Ch. 191..195: My Sugar And Your Spice Chapter 191-195
Chapter 191
The sound was so loud that the ground rumbled.
When Elyse heard that, she was frightened. Then, she saw that Leo had driven past her and went toward the reporters’ direction.
They were terrified by the incoming car and quickly moved aside. In just a split second, the car had disappeared out of sight.
Subsequently, the reporters had complicated expressions as they surrounded Elyse’s car.
Her bumper was dented, and the car lights were shattered! The car had been flipped from the huge force when Leo crashed against it.
“Oh my god! Mr. Alston… He…” One of the reporters could not help but exclaim in utter exaggeration.
What happened before them made everyone realize that not only had Leo left Elyse, his fiancé, alone in the garage, he even crashed into her car for Amelie, his ex-wife! After all, he could have waited for Elyse to move her car, but he was so anxious that he did not even have the time to do so! With this matter, it was clear that Amelie was more important to Leo.
As Elyse looked at the broken car, she clenched her fists tightly. Her car was ruined, and so was her reputation! Leo had overlooked what Ellen did for him just because of Amelie! At that point, nothing could get her out of this mess. He had embarrassed her in front of the reporters, and she would be a laughingstock of the town!
As she thought about it, she was angry and glared at the reporters. “I’m sure you know what to write on today’s news. If anyone were to write nonsense, the Alston Family would get their revenge!” Then, she stormed off angrily.
When she returned to the dressing room, she was frustrated and disappointed. All she wanted to do was vent her emotions.
Just as she stepped into the room, she saw Donia and the girls who had surrounded her inside.
“What’s going on? I heard Mr. Alston has left.” Donia’s expression was grim. As soon as Elyse entered the room, she interrogated her, and her attitude was unlike before.
Although Elyse was frustrated, she still had to deal with Donia. “He has some important business to attend to.”
When Rose, the girl Elyse humiliated previously, heard her words, she said, “What is more important than his engagement? It looks to me that Mr. Alston doesn’t love you!”
She was getting her revenge since Elyse had humiliated her.
Her words resembled a slap to Elyse’s face, which infuriated and embarrassed her. She almost wanted to pick a fight with Rose right there and then.
“She doesn’t have any manners, Miss Donia. Don’t you have something to say about it?” Elyse suppressed her anger and reminded her manager.
In reality, Donia was angry and disappointed in Elyse since Leo had left. When she heard her words, she gave a light scolding to Rose. Then, her words took a turn as she looked at Elyse. “Do you know when he will be back? After all, he is the star of today’s event. If he were to be absent, your reputation will be ruined.”
At that, Elyse felt excruciating pain and wanted to bang her head against the wall from the embarrassment. Even if she wanted Leo to return, he would not listen to her!
As she thought about it, she suppressed her anger and said calmly, “Bria’s mother is in a life-and-death situation, and the kid is terrified. So, how can Leo ignore this matter? Surely, he would return after the mother is found. It was me who allowed him to leave. I’ll explain it to you guys later on.”
“Hmph!” Rose snorted in disdain and mocked her. “You sure know how to flatter yourself!”
Donia could also tell that Leo did not love Elyse as much as she proclaimed. Otherwise, he would have sent his men over to save Amelie rather than going there in person. However, she knew there was nothing more they could do now. Moreover, most people would believe in Elyse’s words, so she did not expose her since she wanted her to keep in touch with the Alston Family. “I’m sure Mrs. Alston will arrive if he doesn’t get here in time.” Then, she looked at Elyse thoughtfully before leaving with the others.
After they left, Elyse stood there without moving. She knew what Donia meant. If Leo can’t be here, Melissa can take his spot for the time being, so I won’t be embarrassed. If anyone were to talk about this, I can say that Leo’s parents approve of me as his wife.
As she thought about it, she went to dial Melissa’s number. However, Melissa had turned off her phone! Hearing the beeping noise, she dared not believe it and redialed the number. However, it was still the same!
“Damn it!” At that moment, her last hope had ceased to exist. She threw her phone to the ground angrily before it shattered into pieces. Yet, she did not seem to have had enough and rushed toward the dressing table and flipped everything off the ground.
