Ch. 411..415: Begging For A Reconciliation Chapter 411-415

Chapter 411 Keeping Him In Check

Leah went back to the room, but she was so disturbed that she was unable to relax. Her phone was more or less unusable by now and Shawn would certainly not allow her to buy a new one to contact anybody.

She had to find out more about what he was scheming!

She went into his study and painstakingly searched all the bookshelves, bookcases, and drawers, looking for anything that seemed at all suspicious or worthy of further investigation.

Unfortunately, she found nothing at all beyond a few words written in a notebook. "Influenza virus?" Stunned, she stared at this for a moment. She was absolutely certain that it was connected to Shawn's experiments!

She returned to the room again, feeling extremely uneasy. Was Shawn planning to unleash some kind of influenza virus in Linkville in the future? If so, it would definitely result in countless deaths, just like he said…

"No!" Leah cried out in horror, covering her head with her hands. The raging storm outside increased in its fury, and the torrential rain beat down mercilessly on the leaves of the trees.

Suddenly, she heard an odd clunking sound from outside the window. Curiously, she went over to investigate and discovered that it was caused by the propellers of a drone beating lightly against the glass.

Just as she was puzzling over why a drone would be here of all places, Ross's familiar voice suddenly

crackled from the machine. "Ms. White, I'm here to rescue you. I'll decoy the bodyguards and the butler away in a little bit; when that happens, please get out of there as fast as you can!"

Leah's eyes lit up, but abruptly, her excitement faded. Clenching her fists tightly, it took her a moment to gather the courage to reply, "That won't do. I can't leave yet, there are some matters I need to finish up."

If she escaped, there would be no one here to stop Shawn. At the very least, she had to find out where his laboratory was and how far his experiments had gone, as well as when he was planning to unleash an influenza plague in Linkville…There were still far too many things she needed to find out, so she could not just leave like that.

The inhabitants of Linkville had every right to look forward to a better, brighter future; they did not deserve to be treated as pawns in Shawn's diabolical scheme.

"Ms. White, if you remain here, what about the company?" Ross sounded extremely agitated. It had never occurred to him that Leah might not want to leave. He added, "You can talk to Mr. Hendrik, you know, if anything's amiss. He'll definitely be able to help you. It's far too dangerous for you to stay here!"

Leah knew that Hendrik was concerned about her, but despite his power and influence, he would not be able to ferret out Shawn's entire, insidious plan. What if Shawn had laboratories in other countries as well? If she were to disclose what she knew right now, it would only alert the enemy and put them on guard.

"I'm very sorry. Please ask Mr. Hendrik to appoint someone to take over my position. You'd better go

now, quickly! It won't do if Shawn's henchmen discover your presence. I really do have some very important matters to finish up here…" She stood by the window and signaled for Ross to pilot the drone back.

Ross could not linger either; reluctantly, he steered the drone away. After retrieving it and putting it away, he wiped the rain off his face and returned to the car, looking resigned. The chauffeur immediately opened the door for him. He got in and sighed. Glancing at the aloof, distant Han, who had his eyes closed, he said, "Mr. Hendrik, you heard Ms. White, didn't you? She doesn't want to leave yet; she said she has to finish up some matters there."

Han's eyes glittered coldly when he opened them. "Let's head back first."

At that very moment, Ben called on the phone. "Boss, you hit the nail smack on the head. Owen Lancaster did indeed purchase a specific kind of poison some time back. Not only that, he bought up the entire stock of antidotes and cut off access to them. We've also been able to find out more about the symptoms caused by this poison, too. The victims will experience constant fevers and contract repeated colds; they'll also cough up blood and are prone to fainting. These symptoms will become increasingly frequent in the mid-to-final stages of the poison's effects. Eventually, the victim will die within a month."

Han frowned. "Investigate and find out where he's keeping the antidotes, and do it as quickly as you can. In the meantime, I'll continue to see Anna and keep him in check that way. We can't allow such a dangerous substance to flood the market indiscriminately."

