Chapter 423

The night Isabella returned home, little Sophia was already fast asleep in her bedroom.

After a quick shower, Isabella slipped under the covers. Almost immediately, Sophia instinctively curled into her arms, murmuring drowsily, "Mommy...you're back?"

"Mm, go back to sleep, sweetheart."

No response came.

Isabella glanced down to find her daughter already deep in slumber once more.

The following morning, Nathaniel left early for a crucial business meeting while Isabella headed to Whitmore Corporation with her team of engineers.

The morning was spent in intense technical discussions with the R&D team.

As the meeting drew to a close, Isabella turned and noticed Alexander standing nearby, listening intently to her explanation.

She hesitated for just a second before continuing, addressing the group, "Actually, there are several excellent academic papers on this exact subject. Would you like me to recommend them?"

"Absolutely, Ms. Sinclair."

Isabella proceeded to list the titles and authors of the relevant publications.

When she turned to retrieve her notes, her eyes accidentally met Victoria's.

Alexander noticed Victoria's arrival and approached. "When did you get here?"

Isabella averted her gaze.

Victoria glanced briefly at Isabella before smiling faintly. "Just now."

In truth, she'd been standing there for several minutes.

She'd arrived just in time to see Alexander standing with his team, completely engrossed in Isabella's technical explanation.

Though she couldn't see his face clearly from her angle, the admiration in his gaze as he watched Isabella speak was unmistakable.

The realization made Victoria's smile falter slightly.

Never before had she seen Alexander look at Isabella with that particular expression.

But it probably meant nothing.

That afternoon, Victoria returned to Whitmore Corporation on business.

She went straight to Alexander's office, only to find it empty.

As she moved to sit down, her attention was drawn to several technical journals on his desk.

Curious, she picked one up and flipped through it, stopping at a marked article. Her breath caught when she recognized the title - it was one of the papers Isabella had recommended that morning.

Remembering how Alexander had stood so attentively beside Isabella earlier, Victoria's lips pressed into a thin line.

An idea occurred to her. She set the first journal down and quickly checked two others.

Both contained marked articles - all recommendations from Isabella's morning presentation.

And she recognized Alexander's distinctive annotation style immediately.

The office door suddenly swung open.

Startled, Victoria looked up to meet Benjamin's surprised gaze.

He recovered quickly. "Ms. Kensington? Mr. Whitmore's still in his meeting. It should wrap up in about thirty—"

"I understand," Victoria interrupted.

Benjamin noticed the journal in her hands. "Ah, those are the publications the boss had me rush out to purchase this morning. Are you interested in them too?"

"He had you buy these...today?"

"Yes, first thing this morning."

Victoria lowered her gaze at this revelation.

Benjamin, needing to retrieve some documents, missed her reaction. "I should get going—"

"Of course. Don't mind me."

"I'll have coffee brought in for you." With that, Benjamin hurried out.

Victoria carefully replaced the journal and moved to the sofa.

Though Benjamin had said the meeting would last another half hour, Alexander returned just minutes later.

Victoria smiled. "You're back early?"

Alexander replied, "Benjamin mentioned you were waiting. The important matters were already concluded."

As he spoke, his gaze flickered briefly toward the journals on his desk before he took a seat beside Victoria.

She noticed the momentary distraction, and her smile dimmed slightly.

For a fleeting moment, she'd thought he'd rushed back for her sake alone. Now she wasn't so sure.