Ch. 56..60: My Sugar And Your Spice Chapter 56-60
Chapter 56 How Crazy Could She Get for Him
Julia’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Amelie falling silent, for it meant the answer was evidently close.
“So, you… you really donated your cornea?” Her voice became shaky, and her eyes were filled with incredulity and pooling tears.
The next second, she shoved Amelie and barked, “Are you mad?! How can you go this far?!”
“Julia…” Amelie grabbed her best friend’s hand.
“It was around that time, wasn’t it?” Julia flung Amelie’s hand away while glaring at the young woman. “You made me cover for you all of a sudden, wanting me to tell your dad you were staying over at mine while you disappeared to God-knew-where for two months. You actually… actually went to remove your cornea, right?”
Julia couldn’t utter another word anymore.
She had only ever heard of doctors removing the cornea of the dead. For a living, breathing human to have their cornea removed just like that… She dared not even imagine what it was like.
“You gave your cornea to Alston, didn’t you?” Julia’s voice sounded evidently shaky by the time she spoke, but the next second, she roared again, “How can you do something so absurd for that jack*ss?! You’re a madwoman, Amelie Dillon!”
Julia kept shoving Amelie with red-rimmed eyes, lashing out ceaselessly. However, what she wanted more was to turn back time and stop her best friend from doing something so horrifying.
“Julia!” Samuel ran up to Julia and held her back after seeing how worked up she had gotten. However, Julia shook him off and looked teary-eyed at Amelie. “Amelie Dillon, you *sshole! How can you make me an accomplice for what you did yourself?!”
Amelie knew what she did was wrong, so she silently lowered her head, letting Julia yell at her as she pleased. But it wasn’t why Julia was mad at her; she was mad at the fact that her best friend had behaved so insanely. Her heart ached for Amelie.
“I knew I should’ve been nosy! I knew I should’ve asked!” Julia bawled. “How could I have believed you just like that when you said you were going to look after Alston?! I’m such an idiot!”
“Alright, that’s enough tears. There are neighbors around. If they hear this and tell Mr. Dillon about it…” Samuel cooed as he held Julia, who finally stopped at that.
Meanwhile, Amelie opened the door with a spare key and let the couple in.
Julia still hadn’t calmed down when she sat down, and Amelie wanted to pour her some water, but because she didn’t stay here, there wasn’t any drinking water.
Fortunately, Samuel was attentive and brought two bottles of water over, one for Julia and the other for Amelie.
Finally, Julia calmed down a little after having a sip.
She glanced at Amelie, who stood silently in front of her with a lowered head like a misbehaved child, and held Amelie’s hand with an aching heart, caressing the back of it with her thumb. “Amy, I would’ve stopped you no matter what if I knew what you were going to do!”
Though she no longer cried, her eyes were still red-rimmed.
Amelie knew Julia had her best interests at heart, and so she gave Julia’s fingers a squeeze, comforting, “It’s all in the past now.”
However, Julia grew increasingly indignant the more she thought about it. “What do you mean it’s all in the past?! Can it even be left in the past?!”
She shot right up and grabbed Amelie’s chin at that. “You gave your cornea to that jack*ss, but look at what he used it for?! To live happily on this planet and be all lovey-dovey with Elyse! You didn’t donate your cornea back then for him to look at that woman or for him to trash you for four years! This will never be over! I’m going to look for that jack*ss right now!”
Julia meant what she said and really wanted to head out to look for Leo.
At that, Samuel stopped her, telling her to calm down.
As a result, poor Samuel became a victim of his fiancée’s wrath, being shoved while she yelled, “All you men are nothing but b*stards!”
Alas, there was nothing the man could do but rub his nose, defenseless and aggrieved.
Amelie knew Samuel could normally bring Julia well under control, but right now, the young woman was enraged, so it was rather difficult to get her to calm down for a moment.
With that, she dragged Julia back. “Leo and I have already divorced. If you go to him now, he’ll only think I’m not happy about the divorce, wanting to use this to tie myself back to him. Perhaps he might think better of me because of this, but so what? He has no feelings for me, and that’s a fact.”
At that, she sighed and massaged Julia’s arm. “I donated my cornea out of free will back then. I don’t want to use it to guilt-trip him. The kind of love I want is to give voluntarily and not exchange through
gratitude. It’ll only make me look cheap. Julia, I’ve already made myself lowly once. I don’t want to live through it again.” She patted Julia’s shoulder.