…
When Leo arrived at the grocery store, it was surrounded by police cordons. Someone was carrying Bria as she sobbed hysterically. Her eyes and nose were red as she kept calling for her mommy and grandpa.
As soon as he saw her, he immediately rushed over and embraced her.
Seeing her daddy, Bria cried while pushing him. “Daddy, please save Mommy and Grandpa!”
Once Leo had scrutinized the scene, he realized that it was not just the racks that had fallen but half of the building! When Bria was being pushed away by Amelie, the paramedics quickly got her out of the building. Since she only remembered the racks falling, she could only tell such information to Leo.
While he comforted her, he walked toward a paramedic and told the person his identity.
When the paramedic heard Leo was from the family of one of the victims, he was solemn. “We are trying to get them out of there. However, too many things are inside, and the building has collapsed severely. Thus, we are unable to get everyone out in the meantime.”
Since Bria could only understand half of the thing, she knew that it was hard for them to save the people trapped underneath. At that moment, she cried even harder and said, “Daddy, I want Mommy and Grandpa. Please. Save them.”
Leo was disheartened when he heard the news too. He was already nervous when he heard that the racks had fallen. However, things were more severe than he thought. Although he did not love Amelie and even despised her, he still felt sad when he realized that she might be trapped underneath the building!
Thinking about it, he took a deep breath and patted Bria’s back gently. “Don’t worry. I will help you find Grandpa and Mommy.” Then, he quickly dialed a number and arranged for more rescue teams to arrive.
Not far away, Julia and Samuel had arrived at the scene too.
Her eyes were red and puffy. When she saw Bria, she quickly rushed over and asked, “Where’s Mommy, Bria? Where’s Grandpa? Do they have any news?”
Hearing her words, Bria could only cry and shook her head. When Julia saw her reaction, she glanced at the ruined building, and tears streamed down her face. Samuel comforted her for a moment before he went to look for them with the rescue team.
Since Leo’s men had not arrived and he was not qualified to be in the rescue team, he was stopped outside of the police cordon. Just as he was in deep thought, Julia saw him.
Seeing that he was just standing outside, she had mistaken him that he was only here to take Bria away and would ignore Amelie’s situation. At that moment, she was enraged and barked at him. “How heartless of you, Leo! Don’t you feel guilty? Did you think you could hide the truth by forgetting it? If Elie’s accompaniment didn’t mean anything to you, what about the things she had done for you? If it weren’t for her, you would still be an unworthy, useless man!”
Before that, Leo was trying to think of a way to get into the collapsed building. However, he was stunned and quickly turned his head toward Julia when he heard her words. “What are you talking about?”
“What am I talking about? Do you know who’s the one that made you regain your eyesight?” She was so angry that she had forgotten to keep it a secret.
Chapter 192
Leo looked at her with a puzzled look.
Previously, Elyse had given him a series of evidence that proved that it was her older sister, Ellen, who had donated her cornea to save his eye.
Regarding this matter, Leo had done a thorough investigation and even found Ms. Albert from Quinn Town.
Ms. Albert confirmed that the shoemaker’s daughter, Elie, did come to ask her for information on corneal donation.
Since he had used some special measures, Mrs. Albert had spat out the truth.
However, why was Julia asking about this now?
“Who is it?” After a slight pause, he asked Julia, wanting to hear what she was about to say.
“Of course, it’s Elie!”
Before she could say the name “Elie,” they heard another loud rumble, followed by the ground trembling again.
Something had happened at the collapsed supermarket!
As the loud rumble interrupted their conversation, Julia didn’t speak any further, and both looked in that direction.
“Mommy! Grandpa!” Bria’s cries were becoming more hysterical.
Scrunching his eyebrows tightly, Leo ignored the rescue staff’s warning and tore the cordon away before rushing inside.
“Hey, it’s dangerous there!” the personnel responsible for guarding the site yelled.
However, Leo had already disappeared.
