Chapter 185 His TendernessÂ
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“Alex, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you. She’s always messing around with random men, so frustrated with her that I can’t help saying things like that!” Raine quickly grabbed Alex’s hand, looking up at him pitifully.Â
“Then, what’s going on here? Why did you make her carry all this?” Alex demanded.Â
“She wanted to carry them herself!” Raine shot back immediately. “She offered to carry our things. We were going to pay her anyway. Isn’t that right, Irene?”Â
Alex turned to Irene.Â
UnderÂ
pressure, Irene opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound.Â
Raine’s sharp gaze locked onto her.Â
After a few seconds, Irene softly said, “Yes, I offered to carry them.”Â
Raine blinked innocently at Alex. “Don’t get me wrong, Alex. We were going to hire someone else,Â
but she decided to handle it herself so she could pocket twice the money.”Â
Alex’s frown only deepened. Something didn’t sit right with him, but he couldn’t quite put it intoÂ
words.Â
“I’ll call my bodyguards over so she doesn’t have to carry it all by herself,” Raine said sweetly. “But don’t worry, Irene. You’ll still get double the pay!”Â
Irene lowered her head, timidly mumbling, “Okay.”Â
Raine slipped her arm through Alex’s after that. “Alex, are you free right now? Do you want to shopÂ
with us?”Â
“I’m here with friends. You go on ahead.” Alex set the shopping bags down, gave Irene one last look, and walked away.Â
When he rejoined Nancy and Gideon, he seemed distracted. “Ms. Moore, Uncle Gideon, you two go on ahead. I think I’ll head back first,” he said.Â
Sensing that something was off with him, they didn’t try to stop him.Â
After he left, Gideon turned to Nancy. “Did you bring him here on purpose?”Â
“Yes. I saw Raine walk into this mall, too. I wanted him to come to his senses sooner rather than later,” Nancy said calmly.Â
“You really do take your role as his aunt-in-law seriously.” Gideon’s eyes softened with a faint smile.Â
Nancy’s cheeks flushed. “Who said anything about being an aunt-in-law?”Â
“You will be, sooner rather than later.” His gaze turned tender as he took her hand. “Come on. He’s gone now, so it’s our turn to shop.”Â
“Alright.”Â
By the end of the day, Gideon’s hands were full of shopping bags, most of which contained things he’d bought for Nancy.Â
As they walked past a high-heel boutique, Nancy’s eyes caught a pair of black stilettos.Â
They went inside, and when the sales assistant approached with the pair of shoes, Gideon took them from her. “I’ll do it,” he said.Â
He then got down on one knee, slipped off Nancy’s shoes, and carefully put the new pair on her feet.Â
The sales assistant couldn’t hide her envy. “Miss, your boyfriend treats you so well.”Â
Nancy’s face flushed as she nodded.Â
Nearby, another couple was trying on shoes. The man was sprawled on the couch, refusing to move. The woman tugged at him.Â
“You’re too lazy. We’ve barely been shopping that long!”Â
“Come on, it’s been four hours.”Â
Noticing Gideon’s affectionate gesture, the woman’s eyes filled with envy. She turned to her boyfriend with a glare. “Look at him!”Â
“What? Have I never helped you with your shoes before?”Â
“That was when we first started dating! Ever since then, you’ve only grown less appreciative.” She huffed. “If you don’t want to shop, then just go home.”Â
With that, she stormed off, and the man scrambled after her.Â
Nancy hadn’t expected such a scene to play out right in front of them. Watching Gideon’s downturned lashes and the quiet focus in his expression as he slipped the shoe onto her foot, she found him so striking it was hard to look away.Â
His hands were a little rough, but he was warm and safe. “All done,” he said as he stood.Â
Rising to her feet in the heels, she carried herself with a height and elegance that only added to her grace. She glanced at herself in the mirror, satisfied with what she saw, when she suddenly caught sight of his gaze in the reflection.Â
His deep-set eyes were fixed on her, filled with such tenderness and adoration that it was as if she were the only person in his world.Â