NovelEnglish
Chapter 283 Creating an Opportunity
“The surgery was very successful, but the next steps in Mr. Howard’s recovery will depend on his own
willpower,” the doctor informed Ben and Alfred, to their relief.
A few hours later, Han Howard had woken up from the surgery, but he was still groggy from the
anesthesia. Ben quickly brought a glass of water for him. Han took a sip from the glass and scanned
his surroundings. His eyes seemed to become lifeless once he realized that the person he wanted to
see the most was not around. Wordlessly, he put the glass of water back down on his bedside table
and stared blankly into space.
Alfred was the first to break the awkward silence in the room. “Mr. Howard, your surgery was very
successful,” he said encouragingly. He thought Han would have been happy to hear that, but the man
lying on the bed right now did not seem to care. It was as if he came out of the surgery a completely
different man.
Ben nudged Alfred from the back, warning him not to speak any further. Having worked for Han for so
long, he knew that Han’s depressed mood was likely because of Leah. “Mr. Howard, why don’t you get
some rest for now? Alfred and I will be waiting outside. Just call for us if you need anything!” Ben said
before motioning for Alfred to leave the room together with him.
Han lay on his bed motionlessly once his staff had left the room, his eyes filled with a deep, sorrowful
pain.
……
Back at the Ford villa, Leah watched with confusion and curiosity as the maids and butlers walked in
and out of the room next to hers. She finally caught hold of Mr. Carling after observing the commotion
for quite some time now. “Mr. Carling, what’s going on next door?” she asked.
“Mr. Ford says that you might be in danger. He’s moving in next door so he can keep an eye on you,”
Mr. Carling explained. Leah opened the door to the room next door only to find that the original study
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtroom furniture had been moved out, and plenty of Shawn’s personal belongings were already nicely
arranged on the shelves.
“I don’t agree to this!” Leah objected. She was not about to allow Shawn to move next to her. It was
already frustrating enough to see him every day, and now he was about to be in much closer proximity
to her every night.
Mr. Carling shrugged helplessly. “Well… We don’t make the decisions, Ms. White.” Even though most
of the housekeeping staff served Leah daily and had grown closer to her, they could not disobey
Shawn’s orders if they wanted to keep their jobs. Leah tugged at her hair in frustration as the workers
continued moving Shawn’s belongings into the room. She stomped toward the study upstairs angrily.
Shawn was in the middle of a conference call in the study when Leah barged in without knocking.
“What do you think you’re doing now?!” she yelled. Her angry voice was caught on video, to the
amusement and curiosity of the conference call attendees. They wondered who was so brave to speak
to Mr. Ford in such a rude, angry tone.
Shawn pressed his lips together in a thin, tight line. “Today’s meeting will end here,” he announced
gruffly before slamming his laptop shut. His gaze fell upon Leah as he turned around to face her.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Why are you moving next door to me?” Leah demanded to know.
“It’s my house,” Shawn simply replied, implying he could move into whichever room he fancied without
Leah’s permission.
Leah frowned angrily. Shawn was right. She did not have any power to demand anything of Shawn
Ford.
“I’m moving in next door to keep you safe. Before we find out who was responsible for the car accident,
you and I could both be a target,” Shawn explained. He still felt that the incident was far from over.
It never occurred to Leah that Shawn was moving in to protect her from harm. She felt a blush creeping
up her face and hastily lowered her head in embarrassment.
“I’ve said it before as well. I’m not interested in pregnant women,” Shawn added on flatly, making Leah
blush even more furiously. She all but ran out of the room before Shawn could say anything else.
…
Back at the hospital, Dr. Clinton was giving Han a physical examination. “The chances of someone
your age making a full recovery are very high. The surgery was a success, but you will have to do
some physiotherapy to fully recover,” Dr Clinton explained.
“Who’s the best physiotherapist in Linkville?” Han asked, driven by newfound determination to rebuild
himself. He was going to prove to Leah that he was not a useless man.
“Unfortunately, there aren’t too many qualified physiotherapists in Linkville. However, there are a few
renowned physiotherapists in Fetriybia. You could arrange a consultation with them,” Dr. Clinton gave
his recommendation as he wrote down some notes on Han’s medical charts.
Physiotherapy was both costly and time consuming, but Han was still thankful there was a solution to
his problems. Gratitude filled Han’s eyes as he looked at Dr. Clinton. “Thank you, Doctor,” he told Dr.
Clinton.
As soon as the doctor left his room, Han got Ben to start arranging for his stay in Fetriybia. It was likely
to be a long-term stay for his recovery, and he did not know when he would be able to return to
Linkville. Luckily for him, he still had plenty of assets in Fetriybia. Since Shawn Ford had taken
everything from him in Linkville, this was his chance to turn his personal tragedy into an opportunity.
Ben took down all of Han’s instructions in his little notebook diligently. “Alright, I’ll get on it right away,
Mr. Howard,” Ben said before he was about to leave Han’s room.
“Hold on!” Han stopped Ben from leaving. He paused for a moment before continuing to speak. “Help
me arrange a meeting with her. I’d like to meet her once before I leave.”
Ben nodded in understanding. “I’ll arrange it as soon as possible,” Ben said, fully understanding who
Han was referring to.
…
Shawn had been working from home for the past week. Besides accompanying Leah for occasional
meals in the dining hall, he barely stepped out of his room. Ever since the car accident, Leah’s attitude
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmtoward Shawn had somewhat shifted too.
Shawn’s cellphone rang out loud at the dining table, interrupting the serene silence he was enjoying
just a moment ago. He hated it when someone called him while he was having a meal. He
disconnected the call without even looking at the caller ID. However, a few seconds later, his phone
began to ring again. It was as if the caller would not give up.
Leah put her cutlery down and wiped the corners of her lips with a napkin. “Perhaps there’s something
urgent…” she suggested.
Shawn finally picked up his phone with a grumpy expression. “What?” his mono-syllabic opener was
curt and cold.
“Mr. Howard, some hackers managed to hack into the company’s systems. There’s been a major data
breach of confidential information,” the person on the other line explained frantically.
Without saying a word further, Shawn grabbed his coat and headed for the door, but stopped in his
tracks suddenly. He looked at Lucy who was standing at a corner of the courtyard.
“Make sure you keep Ms. White protected at all times. If anything happens to her, I’ll hold you
personally accountable,” he said to Lucy before turning and leaving out the door.
Lucy looked at Leah with a conflicted expression on her face. She did not know what had happened
between Shawn and Leah in recent times for Shawn to be so personally concerned over Leah. “Ms.
White, why don’t we go to the library upstairs and pick out some books to read?” Lucy suggested.
Leah looked out the windows from the courtyard, enjoying the warm sun rays on her skin. It had been a
while since she was able to enjoy an afternoon without Shawn around.
“The sun looks nice and bright today. Let’s go to the courtyard and bask in the sun for a while,” Leah
insisted. Leah was already out the door before Lucy could say anything.
“Ms. White! Wait… wait up!” Lucy chased after Leah.
Leah picked out one of the deck chairs in the courtyard. She leaned back onto the chair and stretched
out her body lazily, soaking in the sun. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared outside the courtyard.
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