Ch. 141..145: My Sugar And Your Spice Chapter 141-145
Chapter 141
“Nonsense!” It took Melissa quite some time to regain her composure, and she roared, “You’re a shameless woman who sleeps with all kinds of men. How can you blame what happened to me?”
Sneering, Elyse retorted, “How could you say that? Wasn’t it you who sent that man to me? Your real intention was to let him tempt me into cheating on Leo so that Leo and I would break up.”
“So what if that’s true? Would you have fallen into my trap if you weren’t such a woman? Don’t forget that you’ve been eyeing other men before that man ever appeared. Leony is benevolent enough not to argue with you! You couldn’t resist the temptation, so you can’t blame me for anything!”
“I admit that I couldn’t resist temptations, but what’s gonna happen when Leony finds out that all of this was his mommy’s plan? Also, what will he think if he knows you were the one who found the man that he hates the most?”
Those words caused Melissa to become even paler. Her sweaty hands that were by her side clenched together tightly.
Then, Elyse grabbed Melissa’s hand and acted nice by helping her relax her fingers./Mrs. Alston, I’m not here to question you about that matter, nor did I come here to settle old scores. I came here to make a genuine deal with you. If you’re willing to accept my deal, we can establish cooperation and get what we both want. But if you’re not willing to accept my deal, I’ll leave immediately.”
After saying that, Elyse got up and walked toward the door.
“Wait a minute!”
Just as Elyse arrived at the door and was about to change her shoes, Melissa called for her. “Do you really have the plan to make Leony willingly fight for the child’s custody?”
“Of course.” Elyse smiled, but her eyes suddenly flashed with a dark light.
Today was the day Amelie would be signing a contract with Toby.
Therefore, Amelie made a rare appearance in the conference room at Starlight Media, where she decisively signed her name when the secretary handed her the pen and contract.
Following that, she gave the contract to Toby. “Mr. Walsh.”
Toby received the contract and pen but didn’t sign them immediately. Instead, he looked at Amelie.
She was wearing a formal black suit today, accentuating her slim figure.
Also, her hair was tied up, revealing her snowy-white earlobes. She looked clean and had a slightly aloof demeanor. If one were to use trending words to describe her, it would be “unspoken rizz!”
Although Toby had seen her many times before, the moment he saw her dressed up as the owner of Starlight Media he couldn’t help but be filled with admiration
He quickly signed his name and reached out to shake her hand. “To be able to be so talented and achieve such exceptional results in every field, you, Miss Dillon, are the first one I’ve ever met.”
“Your compliment is quite exaggerated.” Amelie smiled and deliberately avoided the gentleness and obvious fondness in his eyes.
Then, she formally handed the contract to the legal officers. “Well, let’s wish for a happy cooperation.”
“Wish us a happy cooperation.”
Toby had a faint smile on his exquisite face.
Despite knowing he still wasn’t worthy of her, he was still happy to have a chance to talk to her.
He looked down at his watch. “It’s almost noon. Could I have the pleasure of inviting you to lunch?”
Amelie looked down at her watch too. It showed 11.30AM, which was indeed lunchtime.
“Sure.” She nodded. “It’s on me today. Take it as compensation for yesterday.”
Toby didn’t refuse her offer, and the two left one after another.
“Amelie!” Julia came from the corridor. Her high heels clanked against the floor at a fast pace, showing that she was walking quickly.
Her complexion looked quite bad. She held an iPad in her hand and looked at Toby before nodding at him apologetically. Then, she pulled Amelie to the side. “Look at this.”
Amelie looked at the iPad, displaying an interview titled, ‘Owner of Starlight Media Makes His First Appearance-Walking About His Life.’
Below the title was a picture of a middle-aged man in glasses. He was sitting upright on the couch, seeming quite intelligent. However, the picture was taken from the side, so the man’s features weren’t quite clear.
“I wonder which scoundrel came up with this Elliot Poole person and said he was the owner of Starlight Media,” Julia spoke very quickly. “That’s not it. They even spoke about some sensitive topics.”
Then, she skipped past the contents in the beginning, scrolled straight to the middle, and pointed at one specific sentence. “Look!”
Amelie quickly scanned through it and saw that the article was in an interview format.
