My Mirror Image by Maybe Not (Candice And Alex’s)

Chapter 0442

The bar was dimly lit, with Alex concealed in the shadows. After staring at him for quite a while, Sieg impatiently ran his hand through his hair and said, "Don't joke with me."

Only then did Alex raise his eyelids and silently look at Sieg. He asked without any fluctuations in his voice, "Joke about what?"

Sieg looked at him and hesitated. Finally, after downing half a glass of alcohol, he went straight to the point. "You and Candice—what's going on?"

Those who were friends with them knew about the tension between Alex and Candice—not just recently, but for a long time. Many assumed Alex's indifference toward Candice was due to him getting tired of her and wanting someone else.

However, only Sieg knew that Alex had once genuinely intended to propose to Candice. It was during that time that he overheard Candice's conversation with Daniel.

Candice had solemnly assured Daniel that she wouldn't marry Alex. She promised to remain Alex's secretary and nothing more.

Alex was a proud man; how could he possibly make another move after Candice had made it so clear?

Sieg couldn't recall what happened to the ring Alex had at that time, but he vaguely remembered that their relationship had gradually faded after that.

Tonight's bar gathering was initially for a friend's birthday. Soon, the crowd around them became lively again.

Sieg didn't receive an answer to his question, and he didn't press further. Remembering something, he resumed his nonchalant expression, raised his glass, and lightly tapped Alex's while casually

reminding him, "Nina has been getting close to some people lately. I've heard that she’s been asking people about you. I've met her a few times too; she's quite a smart woman."

Alex hummed in acknowledgment. Sieg tactfully shifted the topic, asking, "Is everything going smoothly with Solaris? The Sui family has been quite active lately."

A shadow passed over Alex's brow. Sieg leaned back on the sofa, clicking his tongue before saying, "I still can't figure out what your father is thinking. How could he kick you out of the headquarters because of the Sui family? It's going to be difficult for you to return now."

Alex's gaze, in the dim and colorful lights of the bar, became deep and cold. After a moment of silence, he said, "Difficult or not, it doesn't matter."

Those things were still at the headquarters. He had to get his hands on them.

-

Candice rested at the villa for a few more days until Hanley agreed to let her start working again. Updates from Solaris kept coming through messages from Yondu and Angela. The proposals to be submitted to Redshade Corporation were repeatedly modified as well.

Since Darius called that night, Candice hadn't contacted him, and even Henry hadn't contacted her again.

As for Sonia, she was indeed under medical parole. When Jackson called Candice to inform her that Yvonne and Ivor had been discharged, Candice was having lunch with Yana.

Her morning sickness was back. She couldn't stand strong smells and would vomit immediately upon encountering them. Jackson said, "Yvonne has requested to see you. Captain Raymond asked me to check your opinion."

Candice rejected it without hesitation. However, in the evening, Jackson called again. Yvonne strongly insisted on seeing Candice, even to the extent of self-harm for this purpose.

The next day, when Candice went to the detention center, the fog on the road hadn't cleared, and it was cold as the New Year approached.

Hanley dropped her off at the entrance, and Candice didn't ask him to accompany her inside. She had a premonition that this meeting with Yvonne might be the last.

Yvonne's wounds hadn't completely healed. She could have continued recuperating in the hospital, but she had requested to be discharged earlier than expected.

However, Yvonne's current condition seemed vastly different from what Candice had anticipated.

Despite the injuries and her overall despondency, there was an unexpected tranquility. The turbidity and floatiness in her eyes had dissipated. She sat quietly in the wheelchair, looking at Candice.

Candice remained silent, just watching Yvonne.

After a while, Yvonne moved. She sighed gently, her voice hoarse as she asked, "Candy, you must hate me, right?"

Candice looked at her without saying a word. Yvonne seemed to have expected that as she continued, "It's right for you to hate me. When I was in the hospital, I kept dreaming. I dreamed of when you were a child, always pestering me for candy. You were so cute back then."

As she spoke, tears shimmered in Yvonne's eyes, and she wiped away the tears with her hand, reminiscing. "I remember when you lost a tooth as a child, I didn't allow you to eat candy. You bought candy with your pocket money secretly because you were afraid I'd find out. You ended up eating three pounds of candy that afternoon."

As Yvonne spoke, her eyes teemed with memories. She reached out to wipe away the tears again and looked at Candice.

Candice remembered every detail of her childhood memories with clarity. However, hearing Yvonne bring them up, Candice felt surprisingly unmoved.

She asked Yvonne, "What do you want to say?"

Unable to contain her tears, Yvonne didn't cry out loud like before; instead, her tears silently fell. The blurred vision slowly overlapped the current Candice with the little girl who used to lean on her.

Yvonne's heart felt a pang of bitterness. Choking up, she said, "Candy, I owe you too much. If there's a chance, I'll repay you in the future. I just hope that you..." Yvonne hesitated midway, her mouth opening and closing several times without knowing what to say.

Yvonne spoke a lot, most of it reminiscing about Candice's childhood. Some of the things were so remote that even Candice herself couldn't recall them.

When Candice was about to leave, Yvonne stopped her and, in a heavier tone than before, said, "In the future, consider me dead. Having a mother like me is embarrassing."

Candice paused at her footsteps, looking back at Yvonne for a moment before turning away. There wasn't a trace of hesitation.

When she left, it was almost 11:00 AM. The sun had dispelled the fog, and the temperature had become warmer. Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Hanley was waiting for her, and when he saw her coming out, he didn't ask anything and drove away directly.

"Hannah booked a restaurant for us; let's go for dinner," Hanley said.

Candice asked, "Didn't she say she wanted to go to Solaris?"

"She went and came back," Hanley said. "I heard from Yana that you plan to visit Stugan City during the New Year."

"It's warm over there," Candice replied.

Hanley nodded. “It’s also where we first met. It's indeed a good place."

Candice chuckled softly, watching the scenery outside the window recede.

The heavy mood brought on by Yvonne seemed to dissipate slowly, as if the wind outside the window had carried it away.

Hanley drove them to the restaurant that Hannah had mentioned. Upon arriving, they realized it was the Thai restaurant they had been to before.

Moreover, when they entered, they coincidentally ran into several familiar faces.

Sieg, Marc, and a few others Candice recognized but couldn't name were there.