Following that, Eugene just happened to lead another team of rescuers over, and they entered the scene.
The scene was a mess with broken and fallen pillars all around. The concrete coating was broken into pieces, exposing the twisted steel bars inside. There were even some bars that were bent into strange angles.
There were so many concrete pieces with sharp angles that there was nowhere to step on.
Dust filled the air, choking anyone who ran inside and causing them to have difficulty breathing.
At the same time, the rescuers were constantly carrying out the wounded one by one.
All of them had faces covered in dust and they were heavily wounded, and there were still some who were pinned under concrete pillars, with no one knowing whether they were still alive.
The originally luxuriously and fashionably decorated supermarket had now become hell. It was a horrific situation!
When Eugene caught up with Leo and saw the situation, he couldn’t help but gasp.
Meanwhile, Leo frowned slightly while focusing his attention and quickly locating Samuel, who was directing the rescuers.
Leo walked over and arrived before Samuel in just a few steps. “Have you found them?”
Samuel looked at Leo in surprise but then shook his head solemnly.
The building was so badly damaged that it was almost impossible for Amelie to still be alive.
Such a realization made Leo frown even deeper.
A while later, he informed Samuel, “I’ll look over there!”
“Mr. Alston, that part of the building is still crumbling. How about I bring someone over?” Eugene ran over and suggested.
Leo glanced at him and declined, “No need!”
After saying that, he sprinted over there himself.
While searching through the rubble, Leo dodged a few small collapses before finally coming across a light-colored figure under a large pillar.
There was Amelie, lying right under the huge pillar.
When the shelves fell, they happened to form a small corner that blocked the pillar and created a small space.
That small space was where Amelie was in.
“Are you alright?” Leo called out to her the moment he saw her.
Hearing someone calling her, Amelie slowly raised her head and looked over.
It was then that Leo discovered that she was shielding someone below her.
Judging from the gray hair, Leo thought it might be Steven.
“I’m fine, but my dad… he might be injured,” Amelie answered softly. When she saw it was him, a trace of surprise appeared in her eyes.
She didn’t expect Leo would come and save her.
After a quick observation of Amelie’s position and surroundings, Leo frowned because where she was was a tight space, so they needed to dig her out.
The things around her and the shelves were supporting the huge pillar, so if they moved any of that, the pillar would fall and squish the people under it.
However, the situation hadn’t reached the point of desperation either because they could still save Amelie and Steven by removing the pillar.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m coming to save you,” Leo comforted her.
It was the first time Leo spoke so gently and harmlessly to Amelie. She was terrified at first, but she was now filled with courage.
She nodded. “Okay.”
Afterward, Leo didn’t say anything else and quickly contacted the rescuers and professionals.
The professionals came quickly and tied several huge iron chains to the end of the pillar while a piece of heavy machinery was outside, waiting to move the pillar at any moment.
Back inside, Leo and a few rescuers had changed into their rescue uniforms and were ready to save Amelie and Steven the moment the crane raised the pillar.
There was a safety rope attached around Leo’s waist.
“One, two, three!”
Under the guidance of the commander, the pillar was slowly raised.
At the same time, Leo and the others were being let down slowly according to how they had planned.
Leo pushed away some debris and came to where Amelie was.
Then, Amelie strenuously helped Steven fasten his safety belt and let the rescuers pull him out first.
“Give me your hand. Grab onto me.” Leo landed before her.
As Amelie knew it was an urgent situation, she reached out her hand without giving it much thought.
With his hands linked together, Leo hugged her waist and was prepared to bring her up.
However, before he could grab hold of her, Amelie suddenly pushed him away!
Leo’s body was hanging by the rope around his body, so he couldn’t find his footing and was swung far away. Then, his back crashed into a concrete slab.
He felt the sharp edge of the concrete pierce his back and was in so much pain that he couldn’t breathe.
At that very second, the ground began to shake again.
The roof collapsed again, bringing down a huge slab of concrete that landed on the spot where he was previously standing!
He instinctively grabbed onto the concrete slab behind him and saw Amelie retreating in the opposite way.