‘Host: Mr. Poole, according to what we know, you’ve given Miss Amelie Dillon the authority to manage Starlight Media’s business matters, which shows how much she means to you. What we’re curious
about is— Are you going to marry Miss Dillon? What kind of family are you looking to form?’
‘Elliot Poole (laughing): Of course, we’re going to get married. The best marriage in my mind is to only have two people supporting each other.’
‘Host: Are you saying that you don’t want any children?’
no one will disturb our life together. Of course, a child would not matter because there are many ways where we can arrange for the child to be settled down.’
Host: So, you would consider sending your child to another place to be brought up?’
1
‘Elliot Poole: We won’t be having a child, and the child we have now will naturally have to stay away from our lives. In fact, a child without parents can become more independent, which is better for us and the child. It’s a win-win for all of us.’
‘Host: It seems like you’re a wise man.’
“He’s an imposter and should be put behind bars. I’m calling the cops!” Julia yelled and was about to walk
away.
Amelie pulled her back and explained while pointing at the date in the picture, “With his capabilities, he won’t be able to do such a thing, even if he has the guts to do it, there must be someone helping him! This interview was obviously done last night. Even if you call the cops, he must be in the wind by now.”
When Julia saw it, she roared again, “Damn it! Who the heck hates you so much that they found an imposter to say such nonsense? What are they trying to do?”
Amelie scrunched her eyebrows because she wasn’t sure why someone would do such a thing either.
“I’m sorry. Elliot Poole is a name I made up.” Just as they were both thinking about this matter, someone interrupted them.
Both Amelie and Julia turned around and saw Toby standing behind them.
Toby coughed to hide his embarrassment. “I know you don’t want the Alstons to know about your real identity, so I made up the name Elliot Poole and created some fake information about him. I didn’t expect someone would take advantage of this and… I’m sorry.”
He did it for Amelie’s sake, but his kind gesture had turned into something bad.
“But both of you can rest assured. I’ll look into this matter immediately.” After Toby said that, he nodded and left without having lunch.
While watching him leave, Julia shrugged. “He seems to care a lot about you. Do you think he likes you?”
Without giving any response, Amelie smiled and said, “I think my current lifestyle is great. Work during the day and family time at night.”
Knowing what she meant, Julia nodded.
If it were someone else, she would have persuaded Amelie to give it a try, but Toby was someone close to Leo, which made him an unsuitable candidate.
Later, Amelie left after a short conversation with Julia.
handsome figure.
Chapter 142
Amelie stopped in her tracks and stood in her place while looking over.
She saw that person leaning against the car with his head slightly lowered. There was a cigarette between his fingers, and smoke was gradually rising from the cigarette.
The scene before Amelie surprised her because, in her memories, he rarely smoked.
Leo took a drag of his cigarette and saw Amelie, so he walked over.
Since he was quiet, his pursed lips and dark patches under his eyes gave others a depressing feeling.
Meanwhile, Amelie stared at him without moving.
He threw the cigarette bud to the floor before stepping in to put it out. “Since you guys don’t want Bria, you can give her to me.”
When Leo spoke, Amelie instantly understood what was happening. It seemed like he had read the interview article on the so-called “owner of Starlight Media.”
“What if I say the interview was a fake? That person is not the real owner of Starlight Media.” When Amelie spoke, she looked into his eyes with her clear and bright eyes.
She saw him frown, followed by a slight scoff.
“How does it feel to lie through your teeth?”
If Toby was the only one who said Elliot Poole was the owner of Starlight Media, perhaps he would still maintain some doubt. However, even Ashton found information proving that point, so how would Leo believe that Amelie wasn’t lying to him?
Leo’s face darkened even more, and his nicer attitude toward Amelie returned to how it originally was.
While looking at his raised eyebrow and sarcastic smile, Amelie felt helpless.
However, she didn’t want to fall out with Leo regarding Bria.
Therefore, she took a deep breath and suppressed the frustration in her mind before asking again, “Would you. believe me if I said I’m the real owner of Starlight Media? Elliot Poole does not even exist! If you don’t believe me, you can ask Julia or Samuel. Both of them are very familiar with me.”
This time, Leo did not scoff. Instead, he just stared at her with his jet-black eyes.
