The bedroom door suddenly opened. Gloria looked up and saw that Patrick had a poker face and returned with a blanket in his hand.
Without a word, he threw the blanket onto the floor beside her bed and unrolled it silently.
"What are you doing?" She was even more puzzled and asked.
Patrick lay down on the floor and turned his back to her deliberately.
"You are not allowed to sleep here," Gloria said coldly.
Patrick remained silent. Gloria shouted, "Patrick, go out!"
Patrick got up from the blanket and turned to yell at her, "Just send me away tomorrow! I don't care! Don't even think about chasing me away tonight!"
Gloria didn't expect that he dared to yell at her.
"Gloria wants to drive me away. She is sick and no one will take care of her. She is unreasonable!" Patrick shouted again.
Gloria was stunned and didn't know what to say. It was the first time that the eight-year-old Patrick had shouted at her.
She looked down at Patrick under the bed and felt exhausted, both physically and mentally.
The room was quiet, and the atmosphere was a bit tense.
With a faint light, only a bedside lamp was on.
No one spoke. It was late at night, and people had long fallen into their dreams.
Suddenly, Gloria's feet were wrapped in someone's warm hands.
She opened her eyes and looked at the end of the bed. Patrick was kneeling on the bed, holding her feet in his palms, and resting them on his knees.
Gloria was touched. She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore him. "I don't need you to warm my feet. I'll get Stewart to pick you up tomorrow."
She did not want to be pestered by Patrick anymore. Maybe he had forgotten everything, but it didn't mean he had become a different person.
That night, Gloria slept well. In the past, because her feet were cold, it was difficult for her to fall asleep. But this time, she fell asleep quickly.
She had a dream. In the dream, a pair of hands were warming her feet.
When she woke up, she didn't see Patrick. She turned to look at the floor and found that Patrick held the quilt and curled up on the floor.
She shook her head and felt that her dream was somewhat real.
In the morning, Stewart came with the doctor. Gloria said, "Take him with you."
Stewart refused. "Right now, Sean and Hank are both in other countries, and I am busy. Who can take care of him?"
After that, he ran away as if he was afraid that Gloria would reject him.
Perhaps because Patrick knew that she would not chase him away, he became more unscrupulous and stayed in her room every night.
"Gloria, I'll warm your feet." He got into her bed and warmed her feet as usual.
Gloria's face was cold. She had tried to refuse him but failed. Patrick became even more stubborn after forgetting everything.
"I have to go to work tomorrow." She turned her face away.
"But..." Patrick hesitated.
"My body temperature has returned to normal." Gloria moved her feet. She did not realize that she gradually accepted Patrick's habit of warming her feet every night.
That night, she slept well till morning.
When Gloria woke up, she felt energetic and fully recovered.
She got up quietly and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She returned to the bedroom and said reluctantly, "Get up."
Patrick did not move.
Gloria's expression changed. She reached out to touch his forehead and felt his high body temperature.
"Patrick, wake up." She patted his cheek.
She used the thermometer to measure his body temperature and almost dropped it when she saw the number.
Gloria panicked and grabbed the phone from the dressing table. "Stewart, Patrick has a fever."
Stewart shouted, "Wait for me, I will bring the doctor over immediately!"
Time passed slowly. Gloria did not know why she was so flustered. She repeated in her heart, 'Why is he so slow? Why is he not here yet?'
Stewart finally arrived.
After a long time, Stewart and the pack doctor left when Patrick's body temperature dropped.
The sun went down. When Gloria read the work reports sent by Mandy, she occasionally looked at Patrick beside her. She refused a new opportunity that Lucas had offered her.
She felt that she was crazy. She gave up on such a good opportunity for Patrick.
Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang at Gloria's house.
As soon as Gloria opened the door, Mandy rushed in anxiously.
"Gloria, I didn't believe that you would do it." Mandy was angry and picked up the cup on the table.
Before she could drink the water, the cup was snatched away.
"Alpha Patrick?" Mandy was slightly stunned.
"This is Gloria's cup. You are not allowed to use it." Patrick held the cup in his hand and prevented Mandy from getting it.
Mandy felt strange as she looked at Patrick. Gloria blocked Mandy's sight. "Go back. We can talk about it at the company later."
A trace of surprise appeared in Mandy's eyes. Was Gloria chasing her away?
"Gloria, I can't wait for that long. Today, you have to tell me the reason. Why did you give up such a great opportunity? It isn't like you." It was a great opportunity for the Carter Group to turn the corner. She did not believe that Gloria would give it up.
"Gloria, I am cold." Patrick's childish voice interrupted Mandy's thoughts.
Mandy's eyes widened in surprise.
Gloria grabbed Patrick and said, "Go back to the room."
She could only coax Patrick back to the bedroom first.
The fewer people who knew about his current condition, the better. She never expected Mandy to come so suddenly.
"Gloria, is Alpha Patrick..." Mandy was smart and noticed that something was wrong. She grabbed Gloria's arm and pointed at her head.
"It's nothing," Gloria denied.
"Gloria, I feel so cold," Patrick repeated.
"No way. Is he..." Mandy asked in disbelief.
"Enough, Mandy." Gloria's face darkened.
She did not like others saying that there was something wrong with Patrick's brain.
Gloria turned to Patrick and said, "Go back to the bedroom. Be good."
Patrick left reluctantly.
Gloria explained, "He has a fever. I can't leave him alone here."
"You gave up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because he was sick?" Mandy laughed out of anger. "It's just a fever."
Mandy's chest heaved. "Because of you, all the staff of the Carter Group have to give up a shortcut and are forced to choose the risky way. Do you know that? Gloria, you have let me down this time."
If Mandy did not know about the crisis of the Carter Group, she would not be so anxious.
Gloria was silent. Mandy suddenly stood up. "Gloria, don't forget what he did to you before."
Looking at Gloria's expression, Mandy felt that she had said something wrong. She was angry with Gloria for giving up fighting. "No one knows when he will return to normal. Do you want to take care of a child for the rest of your life?"
Gloria shivered slightly. She grabbed the sofa to keep her balance. She thought that she could hide the fact in her heart and avoid it, yet Mandy spoke it out loud so bluntly.
Gloria lowered her head, listless.
She then raised her head and said, "Mandy, if he recovers, I will treat him coldly as before."
Mandy looked at Gloria and frowned. Finally, she asked solemnly, "He will recover one day. If he does, where will you go?"
Gloria tried her best to hide her emotions and clenched the cup subconsciously.
"The current Patrick is not the real Patrick. Gloria, the real Patrick won't be so gentle to you. You should know it." Mandy's face turned paler. She would rather let Gloria suffer now than let her suffer in the future.
"I won't expect anything from him. I'll just take care of him and wait for him to recover," Gloria stammered.
"What are you going to do when he recovers?" Mandy asked aggressively.
"When he recovers..." Gloria raised her head. "You will know."
No one noticed Gloria's emotion, including Mandy.
Gloria stood up. "I will go to work in two days."
Mandy was unwilling to give up. She shouted, "Gloria, everything he does now is fake! Do you understand?"
Their dispute attracted Patrick's attention. He came out and saw the scene.
Gloria's eyes were red as if he was about to cry.
Mandy was still in the living room.
Patrick walked over and pushed Mandy. "Get out. You bad person, how dare you bully Gloria? I'll beat you up."
"Bad person?" Mandy's face was pale. She smiled bitterly and said, "Patrick, you are the one who treats her the worst in this world!"
Mandy turned around and left.
She walked away in her high heels and left in hurried footsteps.
She escaped from Gloria's house.