Cynthia extended her hand in response to his politeness. She eyed the man before her. His eyes betray nothing. And he‘s able to maintain a level head even when faced with something like this. Such a polite gentleman. He‘s a good match for Ellie.

“Are you here to visit Ellie, too? My, my, Ellie‘s the apple of my father‘s eye. Everyone has been worried out of their minds ever since she got injured,” Cynthia said with a tone that indicated her seniority over Alexander.

“I apologize for making you and your family worry. It won‘t happen again.” Part of the reason that Elise had gotten hurt this time was because he hadn‘t taken good care of her.

“I‘ll leave things to you, then.” Cynthia smiled breezily after she heard Alexander‘s promise. She walked over to Elise‘s side and teased, “Ellie, it seems to me the Griffith Family has some fine heirs. I think you two would get along well.”

Alexander‘s expression turned a fair bit chillier when he heard that.

“Aunt Cynthia, but that‘s…” Elise stuttered, her words tripping over each other.

The tiny room was already cramped enough with all the people squeezed into it. Now, the atmosphere had turned even stranger.

“Since your aunt is here, we‘ll have to welcome her properly as hosts,” Matthew suddenly said with a gentle tone, having remained quiet all this while. He lifted his head, only for his gaze to directly meet Elise‘s.

His gaze… was completely different from Alexander‘s; it actually had a hint of brightness in it.

Matthew shifted his gaze over to Alexander, his tone still gentle and polite as he spoke. “What do you think, Alexander?”

“All right. You handle the arrangements,” Alexander replied simply.

Elise gave Matthew a once–over. On the surface, he and Alexander were brothers. But in reality, they seemed to have more of a superior–subordinate relationship. It was probably because they had worked

together at the same company for a while.

“Would you like to come with us for lunch, Miss Sinclair?” Matthew suddenly asked. Even his voice sounded bright and smiley.

Lunch!

Elise was extremely excited at that thought. Her appetite was terrible after eating several days‘ worth of bland food. Now that she got the chance to feast, she was, of course, going to take it.

“Of course!” Elise answered without another thought.

However, Cynthia looked at Elise before asking, conflicted, “But, can you leave your bed this soon after your injury?”

“I happened to read this book on geomancy before. It said that being in the company of others can speed up the healing process,” Matthew said casually.

Spending time in the company of others? Only Cynthia, who spent most of the year overseas, would believe this kind of outrageous lie.

Despite that, Elise still gave Matthew a thankful look. Thanks a lot!

The mood at the table soon livened up. But for some reason, Elise thought it didn‘t seem like a welcoming party for Cynthia. This feels more like a recruitment process. And Aunt Cynthia‘s the recruiter, recruiting the perfect husband for me,

“Alexander, Ellie‘s hand still hasn‘t fully healed yet. Do you mind helping her get some of that pork?”

And so, an extra piece of fatty meat suddenly appeared on Elise‘s plate while she was still chewing the pork that she had gotten earlier.

“You‘re welcome.” Alexander said casually.

You‘re welcome, my foot! I absolutely hate meat with fat on it. How did you manage to even find such a huge chunk anyway? Elise bemoaned internally.

Elise propped her chin on one hand as she casually scanned the people around her. Other than Alexander and herself, everyone was happily chatting.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Elise jolted. She didn‘t expect Alexander to suddenly speak.

Before she could respond, she heard Cynthia answer, “Ellie‘s injury probably hasn‘t healed yet. Why don‘t you send her back?”

Or, as she was implying, she wanted to match Alexander and Elise together. Elise could feel awkward tension in her face. Why does everybody think I fancy Alexander?

“All right.” Alexander had no reason to refuse.

“Sorry for the bother,” Elise said as she gave a pained smile to Alexander, whose expression remained the same.

Elise felt awkward. I appreciate the sentiment, Aunt Cynthia. But this doesn‘t make me feel any better.

They ended up getting a taxi because Alexander had drunk some wine earlier during lunch. Elise and him got into the back seat. She unconsciously scooted over to the side, and then she scooted even further…

Alexander‘s brows were slightly furrowed as he looked at her. “Are you afraid of me?”

Elise grinned awkwardly. “I‘m just worried that you‘ll end up sitting on my clothes, haha.”

Alexander turned his head toward her and smiled. “Really now?”

Is he actually smiling?

Elise thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. Still, that smile of his did seem a little terrifying.

Elise coughed, having been caught off guard by that smile. She tried to shift her thoughts to something else instead of having her mind continue to linger on Alexander next to her.

Not long after that, she fell asleep.

As she drifted in and out of sleep, Elise saw a familiar sign flashing past her eyes. She then completely forgot that Alexander was sitting next to her. “Stop the car here. I wanna have some beef stew.”

By the time Elise remembered that Alexander was beside her, it was too late.

He went silent for a moment, and then he said to the taxi driver, “Please stop by that stew shop.”

And so, the driver turned back and stopped the taxi by an old road sign.

“Sorry about that. I won‘t take up too much of your time,” Elise said while she opened the car door and sprang out without stopping to take a breath. She rushed straight into the store.

“I‘d like this and this… And that one too…” Elise ordered everything on the menu without batting an eye, but then she noticed that there was another person standing behind her.

“Why are you here too?”

“I‘m hungry as well. Can‘t I get some food too?” Alexander asked.

“Fine, fine.” Elise wiped the sweat off her forehead before taking out her phone to pay for her food. “Please get me another one. Same as my own order.”

The shop owner‘s movements were well–practiced. In the blink of an eye, he whipped up the two orders and handed them to Elise.

“This one‘s for you.” Elise handed one of the bowls to Alexander.

Alexander frowned. In all actuality, he wasn‘t hungry.

“It‘s nothing much. Just some thanks to your family for inviting my aunt out for lunch. If you think this Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

isn‘t enough, I‘ll treat you to a nicer meal in the future,” Elise explained patiently.

Alexander glanced at the bowl of stew that was offered to him before reaching out to accept it. “You don‘t have to,” he said blandly.

Elise began to dig into her food. As always, the best foods were all hidden in little hole–in–the–wall places. She dipped her spoon into the stew repeatedly, spooning up bits and pieces of meat and vegetables each time without a care in the world.

Alexander eyed her, and the icy look in his eyes abated a little. His voice also took on a warmer tone. “Can I get this to go?”

Elise felt that he was missing the point and wasting the food. “Don‘t you know that you have to eat it while it‘s still hot?” she asked.

“No,” Alexander answered in his low voice.

Elise was stupefied by this, but then she turned back to her food and continued stuffing her face.

After Elise was sent back to the hospital, Alexander stared at the stew she had given him and lapsed into deep thought. Is this thing really that delicious?

He scanned the bag before opening it. The stew was still a little warm. Half–confused, he copied Elise and tried a small spoonful of it, carefully chewing on the meat that he had scooped up.

“It‘s actually quite tasty…”