Chapter 211 Should I hold her hand?

Chapter 211: Chapter 211 Should I hold her hand?

Cedric immediately turned toward his grandfather. "Grandpa?"

"I told him to come," James said.

Cedric stared at him in disbelief. "You invited him to my divorce?"

James frowned. "It’s Daisy’s divorce too."

Cedric’s expression darkened. "That doesn’t explain why he needs to be here."

James sighed. "Because I noticed something you apparently never bothered to notice."

Cedric’s eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

James gestured toward Alessio. "He understands sign language."

Cedric looked at Alessio. Then at Daisy.

James continued. "He seems to understand her gestures properly. If there is something Daisy needs to communicate and the lawyer doesn’t understand her, Alessio can help explain what she means."

Cedric stared at him. For a second, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Then a bitter, loud laugh escaped his lips. "So he came here as a translator?"

Alessio’s expression remained calm. But his fingers tightened slightly around his sunglasses.

James immediately shook his head. "No."

Cedric looked at him.

"He isn’t here as an official translator." James glanced at Daisy. "He is here because he’s close enough to Daisy to understand her."

He paused. "And because he is her friend."

Cedric’s face became colder. "Her friend?"

James nodded. "Yes." He looked toward Daisy. "Right, sweetheart?"

Daisy had been standing quietly beside Margaret. She looked at her grandfather. Then she glanced toward Alessio. Their eyes met.

Alessio’s heart suddenly started beating faster.

He had been trying very hard to remain composed. He had told himself that he was here only because Grandpa James had asked him to come. He had told himself that he would behave normally. He had even spent extra time getting ready that morning, despite pretending to Rafael that he didn’t care how he looked.

He had chosen his clothes carefully, checked his reflection more than once and ignored Rafael’s knowing smirks.

But now Daisy was looking at him and Grandpa James was openly calling him her close friend.

He suddenly felt an almost ridiculous amount of happiness. His heart swelled in his chest and it took every ounce of his self-control to keep his expression neutral.

Daisy slowly nodded. "Yes."

Cedric’s expression immediately darkened. Something inside his heart burned.

That single nod bothered him more than it should have. His blood ran hot and his hands clenched into fists.

He looked at Alessio again. The man was trying not to smile. Trying. But Cedric could see it. There was something in Alessio’s eyes that made his blood boil.

"You seem very happy about this," Cedric muttered.

Alessio’s eyebrows lifted. "Am I not allowed to be happy? It’s not like I’m getting divorced."

"You’re fucking smiling on such an occasion," Cedric snapped. "My wife and I are getting divorced!"

Alessio touched the corner of his mouth instinctively. "I didn’t realize."

Cedric scoffed. "Of course you didn’t."

James looked between them. "Enough."

He then turned toward Daisy. "Are you ready?"

Daisy nodded.

James gently touched her shoulder. "Then let’s go inside."

They started walking toward the entrance. Daisy walked beside Margaret, while James stayed close to her. Alessio followed a few steps behind.

Cedric walked beside Jenna. But every few seconds, his eyes drifted backward. Toward Alessio. Toward Daisy. And every time he saw them within the same space, something inside him tightened.

Alessio barely paid attention to Cedric after that. For once, the man could glare at him all he wanted. Alessio simply didn’t care.

His attention was fixed on Daisy.

She was walking a few steps ahead of him beside Grandpa James, her expression calm and peaceful despite everything happening around her.

The morning sunlight fell softly across her hair as she walked, and Alessio found himself watching her without even realizing how obvious he was being. The light caught the strands of her caramel hair, making them glow like spun gold.

Then his gaze slowly dropped.

Her hand... It was right there. Close enough for him to reach. Her fingers were relaxed at her side, swaying gently with each step.

Alessio hesitated. His fingers flexed slightly.

Should I hold her hand?

He immediately looked away.

No.

A few seconds passed. Then he looked again.

Should I?

His heart started beating faster. The rhythm was uneven, almost painful.

It was ridiculous. He had faced men with guns without blinking, had stood in rooms where a single wrong word could have ended his life, had survived things that would have broken lesser men. Yet reaching for Daisy’s hand suddenly felt like the most difficult decision of his life.

He swallowed.

Should I or not?

Finally, he made up his mind.

He reached his hand toward hers.

But Daisy was walking slightly faster than him and before his fingers could even reach her, she moved a little farther ahead.

Alessio’s hand stopped in midair.

He quickly pulled it back. His fingers curled into a tight fist.

F*ck.

He stared straight ahead, pretending nothing had happened. His jaw tightened and his ears burned with embarrassment. He had just failed to hold her hand. Somehow, that tiny failure felt embarrassingly disappointing.

Meanwhile, Daisy didn’t notice at first.

She continued walking with Grandpa James and Margaret but after a few moments, she realized Alessio wasn’t beside her anymore. She looked back.

He had stopped several steps behind them.

Daisy’s expression softened. She understood immediately that he had been left behind because of the crowd. She also felt a quiet sense of gratitude toward him.

He had come today for her.

And Alessio understood her gestures so naturally that she didn’t have to worry about explaining herself again and again. She could communicate with him without constantly wondering whether he had understood what she meant.

For someone who had spent so much of her time struggling to make people understand her, that comfort meant more than she could express.

Daisy slowed down.

Then she turned around and walked toward him.

Alessio noticed her approaching and immediately straightened. He tried to look completely normal, as if he hadn’t just been standing there like a fool.

Daisy reached him. She looked at him for a moment, then gently took his hand.

Alessio froze.

She didn’t say anything. She simply held his hand and started walking again.

His fingers automatically tightened around hers.

His mind went completely blank.

F*ck.

He was done... Completely done.