Mommy，We Got a Husband

So, Alaric was supposed to just chill and recover for the next five months, right? But then Marigold kicked the bucket, and there was this huge safety mess at the construction site.

If everything had gone smoothly, Stellan could've wrapped up her five-month gig as acting director. But with all this drama, it looked like she couldn't stick around any longer.

On the other hand, if she bailed now, it would seem like she was ditching the scene as soon as things got messy. She was totally stuck on what to do.

Alaric slapped an ice pack on her for a bit, and only when the swelling went down a bit did he chill out.

"Looks like the swelling's gone down a bit," Alaric said, feeling bad for her. "You knew they were all worked up, but you still got involved. You've got two assistants now. You don't need to jump in." Stellan hung her head and mumbled, "I'm sorry, Alaric."

"I said it's cool. No one wanted this to happen, but now that it has, we gotta deal with it," Alaric told her. "I'll get the driver to take you home. Get some rest. I'll handle this mess."

"Okay." Stellan knew hanging around wouldn't help and would just make things worse.

The driver took Stellan back to the Knight Mansion. Alaric plopped down on the sofa, let out a big sigh, and leaned back, feeling drained.

This accident really messed with the company's rep. The jewelry company's construction project was totally on hold, and the safety team was doing a deep dive into the safety gear at the site. When the project could get back on track, if it could, was still up in the air. The internet was blowing up with criticism.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Alaric said, "Come in."

Tommy walked in, holding a hot water bottle. Seeing only Alaric in the office, he greeted respectfully, "Mr. Knight."

"Looking for Ms. Storm?" Alaric guessed.

"Yeah, Ms. Storm's face is a bit swollen. It needs to be iced for the first 24 hours and then heated after that. This hot water bottle stays warm for 24 hours after being charged. It's been an hour now, so in 23 hours, it'll be just right for Ms. Storm," Tommy explained.

Alaric thought Tommy was super polite and detailed from the get-go.

But he didn't expect him to be this on point. While everyone was freaking out about the issue, Tommy was all about Stellan's injury.

"You've thought of everything, even 23 hours later. You're a solid assistant," Alaric said.

Tommy replied, "It's my job. I'm Ms. Storm's assistant now."

Alaric said, "She went home and won't be back for the next couple of days. Your hot water bottle won't be needed."

"Got it. Then, Mr. Knight, I'll leave you to it," Tommy said and left.

Alaric had planned to do nothing for six months and just focus on getting better, but things didn't go as planned.

Luckily, the compensation issue with the deceased's family was sorted, even though some thought the payout was too high.

But as Stellan said, a life was lost, and no amount of money could bring him back. So, Alaric didn't haggle over the compensation.

"Mr. Knight, we posted our announcement on the official site, but folks online are tearing it apart. The comments are brutal," Silas reported.

Alaric usually didn't give a damn about online chatter, but this time it was about the company, so he had to deal with the public backlash.

Silas pulled up the comment section for Alaric to check out. After a quick glance, it was clear the comments were savage, but most of the heat wasn't on Nexus Innovations. It was all aimed at Stellan.

Alaric asked, "Why's everyone ganging up on her? Is someone stirring the pot?"

If no one was behind this, why were so many people calling Stellan a jinx?

They were saying she was super shady, marrying Alaric after pushing out Orion, then scheming against Marigold, which led to Marigold's death. In the end, her bad karma supposedly caused the fatal accident at Nexus Innovations. Silas said, "I'll look into it."

Silas was about to leave when Alaric stopped him. "Hold up."

Silas turned back. "Anything else, Mr. Knight?"

Alaric didn't buy into the online hate, but something a senior exec mentioned in a meeting stuck with him. He asked, "While I was out, did Galatea try to take the acting director spot from Mrs. Knight?"

Silas suddenly looked like he didn't know what to say, considering Alaric and Stellan were married.

Alaric pressed, "Just spill what you know."

"Yeah," Silas admitted. "Ms. Storm did. When you were still in a coma, the senior execs said Mr. Nash was an outsider and could temporarily act as director, but they didn't see him as a long-term fit. So, they thought Mrs. Knight should step in temporarily.

But Ms. Storm had the same idea and went behind the scenes to talk to the senior execs. They figured it was better to piss off Mrs. Knight than Ms. Storm. So, they all backed Ms. Storm in a vote, and Mrs. Knight was super pissed that day." "Besides cozying up to the senior execs, did she do anything else?" Alaric asked.

Silas thought hard and remembered something but wasn't sure if he should say it.

"Out with it. Don't hold back," Alaric ordered.

"Yeah," Silas replied, "There was something weird. That day, Ms. Storm and Mr. Nash spent a lot of time in the office, like they were plotting something. Then she told me to toss a bag of trash and let her know which trash can I used. I have no clue why she did that, and I didn't dare ask."

"She asked you to throw away a bag of trash?" Alaric found it odd.

Silas nodded. "Yeah, but it probably doesn't mean anything. Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Alaric said, "Got it. You can go now."

"Yes, Mr. Knight," Silas said and left.

After Silas left, Alaric felt like his whole world was flipped upside down.

Marigold had planned to kidnap Stellan, and Stellan had secretly plotted revenge. He was just finding out about all this now.

Alaric stayed at the office until it was dark. When he finally stepped out, he noticed another office light was still on, and it was Tommy inside.

"Still here?" Alaric asked.