After hearing about the symptoms of the poison, he could not help thinking about Leah, who had been constantly coming down with a cold over this period. He firmly put aside his grim thoughts for now; he felt that it was probably a coincidence that her symptoms dovetailed so neatly with the symptoms

caused by exposure to the poison. After all, she had been under his constant surveillance recently and had not eaten anything out of the ordinary, apart from the wine from the auction. He had sent the entire bottle for testing later, but there was nothing unusual in it, aside from some traces of sleeping drugs.

Ben painstakingly noted down his boss's orders, then asked, "Boss, Donald Harper is the one who sold that poison to Owen. What should we do about him?"

Han's expression darkened. "Keep tabs on him. Find out about his overseas supply channels, then hand the information over to the police and let them deal with him." Donald had consistently ignored his warnings; he was in no mood to tolerate the man any longer.

The poison Owen had purchased was very likely to be used on Leah; he had to find out as quickly as possible if Owen had used it, and if so, on whom.

Ben nodded gravely. "Got it, Boss!"

After ending the call, Han's frosty eyes turned to the storm outside the car window, taking in the bleak autumn vista. Why had Leah cut off her relationship with him to remain with Shawn? What was she planning?

"Ross, keep a security detail stationed at the Ford family's villa to watch over Leah. If you can, try and find out why she was so adamant about staying."

"Yes, Mr. Hendrik."

Night fell soon. By then the rain had stopped and the scent of damp earth still lingered. Leah opened the window for some ventilation and deeply drank in the fresh, invigorating air.

Footsteps sounded from outside the room. A moment later, Shawn opened the door and came in. He headed straight for Leah and attempted to slip his arm around her waist. "Sarah, I noticed you went into the study today?"

Leah slipped aside and evaded his attempt at contact. Her body stiffened slightly and she felt panicky; nonetheless, she put on a show of calm. "Mmhmm. I did." She had managed to avoid the servant; how had he found out?

Shawn's smile hardened. He strode forward and pulled her into his arms without taking no for an answer. "The surveillance cameras saw you go in. What were you looking for in my study, hmm?"

Leah's heart thudded wildly in her chest and her palms began sweating. She wanted to struggle free from his embrace, but Shawn held her even more firmly. She had no choice but to abandon her attempts. Lowering her eyes to avoid betraying her panic, she forced herself to keep her voice calm. "Oh…I was just looking for a good book to read. You've taken my phone away, and there's no TV here. I'm really bored."

Naturally, it had never crossed Shawn's mind that Leah might have accurately guessed the nature of his laboratory experiments and his scheme. All his doubts vanished at once. "I see. You should have just asked the servant to call me, you know."

A slight gleam flickered through Leah's eyes. She squirmed out of Shawn's embrace the minute he loosened his grasp. "Well, now you know. Could I have my phone back then?"

Even though she had found out from Lucy that her phone had been rendered useless, she could not let him know that Lucy had told her. She could only play dumb.

Shawn chuckled and leaned in close to murmur against her ear, "Just use my phone, Sarah; you can play whatever games on it you'd like…"

His hot breath against her ear gave Leah goosebumps and she felt extremely uncomfortable. She took two steps back to distance herself from him a little. "Maybe tomorrow or something. It's late, and I'm tired."

However, Shawn's smile deepened in disturbing fashion. With one arm around her slender waist, he gently slid his hand down her neck in a gentle caress. "Alright. I'll come to bed with you then…"

Chapter 412 Pretense

The lights in the room were dim, but the atmosphere within was certainly heating up.

Leah took one look at Shawn's hungry expression of desire and retreated from him in a panic. "That won't do! Please leave!"

Her rejection of his advances and evident disgust effectively dampened Shawn's ardor, and his earlier pleasure vanished entirely. He immediately strode right up to her and grabbed hold of her chin, twisting her face so she was forced to look at him. "Sarah, we're all adults now. Anyway, it's been over two years; you should be used to me by now!"

This cutting remark immediately stirred up all of Leah's painful memories, especially the unsavory, unpleasant ones she wanted so badly to forget. Those would be the incidents that had led to her breaking off her relationship with Han.

