Chapter 349: A Beautiful Dream

“General Hawthorne, is this because of Ms. Prescott?” Richard clutched the lunchbox, unable to hold back.

Frederick cut him off. “It’s nothing. I might’ve eaten too much this morning and don’t feel hungry now. It’s already the end of the workday, isn’t it? You should head home. I still have plenty of work to handle.”

He ignored Richard’s question and tried to end their conversation. Frederick was relieved. Maybe the situation wasn’t as dire as he’d imagined.

“That’s fine. I’ll stay with you. I don’t have much to do at home anyway,” Richard said. He didn’t want to leave Frederick alone.

“Alright,” Frederick murmured without lifting his head. Then he continued to work on the files before him.

Since Frederick hadn’t eaten lunch, Richard went out a while later and brought back dinner. Frederick put down his pen and walked over. Richard had bought a generous amount, considering Frederick had skipped lunch. He even bought a double portion.

To his surprise, Frederick finished everything. Seeing the clean containers, Richard let out a small sigh of relief. Maybe he had been overestimating Claire’s importance to Frederick. After all, four years ago, all the evidence pointed to Anna being in Claire’s hands, and it was Frederick who sent Claire to prison. He couldn’t care that much about Claire. Claire’s death likely affected him, but it wasn’t enough to leave him sleepless and unable to eat.

After tidying up the containers, Richard returned to see Frederick still buried in work. He walked over and asked, “General Hawthorne, is there anything I can help with?”

They had been away handling the unrest caused by the terrorists, so a backlog of work had piled up.

“No need. I’ve got it covered,” Frederick said without looking up. His focus was all on the documents.

“Alright.” Richard nodded and sat down on the nearby sofa. Whether Frederick needed his help or not, Richard felt he should stay.

They finished dinner by 7:30 PM. Richard pulled out his phone and started scrolling. An hour passed without him realizing it.

At 8:30 PM, he glanced at the clock and then at Frederick, who was still engrossed in his work. Shrugging, Richard continued to play with his phone. At 9:30 PM, Frederick hadn’t moved. At 10:30 PM, he was still busy. Even at 11:30 PM, Frederick remained at his desk.

By 00:30 AM, Richard could barely keep his eyes open. Days of running around had left him drained, and the moment he relaxed, exhaustion hit him hard. At some point, he collapsed on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep.

That night, Richard had a vivid dream. In it, Claire was still alive. She and Frederick got married and had adorable twin children. Their married life was full of joy. Richard couldn’t help but laugh.

The sound of his own laughter woke him up. He opened his eyes and looked around, realizing he had fallen asleep on the sofa. Instinctively, he glanced over at Frederick’s desk. Frederick was still there, working on his files.

Richard jolted upright. “General Hawthorne, you haven’t slept all night?!”

He couldn’t believe it. But the dark circles under Frederick’s eyes made it clear. Richard began to sense something was off.