"Ouch." Leah explained as she quickly turned on the faucet and placed her index finger underneath it.
She had just scalded herself, accidentally.
Sighing, she stared at the pot on the stove and then at her reddish finger. She was currently preparing her husband's favorite meal.
She had been married to Eugene Moore for two years, she had loved him for two years but he never reciprocated her feelings. She had never dared to ask him to love her, because her marriage was just a deal. He would marry her just so he could protect the woman he truly loved, and love another more recklessly under her cover.
Two years ago, Leah saved an elderly man trapped in a car accident, and that elderly man happened to be Eugene's grandfather. She was taking care of him in the hospital when he spoke enthusiastically about how excellent his grandson was and how well-suited he would be with Leah. Then Eugene abruptly entered the room, and with just one glance, Leah was completely captivated by him.
With the help of Eugene's grandfather, she often found herself "bumping into" Eugene at the hospital. Everything felt like a romantic movie, until one day, Leah accidentally overheard a conversation between them.
"Eugene, Leah is a good girl. I think you should be with her," said the elderly voice of his grandfather, carrying an unmistakable authority.
Leah blushed, awaiting Eugene's response, but his words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her.
"Grandpa, I'm going to marry Jessica."
"Which Jessica? Jessica Hudson? Your stepmother's niece? Are you out of your mind?! She abandoned you!"
"It's because of you that she left! Grandpa!"
"I never..."
Jessica? Leah outside the door couldn't help but frown. This woman abandoned Eugene? Was she his ex-girlfriend?
Leah was still lost in thought when the door was pushed open, and those familiar footsteps slowly approached her. For the first time, she didn't want to see this man. She took a deep breath, lowered her head, and turned to leave, but Eugene's low, icy voice stopped her in her tracks. "Will you marry me?"
Leah's foot, just lifted, touched the ground again. He was proposing?
She furrowed her brow, wide-eyed, turning to look at the serious-faced man. "What?"
Eugene seemed entirely indifferent, as if he were simply inviting Leah to dinner. He added, "I know you heard everything. Jessica is the woman I love the most, and she's currently abroad. My grandfather doesn't approve of us being together. If you marry me, I'll give you money. It's the best way to protect her."
Upon hearing this plan, tears welled up in Leah's eyes instantly. To Eugene, she was nothing but a lifeless shield. The woman who had abandoned him was the one he truly loved.
But at that moment, Leah naively believed that loving him meant giving him all of herself, and inexplicably, she agreed to this absurd proposal, tears streaming down her face...
For the past two years, she had constantly been good to him, learning to be like all wives, loyal, caring, submissive. She endured the hostility of all his family members for him, but she couldn't earn even a glance from him.
Yet she persisted. She stubbornly believed that Eugene would eventually be moved by her, that he would eventually fall in love with her.
Sitting at the dinner table until eleven o'clock, the dinner she had prepared was reheated again and again, but Eugene still hadn't returned. However, Leah's eyes remained unchanged, just repeating her actions. She had long grown accustomed to it all.
Until almost midnight, the sound of a car finally came from outside the door.
He's back!
Leah's eyes immediately lit up, and she excitedly stood up and walked to the door.
"Welcome home."Leah said with a smile as she took his briefcase from him and helped him in taking off his jacket.
Eugene snatched the briefcase from her and brought out some documents.
Leah frowned as she stared at the papers.
"Sign it."
Leah swallowed hard.
His tone was as cold and calm as when he proposed to her two years ago. The news she had received a few days ago gave her a rough idea of what this document might be, but she still couldn't give up hope and asked one last question.
"What…what is that? "
Eugene had no patience for her theatrics, impatiently asking, "Don't you already know? Jess is coming back soon, it's time for us to get divorced."
Those words nearly tore Leah's heart apart, and she lowered her head, unsure of how to respond. After two years, did he really have no feelings for her at all? Was she not even considered a friend?
"I'll give you 20 million dollars, and you can keep this house. You don't have to move out."
So this was how he viewed her, just like his mother-in-law, thinking this marriage was merely a means for her to gain wealth.
