Stuck in a Rut

His attendant left with the Liushen Pills, but Alexander Hayes was still restless and uneasy.

If anything were to happen to Susan, how could he ever face the loyal and heroic White family in the afterlife?

Back in the day, Susan’s father was an undercover agent in Chu, passing valuable intelligence to Alexander Hayes. Many victories were won thanks to the White family’s information, saving countless lives among the Hayes Regiment.

No matter what, Alexander Hayes could not let Susan—the last descendant of the White family—come to harm.

He already had a mountain of internal and external troubles, which were enough to drive him mad. Now, with Susan in danger, Alexander Hayes was even more distressed.

Leaving his study, he instinctively walked toward Lily Evans’s room.

But as he reached the door, he suddenly heard Charles Hayes crying inside. Then, he saw a young maid rush in, carrying a bowl of medicine.

Alexander Hayes’s steps froze at the threshold.

He knew his mind was in turmoil, and if he went in and started arguing with Lily Evans, he might lose control and say something hurtful.

Not seeing her made him miss her, but seeing her only led to fights. Alexander Hayes was truly caught in a dilemma.

Standing outside the door for a while, Alexander Hayes felt his head pounding. He didn’t want to go in and see Lily Evans forcing herself to drink medicine, nor did he want to helplessly urge her to take better care of herself.

Alexander Hayes let out a long sigh and thought, 'Forget it, forget it. Since neither of us can convince the other, maybe we should both cool off. Once we've calmed down, we can talk again. Otherwise, every meeting just turns into a quarrel, and that’s bad for our marriage.'

Though he desperately wanted to see Lily Evans, Alexander Hayes suppressed his longing and turned away from her courtyard.

Meanwhile, Lily Evans was busy nursing Charles Hayes inside, completely unaware that Alexander Hayes had come to the door.

Charles Hayes had eaten a bit too much that afternoon and ended up spitting up his milk, which kept Lily Evans busy all the way until evening. After finally coaxing Charles to sleep, Lily realized Alexander Hayes hadn’t come by all day.

'Where’s the Prince?' Lily finally found time to ask about Alexander Hayes.

The maid attending her replied, 'Your Highness, the Prince came by this afternoon, stood outside for a while, and then left.'

'He just stood there and left?' Lily was stunned. He came to the door but didn’t come in—Alexander Hayes had never done that before!

Seeing Lily’s face darken, the maid hurried to explain, 'Your Highness, please don’t take it to heart. When the Prince came, the young master was crying. Maybe he felt he couldn’t help and didn’t want to disturb you, so he left… He just didn’t want to interrupt you caring for the young master.'

Lily listened to the maid’s explanation, her face grew even gloomier, and she couldn’t help feeling angry. She thought, 'Fine! I take care of our son day and night—what, is he only my responsibility? I understand you’re busy, but not helping is one thing. Hearing your son cry and not even coming in? He’s your child too! Are you annoyed by Charles because he’s weak and cries a lot?'

The maid saw Lily’s face shifting between pale and angry, unaware that her explanation was only making things worse. She hurriedly said, 'Your Highness, should I go invite the Prince over?'

'No need!' Lily snapped, her voice rising in anger. Suffering from postpartum depression, she didn’t realize she was stuck in her own frustration. 'If the Prince can’t stand hearing Charles cry, then let him go wherever he finds peace! Charles isn’t crying on purpose—he’s just weak and sick, and a baby can only cry when he’s uncomfortable. If the Prince can’t bear it, then he doesn’t have to listen!'