Love's Change of Heart

"Well, you know that I don't sleep well without you by my side."

His lips twitched upward in a smile as he stood up to walk over to her. "That is true."

She opened the thermal food container and poured out some soup for him. "Eat up."

He sat down on the couch and seized the chance to grab her by the hand and pull her into his

embrace. "I'll eat later. It's too hot."

"Its temperature was just nice when I poured the soup into the thermal container."

He did not say a word in response and kept holding onto her.

After a long while, she asked, "Did Keaton tell you about what happened yesterday?"

"What?" he exclaimed. "I was in meetings for the whole day, so I had everyone handle all non-urgent

matters."

"It's nothing much. It's just... Charlotte was in a little accident when she went out on a delivery, and

Uncle Joseph sent her back to the studio."

"Uncle Joseph?"

She nodded. "I've asked Waylen about the man. He said Charlotte's uncle had been dating a woman

for years whom the family never approved of. Just as the family was about to cave in, they suddenly

broke up."

He rested his chin on her shoulder and calmly asked, "What happened next?"

"Not long after that, the ex-girlfriend died in a car accident. The Woodleys had been telling everyone

Joseph died in the accident too, while in reality, Joseph left Jamesdon on his own accord."

"Waylen said there are rumors within the family about what happened," she continued, "but he said

they were unreliable. Only the people involved in the incident would know what the truth is. I think that

since Philip and the late Kian did everything to suppress the truth, the incident has a big impact on the

family."

In her mind, the incident might be as bad as when Naomi willingly left the family and Jamesdon.

One might even say that this incident was worse.

"Have you met him?" Aidan asked.

"Yes. I met him yesterday when he brought Charlotte to the studio." She paused to recall what

happened. "How do I say this? He might not be very handsome, but he has a refined aura around him.

If he were placed among a crowd of men, he would still be recognized as an outstanding man. He was

definitely not someone who would be overlooked."

"Also, you are likely his target," she added.

"Hm?"

"He told me that he came to Highside because he was curious about what he heard was happening in

Jamesdon."

"What else did he say?"

"Nothing much," she replied. "He must have sensed that I did not like him. He left after we exchanged a

few words."

He hummed in thought. "I'll have Jonathan look into it later."

She was about to say something when Jonathan's name was mentioned, but she swallowed back her

words just as they reached the tip of her tongue.

Whatever. Aidan must not want her to know.

Hence, he would not say anything even if she asked.

Her silence made him ask, "What is it?"

She snapped out of her thoughts. "Nothing. I just feel like everything keeps popping up one after

another. It's as if it never ends. Also..."

She constantly felt like there was an invisible string tugging them along. It seemed like there would

never be an end to their troubles.

He stroked her head. "Don't overthink it. We'll be fine after this. It will all end one day."

She pursed her lips and did not say a word.

After a moment of silence, she said, "Well, it's getting late. I should head to the studio. Drink up the

soup."

"I'll have someone drive you over," he said.

"It's fine. I drove here." She moved away from his arms and packed up her stuff before reminding him

once more, "Drink the soup."

He silently chuckled. "Okay."

Soon after she left, a personal assistant walked into the office with a stack of documents.

"Is Jonathan back yet?" Aidan asked.

"Not yet. Is there something you need, Mr. Pearson?" the assistant replied.

He paused in thought for a few seconds before calmly ordering, "Bring someone to me."

…

On Leanna's way back to the studio, the traffic was rather bad as it was the morning peak hour.

As her car slowly inched along the road, she felt as if she was using up all her patience.

Just then, her phone rang.

She pressed a button on her steering wheel to answer the call. The person who called was a woman.

"Hello, I'm calling from a children's French learning center. Does your child need..."

"No, thanks."

Leanna immediately hung up.

Due to that distraction, she did not realize the traffic light had turned red. As the roads were slippery

from the rain, her car skidded forward and bumped into the car ahead of her even though she had

floored the brake pedal.

She put the car in park before hurriedly unbuckling her seatbelt to get out of the car.

The driver of the car in front of her got out as well. He was in a terrible mood. "What kind of driving is

that? Why did you move forward when you know the light is red? Why are you wasting my time?"

I'm so sorry, she said. "It's my fault. I'll take full responsibility. How would you like to handle this? Do

you want to claim it against my insurance, or would you like me to pay you directly?"

"Look at how expensive this car's repairs would be. Do you think you can afford to compensate me

directly?"

The driver had just finished speaking when the rear door of his car was opened and out walked a man

with an umbrella. The newcomer glanced at the bumper and said, "The damage is not that bad. It's just

a little bit of paint."

He then looked up and gasped in surprise. "Miss McKinney?"