He pursed his lips and said nothing, but every cell in his body was silently telling Amelie that he was regarding her as a liar.
Having realized that, Amelie laughed bitterly. “Right, Julia and Samuel are both my friends, and from your standpoint, you think they will help support my lie.”
“Bria is my daughter, and I will not give her to anyone. I can also promise that I will give her the best care.” Amelie could only declare her stand.
“Your so-called best care is to pay large amounts of money for her to live somewhere else so that you and your lover can live a peaceful life together?” Leo spoke in a cold and merciless voice.
For some unknown reason, he felt uncomfortable thinking about Amelie being lovey-dovey with another man.
“My daughter has a home, so she won’t need to live elsewhere!” While saying that, his tone was exceptionally firm.
Suddenly having a headache, Amelie argued, “Leo, what do you want me to do to make you believe that I won’t treat Bria like what is written in that interview? I can promise you I will never get married. Is that okay?”
However, Leo still had a stern expression.
It was no longer the era where two people had to get married before staying together.
Amelie felt like the person who staged all of this had trapped her in an invisible net, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t get out of it.
It was such a well-thought-out plan.
“You’re no longer suitable to take care of Bria,” Leo stated.
As he didn’t know Toby had meddled with the information, he believed that Elliot Poole was the real owner of Starlight Media after getting confirmation from two different people.
Toby had no reason to trick him, and Ashton also had no reason to fool him.
“Do you think you’re suitable to take care of Bria?” Amelie knew distrust could stop two people from talking with each other, so she didn’t want to come clean about other things. She stared him dead in the eye and said, “Don’t you forget that you and Elyse will get married and will have your own children. By then, what would happen to Bria? She will be the odd one out within your family of three. Do you know how devastating that would be to her? What’s the difference between that and living somewhere else?”
“Even if we have a child, she will still be my daughter, and Elyse will treat her as her own!” Leo replied directly, but it only made Amelie sneer.
She believed that Leo would treat Bria nicely, but Elyse? She naturally would treat Bria “nicely.”
Amelie had never trusted Elyse’s character.
“Leo, how about we do it this way? I’ll promise you that I will never date or marry anyone in my life.” She lowered her tone and sounded like she was pleading with him.
Leo smiled sarcastically. “Do you think your promises are believable?”
That caused Amelie to be at a loss for words. Her face froze as her eyes reddened in grievance.
Leo’s words were implying how she had never stuck to her words and how she made things up about their
“That was all…” with reason.
She didn’t finish her words.
Since Leo denied every word she said, what was the point of saying those words besides giving him a reason to make snarky comments about her?
Their conversation had come to a dead end.
Amelie looked around, and her eyes landed on the busy road.
“Leo.” She called out to him softly while smiling faintly. “How about we make a bet? If I lose, you can bring Bria away, but if I win, Bria stays with me.”
Leo’s eyebrows were scrunched together as he looked at her with questioning eyes.
She pointed at the car park beside the road. “I’m terrified of cold-blooded animals. If I can stay inside a car with eels for one hour, I win!”
After she said that, she didn’t wait for Leo to respond before walking toward the driver and buying a bucket of eels. Then, she jumped inside the bucket.
Those eels were slippery like snakes, and their skin was slimy and cold. Also, they looked absolutely revolting.
One after another, the eels inside the bucket began to squirm around after being disturbed when a human stepped inside the bucket.
Then, they began sliding against Amelie’s skin.
The icy-cold eels had their mouths running across her legs and constantly rubbing against her.
When Leo saw her buy those eels, he didn’t stop her because he knew she was terrified of them. Even the sight of them could make her tremble in fear.
He thought she was only threatening him, but she really stepped inside the bucket.
Meanwhile, the driver also didn’t know why she went inside the bucket, but he gracefully added some water inside.
The eels squirmed even faster and more violently when water was added to the bucket. The shocked eels were madly bumping into each other between her legs!
Leo’s eyes widened in shock because he remembered that she had previously fainted when Jodie placed two eels in her room, but now… she was even daring enough to be in contact with them?
Of course, Amelie was afraid.
The uncomfortable feeling one had of a living thing would usually develop into intense fear. The person would scream madly and feel suffocated when in contact with that thing even if it wasn’t something
dangerous.
