My One-month Marriage With Mr. Hawkins

Chapter 168: Kicking Them Out

Florence was deeply moved by Ernest’s caring manner towards her, but she was still looking Gemma up and down unnoticeably.

She could discern that Gemma’s face had whitened in a flash, but she had managed to suppress her bitter emotions and just proceeded to wear a smile on her face like how Harold and the others had been reacting.

It was as if they were… only friends.

The dinner had ended in a lively and bustling mood, but it seemed like the lads had wanted more of their lovey-dovey interaction as they were still lingering in Ernest’s place after dinner with the excuse of wanting some after-dinner desserts.

Their requests were ignored by Ernest as he promptly carried Florence back to the room to change a fresh dressing for her wounds.

Florence proceeded to lie down on the bed after her dressing was changed as she was still recuperating from her injuries, hence it would not be appropriate for her to exert herself too much.

However, she soon noticed that Ernest had taken a seat on the sofa as well as if he was going to stay in the room with her, and he had even picked up a book as usual and started reading.

Was he going to disregard Harold and the others whom were still hanging downstairs by themselves?

Florence’s temple throbbed as his way of seeing to the guests like he did not give a damn about them at all had worried her profusely.

After deliberating about it for a while, she finally uttered, “You should head downstairs and keep them company, Mr. Hawkins.”

“There’s no need to. They will leave on their own after a while.” Ernest remained unmoved and was adamant about his decision to stay with her.

She tried to persuade him to change his mind, “They are our guests after all, so we should still treat them courteously when they have paid us a visit. It won’t look nice if we just let them be on their own.”

His brows were raised slightly upon hearing her words, and he stared straight at her with his gleaming eyes as he asked, “They’re our guests?”

He continued in a husky and implicative tone, “Are you concerned about our family’s hospitality?”

Florence’s heart instantly skipped a beat when he had mentioned the word ‘our family’.

The two words were like a huge stone that had been hurled into a tranquil pool of lake in her heart, causing her heart to ripple with turbulent waves and throw her into a state of nerves at once.

Her eyes flickered around the room as she did not dare to meet his gaze while her cheeks were blushing, “I’m just, reminding you out of courtesy.”

Her reminder had not come from the standpoint of the host of this place at all, and she was only urging him out of worry.

However, Ernest’s gaze had darkened as he uttered in a husky voice which had hints of delight in it, “I’ll go down and keep them company so that they won’t feel left out and think that our family is discourteous towards them.”

Florence was rendered speechless, “...”

Her face crimsoned upon hearing the word ‘our family’ coming out from his mouth again. How could he state that so offhandedly like she was in fact someone whom was important to him?

She fell into a flutter as nervousness had crept up onto her, and she promptly lied down on the bed and played dead under the blanket.

He stared at her intently for a while and walked over to the bed shortly after to tuck her in as he said gently, “I’ll be right back. Just call me if anything comes up.”

Florence did not respond to him at all, only pursing her lips under the cover as her heart was struck by his husky voice word by word.

She had almost felt like they were a sweet pair of newlyweds whereby the husband would report to his wife about where he was heading to in a gentle manner while solemnly pledged that he would return in a swift.

This had actually happened to her and Ernest...

Was this a reality?

It was indeed implausible and realistic beyond belief, and everything had appeared dreamlike to her.

Meanwhile, Gemma was in a state of nerves as she had even started to regret her decision to drop by today.

She had hoped to drop in on Ernest on the grounds that she had wanted to pay Florence a visit for her injuries, and even though she had been able to hang out with him for quite some time as she had wished for, everything that had happened at the dinner table just now was beyond her expectations.

Ernest rarely had any meals with her and what’s more, he would not give a nut about her preferences as his nose was always in the air, hence it was normal for him to be ignorant about her likings.

However, it had never entered her mind that Florence would have unexpectedly taken in the fact that he did not seem bothered at all to know about her food preferences.

The table full of dishes just now were all catered to Florence’s palate and not hers, and the fact that there was not even a single dish that she could enjoy would definitely make Florence feel suspicious.

The way that Ernest had cared for Florence throughout the whole duration of the dinner was extremely meticulous and attentive as well, and his gaze had not lingered on her since the beginning to the end of the meal.

The stark contrast between the treatment that both of them had received from Ernest had made it apparent for someone to discern at a glance whom was really the one in Ernest’s heart.