Even though she was moving fairly quickly, she was still hit by one of the corners of the falling concrete slab.
Pfft! She spat out a mouthful of blood!
The situation had changed in just a matter of a few seconds.
When Leo saw her spitting blood, he felt like a knife was stabbing his chest. The sharp pain was even more painful than the pain in his back!
Just now, she pushed him away to save him!
Even though it happened in a split second, he still managed to see the gentle light in her eyes when she pushed him away.
Her eyes were filled with gratefulness, joy, and relief…
“Amelie!” The pain in Leo’s chest seemed to have exploded as he used the leverage on his safety rope to desperately swing over to Amelie.
He saw her lying there with blood at the corner of her lips and a ghastly face.
Dark red blood was slowly seeping out from her back and staining her red clothes like a silently blossoming blood-red flower.
It was shocking!
Amelie hadn’t lost consciousness, so she slowly turned her head and smiled at Leo.
Seeing her smile left Leo so heartbroken that his sobs were caught in his throat, rendering him breathless.
He didn’t have any time to care about his feelings because after the incident just now, the load-bearing equipment was destroyed, and everything had tilted onto the pillar.
When the pillar’s weight came down again, the shelves shielding Amelie broke and pushed down on her body, encasing her inside.
Even so, those shelves couldn’t hold on much longer.
“Get new heavy equipment over here and reattach the pillar. Hurry up!” Leo had never felt so flustered as he roared out his order.
Obviously, his plan of attack was the right one, so the rescuers quickly contacted the others outside.
This time, they sent a helicopter over.
Several iron chains were hung down from the helicopter, and the rescuers that came down with Leo quickly fastened the chains to the pillar.
“They have to lift the cranes first, so the pillar will definitely shift, but don’t worry because the load is on that end, so you won’t be in danger.” Leo was speaking to her through a small hole between the shelves, and he couldn’t help but soften his voice when reassuring her.
Amelie barely managed to nod. She was in bad shape after losing a lot of blood and getting hit by the concrete slab.
Leo stared at her for a few seconds before screaming his order to the personnel outside. “Start lifting!”
The helicopter above him whirled as the crane was slowly lifted away, followed by the pillar.
When Leo reached out his hand again, they suddenly heard a child’s pitiful cry.
Everyone was shocked.
“Bria!”
Chapter 193
Someone’s calling. It’s Julia!
Amelie glanced in that direction only to see Julia tottering over in a rush with her twisted arm.
“No! No! Stop it! B-Bria is at the other end!” Tears wet her paled face as she shook her head vigorously. She was on the brink of losing her mind.
Everyone’s expression changed at that instant. Julia’s reaction made Amelie’s heart sink to the pit of her stomach. “What happened? Where’s Bria?”
“Why did you let the kid in? Can’t you keep an eye on a kid?” Someone from the crows reproached.
Frantic and remorse filled Julia to the brim as she bit her lower lip. “I… People were jostling around and she ran in. I-I’m terribly sorry!”
She then sprinted in another direction with wobbly legs, shouting Bria’s name again and again. Meanwhile, Amelie broke into a cold sweat. It was as if someone had taken away a part of her; the hollow was painful.
“What happened?” asked Leo, who was undoing the safety gears.
Samuel approached him with a somber face. Instead of words, he merely shot a look at Leo.
Leo took the hint as he whispered to Amelie, “I’ll take a look.”
When the men were about to leave, Amelie suddenly piped up determinedly, “Samuel, just spill it.”
He hesitated, but she added in a quivering voice, “Bria is my daughter. I have the right to know what happened.”
Nothing hurt her more than knowing Bria was in danger.
Despite the reluctance, Samuel recounted seriously, “Julia’s arm is dislocated because of the jostling crowd, and Bria seized the chance to look for you…”
His expression darkened at that point. “When they lifted the pillar, it shifted and fell onto her. ”
“It fell on her?!” Amelie recalled Bria’s scream. Was that because of the fallen pillar?
The sudden plight spurred vehement emotions in her veins; her lungs shrank and squeezed out a cough of blood.
Uff!