Julia, on the other hand, was rendered speechless, standing still with her head drooped while tears rolled down her cheeks like beads of a broken string, dripping onto the floor.
Knowing her friend still felt aggrieved for her, Amelie cooed while saying, “Hey, I’m fine.”
In response, Julia wrapped her arms around Amelie and whimpered, “But you only made the sacrifice because you love him. You donated your cornea but gained nothing at all. That’s not fair!” She kept pounding Amelie’s back, but where it pained was her heart instead.
Amelie’s eyes turned red-rimmed in turn as a lump built up in her throat, and her nose became runny due to Julia’s concern and her own stupidity.
She wrapped her arms around Julia and gave her a squeeze. “I did it out of love. Though I didn’t get anything in return, I don’t regret it. Julia, I did all that I had to in this relationship and left no regrets. That’s what counts, no?”
“You…” As brokenhearted as Julia felt, she thought Amelie was right, so she just continued to hug Amelie as though only by doing so could her pain alleviate.
As Julia and Samuel came over spontaneously, they didn’t have a place to stay, and the bed here wasn’t ready either. Thus, Amelie could only take them to the hotel in town, but Julia insisted on sending her home first.
Albeit just a short distance, Amelie didn’t turn her down, and just like that, the two sat in the car together like any other day. However, their mindset was different this time.
“You really are a fool, Amy.” Julia sighed as her heart continued to ache.
Similarly, she found herself a fool for not noticing that something was off with her best friend’s eye throughout the past decade when she looked at Amelie’s obviously duller left eye.
“Yeah, I’m a fool.” Amelie smiled and sighed in response, leading Julia to hold her hand, asking, “Would you still do the same if you knew you and that b*stard would end up like this?”
The question stumped Amelie, but she said nothing in the end.
After arriving, she got out and bid the couple goodbye, only fixing her clothes and heading up the steps to open the door after the Bentley vanished from her line of sight.
At night, she lay in bed with an impassive gaze while she couldn’t help recalling Julia’s question.
Would I have done the same if I could foresee the future? Perhaps I would.
…
It was already close to 11.00PM when Leo rushed home, and tiredness showed on his face after a long drive.
Meanwhile, the lights in the living room were still lit, and Melissa, in her silk nightwear, was sitting on the couch with her legs elegantly crossed, flipping through something.
“Leo, you’re back, perfect.” She stood up with a smile upon seeing him. “Mrs. Hale has recommended a few socialites. Come and take a look at their profiles.”
However, Leo looked toward her impassively as his brows locked into a tight furrow. “No thanks,” he blurted plainly before continuing to head upstairs.
Despite having endured his impassiveness all these years, Melissa was still absolutely displeased about his response when she stayed up until now instead of getting her beauty sleep, worried about his
marriage. Thus, a hint of anger laced her voice. “This is your marriage here. Can’t you take it seriously?!”
“Since it’s my marriage, don’t bother yourself with it!” Leo retorted bluntly as he tugged on his necktie.
At that, Melissa’s well-maintained face twisted and grimaced in all sorts of ways, looking grimmer by the second while she clenched her fists. “I am your mother!”
“Are you?” All she got in response was Leo’s nonchalant questioning.
His face was clearly expressionless. In fact, his gaze never changed at all, yet she felt utterly ashamed all of a sudden.
“Is it just… because of that?” she asked shakily moments later.
Chapter 57
“Yes, I sent you away back then,” Melissa blustered without waiting for Leo’s answer. However, she had to take a breath as she spoke too quickly. “I know what I did was wrong, but you were blind back then. I just wanted you to recuperate in a quiet area.”
However, Leo didn’t even give her a response this time, only smirking disdainfully with his head slightly raised.
He said nothing at all, yet it Hurt Melissa even more than when he said anything; she felt absolutely shameful standing in front of him.
“Yes, I sent you away and… I get that you’re upset, but can’t you understand where I was coming from? I had no other choice back then. If there was even the slightest possibility, I wouldn’t have…” she defended herself in a mutter and a hint of pity.
Though Leo behaved apathetically toward her over the years, he had never mistreated her either. However, she could never experience the superiority of a mother over him.
