Chapter 288
True, she’d shed pounds recently. But hearing “you’ve lost weight” from Kieran felt bizarre. It seemed caring, yet his online actions were ruthlessly destroying her. This sudden shift unsettled her.
Alarieka averted her eyes: “Leave if you’ve nothing to say. I need rest.”
Ignoring her, Kieran’s voice resonated like cello notes: “Satisfied with the housekeeper’s cooking?”
Alarieka clipped: “Door’s to your left. Don’t let it hit you.”
They were on different wavelengths. Kieran persisted: “We’ll change cooks until you’re happy.”
“Kieran.”
Roschelle called his name, voice hushed: “What exactly do you want?”
Kieran watched her, gaze heavy: “If the hospital’s inconvenient, return to the Argent’s villa. Round-the-clock care there.”
Back to the villa?
Alarieka nearly scoffed but restrained herself, replying with icy sarcasm: “I’d recover slower there—might even worsen. Wouldn’t dare risk it.”
She closed her eyes, impatient: “Kieran, you never used to ramble like this.”
After a long pause, she heard him say: “Apologize.”
The apologies from Dean Li and Zheng Hui still seemed to echo in the air. Alarieka didn’t grasp Kieran’s meaning at first.
“What did you say?”
She opened her eyes, looking at Kieran.
Kieran’s voice was low, his gaze dark as deep water: “Apologize to Rose.”
In that electric moment, Alarieka understood. Because of the McIntosh Piano Competition, he wanted her to apologize to Roschelle.
Apologize to that plagiarist? How could that be possible?
Alarieka’s expression turned icy: “Why should I apologize? She’s the one who plagiarized. I just exposed her. What did I do wrong?”
She nearly sneered: “Kieran, get this straight. If I hadn’t exposed her, how long do you think Rose would’ve paraded as Lindsey Weaver? How long before she’d ‘make Lindsey famous’ like she promised? Or rather—was she planning to make Lindsey famous, or herself?”
Her eyes narrowed: “If that’s why you’re here tonight, save your breath. Get out.”
Kieran suddenly stepped forward, his black dress shoes clacking on the floor—each step striking the hearts of everyone in the hospital room.
“It’s not just the McIntosh organizers and Paloma. Your school, teachers, classmates—they’re all suffering because of this,” Kieran said. “If you want this mess to keep spreading, keep avoiding me like this.”
Alarieka’s brow furrowed sharply. She looked up with a cold laugh: “You’re threatening me.”
Kieran suddenly raised his hand, grabbed her chin, and forced her face up. His thumb pressed against her skin, unconsciously rubbing slightly: “No. I’m negotiating.”
Alarieka met his gaze coldly: “Kieran, wasn’t all that online drama you and Rose cooked up? One playing victim, the other playing protector—tag-teaming the act. Who could compete with that? Coming to play the good guy now? Isn’t it a bit late?”
Kieran’s eyes chilled, coldly scrutinizing every shift in her expression.
Alarieka hated it most when Kieran looked at her like he’d seen through her. She slapped his hand away and turned her head, presenting her profile to him.
“Get out.”
Alarieka’s voice was frigid.
Kieran didn’t react to her slap on his hand. He just watched her.
“You will apologize.”
With those words, Kieran turned and walked out without a backward glance, leaving Alarieka alone on the hospital bed, her heart racing.
She didn’t want to apologize, but she knew—when Kieran Argent decided something, he rarely failed. Things usually unfolded exactly as he intended. If Kieran truly wanted her to apologize… this situation was far from over.
Alarieka watched Kieran walk to the hospital room door and push it open. Through the gap, she caught sight of Roschelle Whitaker’s figure and the hem of her dress.
Her gaze lingered on that swish of fabric, eyes momentarily losing focus.