Mrs. Hansen tee-heed as she put on a smile that didn't quite reach the eyes. "Miss Klein, I'm terribly sorry. I'm sure this is not that big a deal, just a fight between kids. As magnanimous as you are, please don't take it to heart. The business of the supermarkets..."
"I'm terribly sorry, but I still have to take back the ownership. The Clarke family is nothing if not chock-full of businessmen." Alice would never give in on this matter.
It didn't matter if she bullied her, but she wouldn't let go if it was her daughter.
While Juliet was still a child, Mrs. Hansen was a fifty-or-sixty-year-old elder, yet she'd dared to say such things to Juliet. Forget about thinking about it, just listening to it made her furious.
"You..." Mrs. Hansen was anxious, blood draining from her face. She'd really dug her own grave.
Her son would blame her. Thinking of this, her blood pressure rose instantly.
She slumped down, paralyzed on the ground.
Everyone was waiting for the encore. Was she going to make a scene?
"Lord have mercy on me! Why do I have such a hard life? I'm old, I can't breathe under such pressure." Mrs. Hansen launched into her sob story while occasionally sneaking glances at Alice.
Alice ignored her every move and said, "Mrs. Hansen, you don't have to do this. If you had any sympathy, you wouldn't have said those words to a child. Your words may cut deep for the rest of their lives."
After that, she pulled Juliet along and glanced at Henrick. "Juliet, Henrick, come on."
"Okey-dokey!" Holding his daughter's little hand, Henrick looked down at her and said, "Juliet, you don't have to come here anymore. I'll teach you in person. Piano-playing is my forte." He was confident that he could bring Juliet's skills to new heights.
"Of course, Dad. I've watched the footage of your piano competition when you were a child. You were good-looking even as a child. Marlon looks so much like you, Dad."
Juliet was very happy. Her father would personally teach her, so she would use the time to learn more.
Henrick smiled. He was so happy to have his daughter as a fan.
The family of three left happily under the eyes of many.
Bella seemed to have recognized Henrick. Her eyes jerking wide, she pursed her lips.
"Henrick Alwynn, an international celebrity. When did he become Juliet's father?"
She couldn't believe it!
"Oh my, what should we do?" Mrs. Hansen cried so hard that she fainted.
The crowd then dispersed, ignoring her.
On the way back, Josue and the butler were in the same car, and Alice and his family were in another.
Alice glanced at Henrick in the rearview mirror, who was chatting with his daughter, and couldn't help smiling.
The father and daughter smiled from ear to ear. The atmosphere was warm and happy!
Alice's heart was brimming with happiness, and it spread to her limbs and bones.
"Juliet, when I was young, I didn't have a father. It was not until later that I had a father. I, too, was bullied and scolded like today. So, don't take what happened today to heart, okay?"
Henrick knew that it was uncomfortable, angry, and painful for her, but he couldn't do anything about it.
At that time, he'd had to bear it and hadn't dared to tell his mother since she'd already had her fair share of sufferings to contend with. He hadn't wanted to add on to her sadness.
Juliet leaned against his arm and blinked her eyes. In fact, she was still a little sad. She whispered, "Dad, I'm not sad anymore when others say that to me now. When they had said that to me before I found you, I could only stare at them angrily. Because it was true that I didn't have a father, and I had nothing to refute."
"But things are different today. I have a father, and I can fight their words with confidence."
Her words deeply pierced his heart.
Alice's grip on the steering wheel gradually tightened!
She was most afraid that such a thing would happen to her daughter.
Sure enough, it did happen.
The journey back was not long. Juliet leaned against Henrick and soon drifted off to sleep.
She preferred the carved beams and painted buildings under the octagonal pavilion, surrounded by greenery and blossoms.
She would be in a good mood if she drank tea in such a place.
"Want some tea?" Alice settled her gaze on him.
Henrick nodded slightly. "Sure, pour me some. The weather is too hot."
Alice pressed the automatic exhaust machine, poured it into the teapot, and burned the water first.
Seeing that the tea set was complete, Henrick knew that both Alice and Gia were fond of drinking tea.
"Allie, if you like tea so much, why don't you open a tea house on your own? One that can show the distinctive characteristics of Javen city. Classical with a tinge of mystery and elegance. It would eliminate fatigue in an instant," he said with a smile.
Alice looked up at him. She didn't know if it was a coincidence that they both preferred the same style.
She chuckled and shook her head. "I don't have time to manage it. I can't go back and forth every day, can I."
The tea society was mostly liked by scholars. There were not many like her. Nowadays, girls preferred coffee and milk tea.
The water was boiling, and Alice began to make tea. She had never learned it before, but she liked it. She learned how to make tea online and occasionally drank tea and enjoyed moon-watching when she was free.
In summer, the moon hung high and unobscured in the sky. Sometimes, the starry night was bewitching. She liked this kind of atmosphere very much.
When the tea was ready, she poured a cup for Henrick and said, "What do you want to say?"
Henrick picked up the cup of tea and took a sip. The tea was clear and had a faint fragrance lingering around it.
"This tea is quite flavorsome, eh!" Henrick set down the cup with a smile.
Looking at Alice's expectant expression, he gently bit his lower lip, which became more charming.
"Allie, my hand won't recover anytime soon." After that, he looked at her, a momentary lull in the air.
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