Melissa didn’t like this, and she always took the opportunity to defend herself, but she was never brave enough to bring it up.
Now that she did, she wanted to justify her actions for good so that Leo would finally understand her.
Thus, the next second, she raised her voice and spoke justifiably, “You can’t possibly blame me for what I did back then, either. Your father just passed away, and you became blind with zero chances of recovery according to the doctors. Plus, you had a terrible temper and would lash out and throw things around for no reason… I couldn’t communicate with you at all. Your grandfather’s business couldn’t possibly land in the hands of others, so I could only… Adopting was a last-ditch move. At the end of the
day, I did it all for you. If you were really blind for the rest of your life, at least he’d be there to take care of the family business, and you wouldn’t be down and out for the rest of your life, no?”
Leo had never been a man of many words, and as displeased as he got with Melissa, he never complained anything to her. However, her words were so shameless this time that he couldn’t help but smirk. “How do you expect me to feel when you yourself feel guilty about what you’re saying?”
Whoosh!
Melissa’s hand jolted reflexively, and the booklet dropped to the floor.
Leo burst her bubble so blatantly that her face flushed from embarrassment, her eyes darted everywhere, and her lips trembled uncontrollably.
She stretched her fingers, wanting to hold onto something, but because her hands shook terribly, she couldn’t grab onto anything. Instead, she knocked over a cup, causing it to roll and break as it hit the floor.
Finally, Leo looked over his shoulder at the woman he had to call mother.
All these years, he didn’t blame her for adopting a son to inherit the family business or placing him in a remote mountain area-it was the fact that she never once visited him in Quinn Town!
Even a strange girl could take pity on him, willing to spend time persuading him to put his temper away and encourage him to get back on his feet. Yet, his birth mother did nothing! In fact, he should’ve called it being abandoned rather than being sent someplace else.
Clearly, Melissa couldn’t get it.
Disappointment flashed across his eyes at that, and he continued his path upstairs.
Meanwhile, Melissa shoved a chair, knocking it to the floor with a bang.
How could she allow her dignity as a mother to be trodden down like this?! At that, she lashed out at Leo’s back with rage, bellowing, “Why should I feel guilty?! I’m not guilty at all!”
To make herself look more imposing, she thundered, “On the other hand, if you hadn’t bugged your father to drive you, would he have met with an accident?! Would all these problems arise in our family?! Have you forgotten it?! Your father wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t injured his head from protecting you and couldn’t be
treated!”
With that, she slammed her hand on the table. “So what if you’ve suffered a little grievance when you’re guilty of such a dire fault?! Moreover, didn’t I fix your eyes and let you reclaim your position as the head of the family?! You’ve lost nothing!”
Alas, Leo never stopped no matter what she said this time, disappearing into the edge of the stairs.
It was Melissa instead who slumped onto the couch after lashing out and could no longer move.
She bent her upper body forward as she covered her face.
Even if Leo said nothing to retort, she knew well that it was human instinct for a father to shield his son from danger. As such, Leo could never be blamed even if his father ended up sacrificing his life for it.
She had only thrown the resentment and the blame on Leo because she couldn’t exonerate her absurdity.
After returning to his bedroom, Leo rubbed his temples and flopped onto the couch, letting all his energy leave him before lifting his phone up a long while later to text Elyse goodnight.
By the time he came out from the shower, he had found two missed calls on his phone, one from Elyse and another from Laura.
As his assistant, Laura wouldn’t call him at this time unless it was absolutely necessary.
With that, he redialed her number.
“Sir.” Laura’s crisp voice came from the other end. “I’ve gotten a lead on the investigation.”
“Shoot.” Leo rubbed his nasal bridge but came alive upon hearing her words.
“I went to the hospital that did your corneal grafting,” Laura divulged, “and found the donor’s profile through some channels.”
At that, she took a breath. “But the donor didn’t leave her name or her age, birthplace, and whatnot. Thus, I asked the people in charge of the surgery and actually got something. They said it was a young girl who was around the age of fifteen or sixteen. They assumed she wanted to donate her cornea after her death, so they did some tests and found that her blood type and other figures matched yours perfectly, thus making her cornea a good fit for you. But because she expressed her willingness to remove her cornea while she was alive, no doctors were willing to go ahead with the procedure as it was obviously against the law and the hospital’s policy.”
