Love's Change of Heart

might be able to use this excuse to make her play pretend with him. Unexpectedly, all his plans were

disrupted by Aidan.

Then, Rodney rebuked him, "Look what happened!"

After a while, Lizzy inquired, "Was the one who brought flowers to the house her boyfriend?"

Elijah shook his head and replied, "It's her ex-husband. They've already divorced, but he kept pestering

her, and Leanna never accepted him."

Rodney's face was a little distorted now. "Why didn't you tell us about her divorce beforehand?"

"I didn't think it was necessary."

"What do you mean by unnecessary? You brought her back here, yet you didn't tell us her basic

background? Well, now what? Her ex-husband came. Do you know what this is called? It's called

bringing trouble upon yourself!"

Lizzy stood between them and tried to mediate the situation. "Okay, that's enough. I think Leanna

seems like a nice lady, and I like her. If her ex-husband tries to pursue her again, it shows that she's a

nice woman. If she can marry into our family, it will be a blessing, but anyhow, love isn't something that

can be forced." Then, as she looked at Elijah, she continued, "Eli, you know best who she likes deep

down. If she likes her ex-husband, don't try to get between them, but if she likes you, then it couldn't be

any better."

Elijah pursed his lips slightly but did not speak.

Lizzy said, "I'm going to clean up the kitchen, so don't argue anymore. It's Christmas!"

After she left, Rodney stood up. "Come with me to the study."

In the study, he asked, "Have you heard what your mother said to you just now?"

Elijah nodded.

Rodney continued, "I believe you should know better than anyone else who that girl really likes.

Otherwise, she would've come home with you as your girlfriend instead of a fake one."

Elijah frowned, knowing what he meant. "Dad, you don't know the situation..."

"I don't know and don't want to know." Rodney added, "If she isn't interested in you, you shouldn't

waste so much time on her."

"But I like her very much."

"What can you do if she doesn't like you? Do you think you're still a teenage, emotional boy? There are

far more important things in you than love."

As soon as Elijah heard this, he became silent.

Then, Rodney continued, "That's all from me. You should think it through by yourself."

When Elijah returned to the room, he noticed his phone vibrate. It was Leanna's message informing

him that she had returned home. He subconsciously wanted to hit the call button but hesitated when he

looked at her number. Even his parents could tell that she liked Aidan. At this point in time, Elijah was

the only one deceiving himself, hoping that one day he would hear a different answer from her.

…

In the morning, Leanna was awakened by the buzzing and vibration from her phone. She grabbed it

and noticed that Christmas blessings were being sent to her. Leanna rubbed her sore temples as she

responded to each message. When she was done with that, she dragged herself out of the bedroom,

where she saw Zoe set the table with the tableware and cutleries. A bowl of mushroom soup and a few

side dishes were on the table.

When Zoe noticed Leanna had awoken, Zoe greeted, "You're awake, Nana! Wash up and have

breakfast."

Leanna lay on the sofa and struggled to open her eyes. "Is it takeaway again today?"

"This isn't a takeaway. Louis brought them," Zoe replied.

Louis came out of the kitchen and uttered, "I just met him in the elevator, so I brought it up on the way."

Leanna was speechless. Were they trying to play a game with her?

Leanna stared blankly at the dishes on the table and gradually understood. She turned around and

went into the bathroom. Leanna washed her face and felt a lot more alert, so she drank a big glass of

honey water, and the faint pain in her temples faded away.

Sitting at the table, Zoe rubbed her hands. "Our Christmas morning smells like cash and food. Thank

you, President Pearson, for the food. I'm going to dig in!"

Leanna scratched her brows, not knowing what to say.

Louis served her a mushroom soup, urging, "Let's eat."

After the meal, Zoe asked, "Nana, Louis, do you have any plans for the afternoon? If not, shall we go

for a movie?"

Leanna nodded. "Sure. You can get the tickets. I'll head back and take a nap."

Louis was silent for a while before saying, "I have something up."

Zoe looked at him suspiciously. "What are you up to on Christmas Day? Do you really have a girlfriend

now?"

Hearing that, Leanna also stopped and looked back at him.

He went silent.

Louis then uttered, "No. I'm just going out with friends."

"Is it a guy or a girl?"

"Erm… Both."

Zoe's eyes lit up instantly. "Is your guy friend handsome?"

Leanna didn't have to think about what she wanted to say, so she quickly covered her mouth and said

to Louis, "Sure. Go ahead and have fun with your friends, but come back for dinner in the evening."

"OK."

After Leanna and Louis left, Zoe sat at the dining table. She saw that they had eaten only a bit of the

mountainous dishes. She then took out her phone and dialed a number. Soon, the call was connected.

She coughed and said solemnly, "Is this Mr. Stoll? I'm Zoe Hart."

"Hello, Miss Hart. Is something up?"

"I'd like to ask if President Pearson has any work arrangements today."

On the other end of the phone, Jonathan was a little puzzled. Wasn't it Christmas today? If President

Pearson was working, that would be somewhat outrageous.

He then replied, "No, he doesn't."

Zoe smiled. "Okay. Nana and I are going to watch a movie this afternoon. I'll book an extra ticket and

send you the details later. Please pass it on to President Pearson."