“Elie!” he shrieked.
Leo’s brows knitted tightly. The second Amelie coughed up blood, his heart squeezed and even his body shuddered. He reached out in an attempt to support her, but he could not touch her because she was stuck!
“I’ll check on the situation.” As Bria’s father, no one was in more pain than Leo to hear her getting hurt.
“I’ll be back.” He glanced at Amelie while rising to his feet before leaving.
On the other side, there was a throng of people surrounding with the same grim expression. Julia was not in the state of mind to treat her dislocated arm. She was kneeling and wailing Bria’s name.
The crowd made way for Leo upon noticing his arrival. His gaze first landed upon Bria’s figure, which was laying underneath a huge pillar in a pool of fragments.
It was a few times larger than her body, burying her lower half. Her eyes were tightly shut, and her arms drooped listlessly.
The doctor, who was checking on her situation, removed the stethoscope after Leo arrived. “She’s breathing, but seriously injured. If we don’t get her out right away, she might be in danger.”
“This pillar is huge, and its position is tricky. We can only l it up from one side with the machines in our hands. Naturally, the other end will have to bear the extra weight and die.” The commander of the rescue team approached them with a solemn expression. It was heart-wrenching for him to tell the cruel truth. Lives were at stake.
However, time was of the essence. Once the racks were broken, Amelie would be dead. As for Bria…
If they could not make the call within ten minutes by choosing either one, both of them would die! Leo had never been in such a quandary.
One was his daughter, and the other was Amelie.
The circumstances shocked Julia to the core. As her mind went blank, she kept repeating the same thing. “What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?”
“We must make a decision right now or we won’t be able to save either one!” urged the commander because every second counted.
At this moment, Samuel came up to them with a serious announcement. “Elie told us to save Bria first.”
Amelie’s decision made Leo frown, yet he displayed no sort of expression.
Meanwhile, the deranged Julia ran over and toss herself before Amelie. “No, no! You can’t do that. There must be a way, Elie. There has to be a way!”
Amelie watched Julia as she wanted to wipe off those tears for her, but she couldn’t. She shut her eyes and her eyelashes fluttered.
No one could welcome his death with open arms; she was not a heroine and the fear bore the same weight on her. Still, Bria was her biological daughter, so as the mother, how could Amelie bear to let Bria die?
“Don’t fret, Julia. Luck’s on my side. Heaven won’t accept me.” She masked the intense fear to assure Julia.
Julia shook her head vigorously, for no one would gamble when it was a matter of life and death. Speaking of which, she was the very person to blame because she failed to look after Bria.
“I’m with you, Elie. If we don’t survive this, we still have each other’s company.” She wiped off her tears before crawling underneath the pillar.
After that, Leo came. He looked at Julia indifferently before gazing at Amelie. “Don’t worry, I will keep both you and Bria safe.”
Amelie raised her gaze onto his eyes which exuded determination and certainty. Strangely enough, it gave her a sense of security. In spite of the lack of explanation, she had the hunch that he would fulfill his promise.
“Okay.” She nodded without saying much.
Leo stared at Amelie deeply before leaving. Not long after, a machinery voice penetrated the air as the commander gave his orders.
The pillar slowly yet miraculously levitated in the air upon the string of commands. Noticing the shifting object, the surrounding people hurriedly pulled Amelie out and Julia crawled out herself.
Both of them then dashed in Bria’s direction simultaneously. On the other side, the medical team carried the little girl away from the pillar and ran outside in full pelt with an IV drip.
Amelie wanted to catch up with them, but her frail body did not allow that; she flopped onto the ground after barely running a few steps.
Julia, who noticed Samuel, helped Amelie up and then rushed to him. The anxious Amelie almost tossed herself at him. “How’s Bria? Is she okay?”
Another arm pulled her into an embrace before she touched Samuel. The warmth wrapped around her tightly as though she was a long-lost treasure.
“Bria’s safe. She didn’t suffer any secondary injuries from the rescue.” The familiar voice pulled her back to her senses, and she finally realized who was hugging her.