All color left her face, and she sat bonelessly down on the floor. Tears glistened in her eyes, and a wave of despair overwhelmed her, causing her deep anguish. If this continued, the darkness would swallow her up again.

No, she had to keep a clear head!

"Shawn Ford, you're always forcing me to do things I don't want to do. That's why I can't love you." Abruptly, she looked up and locked eyes with Shawn.

Her blunt, honest response stopped Shawn in his tracks as he was stripping off her clothes. He stared down coldly at her. "So tell me, how is Han Howard a better man than me? Why do you love him so

much, then?" One single sentence from her had totally destroyed his mood and his enthusiasm.

Leah surreptitiously pinched her thigh hard; the sharp pain helped her to remain clear-headed and calm. After a moment, she replied, "It's not that I like him. It's just that I had to stay with him due to some unavoidable circumstances." The truth would only further enrage the man looming over her.

Shawn's mood improved slightly at this, but his face still betrayed his displeasure. "Alright, Sarah, I won't force you to do anything you don't want. But I hope you won't make me wait too long. My patience has its limits, after all." He bent down, scooped Leah up from the floor, and carried her to bed, where he climbed in beside her.

The sensation of his cool skin against her gave Leah chills, and she tried to push him away. "You said you weren't going to force me…"

Shawn caught hold of her hands, amused. A frosty gleam glittered in his eyes as he answered, "We're just going to sleep, that's all. If you want a little more excitement, though, that's possible too."

Leah immediately fell silent. She turned her back to him, her entire body tense as a bowstring. She really wanted to escape, but she did not want to anger him either.

She did not dare fall asleep the entire night now that Shawn was next to her, unlike when she had been with Han.

…

Anna listened to her assistant's report and gave a scornful laugh. "I honestly didn't think Shawn Ford

would be able to succeed so well in separating that b*tch from Ethan! He ought to be extremely happy now that he's managed to obtain the woman of his dreams, right?"

The assistant nodded. "Yes, according to my sources, he's very pleased. The only thing is, Ms. Lancaster, the employee we managed to buy off at Dream Designs is probably going to have her employment terminated soon. Hendrik found out about her."

A venomous look glinted in Anna's eyes. "They keep flocking around that woman as if she's the sun! If she suffers even a little bit of humiliation, they'll exact constant retribution!" She gnashed her teeth, then asked sharply, "We won't get dragged into this, will we?"

"As long as they don't have any concrete proof or more substantial evidence, we'll be fine if we deny everything."

Anna's manner mellowed significantly at that. "Alright. Even though we managed to poison that b*tch the other day at the auction, and she won't live that much longer, we still need to be vigilant. She must not be allowed to ruin what I have with Ethan right now!"

"Yes, Ms. Lancaster."

The next day, Leah waited till Shawn had left before she hurried to search the other rooms, but she was not able to discover anything else. When he returned in the evening, he showed that he was aware of what she had been up to, of course.

"Sarah, what were you hunting for in the store room today?"

Leah was prepared this time, however. "You won't get me a new phone, and I was bored, so I went

poking around the place."

Her casual tone gave Shawn a start, and he stared at her. Under the glinting light of the chandelier, her expression appeared tranquil and gentle. His heart skipped a beat.

A pleasant wave of well-being enveloped him, and his attitude mellowed as well. He reached out and tugged Leah into his arms, then handed her his phone. "If you want to play any games or purchase anything, you can use this. The password on all my accounts is your date of birth."

Leah felt like screaming and shoving him away, but she forced herself to control her feelings. Taking the phone, she looked at it and nodded. "Oh, I see. Alright."

The phone might well be fitted with a monitoring device, but regardless, she now had a means of contacting any outside party and could use it in an emergency.

Shawn had not expected her to actually accept his phone; a tingling sensation filled him from head to toe. He could not help wanting more of the soft-voiced, alluring woman in his arms. Tightly, he enfolded her hand in his and murmured in her ear, "Sarah, I want you."

Leah's face paled. She very nearly pushed him away so she could run out of the room. However, if she did that, her plans would be ruined. "No, Shawn," she replied, firmly rejecting his proposition outright. Before his mood could change, she continued, "I know my daughter is older now, but I'm a bit more conservative. We're not clear about what our relationship is at the moment, so I don't want to give myself to you yet."