Leo’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing her words, and he couldn’t help but ask, “They still remember when that happened a decade ago?”
“It was way too bizarre of an incident for them, so they remembered it until this day. Something like this could even end up in the headlines. Also, the girl was pretty persistent, begging the attending physician for weeks. It was no wonder they never forgot. What shocked them even more was that the girl found a private hospital that was willing to do it and actually donated her cornea.”
“Are you sure?” Leo’s heart twinged at the revelation, and excruciating pain slowly crept up on him.
“I, um…. I’m not a hundred percent sure. But the private hospital delivered the cornea to them and stated explicitly to transplant it to you. What was more, the blood type and other figures matched yours perfectly. There probably wasn’t anyone else other than that girl.”
Cornea donation was already rare, and only less than one percent were willing to donate their organs after
death.
Plus, because of Leo’s blood and genetics, the requirement for the cornea became even stricter. Thus, the possibility of finding a match in someone alive was less than one in ten million, let alone the cornea of a dead
person.
It was also why the Alstons believed he would remain blind forever.
Leo remained in the same position like a statue for a long time after ending his call with Laura before finally making his second call for the night.
“Leo.” Elyse’s crisp, joyous voice came from the other end of the line. “I’m surprised you texted me. It’s been a long time since I got a goodnight message from you. I’m so happy.”
To that, Leo took a deep breath and asked, “Was it… you?”
Chapter 58
“What? Who?” Bafflement laced Elyse’s voice, causing Leo to ponder. However, he didn’t answer her in the end. “Nothing. Rest early.”
He decided to keep it from her and personally verify it first.
“But Leo-Elyse wanted to use the chance to ask Leo to keep her company, but the man had hung up on her before she could say a thing!
Elyse bit her lips in exasperation as she listened to the busy tone coming from her phone.
Though Leo had agreed to date her, she couldn’t find the sensation she used to feel when they dated in the past anymore.
Back then, he always waited for her to hang up before he did, and he could even give her his life just by calling him ‘Leo’.
More importantly, the question he asked just now wasn’t just a random thought. What was he trying to ask?
She mulled over it but couldn’t come to a conclusion even if she racked her brains.
She found it harder and harder to understand the man now, and Elyse couldn’t help rubbing her temples.
Suddenly, she felt a weight on her back, and she was shackled.
The next second, the grip on her waist tightened, and she fell into a burning embrace.
“How boring it is to drink alone. I’ll join you,” said an amorously ambiguous voice by her ear.
The dim lighting highlighted the man’s profile, but because his back was to the light, his face was indistinguishable. That said, his voice was exceptionally alluring on this cloudy night.
He pinched super tactfully on the side of her waist, causing her to jolt involuntarily while he swooped in for a kiss. However, Elyse shoved him away at once and put a great distance between them.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice and countenance frosted over. However, the man remained in the shadows with his arms crossed.
“Don’t you feel lonely without company on such a romantic night?” he drawled, and his tone was even laced with insouciance.
“I don’t,” said Elyse as she kept her composure in check. “You’d better leave. It’ll be bad if anyone sees you with me.”
The man snorted under his breath with amusement. “You were clearly turned on just now.”
“It was just an instinctive reaction. It doesn’t mean anything.” Elyse took a sip of her liquor to conceal her awkwardness. However, the man bluntly unmasked her lie. “You’re worried Leo will know.”
At that, Elyse’s hand that was holding the glass froze.
In the past, she loathed when people used Leo against her, but this time, she nodded a moment later. “You’re right.”
The man tilted his head and chuckled in response. “Is this still the unbridled Elyse I know? I barely recognize you now.”
“Don’t aggravate me, and don’t expect to still provoke me with these words.” She looked gravely at the man. “I’m no longer the same person I was four years ago. I’m well aware of what I should and shouldn’t do.”
Four years ago, she behaved obstinate, wayward, imperious, and unconscionable because she had Leo’s love, believing he would defend and accept her forever and unconditionally no matter how outrageously she
behaved.
That was until Leo got married without warning. It was only then she realized she would even lose him,
She had suffered a lot in the four years she lost Leo, and only now did it occur to her to cherish what she had.
“You should leave.” She turned her back to the man, who responded with just another snort and left, seemingly bored.
