Thomas hurriedly entered the room when he heard the voices. As he entered, he noticed Elizabeth, who was sobbing and tightly embracing Maggie. Normally, he would have reprimanded Elizabeth for her disrespect toward Luna at this moment. At the very least, he should have pulled her away to prevent Luna from getting hurt. But these days had been tough on everyone. Especially Elizabeth, she had been meticulously tending to Luna, gently swabbing Luna’s dry lips when needed, and closely monitoring her condition.
Even the butler, accustomed to the ups and downs of life, breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.
“It’s good to see you’re alright. I need to report to Alpha as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aldrich was on his way back with Charlie. The members of the Elder Council were bickering daily, and they were neglecting their duties. Instead of discussing important matters, they were getting caught up in trivial disputes, causing the election process to progress at a snail’s pace. Aldrich went there daily, and apart from doing his own tasks, he also had to listen to a group of elderly men and women arguing nonstop. His ears were almost numb.
“What day is it for Maggie’s coma?” he asked Charlie.
“It’s been the fifth day, Alpha. You seem worn out. You shouldn’t be overly concerned. The doctors said she’s not unable to wake up; she just needs time. Maybe it’s a turning point, and you should take care of yourself first.”
Aldrich heaved a deep sigh. He knew that theoretically, what Charlie was saying made sense. He was the Alpha, and his condition affected the hearts of other pack members. If he panicked, the pack members would follow suit, and it might even lead to a riot. Moreover, the upcoming election was drawing near, and he couldn’t afford to let his previous efforts go to waste.
But deep down, his heart was filled with worry for Maggie. He hoped she would wake up safely. For a moment, he even had a very weak thought: if Maggie woke up and decided to leave with her child, he would accept it. However, this thought merely flashed across his mind.
Maggie, please wake up. He thought, if you continue to sleep so obliviously, your partner will become a feeble man who only cares about your safety.
“What’s the latest on Barret Group’s financial report?” He suddenly remembered another matter.
He didn’t only have to manage Blue Moon Pack; there was also a massive corporation he had to oversee. During this time, he had been swamped with work, and he had hardly had the time to focus on the corporation. Initially, this matter should have been handed over to Marvin, but that guy claimed he had no experience in managing a large corporation and even refused to find excuses. Aldrich was furious with him, but his father had always been very lenient with Marvin. When he reported the matter to his father, his father only said that if Marvin believed he couldn’t manage a corporation properly, just let him be. It wasn’t his aspiration.
Charlie occasionally went to check on Barret Group, and at other times, he returned to assist Aldrich in matters related to the Elder Council. Even Jolie had been busy recently and rarely seen.
“Jolie took a look for me. There aren’t any fundamental issues, but there are some decisions she can’t make.”
“I’m aware. I hold a regular weekly online meeting, and this week’s meeting hasn’t been held yet. How about today? Resolve the part of the work that Jolie can’t handle.”
“Alright. When are you planning to officially return to work at Barret Group? The upper management has subtly expressed their dissatisfaction with your frequent absenteeism lately.”
Aldrich frowned, “As a CEO, what’s the point of clocking in every day?”
The purpose of the CEO position is to make decisions when the lower-level employees can’t handle the issues. In a well-functioning company, there shouldn’t be a need for daily decision-making.
Charlie shrugged, “Well, you do look handsome and young, and you’ve achieved a lot. That’s something highly enviable in the human world.”
Aldrich scoffed, “I’m not young, and I might be older than these old folks’ grandmothers.”
Charlie maintained a polite smile, “That’s all the more reason for envy.”
He felt thoroughly exasperated; nothing seemed to be going smoothly. He muttered to himself, calculating the time since he last went to work properly, which was only about a month. Some of the old guys in the company spent half the year or more traveling outside. He, as the CEO, worked diligently and took only weekends and Christmas off, hardly ever taking other statutory holidays. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
“Tell them, say that there have been some internal problems in the Barret family recently, and I need to focus on resolving these issues. Choose someone to temporarily act as CEO.”
“Understood.”
Aldrich looked at the uninteresting scene in front of him, and he even began to miss Marvin, the troublemaker.
He didn’t expect that as soon as he arrived at the estate, the guards at the gate had already been replaced.
Aldrich was taken aback, “It’s not time for a shift change yet, is it?”
Charlie hadn’t been staying at the estate much recently, so he wasn’t very familiar with the specific schedule. “Why don’t you ask Thomas? He should know best.”
Just then, Thomas also arrived at the gate of the estate, “I guess you’re about to return.”
Aldrich hesitated for a moment, “You rarely come out. Is there something special going on?”
Thomas’s face couldn’t hide his joy, “Luna has woken up!”
Aldrich and Charlie exchanged a glance, and they could both read the shock in each other’s eyes. This good news came a bit too suddenly, and they were still processing this information.
“Aldrich!” Following behind them was Maggie, being supported by Elizabeth as she walked out.
“Maggie!”
He rushed over, lifting Maggie in his arms. He chastised her slightly, “Why did you get out of bed as soon as you woke up? You should be resting properly.”
Maggie laughed at his overreaction, “I don’t have any external injuries, and I’ve been lying down for so long. Why should I continue resting? Put me down, many people are watching.”
The guards and maids around them were all watching this scene. Some of them discreetly covered their mouths and laughed. Maggie wasn’t used to being too ostentatious in front of others, but Aldrich was already accustomed to this kind of attention.
“I’ve missed you, Maggie,” he breathed deeply, hoping to catch a whiff of Maggie’s exclusive jasmine scent, “The first thing I do every morning is to check if you’ve woken up, and the last thing before going to sleep is to see if you’ve left me. I’ve been on edge every day, wanting to stay by your side until the moment you wake up, but reality doesn’t allow it.”
“Fortunately, you’re awake.”
He was genuinely afraid of losing Maggie, and now she was finally awake. Maggie didn’t mind that people were watching; she hooked Aldrich’s neck and gave him a light kiss, leaving a fragrant jasmine scent in the air.
“I’ve missed you too, even when I was in a deep sleep, I was thinking about you all the time. I wanted to wake up immediately to tell you that I’m fine.”
The two lovers stood there, continuing in this princess-carry embrace, on the lawn of the estate, to calm the emotional turbulence brought on by this incident. Until Charlie couldn’t help but cough.