This cleverly defused Shawn's initial angry reaction. Frowning, he said slowly, "I can marry you, and we could get acquainted after that. I'll give you whatever you want."

However, Leah pretended to be annoyed. "You always say that, but you should know that what I hate most is people lying to me. You've got so much still that you're keeping from me; I don't feel secure at all around you."

Shawn was taken aback; he looked rather conflicted but continued to hold her. "What do you want to know?"

Leah's tension relaxed slightly when he said this. "Nothing in particular. If you really want to tell me, you'll tell me without me asking." She gave a little sigh and pulled away from his embrace.

Shawn was normally very shrewd, but Leah's words overset all his common sense, and he did not realize that she had very carefully laid a trap for him. He pursed his lips slightly. "I'll slowly let you in on my secrets after we get married."

The two of them went to sleep in the same bed; as usual, nothing happened between them.

Once the lights were out, the conflicting emotions in Leah's eyes were even harder to conceal. Was he truly going to wait until after they were married before he told her everything…?

The next day, Shawn had breakfast with Leah, then left the house. However, he did not go to work as usual but instructed his assistant to choose a good venue for a marriage proposal and make some preliminary wedding preparations.

An irate Jackson managed to locate him at a bridal shop. "What are you doing? I know marrying this woman is what's going to make us rich, but you don't need to go to such lengths for it! You're nothing like what you were before; at the moment your lovey-dovey brain has turned to mush!" He stared in

burning resentment at Shawn, who was acting like a lovesick puppy, and felt a sense of utter loathing and disappointment.

If this idiot were not so constantly irresolute about that woman, their plans would not have failed time and time again!

Shawn shot Jackson a cold glance of dislike, then turned back to admire the wedding veil he was fingering. "Yes, I know. As long as our scheme goes ahead as planned, that's the important thing, right?"

Chapter 413 Lovesick Puppy

The bridal shop's warm lights illuminated all the diamante-studded wedding veils, turning the entire place into an ethereal scene out of a fairytale.

Jackson's grim, thunderous expression was incongruous in the inviting, pleasant setting. Seeing that Shawn was once more determined to go his own way, he gave an angry snort and stalked out. Only after he got into his car did he eye the bridal shop balefully. "Useless piece of trash! He's eating out of that woman's hand!" After that, he glared at his chauffeur. "What are you staring at? Get back to Mr. Ford's place at once! I'm going to teach that b*tch a lesson!"

Now that she had access to Shawn's phone, the first thing Leah did was call Serena.

"Shawn Ford, don't you dare call me for no reason! I'm blocking you!" Serena had a thoroughly bad impression of Shawn by now, and she did not waste her breath being polite.

Before Serena could hang up, Leah hurriedly stopped her. "Serena! It's me!"

Serena blinked and stared at the number displayed on her screen, dumbfounded. It was definitely Shawn's phone number. In astonishment, she asked, "How did you get hold of his phone?"

Leah bit her lip, then immediately changed the subject. "Long story. How are you doing?"

To Serena, Leah sounded completely unlike her usual self. Frowning, she gave this due consideration and drew some conclusions. Snapping her fingers, she exclaimed, "Han broke your heart, so you ended up going back to Shawn instead, is that it? What about Han, then? Don't you like him?'

Serena's conclusions irritated Leah. "Stop talking nonsense. Anyway, you need to be careful in the near future and make sure you're safe!" She did not spend much time catching up; her main intention was to make sure that Serena was safe and well.

The two women chatted briefly. Before hanging up, Leah hesitated for a moment before saying, "Serena, I hope you don't dislike Shawn too intensely for now. I…I might end up marrying him eventually."

Serena could scarcely believe her ears. With eyes as big as saucers, she gasped, "Sarah? What on earth are you babbling about?! You've changed your tune suddenly after being kidnapped like that. This is completely unlike you!" It had merely been a few days since she and Leah met; why had her attitude changed so dramatically? Had Han genuinely broken her heart after all?

