NovelEnglish
Chapter 717 How’s the Situation Outside?
Jonathan could roughly guess what Leanna was thinking by observing her expression. His mouth
twitched slightly when he reassured her, "It's not what you think, Miss McKinney. It was my mother. She
fell seriously ill ten years ago, and it was President Pearson who gave me the money for her surgery."
Leanna recalled the mentions of his mother from before and asked, "How is your mother's health
now?"
"Ah… She passed away. The surgery failed. "
Momentarily stunned, Leanna was unsure of what to say.
He let out a light-hearted chuckle and added, "But at least she had the surgery. Otherwise, I would
have regretted it for the rest of my life."
On the way back, she couldn't stop thinking about Jonathan's revelation.
"What's wrong?" Aidan asked when he noticed her absentmindedness.
"It's nothing." Leanna paused before continuing, "I ran into Jonathan downstairs."
Aidan raised an eyebrow at that. "What did he say to you?"
"He… He said he would always follow you. There are things you may have forgotten."
"Are you talking about his mother's surgery?"
She nodded, feeling slightly surprised. "You haven't forgotten."
"How could I forget something like that? But those are different things. It's his own choice whether he
stays or goes. It has nothing to do with this."
Leanna couldn't help but laugh when she heard that. She threw herself into Aidan's arms and sat on his
lap. As she rubbed his face affectionately, she cooed, "You're actually a cutie pie, aren't you?"
Aidan didn't say anything, and he was just about to tell Leanna to stop messing around when she
suddenly cupped his face and kissed him gently.
Soon after, she pulled back.
His voice was slightly hoarse when he looked at her and asked, "Don't you want to eat?"
At that, Leanna stated, "Of course I do. Let's eat now…"
As she spoke, she started to get up, only for the man to pull her back by the waist.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAidan then guided her back onto the couch and kissed her eyes, purring, "We'll eat later."
Leanna gazed at him with her shimmering eyes and whispered, "It will get cold later."
"I can reheat it."
What are these alarming words I'm hearing? Leanna paled.
Before she could say anything, Aidan kissed her lips again while his hand rested on the part of her
waist that was exposed because of her movements earlier. He gently caressed her skin and continued
gliding his hand upward.
The temperature in the room gradually rose.
Soon, an ambiguous atmosphere enveloped the entire space.
…
At the same time, Zoe, who couldn't fall asleep, was tossing and turning in bed.
Her mind alternated between thoughts of what Leanna had told her—that she wouldn't have lost her
baby if it weren't for Joseph—and thoughts of Daniel as she wondered how he was doing and if he had
been hurt.
The more she thought, the more chaotic her thoughts became.
Eventually, she decided to sit up and walk to the living room to pour herself some water.
She was sipping on her drink when she saw the flowers on the verge of wilting on the windowsill. She
walked over, squatted down, and poured the water from her cup into the pot.
Suddenly, Zoe remembered that Daniel also had plants at his home. It has been such a long time. I
wonder how the plants are now.
She continued to crouch on the floor for a while before standing up and walking to the door. After she
changed her shoes, she grabbed her car keys and went out.
After arriving at the small residential complex where she and Leanna used to live, Zoe parked her car
and quickly went upstairs.
For some reason, she could feel a strange feeling intensifying the closer she got.
It was as if she would see Daniel as soon as she opened the door.
After getting off the elevator, Zoe went to Daniel's unit and entered the passcode. When she saw the
light inside the apartment, she felt like her speculation had been confirmed. A smile then appeared on
her face as she called out, "Daniel—"
However, a woman whose luscious curves were covered by a revealing nightgown walked out of the
bedroom.
With a languid expression on her face, the woman drawled in French when she looked at Zoe,
"Bonsoir! And you are?"
"Sorry! I'm sorry…"
Bewildered, Zoe apologized while stepping back. Did the apartment get rented out again?
However, before she could leave, the woman stopped her. "Wait!"
Zoe only stood there apologizing, "Sorry, my friend used to live here…"
She didn't know if the woman believed her words or not, but the latter was soon taking slow steps
toward Zoe with her eyes narrowed and arms crossed.
Just then, a familiar male voice came from inside the apartment. "Amanda."
Both the woman and Zoe turned their heads toward the voice.
Daniel had walked out within the next second.
"A friend of yours?" Amanda asked.
Daniel nodded and looked at Zoe. "Do you need something?"
Zoe was frozen in place. Despite her mouth being opened, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
She had come here with great expectations to see Daniel, but she hadn't anticipated it would be under
these circumstances.
She looked him up and down, only to find that he seemed fine and unharmed. She had been worried
for nothing.
The woman named Amanda walked over and sat on the couch before she opened a bottle of red wine
and leisurely sipped it.
After a moment, Zoe regained her voice but didn't know what to say. In the end, she stammered, "I
heard from Leanna that you were in trouble… and… I was thinking about whether the flowers here
would wither, so I came to take a look."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"I'm fine. You can leave."
Zoe instinctively turned her head and took a few steps. However, she couldn't help but become teary-
eyed as she whipped her head back around and scolded, "Are you out of your mind? Don't you know
that Leanna and Aidan thought that Leroy got to you? They are currently using the Crossley Group's
assets as collateral to save you! And here you are with… this woman…"
At her words, Daniel froze, his eyebrows creasing subtly.
After a moment, he stated, "Please help me pass the message that they don't have to do all this for
me."
"If you want to say it, say it yourself," Zoe retorted. "It's none of my business!"
With that, she turned around and stormed off, not forgetting to slam the door shut behind her.
Daniel only looked away after hearing her footsteps fade as she entered the elevator.
On the couch, Amanda drank her red wine and asked, seemingly interested, "Your new girlfriend?"
Daniel's voice turned cold when he muttered, "No, and it's none of your business."
"What a shame!" Amanda hummed. "It would have been nice to have her stay and keep you company."
Just as Daniel was about to say something, a violent coughing fit overtook him. Bloodstains then
seeped through his shoulder and back.
Seeing this, Amanda walked over and took out a needle that she had intended to use on Zoe from the
pocket of her nightgown and injected it into his arm. Clicking her tongue twice, she stated, "I told you
not to move around. You've wasted another one of my syringes."
Daniel's consciousness gradually started to blur and he struggled to ask, "How's the situation outside
now?"
"Didn't your girlfriend just tell you? I never expected you to be worth so much. You've piqued my
interest. Handing you over wouldn't be a bad deal." She sighed and added, "But what I really want is
your life."
"I told you she's not my girlfriend. Don't you dare touch her!" Daniel hissed.
After Amanda helped him into the bedroom, she threw him onto the bed. "If she's not your girlfriend,
what are you worried about? She hasn't gone far. Why don't I bring her back so that she can keep you
company?"
"I dare you to." Before he lost consciousness, he managed to throw out a few more words. "Lay a
finger on her and I'll make sure you wish you were dead."
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