Chapter 259 Explanation

Outside, there was an eerie silence, leading Dalton to suspect that they had finally left.

Just then, Lydia’s call came through.

After a single glance at the screen, Dalton snubbed the call and hung up.

He pushed through the fire exit and, to his surprise, found Dante still there, sitting on the ground.

Their eyes met, and Dalton could clearly see the redness in Dante’s eyes.

“Dante.”

“Yeah?”

Dalton greeted him briefly, then started to walk away, but something made him pause.

He turned back and said, “Dante, if you ever need a drink, just give me a call.”

Dante asked, “Did you hear everything?”

“I wasn’t trying to.”

Dante’s gaze was bitter. “Even if you did, it’s nothing new. If losing my dignity meant Anne would come back to me, I’d drag my dignity through the mud myself.”

Dalton felt a pang of empathy. Seeing Dante like this, he suddenly felt a hollow ache inside.

As a man himself, he realized he wasn’t much better off than Dante.

Dalton thought, “Dante wants Anne. He’s willing to express it openly. And me? What can I do?”

Dalton couldn’t help but smile wryly at himself.

Inside the hospital room, Lydia saw Dalton enter and immediately got up from the bed to greet him.

“How come you’ve been smoking so much?”

The smell of nicotine clung to Dalton as he stepped into the room.

Lydia poured him a glass of water and offered it to him gently. “Dalton, would you like some water?”

Dalton didn’t take the glass. His eyes, cold and distant, swept over Lydia’s face. “You can keep it.”

Lydia tensed at his frosty tone.

Dalton had been off since earlier.

He had taken the recording device from Meryl and played it himself.

Now that everyone knew the full story and was blaming her, Dalton had been eerily silent.

The silence only heightened Lydia’s unease, like the calm before a storm.

Still, since Dalton hadn’t asked any questions, Lydia wasn’t going to bring up the matter herself.

She wasn’t about to dig her own grave. With things being what they were, there was no hiding it, so playing dumb seemed like the best strategy.

The room’s unsettling quietness only added to Lydia’s discomfort.

She tried to change the subject. “Christmas is coming up soon. I’ve prepared gifts for everyone at home.”

Usually, the Aniston family would gather at the Aniston Villa for Christmas Eve, and this year would be no exception.

It was the time of year when the different branches of the family tried to outdo each other.

Even though Dylan had stepped back from managing the company, he was still the head of the family and held a significant stake in Galaxy Holdings Group.

Everyone wanted to make a good impression on him.

Dalton seemed disinterested, showing no reaction.

Lydia continued, “I’ve gotten your grandpa a painting. I just bought it at an auction through a friend, and it cost me 10 million dollars. For your mom, I got jewelry, and for the others, I prepared gifts worth over a million each. Dalton, do you think that’s enough?”

Lydia had only recently married into the family, and Dalton’s mother didn’t like her.

She had to find ways to win people over.

She’d spent 30 or 40 million dollars on gifts for the Aniston family.

The expenses had drained her bank account, but Lydia knew she couldn’t skimp on this.

The Aniston family was at the top of the social ladder; they’d seen it all.

If her gifts seemed too casual, it would not only be disappointing but also undermine her status.

So Lydia had spared no expense.