Leah hung her head, tears streaming down uncontrollably. She shook her head gently; she hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
Eugene scoffed. "Don't act like you don't want the money. Isn't this what you wanted? Let me warn you, don't even think about telling Grandpa. If you do, you won't get anything!"
"But..." Leah was about to tell him that now wasn't the right time, as Grandpa had been readmitted to the hospital just the week before due to heart problems and couldn't handle any more changes. How could she possibly keep this from Grandpa?
But her words were interrupted by the ringing of her phone.
Eugene glanced at the caller ID and quickly answered the call.
"Jess, have you landed? "His tone was extremely soft.
He was totally different unlike the cold man Leah knew.
"Eugene, I'm already at the airport."
"Oh, I'll be there in 5 minutes."He quickly grabbed his jacket, turning and glaring at Leah, he instructed, "Sign it tonight. Tristan will pick it up."
And then he hurried off.
Once the main door closed, Leah sat on the floor. At this moment, she couldn't even shed tears. It finally dawned on her.
He loved that woman more than she had ever imagined. There was nothing in this world more important to him than that woman.
Leah lowered her head and looked at the divorce agreement scattered on the floor. She picked up the pen beside her, crossed out all the property settlements, and signed her name next to Eugene's.
Then she picked up the phone and dialed, her voice choked, "Jason, I want to go home."
The next morning, a Rolls-Royce arrived at the villa entrance and took Leah away...
Eugene was sitting in the living room watching the morning news when Jessica, clad in pajamas, pushed open the door and greeted him, "Good morning, Eugene.""Good morning, Jess," he responded gently, gesturing towards the breakfast already prepared on the table.Jessica sat down but didn't start eating. Instead, she looked pitifully at the man in front of her, her eyes flickering as she began to explain, "Eugene, it was too late yesterday, and I didn't get a chance to explain. Two years ago, I..."Eugene simply pushed the milk towards her and said understandingly, "I know. Your aunt told me. It was my grandfather who forced you."Jessica's expression briefly froze, but she quickly regained her composure and continued, "It wasn't entirely that. I wasn't brave enough. Eugene, don't blame your grandfather."Eugene nodded lightly, continuing to eat his sandwich without saying a word.Seeing this, Jessica asked the question she wanted to ask, "Since you're already married, what about us?"
8pm.A Maybach was riding passed the beach when Jessica inside of it caught sight of the fireworks display."Oh my! It's so beautiful! Stop the car, Eugene. Let's go have a closer look."Eugene stopped the car and both he and Jessica ran towards the beach.She smiled and pointed upwards."My God. It's enchanting."Eugene stared at her thinking about how Leah used to gosh over things like this on TV.Suddenly, Countless drones lifted off and formed a line in the air: "HBD MISS L", and kept changing patterns to amaze the audience."Oh my! Is this all for this Miss L? She's so lucky to be blessed like this for just a birthday." Jessica said in an envious tone. It also kept drifting to Eugene at his side, as if on cue.Eugene frowned recalling that Leah's birthday was today. And the fact that her initials were also L made it inevitable for him to think of her.Where she was right now? Was she at somewhere else still crying over?There was even a second to reflect on whether he shouldn't h
The St Louis Villa was home to the King family.The car stopped in front of the main door and Marcel came out to welcome his sister.He held open the door for her."Welcome home, my princess."Leah laughed, her delicate face looked even more stunning under the dazzling light."How have you been, Marcel? ""Good. But I feel great now that you're back. Did you enjoy the fireworks? My birthday gift attracted the whole of the city center's attention. It's even trending on the internet."Marcel looked excited."Yeah. I saw it. I heard some say that it was probably from a tycoon trying to be romantic to his wife, some even say it was over the top."Leah let out, sarcastically.Marcel ignored her sarcasm and hugged her, happily."Tell me you're staying for good this time and not abandoning us because of a man.""Well, that didn't end well for me so no, I'm never doing that again."Leah patter her brother's back to comfort him."I'm sorry, guys. I wasted two years of my life. Broke the vow I made