Behind him, Elyse tightened her grip on the glass she pressed against her chest.
She finally retrieved the man she once lost four years ago, and this time, she wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
She would marry Leo and become the true Mrs. Alston!
“This way, Mr. Alston.”
Leo didn’t go to his office when he should’ve and instead came to a private hospital under Laura’s guide.
That said, they didn’t go into the hospital but to the cafe next to it.
“The hospital kept this incident tightly wrapped, so no one has dared to disclose it. I spent some money and asked people to locate the attending physician involved in the incident,” Laura whispered as she walked.
The young woman was dressed neatly in office wear that made her look visibly tall and slender as her heels clicked-clacked against the floor crisply.
As they arrived at the cafe, Laura jogged to the entrance to open the door for her boss. “The attending physician is inside, and the groundwork has already been laid. He’ll tell you whatever you need to know.”
As an assistant, Laura was diligent and competent, but Leo made no indication the entire time, only ever pulling a stern face. However, Laura was long used to his graveness and just led him to one of the private dining rooms. “He’s inside.”
All of a sudden, Leo took a hasty step and grabbed the handle, causing Laura to frown slightly, for she rarely ever saw the man this worked up.
In her memory, no matter how major of an incident or how dire the situation was, he always remained calm and never once dropped the ball.
But lo and behold, Leo didn’t open the door immediately but instead hesitated for a moment.
No one but himself knew what he was thinking, and all Laura saw on his handsome, mature face was tightly furrowed brows, profound gaze, and tightly pursed lips.
Seconds later, he finally pushed the door open and entered to find a middle-aged man waiting for him.
Though he looked a little chubby, he was fresh and clean, and a faint smell of sterilized water laced the air. It was obvious he had been practicing medicine for many years.
Meanwhile, the doctor immediately sat upright upon seeing Leo and quickly stood up without barely needing an introduction as he looked at Leo somewhat apprehensively.
The doctor thought the young man before his eyes was obviously no average Joe when he had a commanding appearance despite his silence.
“Please, sit,” Leo said plainly before the doctor sat back down.
“This is Mr. Alston,” Laura introduced. “Please tell him everything you know.”
To that, the doctor nodded reservedly at Laura.
Leo waved his hand at that, and Laura headed out, taking the hint, leaving only the doctor and Leo inside, each taking half of the space.
As Leo sat quietly, the doctor couldn’t help sizing him up and thought though this man was really young, he had a domineering aura to him, and he couldn’t help sitting even more upright.
“Was it a young girl who removed her cornea alive in your hospital? How much do you remember about it?” Leo spoke up, his voice steady, carrying some sort of superiority.
At that, the doctor cleared his throat. “I’ve only ever experienced something like this once; naturally, I remember everything.”
Leo said nothing but used his gaze to tell the doctor to continue.
“You guys really won’t get me in trouble after I tell you about it?” The doctor leaned over as his around.
gaze darted
Even if the donor did it of free will, something like removing a cornea while the person was alive was against the law. Thus, his medical license would be barred if the authorities got involved, and it wasn’t easy to earn a medical license.
lifted his arms, startling the doctor. He tucked his neck reflexively while thinking the young man would
strike him.
Could anyone blame him when Leo didn’t look easy to get along with?
“Don’t worry, I just want to know the truth,” Leo answered crisply. “Nothing will happen to you or the hospital.”
At that, he pulled a check out and brought it to the doctor, who was shocked when he counted the zeros written on it covertly.
Shoot!
Surely this straightforward, noble-looking man wouldn’t lie to him.
Chapter 59
Only then did he relate, “It was indeed a girl who was about sixteen or seventeen years old. I freaked out when she came to me, saying she wanted to remove her cornea. I dissuaded her from doing something this crazy for a long time, but she looked anxious and kept saying she wanted to save a life. I’m sure you understand that we doctors can’t make a living, breathing person blind no matter how desperately we want to save anyone, what more when the patient was merely blind. With no lives at stake, we wouldn’t do something like this even more so. The director was there as well, and he reprimanded the girl for good before asking security to take her away.”
He continued, “I thought that was the end of it, but who’d have thought the director called me to his office a few days later, wanting me to do a cornea removal operation?! I thought I was doing it on a dead man, but when I got to the operating room, I found the same girl lying on the table. I don’t know what she did, but she ended up making the director agree to it. Meanwhile, the director kept telling me it wouldn’t implicate me if I kept my mouth shut and never divulged it to anyone ever.”