However, previously Gemma had repeatedly misled Florence that she was his real girlfriend and the one whom he really loved.

Would today’s incident arouse Florence’s suspicion about the lies that she had been feeding her all along?

Gemma was panic-stricken as she had gone out of her way to painstakingly deceive Florence so that she would reject Ernest’s earlier proposal, and if the cat was let out of the bag just when she was on the brink of success...

No, she would never allow herself to fail on the verge of success.

She was the only one whom could stay beside Ernest, and even if it was Florence, she would never tolerate her existence.

She had to think of a way to patch up the current situation and rectify the accidental mistakes just now.

Gemma was still concocting various countermeasures to fix the setback when she had noticed that Ernest was making his way down the stairs after raising her gaze.

The tailored suit that was attired by him had set his towering figure off perfectly, and his dazzling face was utterly mesmerizing to the extent that he could drive people crazy.

His exquisite aura was as if he was an unapproachable king whom was looking down on the masses, and his chilly voice rang in the room in the next moment, “Still not leaving?”

The first thing that had come out from his mouth as soon as he had come down was to actually show them the door, and it was exactly as expected from him to dismiss all of them when Florence had woken up.

Gemma’s face whitened as her heart was weighed down by sorrow and dejection upon being turned out.

She could not just walk away and leave things hanging like this as she had no clue when she would be able to meet Florence again. Her plans would be completely ruined if Florence were to get suspicious and reveal to Ernest about the lies that she had been subjected to.

Gemma rose to her feet decisively and smile at Ernest while suggesting, “Flory was still resting when I had arrived just now, and I had not gotten any chance to talk to her during dinner. Can I go up to see how she’s doing and have a chat with her?”

Ernest did not immediately agree to her proposal, and his lips were pursed as he gave it a thought. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

He had originally planned to send them away at once and return to Florence’s side to accompany her, but he was now concerned that she would criticize him for not being a good host and not doing the honors well enough which would disgrace their family’s reputation…

If Gemma were to go up and keep her company, at least she would not feel bored by herself.

This idea seemed like it was the best of both worlds.

Ernest finally nodded and concurred with her, “Sure, but don’t stay up there for too long. She still needs a lot of rest.”

“Alright.” Gemma had always worn the most elegant and charming smile on her face when she was faced with Ernest despite her heart was already scarred and riddled with extreme hatred and animosity.

Harold’s mouth twitched as he said, “Ah, I’ve finally realized that the only way to be able to stay longer at the Hawkins’ is to first curry favor with Florence. We should just talk to Florence from now on whenever we pay a visit instead of chatting with Ernest to avoid being driven out so soon.”

Ernest sat down on the sofa in a graceful manner and uttered in an impassive tone, “If you have the courage to go up and talk to her, go ahead then and see what will happen.”

A menacing aura had suddenly materialized in the living room, and Harold could instantly feel that a giant shining sword was suspended on the top of his head, waiting to cut him into pieces if he were to cross the line.

He immediately shrunk his neck out of horror as Ernest’s crazed and obsessive protectiveness towards his wife had blown his mind.

“Click”

The door was pushed open along with the sound of the click made by the door handle, and the sudden sound had startled Florence whom was still in bed.

Although Ernest did say that he would be right back, but she had not expected him to return so soon.

Did he just chuck them out as soon as he had gone downstairs?

Florence raised her eyes and looked towards the door while still feeling helpless about his inhospitable disposition, but the appearance of Gemma’s tall figure at the door had caught her by surprise instead.

Why had she come up here?

Even though it was only a handful of times that Florence had met up with her, she was always unnerved by every single one of their encounters as they were all unpleasant experiences to her, and it had even caused her stomach to knot with apprehension every time.

However, she still wore a smile on her face and greeted Gemma out of courtesy, “Why have you come up here, Ms. Marlon?”

“I just want to check in on you. How’re you feeling?”

Gemma put on an ingenuous look while wearing a broad smile on her face as if she were Florence’s close friend.

“I feel much better now, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

Florence smiled back at her politely and proceeded to throw back the covers and get out of bed.

She walked towards the bar counter in the room and asked, “What do you want to drink?”

Gemma’s gaze was immediately directed to Florence’s leg across the floor, and except for her slightly slow steps when she was walking, she could discern that there was nothing serious about her condition at all.

Why did Ernest have to carry her downstairs then if she was just doing fine?

Gemma’s countenance took on a ghastly expression as she asked, “Your leg is fine?”