Leah sighed faintly, and a trace of exhaustion flitted over her features. "No. This is what I've decided after thinking it over. That is what's going on right now. You take care of yourself, okay? You can contact me using this number. I'm not using my old phone anymore."

The minute her friend ended the call, Serena sat there, flabbergasted, staring at her phone. It took a long time before she could pull herself together.

What in the world had happened?

Since Sarah was using Shawn's phone, she was almost certainly with him. From the looks of things, Serena felt that she needed to go see Sarah in person the next day.

After calling Serena, Leah contacted Ross and instructed him to call Shawn's number if he needed to

be in touch with her for any work-related matters.

Like Serena, Ross could hardly believe his ears either. Always the soft-spoken gentleman, he was agitated enough to snap angrily, "Ms. White! What do you think you're doing? Shawn Ford is Mr. Hendrik's nemesis! How can you betray him like that and go tumbling into that man's arms?"

The word "betray" was like a stone weighing down Leah's heart. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she began to feel a little light-headed. She did not say anything else, merely hung up the phone.

She had just seated herself on the couch to catch her breath and rest a while before an unexpected, unwelcome guest strode right up to her, grabbed hold of her collar, and yanked her up.

"Sarah White, if you know what's good for you, you'll stay with Shawn like a good little girl. Stop toying with his affections!"

Jackson had hauled Leah up in an extremely uncomfortable position; as she glanced up, she caught sight of the surveillance camera on the ceiling and suddenly had an idea.

She deliberately coughed with exaggerated discomfort and intentionally raised her voice. "Why won't you let me be together with him? Shawn hasn't objected to this, what right do you have to interfere?"

Jackson's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What the hell are you saying, b*tch? You're asking for a beating, aren't you? I think that if I don't teach you a lesson right now, you won't know your place…" With that, he abruptly let go of Leah's collar and let her drop to the floor like a broken ragdoll. Aiming at her head, he kicked her so hard she saw stars.

Leah did not cry or scream. Instead, her mouth twisted in an enigmatic, mysterious little smile.

This enraged Jackson even more. Before he could kick her again, he was abruptly prevented from doing so by Lucy, who had come running out.

"Mr. Lamere! Ms. White is part of our household! If you keep this up, Mr. Shawn will never forgive you!" Her shrieks were ear-piercingly loud; when she saw Leah lying so still on the floor, she almost wept with distress.

Jackson realized that he probably should not go overboard since he was in the Ford residence, after all. After delivering a few more threats and warnings to Leah, he stalked out and left.

Lucy helped Leah back to the room. "Ms. White, you just lie down here and rest for a while. I'm going to call Mr. Shawn so he can get the family doctor over here right away!"

The minute Lucy left the room and Leah was alone once more, she scrambled up from the bed and looked at herself in the mirror. The bruised bump on her head did not look very serious at all. Without hesitation, she slammed her head against the wall, targeting the bruised spot. Not content with this, she also bruised her arms and legs using the same method.

When she climbed back into bed, she felt so weak that she passed out. She was aware that she had very little agency in this place, and she could not do very much. However, she also was aware that Shawn was madly in love with her, and she could utilize this to her advantage. If she could sour the relationship between Shawn and Jackson enough that they parted ways, that would be ideal. She was quite sure that when spirited, arrogant Shawn saw that someone had hurt her, his very own plaything, he would at least be somewhat angry.

Leah awoke to the sound of enraged bellowing.

"You're a bunch of useless idiots! What's the use of hiring you when you can't even protect one woman? Get out of here! I'll deal with you later!"

It was Shawn; he appeared to be disciplining his subordinates. After shouting at them, he swept several porcelain vases off the table, which shattered on the floor with a clear, ringing sound.

Lucy came into the room with some medical supplies. When she saw that Leah had woken up, she called out to Shawn, "Mr. Shawn! Ms. White is awake now!"

Shawn left the bodyguards and ran to the room. Standing by the bed, he looked at her frail, weak form, and his heart ached with distress. Reaching out to brush his fingers lightly over her bruised forehead, he murmured, "Sarah, are you in a lot of pain still?"