Moreover, eels had the characteristics of a snake and would also bite humans when forced to.
Meanwhile, Leo clearly noticed her stiff body. Every time an eel passed through her leg, she would tremble slightly.
Also, her face was turning extremely pale at a visible speed!
But she was smiling at him.
Her smile seemed so pale, and he felt like an invisible hand was grabbing his heart.
A sharp pain came from his heart, and a tingling feeling surged inside him until it reached the top of his head!
Opposite him, Amelie couldn’t hold on anymore and fell backward…
Chapter 143
Splash!
Water splashed as she sat down inside the bucket instead of falling outside.
The moment she fell, it increased the contact surface she had with the eels!
Leo instinctively ran over and was about to pick her up, but Amelie smiled and avoided him. “Leo, I can do this. How can I have the right to maintain Bria’s custody if I can’t even stand such a small test?”
She sounded like she was panting, and her voice was obviously shaking.
At first, she talked to him, but then it became a mutter.
She was comparing her absolute fear with her care for Bria.
After she compared both, it was obvious that Bria was much more important.
At that moment, Amelie suddenly felt that eels weren’t as terrifying as she thought and closed her eyes.
When one hour was us, she opened her eyes to find that Leo had disappeared.
Amelie acted like nothing had happened and smiled.
She could understand why Leo refused to accompany her in such a crazy act, but after that one hour, she realized that her fear of cold-blooded animals could be cured.
When losing something was more serious than her phobia, her phobia of cold-blooded animals seemed like nothing.
Leo was aimlessly driving on the road.
Though he left because he didn’t want to accompany Amelie in acting berserk on the side of the road, he had an uncomfortable feeling in his heart while driving. It felt like someone had stacked stones in his heart.
He felt especially uncomfortable when he thought about how Amelie disregarded her fear of …
eels and the feeling of being watched by others in public to sit inside a bucket like a fool!
While thinking of that, he gripped so tightly around the steering wheel that his knuckles turned pale!
He then stopped the car by the road and sat inside quietly for a long time.
It was until he noticed that the time Amelie said was almost up that he returned. Then, he saw the wet Amelie coming out of the bucket with a victorious smile on her pale face.
She was obviously stumbling when she came out and almost fell a few times.
In the end, he couldn’t bear it anymore and got out of the car.
However, before he could take a step forward, a figure flashed across and went over to support Amelie.
When Leo caught sight of that person, his face immediately turned as black as ashes!
“What’s going on? Why were you inside that tub?” Meanwhile, Toby didn’t notice Leo as all his attention was on Amelie. His eyes were also filled with concern for her.
Smiling, Amelie blinked her eyes at him. “Because I wanted to do it.”
She had a victorious smile on her face and was happy like a child.
Though her face was ashen, she still smiled very beautifully.
Toby was stunned when he saw her bright smile and was smitten.
It took him quite a while to remember that she was soaked, and he quickly took off his coat to wrap around her body before leaving together.
Leo was silently clenching his fists. As he was using so much strength, two veins had protruded from his forehead at some point.
On the other hand, Amelie changed her clothes straight after returning to her office. When she came out, she saw Toby sitting on the couch, lost in thought. “Mr. Walsh, why did you return? Is there something wrong?”
Raising his head, Toby looked at her with something indefinable in his eyes.
“Was that because of… Leo?”
Amelie smiled. “It’s not for him. It’s for Bria’s custody.”
Though she spoke nonchalantly, it was like a kick in the gut for Toby. The pain was almost unbearable.
She was the owner of Starlight Media, yet she had to place herself in such an awkward position because she wanted to maintain her daughter’s custody…
“I’m sorry.” He apologized again. “If I hadn’t done what I did and made Elliot Poole up, this wouldn’t have—”
“It’s really not your fault.” Amelie shook her head. “Even if this hadn’t happened, the Alstons would think of another way if they wanted Bria back.”
Toby quietly pursed his lips as his expression became more serious.
A while later, he spoke up. “I’ve already deleted that information, and I’m currently hunting down that man who pretended to be Elliot. I believe we will be receiving news about this soon.”
Amelie hummed lightly in response and sat on her chair.
