Chapter 437
Leanna had considered this too, but she would regret it if she gave up before even trying first. She'd
feel as if she didn't do right by Louis as well.
After a while, she said, "Even if he refuses to tell me, I can still try and dig something out of him. Plus,
by staying at Crossley Residence, I can find out what Lloyd's next move will be."
Aidan stared at her quietly. His lips were slightly pursed.
She stared right back at him without backing down.
"I'll keep in touch with you at all times," she continued. "If I sense any danger, I'll leave at once without
wasting a single second. Is that enough?"
After a while, he stood up. "Let's go."
She sighed in defeat.
She'd wasted all that time trying to convince him.
Before she could say anything else, he spoke up, "Remember what you said, and don't forget that you
still have… a younger brother you need to raise."
"Louis can earn enough to support himself," Leanna retorted. "He doesn't need me to—"
She immediately clammed up once Aidan gave her an icy stare.
He remained quiet the whole time they were on the road, and his expressionless face gave nothing
away.
"Are you angry?" she asked tentatively.
"Yes."
She didn't know what to say.
She didn't expect him to answer in the affirmative.
"Don't you always claim to be less sensitive and small-minded than me?" she groused.
"So, you're admitting that you're sensitive and small-minded, then?" he shot back.
Leanna thought about it before answering, "Well, having a small mind means that it's fully occupied by
you alone."
Aidan was speechless at her words.
He pressed his tongue against his cheek and remarked plainly, "Where on earth did you learn to say all
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtthese ridiculous things?"
"From you," she fired back solemnly.
He ignored her and focused on driving.
She tried to find a different subject to talk about. "Did you see the news today?"
"Nope."
"Elliot Watts is dead."
"Don't know him."
After a pause, she explained, "That designer who helped Queenie cheat during the competition and
said that she bribed the judges."
"Oh," he replied coolly.
Leanna took a deep breath and continued, "According to the police's initial investigation, they think it's
a case of revenge homicide, but Queenie's the only one he's gotten into conflict with lately. However,
the disparity between their sizes and strengths is too large. I don't think she's the culprit."
"It might not be a recent grudge."
She nodded. "He was a rather frivolous guy who lacked principles and morals. I guess he'd have a ton
of enemies."
"Mm-hmm," Aidan hummed.
Another half-hearted answer.
She didn't want to bother anymore, so she closed her eyes and took a nap.
He turned to glance at her. His lips moved a little in an attempt to speak, but in the end, he didn't say
anything.
Half an hour later, the car pulled up outside Crossley Residence.
He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.
Leanna walked over to him. "Is Jonathan coming to pick you up?"
"Yeah."
She stared at him impassively. "Aidan Pearson."
His eyes flickered over to her. "Hm?"
"You can go ahead and wait here by yourself!"
With that, she climbed back into the car and drove into the driveway.
Aidan's brows twitched slightly before he glanced down at his watch. Jonathan had left the office five
minutes after them, so he was arriving soon.
Thus, he stood by the road and got out a cigarette. He was just about to light it up when a white car
stopped beside him.
Georgina stepped out of the car and appeared in front of him. "Aidan? Why are you standing here
alone? Where's Miss McKinney?"
He put his cigarette away and glanced at her. "Get to the point."
She chuckled. "Can't we just chat for a bit if I don't have anything specific to talk to you about?"
"There's nothing to chat about between us. Do you want to talk about when I'm getting married or
whether you're attending Leanna's and my wedding?"
She pursed her lips, and her expression became a lot more unpleasant.
After a moment of silence, she finally said, "We did grow up together. It's been so many years, yet you
always take this attitude with me."
"I take this attitude with everyone," Aidan replied.
"Not with Miss McKinney, right?"
"You can't compare yourself to her."
"I still don't get it." Georgina scoffed. "What do you even like about her?"
"You don't need to get it." He eyed her and said curtly, "You should just focus on yourself, Miss
Crossley."
Just as he was speaking, a black Rolls-Royce stopped beside them.
She stood in place as she watched Aidan leave.
She closed her eyes, and her expression hardened.
Meanwhile, inside the house.
As soon as Leanna went back to her room, someone came to the study and reported the day's
observations to Lloyd.
"Did she meet anyone else?" Lloyd asked.
"We started surveilling her when she got to the studio. As for what she did before that…"
Lloyd waved his hand. "I got it."
Once his subordinate left, Georgina entered the study. "Dad."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"What is it?"
She bit her lip. "I didn't handle things well last time. That's why they managed to find something to link it
back to me."
He got up and went over to the window. "Forget it. It's all in the past."
"I heard the maids saying that Leanna wants to move out, but you didn't agree to let her do so," she
said. "Why did you—"
"Georgina," he cut her off. "Do you see the wisteria over there?"
She looked out the window. "Yes, I see it."
"Although you can see it from here, if you want to pluck the flowers, you need to get past this window
and walk some distance away. However, if you plucked it beforehand and placed it in a vase, you can
keep it within arm's reach at all times."
Georgina understood what Lloyd meant. She knew he wanted to be able to control Leanna easily. Even
so, she couldn't help but frown. "But—"
"Start packing your things. We'll leave for Europe as soon as the anniversary ceremony is over. You
won't be seeing her ever again."
She froze in shock. "Are we never coming back again?"
"There won't be a reason for us to come back," he said. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you the state that
Crossley Group is in right now. Furthermore, all the things you've done recently are still on everyone's
minds. Even though we've attempted to clear your name, we still can't control what other people say.
I've made all the arrangements over in Europe. We can just head over without needing to do anything
else."
"Then… are we just going to let Leanna keep everything we gave her last time?"
He chuckled. "Since she wants it so badly, just let her have it. Still, it remains to be seen whether she's
capable of holding onto it."
There was more that Georgina wanted to say, but Lloyd turned around. "That's enough. Start packing
everything important to you. We're leaving immediately after the anniversary ceremony. Don't tell
anyone that we're going to Europe. Once we're there, there's no reason for you to contact any of your
old friends again."