Chapter 255
"Answer my question first," Aidan said.
Leanna frowned and answered after a few seconds, "When Jethro died, I found something in the box
under his bed."
"What's there?"
"Some pictures, a pocket watch, and his diary."
"What kind of pocket watch?"
"It's just a regular pocket watch," she said. "Does it make a difference?"
"Of course it does," Aidan said. "The manufacturer and the production batch are useful leads."
Hearing that, Leanna opened her mouth but no words came out.
He stared at her for a few seconds and pursed his lips. "Don't you want to look for him?"
After a while, she hung her head and said, "I just feel that it's meaningless."
"Leanna McKinney, it's not about whether it's meaningful or not, but the truth about what happened
back then."
"What's the use of knowing the truth? I just want a peaceful life."
Ever since she could remember, this was her biggest wish.
In the past, the family was in chaos because of Jethro. Time to time, the debtors would appear at their
door, shouting and cursing loudly from the outside, and all she could do was bolt the door shut and hold
the pillow tight, not daring to make a sound.
Later, she met Aidan, and it just worsened her already messed up life.
To her, that man was a stranger whom she had no memories with. Compared to pursuing the reason
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtwhy her mother married Jethro more than two decades ago, she would rather live a peaceful life now.
However, Aidan said, "This isn't the excuse for you to avoid this. Although the truth is sometimes more
cruel than reality, I'll always stay by your side."
Startled, she wondered, Could this b*stard not change the tone so suddenly?
"Even if you don't care what the truth is, a series of events have already started to sprout because of
this. As the person involved, how could you just stay out of it?" he added.
"I don't know what you mean."
"You met Lloyd Crossley today, didn't you?"
As Leanna didn't know why he suddenly brought up this topic, she replied after a short pause. "I did."
"Did you ever think about why there's been no news ever since your brother started posting the search
notices?" he asked again.
Leanna knitted her brows together in confusion. Previously when Louis wanted to do this, she didn't
know what kind of information they would receive, but now that Aidan had brought it up, the whole
matter did seem a little odd.
After giving it a thought, she asked instead of answering him, "You still haven't told me how you knew
about this."
Aidan tapped his slender finger gently on his knee. "Didn't I already tell you before that anything is
possible with money?"
"Then, there's nothing I can say to you. Please make your way out."
Leanna rose to her feet, but he grabbed her hand and chuckled. "Okay, I'll stop messing with you. I
found out about this when I was investigating Lloyd Crossley." Seeing the confused look on her face,
he added, "Maybe the truth is meaningless to you, but you have to know what happened in the past so
you can prepare for all the unknowns in the future."
"Can you please speak in a way that I can understand?"
All she wanted now was to find out how this matter was related to Lloyd.
"I don't know yet why Lloyd is doing this, but one thing is for sure—he knows the man in the picture,
who is your father, and he has been trying to stop the spread of this news because he doesn't want you
to find him. "
The frown on her face deepened as she thought about this.
Although she didn't have a deep impression of Georgina's father, he looked like a friendly and calm
person, and Leanna really couldn't imagine how he could possibly be related to her real father.
"Don't overthink. I'm only telling you this so that you can be mentally prepared and not fall into other
people's trap," he said.
His words made her mad. "When did I fall into someone's trap?"
"Did you know the situation tonight before you agreed to go with Elijah?"
"Nothing happened to me, right? Moreover, even if I didn't go with Elijah, you would have asked me to
attend the party with you anyway. Is there any difference between the two?"
"Of course there is," he answered.
Leanna snorted in laughter. "And what is that?"
A smirk appeared on his face suddenly. "Leanna, do you know why Lloyd is only stopping you from
looking for your father instead of taking any actions against you?"
"I…"
"That's because I'm behind you, so he doesn't dare to lay a finger on you."
Since when did this b*stard become my backer? she thought.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBefore she could say a thing, Aidan continued, "Think about it. In all these years, why didn't Lloyd
come to the idea to marry Georgina to Justin, but just right now, he suddenly asked for this marriage of
convenience with the Pearsons? Make a guess. What is he afraid of?"
Leanna had yet to figure out the issue from before, and she had no idea why he diverted the topic to
Georgina and Justin's engagement now. A few seconds later, she said, "Maybe they don't like you."
"I'm being serious with you now," he said.
"Go straight to the point, then! Why are you beating around the bush?"
How could she guess it correctly?
Aidan pressed his lips into a thin line and said, "I'll tell you a more precise timing. After your brother put
up notices looking for your father, Lloyd asked for the marriage of convenience with the Pearsons."
"You're saying that this matter is connected to me?"
"Or maybe, you could say that he's afraid of you."
As for the reason why he was afraid, only Lloyd knew what he had actually done.
Leanna's heart sank gradually. She understood what he was telling her.
Not only did Lloyd know her father, but it was very likely that something had happened between them,
and he had recalled a past memory when Louis went searching for her father with the picture.
The one he was afraid of probably wasn't her, but her real father. Or rather, the truth from twenty years
ago.
That was why he asked for help from the Pearson Family—it was so that he could bind the Crossleys
with the Pearsons.
Aidan's gaze fell on her hand which he was holding, and he rubbed it gently. "Are you still uninterested
in the truth now?"
She slowly kept away her thoughts and looked at him before drawing out her hand in one swift move.
"Thanks for telling me this, President Pearson. I'm interested now. So interested that I can't wait to run
to Georgina's house and ask her father exactly what kind of crazy things he did back then."
Aidan was speechless.