9"Maddie."Lucas looked at me in astonishment. He probably did not expect me to call his name like this. He said in a deep voice, "Come home with me."Leonardo paused for a second and glanced at me.I felt shivers running down my spine. Subconsciously, I lowered my gaze and gripped my fingers tightly. I could not help but have tears brimming in my eyes. I had to bite my lip hard.From the first day I was locked in here, I knew that nothing good would come from making Leonardo angry."Leonardo! You're imprisoning her illegally!" As Lucas struggled, he panted and roared, "Do you want to go to jail?"Leonardo ignored Lucas. The former merely stared at me and carefully hissed, "Tell him. Who sent you here?"Tears fell from my eyes. I only felt that I was about to nearly wring off my fingers, but I had to answer, "Mrs. Xanthos."It was Linda who sent me here.It was as if Linda was presenting me as a gift. After sending me to Leonardo, she left without a word. I became an abandon
19Half a month later, perhaps the news about me and Leonardo was slowly fading away. Thus, Leonardo actually took me out."Leo."Leonardo turned the steering wheel, glanced at me from the side, and said casually, "You don't have to be nervous. After all, you're not worth much even if I were to sell you."I was at a loss for words.It was better for me to keep silent. As long as he did not sell me like how Linda did, everything was fine to me.Speaking of which, I even felt lucky to stay at Leonardo's side. At the very least, I could go to Acocester University. It was a dream that many people had.20I had imagined Leonardo would take me to a reception or a party. However, I did not expect him to take me to a stationery store.After we arrived, he merely said, "I'm giving you half an hour to buy all the stationery you need for four years."I was at a loss as I looked at him. When I met his dark eyes, I hurriedly took a basket and started to choose.Everything I bought was ei
30I was wondering if it would still be the same in the future.I was confused, and my eyes were filled with tears. I clenched the pillow under my body, turned my face away, and let my hair cover my eyes.In a trance, I still remembered the wooden stick that Linda always held.The Xanthos family's sense of hierarchy was very strong. Others thought that I must have done a good deed in my previous life that I was able to enter the Xanthos family. However, they did not know how many times I had been beaten, and then, I was finally able to learn the so-called rules of the Xanthos family.Even if it was Lucas who did something wrong, I was the one who was beaten up.I knew that the woman I called "Mrs. Xanthos" as I was sobbing was not my family. Instead, she was Lucas' mother.However, except for her, I did not know who else to turn to."Hey, wake up! Madeleine? Hey!"31When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the bed as I was treated with an IV drip. My throat was a little hoarse.
38To be honest, my kissing skills were completely taught by Leonardo. As Linda was strict, Lucas was only able to hold my hand secretly sometimes. Only on the day of the proposal did we have a quick kiss. It was our first kiss.I opened my eyes slightly. As I looked into Leonardo's eyes, I was a little distracted. Obviously, I had comforted myself countless times, but my heart still throbbed in pain inadvertently.I had never experienced the outside world, and the contents of books were unable to make up for the emptiness in my life.Before I was 18 years old, there were only Linda, Lucas, and Linda's wooden stick in my life. At the age of 18, Linda expelled me from Lucas' world and let Leonardo enter my life.Leonardo's voice was slightly hoarse and he whispered, "Have you brought a condom?"I pressed my hand against him and hurriedly said, "You said it was just a kiss."Leonardo's eyes turned dark slightly. He licked his lips and put his hands around my waist, obviously restr
46However, he went to see me many times that day. In the end, Charles could not help but ask, "Who is the one asking to see you?"I was slightly embarrassed, stood up straight, and replied, "Mr. Smith, he's my family."With a cold face, Charles looked at the student who was looking for me and scolded, "Let her family wait."I was rendered speechless.Melissa burst into laughter. Charles glanced over and she instantly stood upright.Every year during the orientation, the seniors from a batch earlier would bring food to greet the freshman. That day, three female seniors and one male senior came to visit us in my major.The world was very small. Just one glance and I saw the girl from Lucas' photo.It was Sienna Hamilton.47"She's not from our major. Why is she here?"The female students around me were in groups of three to five. I watched some male students surround the female seniors. Then, I unscrewed the bottle cap and took a small sip as I watched quietly.After so many
56"What's there to be okay about?" Leonardo asked.I was rendered speechless.Well, I was just answering your question. Leonardo ignored me. He turned around and lay on the couch with his eyes closed as he rested. I hesitated and got up to get a small blanket to cover him.Leonardo opened his eyes and wrapped himself around the blanket as if I had harassed him.Once again, I was rendered speechless.Leonardo's temper was strange and unpredictable. However, when I was attending orientation, it was true that he did not step out of line.Perhaps our actions in the mansion before were too bold. Thus, now that he kissed me briefly, I was not that embarrassed, but I was still very nervous.Seeing that the orientation was about to end in a week, I was looking forward to ending the days when I had to stand under the sun, but I also did not want it to end so soon.In the last week of the orientation, we only trained for one day when it started to rain heavily.The raindrops fell onto
66"Leo?"I looked at Leonardo's deep dark eyes in confusion. I only felt that his gaze was very familiar, and I inexplicably wanted to cower.Leonardo bent down and held me tightly. Then, he raised his hand to turn off the light and kissed me for a while before whispering. "Pay me back when you have a long vacation."I was rendered speechless.Leonardo then said, "Answer me."I slightly hid under the quilt and felt that the grip of Leonardo's hand on my waist was harder. Then, I quickly whispered, "Okay."Leonardo snorted, hugged me, and closed his eyes. I did not know how long had passed when suddenly he pinched my arm and said in a deep voice, "If you can't stand it anymore, tell me about it so that you won't have a fever again."I was at a loss for words.Then, I clenched the corner of the quilt nervously, closed my eyes, and pretended that I was asleep and did not hear anything.67Leonardo kept his word. He did not touch me as I attended my classes. However, sometimes
74"Mrs. Xanthos, I still have classes..."I guessed correctly that Linda was here personally because there was something that she wanted. If nothing goes wrong, it was something that I did not want to do.Linda curled her lips and handed me my previous phone. Then, she said faintly, "Maddie."I was stunned for a moment, and my heart skipped a beat. I gripped the book in my hand tightly and whispered, "Mrs. Xanthos, this phone belongs to Luke. It's better to give it back to Luke."Linda raised her thin eyebrows but did not intend to take back the phone."Well, hello. I thought who it was. Are you still wearing my Aunt Lorelai's out-of-season clothes?"Melissa came out of nowhere, raised her hand, and held my arm. Then, she grinned as she looked at Linda. "By the way, has your son been discharged from the hospital?"Melissa spoke in a slightly bold way. I immediately pulled her. Then, I looked at Linda and said in a low voice, "Mrs. Xanthos, she—"There was a smile on Linda's f