Chapter 194
“Thank you, Leo.” He fulfilled his promise. He saved both of us!
Leo pursed his lips tightly without a word, tightening his arms around Amelie. What Amelie did not know was, the moment he realized he was going to lose her, he panicked like never before.
A couple of moments later, she freed herself from him to take a look at Bria. She was so feeble that she fell forward after barely taking two steps.
Before her knees reached the rough surface, Leo wrapped his arm around her waist to carry her. “Where are you going? I’ll bring you there.”
“N-No. It’s fine.” Amelie thrashed about and protested because it was his first time carrying her that way. She felt extremely awkward.
“You’re hurt. What if the injuries become even more severe because you force yourself? Remember, Bria needs you,” he reminded her that she could not fall right now.
In the end, she caved in and he carried her all the way to the vehicle. On the other hand, someone was watching them from afar with her fingers tightened around the steering wheel.
Elyse gritted her teeth. It was as if she could devour someone at that instant. The gown on her was beautiful and graceful as ever, but her reputation was completely ruined because of the absence of her fiancé and future mother-in-law at that engagement ceremony.
“Why isn’t she dead yet? Why?! Why!” She punched the steering wheel in a fit of pique. The loud punches and tingling sensation in her fingers couldn’t subside the ire in her.
“You’re bold to lay a finger on that child. Don’t you know what awaits you if Leo finds out about the truth?” A menacing voice mocked her.
Reflexively, she looked back at the man behind her. She did not notice his ghost-like arrival at all.
He was all wrapped up, revealing only that pair of sinister eyes. The sharp glint shining in his eyes was that of a hawk, so keen that it could give one goosebump.
His appearance made Elyse’s face go pale for a moment. Still, she maintained her composure. “I don’t get what you’re talking about.”
“You do.” He hugged his arms and reclined in the back seat. “How did that woman lose sight of the kid? And how did she get stuck under that pillar?”
Those implicit questions were enough to distort her expression, eliciting fear in her on the account that someone saw through her schemes.
She just wanted Amelie to be dead. That way, no one would take Leo away from her. That was why she asked someone to set it up!
Once Leo found out that Elyse almost killed Bria, he would never let her off the hook that easily. Not even Ellen’s ‘grace’ would be able to offset the trouble caused!
The man’s cold finger prodded Elyse’s back. “Don’t worry. It’s between only you and me. I won’t tell your crush about it.”
She turned her head to face him hesitantly. The glint in his eyes spoke of malicious intents like that of a snake. He poked her again. “I’ll help you bury the truth too.”
He withdrew his hand, but she remained vigilant on the knowledge of the man’s nature. “W-What do you want?”
“I just wanna help you.” His eyes narrowed into crescents before he alighted from the car.
Her fingers curled into a fist. She knew that he was not up to something good, but could she turn down the offer?
In the meantime, the victims underwent checkups at the hospital. Although the pillar fell on her, Bria did not suffer any fatal injury thanks to her young age and soft body. Some of her bones were ruptured, but that was the best possible outcome of such an accident.
Steven was completely fine as a couple of days’ rest was the only thing he needed. As for Amelie, she had internal bleeding resulting from a slight rupture. Fortunately, she received treatment in time and would be able to get back to her feet after some rest.
Leo was all over the place. Only after he made sure that the three of them were safe could he finally ease up.
Amelie fell into deep slumber shortly after being sent to the hospital. Staying conscious with that injured body had sapped all of her strength.
Under Leo’s arrangement, Amelie and Bria stayed in the same room while Steven had a separate room.
Leo sat by the bed, watching the sleeping girl and woman. His face remained expressionless, but affection outlined the bottom of his eyes. Gradually, he zeroed in on Amelie while his mind replayed the scene of her shoving him away just to save him.
Ever since they divorced, all she had shown him was nothing more than an indifferent attitude. However, he discerned the worry in her eyes at that very moment.
He did not seem to hate it upon noticing her worries for him for some reason. Instead, an ambiguous feeling rippled in him.