At that, the doctor took a big gulp of water.
Even after a decade had passed, he still felt gun-shy talking about it, still having deep guilt over what happened.
“I had no other options. As you might know, the director of the private hospital was also the CEO, so how could I say otherwise? So…”
The doctor didn’t dare miss Leo’s every expression when he spoke, and his heart skipped a beat, not daring to continue when he saw Leo lowering his head with furrowed brows and his hands bunched up into fists at some point. His face, too, was beyond somber.
“And after that?” He heard Leo ask moments later. Though his voice was still monotonous, it was obvious to the doctor that his mood was already off.
Despite being unable to grasp Leo’s thoughts, the doctor dared not defy him even more so, and he could only bite the bullet. “After that… After that, the girl… You may be unaware of this, but the risk of a cornea removal operation is high, and no doctor would do it on a living human. The girl insisted that we save the cornea at all costs, so I…
“What happened to her?!” Leo bellowed impatiently, startling the doctor, who sat upright and hurriedly said, “Because of an intraoperative infection, the girl fell unconscious, and for some time, we all thought she….
she…
Sweat gathered on his forehead as he spoke, still disturbed even after so long.
“The cornea had been removed at that point, so it’d be a waste if we didn’t deliver it for the transplant immediately. As such, the director had no choice but to send the cornea as a consignor to the hospital the girl had specified beforehand. Fortunately, the girl left all the relevant information to the director beforehand, or it would have been really troublesome.”
“Did she… wake up?” Leo tensed up when he heard the girl had fallen unconscious.
To that, the doctor nodded. “Three days later. The operation was too risky, so the director didn’t let anyone else know, leaving me, him, and another nurse to care for her the whole time. You have no idea how worried we were about her life then. Fortunately, she regained consciousness in the end and didn’t hold us liable for anything. She left not long after waking up,” said the doctor as he patted his chest. It was probably the scariest thing he had ever experienced in his whole life.
Leo’s countenance finally turned a little brighter when he heard that the girl had woken up in the end.
“Who did she ask the director to give the cornea to? What’s her name?” He was super discreet about the Inatter.
“To someone named Leo Alston,” the doctor answered at once. “As for the girl, she didn’t leave her full name but only wrote ‘Amy’.”
“Amy?” Utterly stupefied, Leo looked at the doctor and grabbed his arms. “Where’s her information? Show
me!”
Meanwhile, Julia helped Amelie into Estrela Eye Specialist, but Amelie yanked her arm away as she glanced awkwardly at the surrounding indistinct gazes on her. “I’m fine. Don’t hold on to me like this.”
She just had one bad eye, and she was not entirely blind. Thus, she felt absolutely awkward when Julia held her like this.
“You’re one to talk!” Julia was still mad about the entire situation.
She had dragged Amelie over for a check-up, and of course, Steven had no idea about it.
Imagine how sad he’d be if he learned that his baby girl was blind in one eye!
“You really have a lot of nerve to do something as crazy as removing your cornea just like that! You can even give up your life for Alston, can’t you?!” Julia caterwauled, utterly disappointed in her best friend.
To that, Amelie smiled helplessly and tugged the hem of Julia’s shirt gingerly. “Come on, don’t be mad anymore. I promise it’ll never happen again.”
“Again?!” Livid, Julia raised her fist, wanting to bash the young woman up.
But the next second, her heart ached, and her eyes turned red-rimmed. “Alston, that son of a b*tch. You sacrificed one eye for him, yet he isn’t even willing to give you his love. B*stards like him should go and rot in hell!”
“Alright, cut it out.” Amelie held Julia’s hand gently. “I made the decision myself without letting him know at all. Besides, we were married for four years, and I made him angry and annoyed the entire time, didn’t I? That offsets it, no?”
“Offset, my *ss. He earned and lost nothing during those four years while you suffered every possible misery! Tell me that offsets it!” Julia eventually didn’t stop her tears from falling.
She wasn’t one to cry, but she couldn’t help feeling bad for Amelie every time she thought about how great of a sacrifice Amelie made for Leo but never even got a smile in return.