Perhaps she had been in the water for too long, and it made her look frail.
embrace and keep her safe from all this mess.
In the end, he could only force himself to look away.
“I will explain to Leo the truth,” he said.
“There’s no need for that.” Amelie drank a sip of water and sighed.
The problem between her and Leo was never misunderstandings but trust.
If Toby went and spoke up for her, it would make Leo doubt her even more, which wouldn’t help with anything.
When Leo parked his car, he realized he had arrived at the kindergarten.
The kindergarten was located at Halport, a one-hour drive from Amelie’s company.
When he approached the kindergarten, he looked through the steel fence covered with /cartoon characters and saw a bunch of children playing inside, including Bria.
She was wearing the white shirt and pleated dress distributed by the kindergarten. Her hair was tied up into pigtails, and she was currently exercising according to the teacher’s instruction.
Her tiny legs were parted while her small hands drew circles in the air.
Since she was a tiny kid with tiny arms, she looked adorable when drawing circles with her hands.
Leo watched the scene in a daze.
“Excuse me, which child’s parent are you?” Seeing that he kept standing there, the teacher thought he was here to send over something and came to ask.
When the teacher saw the extremely handsome man before her, she couldn’t help but blush.
Leo nodded politely before pointing at Bria. “I’m her father.”
“Father?” The teacher was shocked because she had never seen Bria’s father. Also, she heard that Bria lived with her mom.
Without asking any further questions, the teacher nodded and called for Bria.
“Yes, Ms. Lowe,” Bria called out with red cheeks and a face full of smiles.
However, her smile disappeared when she saw Leo, and her eyes were instantly filled with alertness.
The smile from before disappeared without a trace.
The teacher was shocked to see Bria’s sudden change. “Bria, is he your dad?”
“Vor
Drin onlind coftly coomingly not too avrited shout this
The teacher instantly felt awkward.
“Ms. Lowe, I would like to have a private chat with her. Is that okay?” Leo asked.
The teacher didn’t say anything and opened the gate to let Leo in.
When Leo came inside, he grabbed Bria’s hand and asked, “Bria, would you like something to eat?”
Bria blinked her big, watery eyes, and her gaze landed on the huge freezer at the shop opposite the kindergarten.
As Amelie strictly controlled the number of confections Bria was allowed to eat, Bria wasn’t allowed to have ice cream that often.
The young child couldn’t stand the temptation of having ice cream. She subconsciously licked her lips but didn’t say anything.
Leo saw her reaction and asked, “Would you like some ice cream? I’ll buy it for you.”
After saying that, he squatted down to pick her up before heading outside.
This was the first time Bria was held by her father.
When he picked her up, she was dumbfounded and looked at his broad chest. Daddy is bigger than Mommy.It feels like his arms are stronger than Mommy’s too. Mom always looks out of breath carrying me, but Dad does it effortlessly.
She looked around curiously as she discovered that her reign of sight was higher and broader when in her father’s arms.
After paying for the most expensive ice cream in the shop, Leo carefully took off the wrapping and handed it to her.
She hesitated for a while before lowering her head to lick the ice cream.
The ice cream tasted divinely sweet and cold.
Bria narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Leo suddenly felt his heart melt when he saw her cute actions.
This was the first time he discovered that children were such cute beings.
When Bria finished her ice cream, she no longer resisted or was wary of him. Also, she was willing to talk to him.
Leo then asked her a few questions about her life with Amelie and how she was doing at school.
Lastly, he asked, “Bria, would you be willing to come home with me?”
Chapter 144
Brianna’s bright face instantly turned gloomy, and her small body moved aside, drawing a distance between her and Leo as caution appeared on her face again.
“I’m not going back with you!” She shook her head vigorously, and all traces of familiarity from earlier had evaporated.
Leo already found out from Amelie about Brianna’s dislike for the Alstons, so he wasn’t surprised by her reaction, but he couldn’t help asking, “What if Mommy comes back together with us?”
“We’re going back together?” Brianna repeated, tilting her head as though she was weighing this question seriously.
On the other hand, Leo had no idea why such a question would stumble out of his mouth, but instead of regretting it, the image of the three of them being together as a family appeared in his mind.
