Chapter 466
Leanna was jolted awake by her grumbling stomach at midnight. She hadn't eaten anything other than the flu
medicine before sleep since she returned with Aidan after the meeting.
She sat upright on the bed, then realized he wasn't lying next to her.
Taking a random shirt of his inside the room and putting it on, she staggered out of the bedroom with a heavy head.
He was working on his tasks on his laptop in the living room.
The lights in the room stung her eyes as she struggled to keep them open. "It's late. Why are you still up?"
"I need to check on the rest of the documents." He turned to her. "Why did you get up?"
She put a hand on her stomach and gave him an honest answer. "I'm hungry."
He added, "I've asked for room service just now. You can see if the food is still warm. We can reorder if it's gotten
cold."
A dining trolley waiting at the door grabbed her attention. She walked over and lifted the food cover. "It's still
warm."
It was in its perfect state.
Leanna served the dishes on the dining table. Aidan already stood before her when she was about to call him over
for the meal. He stretched out his arm and felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "Are you feeling better?"
"It's the same as before."
"Remember to take medicine again after food."
She gave a simple response and sat at the dining table for supper.
In the middle of her meal, she looked out of the window. "It's still raining."
He only hummed.
She added, "It seems like the construction is inevitable to postpone."
"We could still leave tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
She pondered for a moment before suggesting, "I can go back on my own if you're too busy."
He tore his attention away from the food and met her gaze. "You were being clingy during the day, but now I'm
nobody to you?"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtShe was too shocked to retort his tease. Then, she gave him a quiet answer. "Shut up and eat."
After supper, Leanna returned to bed for the second time.
Sitting on the bedside, Aidan whispered a question, "Are you still feeling sick?"
She replied, "It's not about that. Just feeling tired."
"Then sleep." He said softly, "We're going back to Highside tomorrow."
She hummed in understanding. "You should go back to your work. Don't worry about me. I can manage."
Aidan lifted the bed sheet and lay next to her. "Forget about that. I can deal with them tomorrow. For now, I'm
worried that you'll have trouble falling asleep without me."
This b*stard is so shameless.
He switched the lamp off and wrapped her body in his arms. "You have to go to the hospital if you still wake up to
the cold."
Shutting her eyes, she dismissed his words. "We'll see."
After a while, she could feel his hand gently patting her back.
An emotion she couldn't make out enveloped her in a split second.
Her voice caught him off guard. "Aidan."
He lowered his voice in the dark. "What's wrong?"
"Are you sure you aren't hiding something from me?"
His hand didn't stop caressing her when he said with ease, "What makes you think so?"
"Nothing. Just want to seek your assurance." She avoided giving him a detailed explanation. "If things are going fine
on your side, then probably it's my problem."
Aidan inquired further, "What do you mean?"
She pursed her lips. "It's nothing."
She decided to put going to a therapist on schedule once they returned to Highside.
After a few seconds of silence, he continued, "You've got a lot of pressure on you lately, but the business with the
Crossley Family has come to its end. You already did what needed to be done, so leave the rest to me."
"I understand." She shifted closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I'm
trusting you wholeheartedly at the moment. Therefore, I'll never doubt your words or speculate about them when
you said you aren't hiding something from me. However, if it turns out to be your lie the whole time one day, I won't
stay with you. It's better if we stop seeing each—"
Before she could finish her words, he pressed his lips to hers.
He began, "You can't sleep, can you?"
She met his gaze. "You're guilty, aren't you?"
He pursed his thin lips in conflict and finally spoke up in compromise after debating back and forth. "There's
something I didn't tell you, but I'm not able to share it with you."
His words put a scowl between her brows. Did I guess it right?
He continued, not aware of her expression, "All I can tell you is there's someone behind Daniel. He has a deep
connection with the Crossley Family, but it seems like he doesn't plan to reveal his identity to you. Thus, I can't do it
without his permission."
As she wasn't expecting the answer, she took a moment to collect herself before continuing, "This is what you've
been hiding from me?"
"What else?"
Oh. We're on a different wavelength.
He continued, "Sometimes, it's the circumstance that holds me back from telling you the truth. It won't do you any
good even if you know more about it."
"I understand… but I have the right to learn the truth if it involves me."
"People have their reasons not to tell. One day, you'll learn the truth about everything. It's only a matter of time."
She parted her lips to retort, but no words came out.
He wrapped his arms around her tighter. "That's it. Don't worry about it. Just remember one thing—they don't mean
any harm."
Pursing her lips tightly, she couldn't manage to reply to his words.
Daniel and his fellows had been a great help since the beginning of the series of events regarding the Crossley
Family.
At first, she thought they shared a mutual enemy.
As things developed, their enemy remained the same, but it seemed like her allies saw protecting her as their
priority, and Daniel even moved in next to the studio.
She had been speculating William was the person superior to Daniel. However, she didn't have any evidence. Thus,
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmit was all her guess.
There were hints everywhere, as the same group of people had been dealing with the Crossley Family's business
the whole time.
Mr. Jackson had always been aware that Lloyd was an impostor while William and Daniel were acquaintances with
the other man. Furthermore, William was the one who stopped Leroy from making a haste exit the other day.
It seems like my guesses are right.
William's true identity was the last question that troubled her for the moment.
Leanna stopped talking when she was lost in her thoughts as she knitted her brows.
Aidan licked his lips quietly. Knowing her thoughts already wandered somewhere else instead of lingering on their
recent conversation, he said calmly, "That's all you need to know. I hope you won't say such things again."
She hummed a response.
...
Leanna woke up in the afternoon. She looked out of the window at the cleared-up sky. The sun was shining brightly,
almost blinding her.
She stretched luxuriously. Sliding off the bed, she walked out of the bedroom and found Aidan on a call.
Based on the fragments of the conversation, it sounded like the construction of Underwood Lane would begin as
scheduled, which was starting today.
She poured herself a glass of water in the dining room and let out a sigh of relief.
She thought to herself that a dreamless slumber last night might be the reason for her lifted spirits, which she
found better compared to yesterday.
After finishing the call, Aidan shoved the phone back into his pocket and came over to her. "The construction starts
at three. We'll return to Highside by flight at five. Is that okay with you?"
She dipped her chin for a nod. "No problem."
After that, he added, "Get dressed. We're going somewhere."
His words alerted her. "Don't tell me it's the love lock bridge again."
A low chuckle escaped him before his answer reached her. "I'll gladly take you there if that's what you want."
"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not interested at all."
She didn't want to set foot on the love lock bridge ever again for the rest of her life when she recalled the colorful
photo frame, which held a picture of them, at home.