Five days later, Eugene called his secretary, Tristan to his office."How's the investigation on her going? "Eugene looked out from the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing at the city.His talk, upright figure projected an overbearing silhouette."I…I'm sorry, Boss. But there hasn't been any progress."Tristan nervously reported."After she left your house, she didn't go to the flower shop where she worked. I even went to the address where she told you her family stays and it was fake.""Fake? ! "Eugene was stunned.He turned to look at Tristan, his gaze oppressive."Also, there's no family with the last name, Smith leaving in that area.""She lied about her last name as well? ! "Who the hell did he marry?A spy?"She left with Jason King that night? Is there anything on him? ""Jason King lives a very private life so it's hard to know if she's his lover or not."Eugene was furious."How could he be so shameless? He stole my wife from me! ""Technically, he didn't steal your wife, you gu
At JK hotel, all the executives anxiously awaited their new manager."I heard the new general manager is a young woman.""A young woman? How old could she be? ""I'm guessing maybe in her earlier twenties or mid.""Seriously? They sent someone like that to turn the hotel around when all the past managers have failed.""I heard she's Mr King's daughter.""Oh, they're sending us a spoilt brat.""Isn't she the daughter from one of his numerous wives who isn't valued.""So he sent her here to clean up this mess, what exactly is he playing at? ""She's here! The new boss is here! "A sports car came to a step at the entrance of the hotel followed by several Maybachs, creating a grand scene.When the employees saw the customized plate number which read "KING"They didn't dare to gossip anymore.Two men hurried over and opened the door of car, red high-heeled shooed caught their eyes first.Then, a woman with a beautiful figure and long, flowing hair walked out of the car.She was stunning,
After finishing all the inspections, Leah and Jason returned to the office."What are your thoughts after looking around? " Jason laughed."This place is filthy and messy! " Leah sat on the sofa, depressed. Then, she covered her forehead and sighed. "Is this really our group's hotel? How come it looks like this?""Leah, Grandpa started this hotel. In the past, this place only hosts those who are important to us as partners. Never needed a hotel to make a profit.Only then could the JK Financial Group become what it is today. But as our group got bigger and bigger, I left it to the staff below me to manage, and that's how it became." Jason blamed himself."Leah, you'll have to deal with our mess. We're sorry.""It's okay, Jason. it's me who's late."Knock-knock.A knock on the door interrupted their conversation and Leah blurted out, "Come in."Josh quickly entered the office. "Madam, I have found our hotel's bedding and furniture supplier. It's mostly from Hudson's Home. Mark is respon
Leah walked into the hospital,she inquired at the lobby and was told about what ward Grandpa Moore was in.As she walked through the hallway,her footsteps halted on seeing Eugene standing in front of the ward with Tristan.She could see how worried he looked.Even in his worried state,he still looked so handsome.Leah quickly shook her head.She shouldn’t care about his looks anymore.She shouldn’t admire him.Taking a deep breath,she continued heading for the ward.Hearing footsteps,Eugene and Tristan both turned around to see who was approaching.Eugene blinked,unable to believe his eyes.Had Leah always looked this classy?"Tristan,how’s Grandpa?"Leah asked totally pretending as if the other man wasn’t standing close to her.Tristan was also in disbelief and he wondered if this was his boss’s ex-wife.She always dresses like a pauper and it made her unattractive.But today,she was dressed in a body-fitted red dress which accentuated her curves.She had moderate but beautiful make up o
As soon as Grandpa Moore saw Leah walking into the ward,his face brightened and he immediately felt strong."Leah,my dear."He cooed.Leah smiled,warmly at him.She had always loved this old man."Grandpa,are you feeling better?I was really worried to hear that you were admitted in an hospital.""I’m sorry for making you worry,my dear but I’m okay now and stronger now that you’re here."Grandpa Moore slowly held her hand."Did you really get divorced from Eugene?Please tell me that’s not true.""I can’t lie to you,Grandpa.It’s the truth."Leah replied.Grandpa Moore glared at Eugene."This is all your fault!You didn’t treat her well enough.You had such a perfect wife."Eugene blinked and couldn’t dare to talk back.He didn’t want the old man’s condition to worsen."Grandpa,I’m not perfect.Please calm down,Eugene and I needed this divorce."Leah let out,calmly.Eugene stared at her.He had expected her to badmouth him to his grandpa but she wasn’t.What was she aiming at?Did she think usin