“I’m still not going back!” Half a minute later, she shook her head again.
This time, he was struck by surprise.
Gulping, Brianna then answered seriously, “I don’t want to return, and I don’t want Mommy to return, either, because Grandma and Aunt Jodie don’t like us. I don’t want Mommy to be worried every day because I’m unhappy, and I don’t want her to be unhappy, but it’s great outside. Grandpa treats me very well and we’re all very happy together. Whatever it is, I’m not going back to that home anymore. That place is terrifying!”
From the bottom of her heart, she disliked the environment at the Alstons. That oppressive environment was akin to hell for a child.
After she said her piece, she ran back to school without waiting for Leo to say anymore and shut the door of the kindergarten with a bang.
For a few minutes, Leo stood in the same spot until he suddenly heard a car honking.
Turning back, he saw Amelie jumping out of the car in a hurry and marching toward him in a huff.
Fury was written all over her face. “Leo Alston, what are you doing here? Be a man of your word. You shouldn’t fight over Bria with me anymore since you’ve already lost!”
Leo was stunned, and it hit him that she thought that he was here to take Brianna away when he was simply here to ask Brianna’s opinion.
Although he had no intention of fighting with her, her words managed to ignite his anger, and he snorted coldly. “A man of my word? Aren’t you ashamed to say something like that when you couldn’t even keep your word back then? The cheek of you to ask me to stick to my words!”
His words hit her so hard that her chest hurt, and her face fell. She held her chest, where a huge amount of blood had rushed there and clotted. Her body throbbed from the congestion, and even her breathing was in
gasps.
“I regretted it. Leo Alston!” Coldly. Amelie glared at him and spoke in a tone she never used before. “Back
With all her might, she held her eyes open so that tears wouldn’t fall. Even if it was divorce, she had never regretted her decision back then, but until this moment, she realized how childish and ridiculous she was at that time!
Meanwhile, Leo held her gaze composedly, seeing that her glaring eyes were brimming with tears, but she stubbornly fought them back.
Back then, she was the one who set him up and did him wrong, but the way she was now somehow made him feel that she was the one who had suffered a grievance.
Why is this happening? He tried his best to shake off this odd idea, but when he saw her tear-filled eyes, he turned soft-hearted.
“I can apologize to you in any way. If you wish for me to be on my knees or anything else, I’ll do it as long as you say the word.” Amelie lowered her tone because it was the only way she could mask her overwhelming emotions just a little. “I only have one request. Once we’re done and over, let me leave with Brianna. Although I have no other talents, I’m sure I can give her a good life with my own efforts. I’ll never abandon her, and never again will I let her be despised by others!” she swore, raising her hand with a determined face.
Leo watched her quietly. On her tensed face, an unwavering light glimmered in her dark eyes, and he felt a hard knock on his chest.
What made him even more uneasy was, she actually wanted to settle every single score and make a clean
break with him!
Was it because of Elliot? he wondered, but his chest felt so stuffy that he couldn’t say a single word. In the end,
he turned around and walked away without a word.
“Leo Alston!” From behind, Amelie shouted, “I’ll never let Bria go!”
Not giving her any response, Leo got into the car and simply left while she stared at his back. As she rubbed the center of her forehead, numerous worries started to creep through her mind.
In her heart, she knew that if Leo refused to let go, no amount of assertion from her would make a difference.
Later, Leo went to Genesis. Ignoring Toby who was drinking, he plopped himself into the couch.
An employee came in and brought the wine he usually drank. Quietly, he lowered his head and took a drink. When Toby finished drinking, he turned his attention to Leo.
His troubled state was reflected in Toby’s eyes, and he couldn’t stop himself from smirking. “Look at the way you are now. People who don’t know what’s going on will think that you fell out of love, but Elyse cares about you so much that you can’t even drive her away. Why are you creating this false image for others?”
Instead of answering him, Leo continued drinking with his head lowered.
As Leo’s childhood friend, Toby had a certain level of understanding about Leo. It came to him naturally that Leo’s current state had nothing to do with Elyse.
Only then did Leo slam the glass on the table and turn to him with his deep, terrifying eyes.
