Chapter 99
The words 'Uncle' appeared on the screen of her phone, yet Alicia was not as excited as she was just moments ago.
She wiped her tears, raised her head, and choked as she thought, "Don't cry! Why are you crying? Haven't you shed enough tears for men?"
She let the phone continue ringing. She told herself to not answer it!
The ringing stopped before it rang again. She hugged her legs and bit her lips. The phone stopped ringing, and her eyes got wet again.
She told herself, "He did not even call for three times. I'm not even worth three phone calls to him, right?"
She laughed sadly before she stopped crying. "I'm nothing to him! I didn't expect to be anything to him either..."
Although she said so, she still cared deeply in her heart! After all, he was her only man. In Alicia's heart, Frederick was as important as Jeremy.
But, no matter what, they were married. He should have at least tried to maintain a normal relationship with her. That would have been enough! Why must he make her life so miserable?
Just as she was about to put her phone away and wash her face, she received a message from Frederick. There was only a single word on it. [WhatsApp]
She clicked on the app and found that she had logged out of it. As soon as she entered it, she saw his message. He had left her a message.
[It was just a cleaner. She accidentally stained the bathroom earlier on. She was cleaning it!]
Alicia pouted her lips and muttered, "Who would believe such nonsense?"
After that, he sent several photos of the room, as well as a photo of the cleaner whose nose was red. She looked petite and pitiful.
But, at this moment, even after looking at the photos, Alicia still subconsciously did not believe him. She felt that finding a cleaner and taking a photo of her was not a big deal for him!
After a while, Frederick tried to give her a video call. For the first time, she did not answer.
Frederick sent another message. [You've grown some nerves, haven't you? Answer the phone, or you'll suffer the consequences once I get back!]
How dare he threaten her?
She widened her eyes. Alicia was so angry that her eyes would pop out of their sockets at any moment!
She tapped her phone screen twice. At this time, Frederick's video call came again. This time, she answered it, but she turned her head away and pursed her lips.
The screen was filled with his handsome figure. Frederick's voice was soft, which was rare. "Did you cry? What's wrong? Are you jealous?"
Alicia answered the phone, but she did not look at him, nor did she say anything.
When he realized that she was really upset, Frederick moved his camera and let her see the entire room.
"Look, there's no one else in the room. I was working and I haven't even changed my clothes... The cleaner broke something and dirtied the carpets! I scolded her. She was afraid of being fined, thus,
she cried and begged me to let her clean it up. She delayed my shower time. Thus, I was urging her! It's not what you think..."
She looked from the corner of her eyes and saw that his computer was turned on with his work on it. The bed was neat and he was also wearing a shirt. At this moment, Alicia still doubted him.
Hence, Frederick became the one who was talking throughout the video call. She did not give many reactions, nor did she hang up the phone.
He had never encountered such a thing before. On the other side, Frederick's mouth and throat were dry from talking too long. He really had a headache. Afterward, when he saw that she was at least willing to show her face to him, Frederick was relieved.
"Alright, don't think too much. It's getting late. Go to bed early! I will be back in two days!"
Alicia scolded him in her heart, "Who cares if you come back or not?" She pouted and pulled a long face.
This was the first time that Frederick had cared for her temper. It seemed like he was quite patient with her too. He knew that she was just too anxious and angry at the moment. He did not mind that at all.
"Actually, I really miss you!" he said.
It seemed like he was not used to saying such words. These words seemed a little unnatural when it came out of his mouth, but Frederick still said them.
However, at this moment, Alicia only felt that he was coaxing her. She had experienced plenty of sweet words from men, and it was much better than his. Therefore, the 'unnaturalness' of his words appeared like 'unwillingness' in her eyes.
"Aren't you going to say Goodnight to me?" he asked.
Seeing how talkative she was when she first called him, and how she did not even speak a single word in this call, Frederick was confused and depressed. He was happy at first!
He did not know why, but he did not like to see her like this.
He knew that if he did not say anything, this call would still continue on. In the end, Alicia still fulfilled his wish.
"Goodnight!" she finally uttered.
Her slightly murmuring voice showed that she was obviously hurt. In an instant, Frederick felt sad and replied, "Goodnight!"
This time, it was Alicia who hung up the phone first.
This night, both of them were very unhappy. They tossed and turned in bed. The two of them could not fall asleep. Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
The next morning, when Alicia woke up, she curled up and sat for a long time with her arms around her knees.
It had been a long time since she did not sleep well.
For the past three years, after breaking up with Jeremy, she needed sleeping pills to sleep. Even in the two recent years, she would need to exhaust herself in order to sleep every night. Sometimes, she could even fall asleep while standing due to exhaustion. Insomnia was an incredibly rare thing for her.
She thought that she would no longer feel the love between a man and a woman, but she did not expect such a thing to seep into her heart and that it would keep her awake for the whole night.
She could not help but sigh as she touched her messy hair. "Didn't I say that love is poisonous and I would never get involved with it again? Why can't I control myself even when I know it is just to quench my thirst?" she wondered.
She felt annoyed. She got up to take a shower. She tidied everything early in the morning and went to the hospital.
Alicia sat beside the bed In the hospital and held her father's skinny hands. Tears rolled down her eyes yet again. "Dad, it's all my fault, I've made you angry..."
What rights did she have to be so emotional? What rights did she have to be angry at Frederick? Her father was still in the hospital and she still had a lot of things to do. She did not have the right to be sad. She did not have any rights to be unhappy with Frederick because she really needed him at this crucial time!
Alicia placed her father's hands on her cheeks.
"Dad, you used to hold my hand. You taught me how to fly a kite and paint. When I was young, you would always stand up for me. You would shelter me from the wind and rain. You would always protect me. You would buy me gifts whenever I was unhappy. I was afraid of cockroaches, and you would help me kill them..."
"Dad, Mom and I really need you. When you are not around, we have to close the stall early every night. Every time we hear a noise, we will be so scared that we can't sleep for the whole night! Women are really timid, aren't we?"
She continued, "Dad, your little girl has grown up and she has bloomed like a flower! I will always remember what you've said. Life will never be smooth. There will always be ups and downs in life. Mom and I are working hard. We have survived the most difficult times!"
On this day, Alicia sat beside the bed and talked for a long, long time until she felt the vibration from her phone...