Leah was taken aback by the drastic difference in his attitude toward her. He seemed to have let down the walls around his heart completely now that he finally had some hope of gaining her love.

He was very much like herself, in the end. Suddenly, she did not have the heart to deceive him any further. However, she had to stick to her guns and carry on for the greater good. Hoarsely, she murmured, "It hurts…"

She was not lying; her self-inflicted wounds were so painful they verged on numb.

Shawn blinked and pulled his hand away. He glanced over at his assistant, who was standing outside the bedroom door. His expression was glacial, and his voice dripped with hostility as he ordered, "Get that idiot Jackson Lamere over here right now!" After that, he turned back to Leah. "Don't worry. I'll deal with him. Once I have him here, you can torture him or do whatever you want."

Leah just stared at Shawn, overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling. From the looks of things, using self-inflicted injuries to gain the man's confidence was extraordinarily effective. Just like that, she had managed to sever his connection with Jackson. "It's alright. I'll let you deal with him…"

Chapter 414 Realization

Under the brilliant city lights, Shawn's gaze landed on Leah. "Sarah, I'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

Leah nodded as her eyes darkened. "Alright."

Everything was going so smoothly that she felt guilty.

After applying the medicine to her again, Shawn left the mansion. She heard from Lucy that he was going to meet Jackson.

At this moment, Leah received a call from Ross.

"Ms. White, I heard Mr. Ford has been looking at wedding gowns these two days and wants to marry you. Have you really made up your mind?" His voice was monotonous as usual, making it impossible to guess his emotions.

Leah's eyes became dull as the hand clutching the blanket became paler. "Mmhm, I've sent you the company documents that have to be handed over. Contact me if you don't understand anything. I'll hang up if there's nothing else."

She did not want to explain the matter to them and soon hung up.

The night darkened, and the late autumn wind gave people bone-piercing chills.

Han heard their conversation from the side. His expression was so tense that he exuded a murderous

aura. "Damn you, Leah."

An unspeakable rage swept over him from the depths of his heart. Even the air around him had become frigid.

He thought that Leah was only taken away by Shawn because she did not have a choice. He had not expected her to marry him this soon.

Ross watched from the sidelines and also felt uncomfortable. "Mr. Hendrik, I think Ms. White has a reason for doing this. A drone captured her expression that day, and it seemed she wasn't as happy as we had imagined." He could only try his best to comfort Han now.

Han snorted coldly, suppressing the absolute pain in his heart. "Suppress the Ford Group."

Since Shawn wanted to marry her, then he had to pay the price.

Ross nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly thought of something. "Mr. Hendrik, we bribed a servant from the Ford family's villa successfully. He also brought us the latest news about Ms. White today…"

"Jackson probably hit Ms. White until her whole body was bruised, so Shawn captured Jackson. However, Jackson is unsatisfied that Shawn only focused on his love life. The two of them are probably going to fall out soon."

Han smiled faintly. "Isn't that good? They're more in love than we thought." However, his heart was filled with piercing pain. Leah was injured again, but he could not stay by her side no matter what

identity he used this time.

Ben came over to the office at this moment. "Boss, we've found the source of the drug. It's from Qustraebar. I've arranged for people and the police to capture them. The remaining drugs are with Owen and Donald. We've discovered that the drugs in Owen's hands have been in use. It's probably used around the time of the auction. The antidote is left with Anna."

Han felt as if his heart was grabbed by someone, and he recalled the scene where Leah was sick.

His long fingers lightly tapped on the mahogany table as his eyes became cold. "Quickly investigate who the drug was used on."

The one that Owen and the others wanted to deal with the most in Linkville was Leah. Anxiousness spread in Han's heart, and a bad premonition made his limbs feel cold. It seemed like he had to get the antidote as soon as possible…

Leah mostly suffered from bruises, so Shawn got some special medicine. After resting for a week, she could walk again, and her bruises had also disappeared. However, her body had not recovered, and she seemed to be in a worse condition.

After Leah coughed out a puddle of blood in the morning, Shawn realized something was wrong.

"Send this to the hospital for testing to find out the problem," Shawn asked his assistant to collect the blood that Leah coughed out.

