The Devil's Harem

Chapter - 191

"Will you buy it for mommy?" Claire suddenly said. But after she spoke, Claire thought she may have taken it a bit far.

"What would mommy want me to buy for her?" Alex smirked, "Huh... Mommy? Tell na, mommy..."

"... Annie's mommy is my mommy. You are okay with that, Annie, right?" Alex asked Annie for the final approval.

Alex thought Annie might only shake her head and refuse the idea. After all, who would want to share their parents with someone else? But Annie's reaction to Alex's proposal was much more than normal. She jumped out of Alex's lap and looked straight at him in anger. She did not even blink. This was the first time Alex had seen her so seriously.

Alex, in this moment of confusion, tried to look at Claire, but just as his gaze was about to meet Claire's, Annie held his chin and made Alex look her way. She then placed her finger over his chest before putting it on herself.

'You belong to no one but me,' It was the sense of proclamation Alex got from the gesture. Annie then gave her mother one last look before snuggling into Alex's embrace once again. Annie has already marked her territory. Something even her mother could not enter.

"Hush... What's the use of all this money if I can't even buy something for my loved ones?" Alex sighed as he leaned back on his chair. He already had no interest in this auction, and now it looked even more pointless.

But Claire's body on the side flinched when she heard Alex.

"Loved ones?" Claire whispered to herself as she looked at Alex. Did she hear him right?

Claire knew that it was possibly no big deal for Alex to say that. He had already shown with his actions time and again that he cared greatly about them, especially Annie. But actions and words were a totally different thing.

As long as they were actions and nothing was said, she appreciated him, there was no other feeling. But his words just now made her heart flutter, sending butterflies in her stomach.

Suddenly, Claire found herself stealing glances at Alex, who was busy scrolling through his phone while his hands gently stroked Annie's cheeks.

'How can he act so non-bothered after saying those words?' Claire was embarrassed by the fact that only she was affected by his words.

'Don't we look like a family?' Claire thought but soon dumped the thought away.

She was older than him, already married once and even had a daughter. It was selfish of her to even think like that. Alex was more than good enough for her. Instead of an old lady like her, he can easily have a young and pretty girl.

But Claire could not help but be selfish. It was alright for her to live alone for the rest of her life. She had experienced pretty much everything, love, heartbreak, joy and whatnot. She even had a job to keep herself busy. But it was different for Annie. Annie might not even remember her father's face.

She has to grow up without ever feeling a father's affection. And providing Annie with that feeling sometimes made Claire think that way.

'But does he care about that?' Claire could not help but think. She felt that it did not matter to Alex that much, but... There was a big but here. She did not know Alex more than those couple of meetings and a few text messages.

Meanwhile, Alex was busy texting Jessica. He was curious as to why Veronica was not there. If that woman was here, she would have definitely stolen the limelight from these artefacts. But the poor lady had a shoot. As for Karen, at least she was on her way. Meeting his former boss after so long, just the thought of it brought a smile to Alex's face.

While Alex rehearsed how he should greet Karen, his phone buzzed. It was a call from Karen.

'Think of the devil. She is going to live a long life,' Alex answered the call without delay.

"Hey, Karen... You won't believe it. I was thinking about you only just now," Alex said.

"Mr Alex?" but from the other side, there was an unfamiliar voice of a man who answered.

"Who is this?" Alex frowned, listening to the man, "And why do you have this phone?"

"Sir, I am calling from Maxx hospital. Miss Karen, the owner of this phone, got injured. Her phone was locked, and your number was saved as the emergency contact," the man on the other side explained.

"Injured?" Alex frowned, "What happened?" Alex did not lose his cool and calmly asked.

"That... Can you please come to the hospital?" The man suggested, "It would be better to explain it face to face."

"Alright," Alex agreed, "I will be there in thirty minutes."

"No need to hurry. It is not that bad," the man told Alex.

"Alright," Alex said but paused for a second, "Take care of her." And Alex ended the call with that.

"What happened?" Claire, who heard bits and pieces of it, asked when she saw the grim look on Alex's face.

"It's nothing," Alex smiled immediately, "My friend got a bit hurt. I need to go see her."

'Her?' Claire's ear stood up. But despite the warning signs in her heart, her profession kicked in and took over.

"Do you want me to tag along?" Claire offered.

"No, it's alright. There is no need to drag Annie through the hospital for no reason. And from what they told me, it's nothing big. Maybe a sprain or a fracture at best," Alex assured Claire and put down Annie from his lap.

"Cutie... I am sorry. But I have to go help a friend of mine. Can I?" Alex asked cutely.

Hearing Alex, Annie pulled out her pinky finger and extended it towards Alex.

"I know I promised to take you to that cinderella movie tonight, but what can I do? That friend of mine is such a klutz. She had to go and hurt herself tonight only," Alex acted like he was angry at Karen, "But you know, she has no one to take care of her. If I don't go, she will be all alone and scared."

And this made Annie think. She put her finger on her cheeks and pretended to think for a few seconds before nodding her head and allowing Alex to leave.

"That's my girl," Alex leaned forward and kissed Annie on her cheeks before standing up. He then turned towards Claire, "Do enjoy the dinner, and if you have anything you need, don't hesitate to ask Damien. Don't hesitate," Alex greatly emphasised in his last words.

"I will don't worry," Claire nodded in agreement.

"And call me when you reach home. Or at least, message me," Alex further instructed.

"Will you give it a rest? I am not a toddler," Claire rolled her eyes, annoyed by his nagging.

"You better not forget it," Alex then bent in front of Annie, "Take good care of your mother while I am gone. Alright?" Alex asked of Annie, and the little girl was more than happy to oblige.

"Bye then..." And with that, Alex walked out from there.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Oh, look who it is?"

As Alex waited in front of the elevator, someone called out for him from behind. When Alex turned and looked behind, there were a few familiar faces smiling at him.

"You..."

* * * * *