Chapter 1565


    "I''m fine! Why are you so emotional all of a sudden?" Leah faked her nonchnce, and Ernest was


    even more upset at that.


    He felt that a woman would only hide her unhappiness if her life was really too horrid.


    What kind of family did she live in?


    "I''m fine, Ernest. You don''t have to do this." Leah repeated as if she was trying to reassure herself


    at the same time.


    "Shh." Ernest stopped her from continuing.


    He was afraid that he wouldn''t be able to stop himself from kissing her if she kept talking.


    Ernest''s voice sounded off, and that tipped Leah off that something was amiss. Honestly, she was a


    little afraid of him as well, so she stopped moving immediately.


    She closed her eyes obediently and leaned into Ernest''s embrace.


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    His hug was warm andforting, and it made all of Leah''s hidden pain emerge in her chest. Tears


    welled up in her eyes, and they threatened to spill.


    Her horrible family situation made her feel rather helpless, and she sniffled hard.


    However, Ernest found the sound of her sniffling to be incredibly painful.


    His gaze darkened and he narrowed his eyes. He gripped Leah harder as the tone of his voice


    deepened.


    "Leah."


    He actually had a thousand words to say, but in the end, he only called Leah''s name.


    He wanted tofort her, but he didn''t know what to say. Plus, it felt rather pointless to say


    comforting words.


    In the end, he just called her name again.


    "Leah."


    Leah had hoped that she could prevent her tears from falling through sheer force of will.


    However, Ernest had called her name twice without saying anything else.


    Thus, she couldn''t wait any longer.


    Leah couldn''t stop the sadness from welling up in her chest.


    Her chest tightened and she smiled bitterly. She chastised herself for hoping, and her tears fell like


    broken pearls, wetting the front of Ernest''s shirt.


    The hot tears on his chest made Ernest stiffen.


    His entire body was taut as he lowered his head to look at her.


    Leah lowered her head to stop Ernest from seeing her cry. She apologized, "I''m sorry, I couldn''t stop


    my tears from falling. Sorry that I wet your shirt."


    "Don''t apologize." Ernest''s chest felt like it was imploding. Leah had such a huge sway over him.


    "I''ve ruined your shirt." Leah ducked her head sheepishly and dared not look at Ernest. She felt very


    ugly at that moment. Her nose was stuffy, and her head was aching.


    Crying always made someone look extremely ugly.


    Then, Ernest reached out to grab Leah''s chin. Her teary face was emzoned in his mind.


    Ernest''s gaze was fixed on Leah''s face. A woman''s tears could really make a man ache all over.


    Leah had tear stains all over her face, and she had some near her forehead as well. Her expression


    looked absolutely miserable.


    Hence, how could Ernest not be upset when he saw her like this?


    Then, Ernest muttered, "Leah, just cry if you want to. Don''t keep it all inside."


    He did his best tofort Leah.


    However, this was not what Leah wanted. She wanted Ernest to confess his feelings for her, but it


    was impossible.


    Leah knew that Ernest refused to admit that he liked her more than a friend.


    Perhaps he did like her a little bit. He was a gentle and caring man, so he wouldn''t reject her


    advances.


    Obviously, Leah was very upset.


    She wiped away her tears and sighed deeply before she broke intoughter. However, there were


    still tears leaking from the corner of her eyes.


    Ernest originally thought that Leah''s tears were more than enough to affect him.


    However, her devastatedughter seemed to hit Ernest like a speeding truck.


    Hell, he had almost kissed her.


    Then, Leah smiled and said, "Sorry to be so vulnerable in front of you. I''m not usually like this, and


    I''m quite optimistic most of the time. I guess the flu really knocked me down a peg, and I made a


    fool of myself."


    Ernest was astonished once more at her words, and he stopped moving.


    Leah was watching him, and she still had that teary smile on her face. Her smile was painful for


    Ernest to look at.


    He wanted to hug Leah once more, but she stopped him by cing an arm on his chest. Then, he


    said, "Thank you for that hug earlier, but I don''t need it anymore. Let''s rest!"


    After that, Leah turned her back to Ernest.


    Since Ernest was just a friend, then she didn''t need to spend too much time with him. Although she


    wanted him very badly, too much intimacy would just expose more of her vulnerabilities to him.


    She wasn''t the kind of person who begged for another''s love.


    Perhaps she had gotten used to the loneliness. Leah was no longer the person she used to be.


    Meanwhile, Ernest felt that something was amiss.


    Leah had turned around and simultaneously built up her walls again. He was rendered speechless


    as he stared at her back.


    What the hell was going on?


    Ernest paused as he watched Leah.


    He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.


    Ernest narrowed his eyes and felt that Leah''s family situation was ratherplicated. Hence, he


    decided to let Leah tell him about it when she was ready, lest his questions upset her.


    Ernest straightened up slightly and rolled over to stare at the ceiling. Worry filled his gaze as he


    looked up.


    The man he had helped get into the hospital over the summer break had to be Leah''s father.


    Was he still in the hospital?


    Ernest was very suspicious.


    He turned his head to look at Leah.


    She had her back to him, so Ernest could not see her expression. However, he could sense that


    Leah was very sad.


    He could spot her trembling shoulders. Leah seemed to be crying, but she obviously didn''t want


    anyone to know about it.


    This scene was deeply emzoned in Ernest''s mind.


    He wanted to reach out and hold her, but his rational mind told him that he could not.


    After that, neither of them spoke a word.


    In the end, Leah fell asleep.


    Perhaps she felt much better after venting her feelings.


    Hence, Leah fell into a deep slumber.


    Meanwhile, at the hospital.


    Gary and his mother went with Celeste to see the gynecologist.


    The gynecologist gave Celeste mountains of medical reports. Other than that, she took Celeste''s


    blood and examined her very closely.


    Afterpiling all the information about Celeste''s health, the gynecologist gave them a preliminary


    diagnosis.


    "Mrs. Jones, Miss White''s health isn''t looking too good."


    Grace was slightly confused by her words.


    "What do you mean?" She asked worriedly.


    At the time, both Gary and Celeste were there, so the doctor decided to be truthful. Since they all


    knew one another, the doctor did not mince her words.


    "Anemia, hormonal imbnce and stasis. From the report, it seems that Miss White''s stress has


    caused her to have stasis. That has caused her hormonal imbnces and anemia. Furthermore,


    there seems to be a problem with the secretion of her thyroid hormones."


    Grace was shocked. "Ah! How do we treat that?"


    The gynecologist nced at Celeste and found that surprise and fear were written all over her face.


    Was she that ill?


    Celeste felt that what the doctor said was very serious.


    She read her medical report, and there were arrow markers all over the document. They were


    highlighting rather worrying numbers, and that scared Celeste. Was her health truly that frail?