Chapter 275

"Where's Harper? Did you pick her up?" Christina rushed over, her voice tinged with panic.

She glanced into the car, but the passenger seat and back seats were empty. No sign of Harper.

William caught a whiff of alcohol on her breath and frowned. "Christina, how much did you drink?"

Luckily, he had passed by Harper's preschool that evening and noticed all the other kids had been picked up. Harper was standing alone at the gate, so he decided to take her home and then come find Christina.

Otherwise, with Christina this drunk, she couldn't even take care of herself, let alone Harper.

"Where did you take Harper?" Christina's voice was frantic, her only concern finding her daughter.

Her eyes were filled with anxiety. "Are you doing this on purpose? Trying to take her away from me to win custody?"

"Christina, why do you always assume the worst about me?" William felt a pang of sadness.

He had only ever wanted to make things right with Christina, never to cause her distress.

Even for Harper's sake, he would never do such a thing.

"Harper is my daughter too. I want her to grow up healthy, with both a mom and a dad. Trust me, I won't fight you for custody."

"Stop talking so much. Just tell me where Harper is!" Christina was on the verge of tears.

She didn't want to hear anything else, just wanted to see her daughter.

"Harper is at my place. She's fine. Calm down and get in the car. I'll take you to her."

"You're not lying, right?" Christina asked again.

It wasn't until William showed her a video of Harper on his phone that she finally opened the car door and got in.

On the way to the Cavendish Mansion, Christina was exhausted but forced herself to stay awake.

She wouldn't be at ease until she saw Harper with her own eyes.

Finally, the car stopped outside the mansion. William got out and walked around to open her door. "Can you walk?"

"Of course I can." Christina ignored his outstretched hand.

It was completely dark now, and she was so drunk that she almost tripped over her own feet.

Luckily, William was watching her closely and caught her around the waist, preventing her from falling.

Before she could steady herself, he scooped her up in his arms.

"Put me down!" Christina immediately started to struggle.

But William held her tightly. "You're so drunk. If I let you walk, you'd fall a dozen times. Just be good and let me carry you."

"I don't need your help!"

Christina didn't want any physical contact with him.

Even falling would be better than being held by him. It made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Fine, I'll help you walk. Harper is inside. If you fall and get dirty, it wouldn't be good for her to see." William took a step back.

Christina reluctantly nodded.

The walk through the garden felt endless to her. Finally, she reached out and pushed open the front door.

"Is that Mommy?" Harper heard the door and ran over excitedly.

She hugged Christina with her bare feet. "Mommy, I missed you so much."

Christina scooped up her precious daughter, finally feeling a sense of relief. Thank goodness Harper was okay.

"Mommy, you smell like alcohol," Harper said, wrinkling her nose. "I don't want you to drink anymore."

Every time her mom drank, Harper felt awful. Sometimes Christina would even throw up in the middle of the night, and Harper could only watch, feeling helpless and worried.

"Sweetie, Mommy's back now. Go upstairs and get some rest. We'll talk in the morning, okay?" William reached out to Harper.

He had planned to put Harper to bed before going to get Christina, but Harper was very attached to her mom and refused to sleep without seeing her.

Harper nodded. "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"

Christina usually slept with her daughter, but considering how much she had drunk, she might throw up at night and didn't want to disturb her daughter. "Sweetie, tonight you sleep by yourself. Mommy will sleep with you another time."

"Okay, I'll go wash up. Goodnight, Mommy. Goodnight, Dad Cavendish." Harper ran off to her room, which William had designed to her liking.

After Harper left, William turned to Christina. "You should sleep in the master bedroom tonight. It's more spacious. I'll sleep in the study."

The master bedroom was his usual place, but Christina didn't want to go there. "Any guest room will do, or I can sleep on the couch."

She planned to leave with her daughter once she sobered up the next day.

William wouldn't let her sleep on the couch and led her to a guest room. "Everything you need is here. The housekeeper is off today. If you need anything, just call me."

"Thanks," Christina said, just wanting to lie down.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell into a deep sleep. In the middle of the night, her stomach discomfort woke her.

She instinctively reached for the trash can by the bed and threw up for a long time, emptying her stomach.

A voice came from beside her. "Drink some honey water. It'll help your stomach feel better."

She looked up in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I was heading to the kitchen for a snack and heard you throwing up, so I came to check on you." William didn't tell the whole truth.

He knew she'd feel awful after drinking so much and wanted to be there to take care of her.

Christina took the honey water from him and drank a few sips, feeling a bit better.

"Rest a bit more. If you can't get up in the morning, I'll take Harper to school. You can sleep in." William stayed with her for a while before leaving.

Christina remembered setting an alarm, but she had been so exhausted lately that she slept through it.

When she finally woke up, it was already eight in the morning.

She quickly got up and washed, finding a note in the living room: [I took Harper to school. Breakfast is on the dining table. Make sure you eat.]

In the dining room, she saw all her favorite foods.

But what good were these belated gestures?

She wouldn't develop feelings for William because of them.