In the end, Amelie had to comfort Julia instead, who finally remembered a long while later that she had brought Amelie over to check on her eye. With that, she dragged Amelie to a specialist.
An extended luxury sedan parked where they passed, and because the bushes obstructed the vehicle, it wasn’t obvious.
Meanwhile, behind the half-rolled-down window, a man had his eyes closed, brows so tightly furrowed that his nose bridge wrinkled, and a deep shadow was overcast where his lashes were.
“Mr. Alston…” Laura called out worriedly.
Leo had come all the way here after leaving the private hospital but ended up doing nothing except sitting in the car with his tightly knitted brows.
An emotion she had never seen before enveloped his face-depression.
Leo rarely ever wore his emotions on his face, only furrowing his brows slightly even if he was beyond livid. But now, for him to express it so clearly…
That said, Laura hadn’t a clue why he would come here. They couldn’t possibly sit here until sundown, could they?
It wasn’t until five minutes later that Leo opened his eyes and said without looking at her, “Make an appointment with the specialist.”
“Yes, sir.” Despite still not knowing what Leo was thinking, Laura still obliged.
As soon as she got out of the car, Leo started it and drove away…
It wasn’t easy to book a slot with the specialist, and she only managed to get one after pulling some connections In other words, she had wasted quite some time.
With that, she immediately told Leo she had successfully booked a slot with the specialist over the phone, to which the man hummed in response.
But just as Laura was about to ask when he wanted to come over, two figures appeared in front of her out of the blue. One of them was slender and elegant. Her long dress fitted her shape nicely, the hem of her shirt fluttered, and her long, luscious hair hung loosely until her waist.
Chapter 60
“Amelie Dillon?”
Laura was taken aback by what she saw for a moment, thinking she was seeing things, for she had never seen Amelie this beautiful before.
Not only had Amelie’s appearance changed, even her temperament was different too.
The Amelie she knew always kept her head low, acted warily, deadpanned, was pasty-skinned, and lifeless like a living spirit trapped in a mansion. But now, she looked brilliant and gorgeous. Her every smile and gaze was alluring, and her supple skin glowed radiantly, shining from head to toe.
The new Amelie would be an eye-catching presence even if she stood amongst a group of beauties.
While Laura was sizing Amelie up, Amelie and Julia caught sight of her as well.
Knowing she was Leo’s assistant and Elyse’s best friend, Julia reacted unpleasantly toward her.
Though she said nothing, frost exuded from her as she passed Laura with aversion written all over her face.
Laura, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about Julia and locked her gaze on Amelie as she questioned arrogantly, “What are you doing here?”
“Who do you think you are, and why should we tell you?” Julia retorted exasperatedly.
She loathed Leo right then, so she definitely wouldn’t smile at anyone who had to do with him.
Meanwhile, Laura had been working for Leo for a long time, and others would flatter her as well, so she naturally became lofty over time.
Right then, she turned somewhat grim after hearing Julia’s words, but she didn’t get upset and instead smirked. “Amelie, you and Mr. Alston have already divorced, so can you stop doing such disgusting acts? What do you think you can achieve by stalking him today when he has never even looked you in the eye during the four years you were married to him?”
“Me? Stalking him?” Amelie reiterated with a smirk while looking at Laura.
So, that means Leo’s here too?
Laura never liked Amelie in the past to begin with, so she naturally wouldn’t give a damn about the woman now. “If I were you, I’d find a good school to improve my temperament and skills after getting divorced. Appearance is only something to win a man’s heart, but charm will make a man yours forever. If you don’t fix whatever’s inside, it’ll still be a pile of junk no matter how closely you imitate others!”
With that, she even sized up Amelie’s outfit, condemning Amelie to forget about ever trying to use beauty to regain Leo’s heart, even insinuating that she was imitating Elyse.
Amelie, however, wasn’t the least bit angry but thought this woman was amusing instead, for she was a social media influencer with over tens of millions of fans. She would not only sing and dance on her live stream but also give tips on outfit styling.
If anyone was imitating, it would probably be Elyse with her outfits and image.
That said, Amelie wouldn’t burst Laura’s little bubble, for she had no need to explain to a measly character like
her.
However, Julia thought otherwise. Amelie could disregard Laura because of contempt, but she wouldn’t allow just anyone to bully her friend.