Why is she worried about me? I didn’t treat her well when we were married back then. There’s something special in her gaze. It’s deep and intense. I wonder what it is.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the window from the outside, breaking his deep thoughts. He turned his head to see Eugene standing right there. Knowing the reason behind his visit, Leo rose from the bed and closed the door gingerly.
Silently, Eugene watched Leo’s course of action as an epiphany struck him. Never once had he seen such a gentle side from Leo, especially when Leo was confronting Amelie. Eugene even thought he had gotten the wrong person when looking through the window.
“Found anything?”
Eugene pulled his thoughts back upon hearing Leo’s voice. “I’ve interrogated the people who bumped into Miss White. They claimed that their mind was a mess to know that their family was stuck in there, hence the unintentional ferity. As to why Bria ran away, they have no idea.”
“Do you believe in their words?” Leo’s eyes narrowed.
Eugene was tranced for a moment as he dared not give a naive answer. It took him a while before continuing the conversation. “The building is completely ruined. We can’t find anything, but I found something in the vicinity.”
“Fire away.”
Eugene inhaled a deep breath. “There’s nothing in particular, but there are traces of someone cleaning away something.”
“And what is that?”
Eugene gave it a thought before shaking his head. “I’m not sure.”
“It must be related to the mastermind if they erased it in a rush. Find out who came over recently. Just the people acquainted with Amelie and I will do.”
“Yes, sir.” Eugene left thereafter.
Leo returned to the room, where Amelie kept murmuring something in her dreams. Sensing something off about her, he paced up to listen to what she was saying.
His expression fell when he finally grasped what she uttered.
Chapter 195
“Snowy.”
What did she say?
“What did you just say?” He instinctively placed his hand on the blanket as his throat tightened.
He had to be sure.
Amelie mumbled softly again, but the sounds were too soft and muffled that he couldn’t hear anything at all! After that, she fell into a deep sleep while Leo maintained that position without moving a muscle.
After a long while, he turned around suddenly and walked out.
…
“I’m fine. You can get to work.”
In the treatment room, Julia, whose arm was hanging from a bandage, walked out together with Samuel.
Obviously, she had just been treated for dislocation, but it had been dislocated for quite a long time, so the doctor put it into a sling for now.
From the unhappy look on her face, Samuel knew that what happened earlier had a significant impact on her, and he didn’t say anything, only squeezing her shoulders a little as a form of silent comfort.
It was true that there were a lot of matters to follow up on, so he only stayed briefly, leaving after giving her a few instructions.
Then, she walked toward Amelie’s ward with one harm in the sling. A few steps later, she saw Leo standing opposite her, watching her with a solemn gaze.
Even though she didn’t seem to be afraid of him and had even publicly expressed her dislike for him, she still stiffened out of reflex when she met those eyes.
She had to admit that he carried a very dominant air, especially after what happened.
Despite the guilt in her heart, she bit the bullet and paced over.
“Mr. Alston, I know you’re here to settle the score with me. What happened today is my fault. I didn’t take care of Bria properly and almost… Almost caused her and Elie’s death.”
When she brought this up, she choked a little. But, even if Leo didn’t reprimand her, there was no hiding the wave of remorse that was currently overwhelming her.
“A mistake is a mistake, and I’m not going to make an excuse for it. You can decide what punishment I deserve!” she said and squeezed her eyes shut.
Leo watched her silently. Usually, she had a sharp tongue and wasn’t very likable, but at this moment, he thought that it wasn’t so bad that Amelie befriended her.
“I’m not here to pursue responsibility. I have another question for you,” he said.
“Huh?” He’s not going to blame me? Julia’s eyes popped open in shock, gawking at him in disbelief and thinking that she had misheard him.
When she placed herself in his shoes, she reckoned that, given his temper, he would at least beat her to a pulp after something like this happened!
“What is it?” she asked tentatively.
“Who was the person you told me before that cured my eye?”
She was startled by that particular question. “Huh?”
At that time, she told him this purely because she was scared out of her wits by the collapse of the supermarket and thought that Amelie would not survive; it was a result of her recklessness.
And now… If I tell him, will Elie skin me alive?
