Chapter 6
Jennifer shot Curtis a withering look. “Kid, stop babbling nonsense.”
Maddox’s stoic face was the picture of silence. His years hadn’t acquainted him with the ng of youth.
He tried to make sense of it, but “popping out kittens” seemed more like a symptom of a gynecological
or a psychiatric issue. It wasn’t his ce to inquire too directly.
“Anne… are you feeling unwell?” he asked.
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Leanne’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she hastened to say, “No, he’s just talking nonsense.”
After dinner, Curtis and Maddox hunkered down in the study for some time. Jennifer brought them
some coffee and lingered longer than expected.
Leanne had been waiting in the living room. She hadn’t slept well the night before, and after a whole
day of work, it wasn’t long before she dozed off on the couch.
Sarah, the household’s housekeeper, came over and gently woke her. “Leanne.”
Leanne rubbed her eyes. “Time to go?”
“Mr. Curtis and Mr. Maddox are still discussing matters. He won’t be leaving anytime soon.”
Sarah had been looking after Leanne since she was a child, treating her as her own. “Your old room is
all tidied up. Do you want to go upstairs and rest a bit?”
Leanne rarely visited, except for holidays or when Jennifer called. She wouldn’te or her initiative.
Her old room still held some of her belongings, remnants of her childhood, though not much belonged
to her anymore..
She asked Sarah for a cardboard box, and after packing, she descended the stairs with the box in her
arms as Curtis stepped out of the study.
Curtis’ eyes nced over the box she was carrying. “What’s that?”
“Things from when I was little. I forgot to take them with me.”
He smirked an enigmatic expression that wasn’t quite a smile.
While following him downstairs, Leanne said, “Next time, don’t talk nonsense before your parents.”
“Nonsense?” Curtis stopped, loosened his tie, and nced at her sideways. “Weren’t those your own
words?”
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11-14 E
Chapter 6
“That was a joke,” Leanne insisted. “You throwing it around before your parents made me
ufortable.”
Curtis
Slid his hands into his trouser pockets, his gaze mockingly gentle. “Fine. From now on, I’ll make a list of
what you say. Mark what can be shared and what can’t. I’ll adhere strictly to avoid identally spilling
your little secrets and bing the target of your frustration.”
This time, Leanne recognized the sarcasm.
“I’m not taking it out on you.” she exined.
Curtis didn’t care for her exnation and turned to continue downstairs.
Trailing his tall figure, Leanne felt dwarfed by his shadow, elongated by the dim light of the stairwell.
Curtis walkedzily, but she struggled to keep up and soongged.
Outside, the ck Bentley was already parked at the front. Curtis stood by the car, lighting a cigarette.
The ember red in his fingers, the wind carrying a hint of his rogue charm.
When he saw her emerge, he snuffed out his smoke. “What’s with those legs if you can’t keep up?”
Leanne wanted to retort, ‘Can’t you see I’m carrying a box?’ but didn’t bother to argue.
Somewhere along the line, they had lost the desire tomunicate.
Forget it. Those two words surfaced in Leanne’s mind repeatedly, quashing any impulse to speak her
mind.
Curtis opened the car door, tossed his jacket inside, and leaned on the doorframe, his voice tinged with
a cool detachment:
“Anything else you’ve left behind? Take it all today.”
“Nothing.” Leanne’s temper red. “The rest is all your family property. Keep it.”
She slid into the car and heard Curtis let out a cold chuckle before he closed the door and
entered the driver’s side.
Curtis’ chivalry was in his blood, a product of nurture, but his sharp tongue and cold heart.
were nature’s handiwork.
Leanne had once seen him only as a charming heartbreaker. Only after marriage did she realize just
how heartless he could be.
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