Would she still be Julia White if she didn’t retort at Laura for speaking so harshly? At that, she sneered. “What wise words, Miss Harris I feel like I’ve been enlightened!”
Laura was rendered stupefied, for she didn’t think Julia would praise her in front of her best friend.
But lo and behold, Julia’s next words made her change her expression like the flick of a switch. “Since you’re so wise, why don’t you use it on yourself? People like you who can’t read social cues or tell gems from stones should take a lesson or two. No, wait-learning wouldn’t get you far anymore. You need a factory reset!”
“You!” Laura was livid with rage, having never been ridiculed like this before. Many would flatter her nowadays. because of her connection to Leo.
Julia was normally sharp-tongued in the first place, so she naturally wouldn’t show Laura any due respect and continued gibbing. “You’re nothing but Leo’s dog, yet you act like the king. Do you really think people can’t smell your stink?”
“Shut up!” Laura bellowed with trembling lips.
However, Julia was like a machine gun that fired bullets non-stop once the mechanism was actuated. “It’s your problem if you want to suck up to him, but don’t drag my Amelie into this. A measly character like you can’t even qualify to hold Amy’s candle! By the way, we don’t know that Leo is around the area, but even if we do, this is a public space. Does the law dictate that we can’t be here just because he is? That’s right, you’ve been walking behind us the whole time. Looks like you guys are the ones stalking us. Can you explain, great Miss Harris, why you guys are stalking us?”
“I… I didn’t… You’re bullsh*tting…” Laura was so angry that she couldn’t even form sentences.
To that, Julia looked disdainfully at her. “Amy has already divorced Leo, so don’t do something as disgusting as stalking anymore, deal? He never appreciated Amy when she gave him her entire heart during the last four years of her marriage, so does he really expect Amy to still do the same after divorcing her?!”
She not only pelted diatribes at Laura but also used the woman’s words against herself, giving her a solid slap in the face.
Laura might have been good at negotiating a business, but she was clearly no match for Julia when it came to fighting and cussing, and just like that, she was rendered speechless, her face flushed.
“Alright, cut it out.” Amelie tugged on Julia. “It’s in a dog’s instinct to bite humans, but for humans to bite a dog, that’s just stooping to their level.”
Laura had thought Amelie wouldn’t dare stir up trouble for fear of her and Leo when she came up to stop Julia, but lo and behold, she also… degraded her!
Despite not being as harsh as what Julia had said, it sounded even worse to Laura.
One should know that apart from the time Amelie retorted to her during the divorce, the woman was harmless the rest of the time as she dared not make a sound every time Laura ordered her to do anything in Alston Residence.
Being Leo’s assistant, Laura was only second to the former, so even the Alstons had to show her some respect. Thus, she regarded herself as a big shot over time; to her, Amelie was even more lowly than a peasant.
What did it mean when someone as mighty as her was repressed by a peasant? A massive slap on the face! In fact, the slap was much worse and more painful than the one Julia gave.
“Amelie, you-”
“Let’s go.”
Laura’s mind was filled with the nastiest swears without profanities for Amelie. But who’d have thought they had walked away before she could even cuss, rendering her at a loss for words?
An intense fire burned within her with nowhere for her to let off steam, and she couldn’t possibly chase after
the two to snap back at them. Something like that wasn’t what someone her status should do.
In the end, she could only clench her fists while heaving in anger.
Her breath was short, and her heart rate was erratic; she was on the verge of having a heart attack.
It took her a long while to finally be able to think straight, and it was then that a notion hit her. What is Amelie doing here?! This is an eye specialist. There’s nothing else anyone can do here but get their eyes checked. Amelie must’ve come to check her eyes!
At that, her heart raced, and she felt inexplicably uneasy.
She strode to the nurse and whispered, “Excuse me, I saw Julia White just now, was she the one who got her eyes checked?”
Since Julia had many connections, information about her could be obtained easily.
“Sorry, we can’t disclose a patient’s information,” the nurse answered politely.
This was the best and most expensive eye specialist in town. How were they to continue operating if they couldn’t even keep information like this a secret?
Seeing that she wouldn’t be getting anything here, Laura could only head downstairs, only to catch sight of Leo as soon as she turned a corner. However, she gasped when she saw the person next to Leo, and she was so shocked that blood drained from her face.