Since Toby had witnessed what happened in the day, he knew the reason why Leo was mad at Amelie, but he was unafraid as he met his eyes. “Leo, there’s something I have to tell you whether you believe it or not. Elliot is a character I made up. As for the interview about him, you better check it out.”
He didn’t want to tell the truth.
Elliot could help him to conceal Amelie better so that no one would dare to have any thoughts on her, but today when he saw her crouching into a school of yellow eels which she feared the most without any regard for her dignity, he felt his heart painfully wrenching.
How could a man allow the woman he loved to go through such humiliation?
Taking one last drink in frustration, he couldn’t care whether Leo believed him or not and simply strode out.
“What brought you here, Leo?”
Late at night, the last person Elyse would expect as a guest on her doorstep was Leo. She beamed at the sight
of him.
When the thick smell of alcohol from his lips reached her nostrils, she raised her brows and leaned in closer to his lips. “Did you have a drink?” she asked, breathing gently into his lips.
Instead of saying anything, Leo suddenly grabbed her hands and pulled her in.
Realizing that he wanted to hold her, she fell like a sack of potatoes into him..
However, Leo didn’t intend to let her fall into his chest, so he took a step to the side and shoved her to the doorstep. “You know him… Don’t you?”
Unguarded, Elyse was still immersed in the fantasy of being in Leo’s arms, and this shove from him almost sent her clashing with the person at the door.
The moment she saw the person, her face fell and lost all color!
Chapter 145
“L-Leo?”
Hesitantly, she turned to Leo with trembling lips. Wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, the man standing in front of her fashioned a short buzz cut and had a rather stumpy physique.
His face was rounded, coupled with a pair of crafty eyes. On both sides of his lips was some facial hair, and he looked a little like a successful person.
While others didn’t know who he was, Elyse knew him very well.
But the more she knew, the more terrified she was. Her ears rumbled, and she was so weak that she lost the strength to stand upright.
Her legs turned wobbly. She wasn’t sure how much Leo had found out. Hence, she could only try to deduce from his facial expression.
Leo had awakened from his drunken stupor from earlier, and his handsome face was void of all emotions. His eyes were deep like an ocean, and his lips were pursed into a line. He did not urge her for clarification.
However, a thick cloud of cold air shrouded him, and it engulfed her silently, taking her breath away.
Her fingers tightened and loosened repeatedly, and she gritted her teeth as she decided to bluff her way through. No matter how much he found out, it will be okay as long as I don’t admit to anything!
So, she put up a confused and pathetic stance. “Who’s this gentleman? Why did you bring him to my place so late at night?”
As an actor, she could easily put her acting skills to use even at a time like this effortlessly masking the nervousness she was feeling a second ago with a sweet smile.
On the other hand, Leo didn’t immediately expose anything and merely studied her face
The beautiful face before his eyes was the same as it had always been, but the owner of this face was so strange to him that he could no longer recognize her anymore.
Even though Elyse used to act irresponsibly in the past, she would at least speak honestly, unlike now where she was still trying to play dumb when the person was already at her door.
Overwhelmed with exhaustion, he stopped beating about the bush with her. “This is Elliot, the one who was interviewed. Are you sure you don’t know him?”
Solemn and icy, his eyes were so dark that she couldn’t read anything in them, but the flash of sharp light he emitted seemed to indicate him having read her mind a long time ago. He had seen her clearly for who she
was!
That put an end to Elyse’s pretense. She shuddered and almost couldn’t hold her own weight.
Leo’s gaze was indifferent. Despite knowing that Elyse would be completely exposed if “Elliot” opened his mouth he didn’t ask him to do so because he wanted her to admit it herself that she was the one who nlanned
Without a doubt, Elyse could also tell what was on his mind.
She was the one who found both “Elliot” and the person who wrote the interview. When she was doing a bad deed, she didn’t feel too much about it, but when her deeds were exposed, the embarrassment
was more than she could put into words, not to mention that she had to admit it personally, which was not far off from public humiliation!
Biting her lip tightly out of embarrassment, she didn’t want to say anything, and neither could she bring herself to do it.
Despite that, Leo merely stood there silently as he let her confront “Elliot”, as though he wouldn’t call it off unless she started talking.
If this confrontation continued, it would attract the attention of more people.
Elyse was well aware that, although her popularity had waned, many people were still watching her because of her relationship with Leo.