Then, he turned around and wiped the blood from Leah's lips gently. He asked with a serious expression,

"Sarah, is there any discomfort in your body? Did Jackson do anything else to you that day?"

Seeing the weak, pale person on the bed, he felt his heart ache.

Leah shook her head, lay on the bed, and sighed. "I don't know…" It was only three simple words, but it took her a lot of effort to say it.

She really did not know what happened to her body. Since the auction, she kept having high fevers and coughing out blood.

Then, she thought about her plan. She cleared her throat and asked Shawn. "How are you doing? What have you been busy with lately?"

Shawn was taken aback as he did not expect Leah to take the initiative to care about him. After a moment, he told her honestly, "I've been dealing with some issues related to the laboratory lately. Once I'm done, we can get married."

Leah clenched her fists under the blanket while she showed a curious expression as she asked, "The laboratory?" Her heart was beating rapidly, and she felt an unprecedented nervousness.

He was finally talking about it!

Shawn was blinded by Leah's gentleness, so he did not think there were any problems with her actions. Instead, he thought that her curious expression was adorable.

He reached out to rub her hair and said while smiling, "Mmhm, I'm currently doing an experiment. If it's

successful, the Ford Group's stock price and market value will rise a lot. By then, even Hendrik won't be an opponent to me. I believe I can protect you and our daughter well from now on."

His words made Leah feel resistant and uncomfortable, but she could not show it. She could only lower her eyes and said, "Mmhm, how long will it take?"

Her hands under the blanket had been sweating, and she was extremely nervous, hoping to hear the answer she wanted. As long as she could know how long it would take, she could have some time to take a breather.

Shawn only thought that she wanted to be with him as soon as possible, so he said without hesitation, "Three months."

There was a malicious light in his eyes as he smiled with pride. In three months, he could finally trample Han under his feet!

Leah did not listen to whatever he said after that, as she was extremely shocked. She did not expect it to be this fast.

Three months…

She must gain more of his trust to obtain more important information within this period!

Under this pressure, she started to cough out blood again. She stared blankly at the bright red blood in her hand, and her heavy, weak body made her panic.

Her intuition told her that there was something seriously wrong with her body. However, even the

hospital could not identify the problem.

She swallowed the rusty feeling in her throat and collapsed on the bed weakly.

No matter what illness it was, she only needed another three months. She could not watch so many people become sacrifices for Shawn's interests…

Chapter 415 His Proposal

The next day…

It was the last day of autumn today, and it rained non-stop in Linkville.

The trending searches on Twitter were all about Shawn's proposal to Leah.

#Mr. Ford proposed to Sarah #Popular

#Mr. Ford and his wife being lovey-dovey #Hot

"These two really know how to play around huh? They've always been a couple, but he's only proposing now?"

"I'm so envious! This rich, handsome CEO is actually so infatuated with her!"

"Does anyone still remember the negative news on Sarah? I think she's not good enough for Mr. Ford!"

"Are you allergic to romance? It's a good day, but you're mentioning such a thing!"

Leah wore a white wedding gown and accepted Shawn's proposal in Grace Hotel.

Under her fake smile, her heart was so heavy that she tried her best to control her urge to escape.

After their chat yesterday, Shawn quickly brought her to do her makeup, wear the wedding gown, and go to the hotel for the proposal.

"Sarah, we're finally truly together." Shawn held her hand with possessiveness in his eyes and a satisfied smile.

He glanced at the cameras from the media out of the corner of his eye and felt utter happiness in his heart.

Han, what do you even have to fight against me?! So what if you come back with a new identity? Even if you and Hendrik are the same person, what can you do? Sarah still became mine in the end!

The luxurious lights in the venue spun and fell onto Leah and Shawn. They stood side by side as they were recorded by the media.

The photograph of the good-looking couple spread online, and everyone was envious of their true love.

In Villa Victoria, Han also saw this photograph and dropped the teacup in his hand with a blank expression.

The teacup dropped to the floor and broke into pieces with a "clank". A strong aroma of tea spread in the air.

