Of course, Alexis understood this.
She knew it was no fault of the maidâs in any way.
When they finally got to the second floor, Alexis saw Leonel.
It was clear to her that he was indeed suffering from the gout.
Wearing a dark colored pajama, he was stretched out lazily on the sofa.
The moment the group walked in, he looked up and immediately, his eyes met Alexisâ.
His gaze was piercing as usual.
The two of them stared at each other for a long time.
Finally, Leonel spoke in a hoarse voice.
âIâm sorry for what happened yesterday,â he apologized.
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But Alexis simply fixed her eyes on him and said nothing.
After a while, she walked over and put little Cordelia in his arms.
Leonel could smell the faint fragrance of her shampoo as she leaned forward to drop the baby in his arms.
This familiar scent made his heart skip a beat.
Cordelia, with her innocent eyes wide open, nestled peacefully in his arms.
After letting go of the baby, Alexis suddenly asked in a low voice, âWhy do you have gout attacks so frequently now? You didnât have something like this when we were together.
â
Leonel was caught off guard by Alexisâ question.
Even he, usually the talkative one, was stumped for an answer.
The atmosphere in room suddenly grew tense.
Finally, he said, âIt doesnât happen overnight.
Iâve been battling with it these past couple of months.
â
Since theyâd been getting along well lately, Alexis was willing to show concern.
She gently petted Cordelia and said to him, âJust ease up on the drinking and take care of yourself.
â
Her concern felt genuine.
Leonel couldnât help but ask, âDo you still care about me?â
Alexis froze and said nothing.
Eventually, she stood up straight and calmly filled him in on Evelyn and Danielâs weekend plans.
Her tone stayed gentle but there was a bit of distance.
She talked for a few minutes while Leonel just listened quietly.
Cordelia nestled snugly in Leonelâ arms.
Cordelia seemed to recognize Leonel as her father and stared at him with big curious eyes.
He couldnât resist reaching out to stroke her cheek.
Cordeliaâs cheek felt soft and smelled like baby lotion.
Even though Cordelia was only nine months old, she could already speak quite a few words.
She didnât need much teaching and sweetly calling out âDaddyâ to Leonelâ¦
This brought tears to his eyes.
It had been a while since Evelyn and Daniel had seen him.