Actually, she was in a dilemma when it came to this matter. Although she was afraid that Amelie would skin her alive, she couldn’t ignore the help and protection he showed toward Amelie today.
She reckoned that he wasn’t as aloof to her as it seemed. At least he cared about her, to some extent.
At the thought of this, she opened her mouth. “I told you that it’s—”
“Leo.”
Before she could spit out the name, a loud, clear voice interrupted her, and both of them turned their heads simultaneously. Their eyes fell on Elyse, who was dressed in a short sleeveless dress and holding the shoulder strap of her handbag as she stood modestly with a beautiful smile on her gorgeous face.
When she got their attention, she started walking toward them on her long, skinny legs.
Her arrival was a bucket of cold water on Julia’s head, sobering her immediately.
What am I doing? Trying to match them up? Leo is already engaged to Elyse. So, what’s the point of telling him this? To make him uncomfortable or to turn Elie into a third party? She thought and shrugged with a smile. “I’m sorry, Mr. Alston. I was so angry at that time that I babbled some nonsense to make you uncomfortable.”
Then, she walked past them expressionlessly and left.
Behind her, Elyse smirked and watched her back, her eyes gleaming with a malicious light.
“What are you doing here?” Leo asked with a stony face.
She hid away that sweet and happy expression from earlier and quivered when she faced his stoicism. “Something so major happened today, and I came over to take a look because I’m worried about you and Bria.”
“She’s doing very well. You can leave now.”
The way he spoke was so rude that she thought he was chasing away a stray dog, and her fingers twitched and curled under the hem of her dress. Her facial features would have long been distorted into a nasty scowl if he weren’t standing in front of her.
When she saw that he had started walking away, she hastily followed in his heels. “Leo, we’re already a family since we’re engaged, making Bria my daughter as well. I should take care of her.”
When she said that, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, and her face lit up with delight. Then, she reached out and grabbed his arm, and he didn’t shove her aside!
Initially, she was merely testing the waters, but Leo’s reactions were all out of her expectations!
She pursed her lips to prevent her gleeful smile from appearing as her heart was flooded with delight. She thought, Looks like Bria is his soft spot. It’s good that he has a soft spot.
“Do you have anything to do with the accident today?” he asked out of the blue while she was secretly basking in happiness.
Her smile turned stiff on her face, and her heart jumped to her throat. The void in her chest was immediately replaced with terror.
A few seconds later, her face twitched, and she mumbled, “Leo, w-what do you mean?” Then, she started whining aggrievedly, “I cannot be so powerful that I can stage a collapse!”
After she spoke, she tried her best to squeeze out tears and started crying tears that emphasized her downtrodden expression while she bit her lip.
“Even if it’s for Elie’s sake, I won’t do something so heinous. In my heart, I know that everything I have right now was given by her. I’m not such a jerk.”
When she brought up Ellen, Leo’s expression softened a little, but his tone was still grim, “If the report comes out, in the end, showing that this matter is connected to you, even your sister won’t be able to save you!”
“Don’t worry. It won’t be me.” She was so overwhelmed by guilt that she didn’t even dare to meet his eyes.
After being by his side for so long, she could sense the depths of his coldness and ruthlessness.
As it turned out, she was really too well-protected by him in the past, and the more she thought about it, the more remorse she felt, blaming herself for her ignorance back then and not holding on to this man properly.
Unfortunately, there was no cure for regret in this world.
Her initial plan when she came over was to butter up Leo and smooth things over with him over the fact that the Alstons were not at the scene today. But after the scare he gave her, she didn’t dare to stay any longer and scurried away after coming up with a random excuse.
Then, in a secluded corner, she took out her phone and called a number. “How is it going with the matter today? Leo already has his suspicions about me, and I’ll be dead if he finds out the truth. Whatever it is, you have to cover up this matter properly!”
After she hung up, she panted heavily while desperately clutching the cell phone. Unbeknownst to her, a pair of eyes was watching her in the dark, and he had heard every word she said.
He waited until she had left before he walked out slowly, revealing a handsome, young face.