If someone snaps pictures of this situation, it will only spell trouble when people start to question my relationship with Leo.
At the thought of this, she grabbed his sleeve and looked up at him with puppy eyes. “Leo, I was wrong. I made a mistake, okay? I asked him to pretend to be Elliot for the interview because I feel so insecure. Recently, Amelie has been constantly popping up in our lives, and you keep your relationship with her ambiguous. I’m scared, Leo. I’m scared that she’ll snatch you from me.” Right in front of “Elliot”, she even went on tiptoes and placed her arms around Leo’s neck. “Leo, I’d lost you for four years. Do you have any idea how I spent those four years? Every night, I had nightmares filled with scenes of you leaving me. My depression came from the anxiety my heart is carrying!”
Leo kept his silence as he pulled her arms away and took a step back to keep a distance from her.
Massaging his forehead, he then waved to the bodyguards standing outside. They understood his order and dragged “Elliot” toward the exit.
Distress and panic were written all over “Elliot’s” face as the bodyguards dragged him away, but he kept looking back, saying, “Mr. Alston, I’m begging you. Please let me go! Miss Clayton promised me a million if I can successfully upset you. I was overtaken by greed for a second, that’s why I… But I didn’t harm anyone!”
His confession was the last thing Elyse was expecting, and her face turned scarlet from the sudden rush of blood. She wanted to throw her temper at “Elliot,” but Leo’s presence stopped her. So, she explained, “Hear me out, Leo-”
“What are you going to explain? Are you trying to tell me that you plotted all this to make me upset so that I’ll go and look for Amelie to fight for the child’s custody? Since when you started colluding with my mother?”
Dumbstruck, Elyse stood there like a statue with her mouth hanging, her eyes filled with shock and emptiness.
Never did she imagine that Leo could find “Elliot,” who was hidden away so well, and even found out that she was in cahoots with Melissa.
Leo rubbed his temples silently.
Previously, he didn’t think that Toby would lie to him, so it didn’t occur to him that Ashton would give him false news. Once this lie was uncovered, many things could be easily explained, and finding this “Elliot” would be a piece of cake.
“I-I did this for your own good! Mrs. Alston wants to have Bria, and Bria should be by your side since she’s an Alston. I don’t want you and the Alstons to be criticized when we’re married in the future. Also, I wish to be a qualified mother and take good care of Bria,” Elyse tried to redeem herself. Sniffling aggrievedly, she almost burst into tears. “Leo, honestly speaking, doing this doesn’t benefit me at all. If
Bria comes back, I’ll become her stepmother. What will the public think of me? They’ll assume that I could even become a stepmother just to marry a rich man. With that, our feelings for each other will be denied by them. In the end, they’ll just see me as a superficial, money-grubbing woman. But why did I still choose to do this despite knowing that I’ll be misunderstood? That’s because I love you! Leo, I was wrong in the past and didn’t treasure your love. It’s my turn now to care for and love you. As long as it’s beneficial for you, I’m willing to do it, even if it means risking you misunderstanding me.”
By the time Elyse finished speaking, her face was already flooded with tears, looking aggrieved, pitiful, and humiliated. She thought that after she had said so much, Leo would be moved, at least, and come over to hug and comfort her. After all, not everything she just said was a lie; they also showed sincerity.
There was a time when he wooed her love, and now that she had given all of herself to him, there shouldn’t be a reason for him to be unhappy.
Despite that, Leo merely stood there quietly. His eyes were icy, void of all traces of emotions in them.
Panic raced through her chest, and she threw herself at him. “Leo, I know you’re unhappy that I did this, but I can’t rid this feeling of insecurity of me. Let’s get married! We’re going to be together, anyway. As long as we’re married, I’ll have nothing to worry about anymore.” Hugging Leo’s waist tightly, Elyse buried her face into his chest and closed her eyes. “When that happens, no matter what you decide to do and whether to bring Bria back or not, I’ll listen to you.”
But Leo didn’t answer and stretched his arms to the back. One by one, he pried her fingers open, took a step back, and kept a distance from her once more.
Refusing to give up, she wanted to hold him again, but a deep voice that tore her apart like thunder rammed into her ears.