"Heh…" Han laughed. His low laugh sounded especially scary in the cold room.

His smile seemed forced as his cold, dark eyes seemed like they could freeze one's blood.

She said that she wanted to marry Shawn, but he did not expect her to marry Shawn so quickly.

Carlotta, who was about to approach Han to ask him to play with her, did not dare to go forward when she saw his frightening expression.

She could only walk back to her room. However, she saw the television showing the news of Shawn proposing to Leah. She was taken aback for a moment as she was shocked.

"Didn't Mommy say he can only be an uncle to me now? Wouldn't he become my daddy if they got married?"

The little one suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. However, it was still a happy occasion since her Mommy could find her a Daddy and get married.

Carlotta then used her own phone to call Leah.

The call soon went through, and Leah's gentle voice sounded. "Carlotta, how are you?"

Carlotta was a little excited, and her face was flushed. "Mommy, you still chose Daddy Shawn to be your husband? Then what about Mr. Hendrik and Daddy? Will you also marry them? However, I saw on television that our country only allows one person to have one partner. You can't have three husbands at once." The little one was distressed.

Leah was speechless. This little one's words could always make one speechless.

She took a deep breath to adjust herself and forced a smile. "Carlotta, I'll pick you up later, okay? Let Aunt Serene take care of you for a while."

Carlotta immediately pouted unhappily. "No! Why can't Mommy take care of me! I've already been separated from Mommy for so long!"

Leah also missed Carlotta, but she had compelling reasons for not letting Carlotta stay by her side.

Let alone her plans, the most important reason was her body now. If Carlotta stayed by her side, she would only make the little one worry.

After the marriage proposal ceremony ended, Leah said she was not feeling well and prepared to return to the Ford mansion first. On the other hand, Shawn stayed at the hotel to continue entertaining the guests.

Once she arrived downstairs, she leaned against the wall and felt sleepy while she waited for the chauffeur to drive over.

As time went by, she felt her body condition worsen. However, she could not find a way to treat it.

A cold wind mixed with fine raindrops blew toward Leah's face, making her shiver.

At that moment, a tall shadow covered her. The familiar cold fragrance made Leah's heart jump. She immediately opened her eyes and met a pair of deep, dark eyes. The owner of these eyes had a cold expression as his thin lips were tightly pressed together.

Leah panicked and did not dare to look at him. "Excuse me, my chauffeur is here…" She staggered, wanting to leave and get into the car. However, a large hand grabbed her and pulled her into his car.

The car door slammed shut with a bang, isolating the cold, wet weather outside. Leah's intuition told

her to stay away from this dangerous man. She wanted to open the door on the other side to escape but was pulled into an embrace.

"My dear ex-wife, am I that scary to you?" Han said with a cold smile.

Leah rarely saw Han smile. Whenever he showed such an expression, it meant she was in trouble.

"Let go of me…" She could only repeat this sentence mechanically now.

If she had not met him again, she would have forgotten about the promise she had made to him, which was to never get involved with people like Shawn. Han probably came to her this time to take revenge on her for breaking the promise.

However, compared to many others in Linkville, her sufferings and hardships were not considered much. If she had another chance to choose, she would still do so.

Seeing Han being so pressuring, Leah's whole body was tense. However, she pretended to be calm and said, "I know I broke the promise between us, so I'll accept whatever you want. I hope you continue to protect Carlotta and provide her with blood transfusions when needed."

Han's cold smile deepened, and he whispered into her ear flirtatiously, "Really? Will you accept anything?"

His ambiguous tone made Leah feel uneasy, but she still nodded. "Mmhm, this is my compensation for breaking the promise. I hope you can change the conditions and continue protecting Carlotta…" She did not expect him to agree to her words, but she still had to fight for herself.

Leah was immersed in her thoughts, so she had not realized Han's eyes darkened as she spoke.

Han suddenly kissed her lips, and the rough kiss made her moan in pain. She instinctively wanted to push him away, but when she thought about how she broke their promise, she could only endure this.

However, Han was unsatisfied with this. He carried her to his lap, and his hand fell on the wedding gown's zip. "Then let's start the performance now…"