Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Determined to Win Her
Her body gradually softened, her eyes hazily gazing at Leon Keane’s magnified handsome face, with only one lamenting thought in her heart: tonight, she won’t escape this ruffian’s clutches again.
By midnight, Ivana Monroe’s delicate waist was almost worn out by him.
Leon, like a satiated beast, held her tightly in his arms, and the two fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, Ivana woke up, and Leon was already gone. She didn’t think much of it, reached out to grab her phone from the bedside table, and saw it was already past eight o’clock. She jumped up in a hurry.
Oh no, Timmy is late for school.
She remembered setting the alarm last night, so why didn’t it go off around six?
Ivana first went to Timmy Monroe’s room to wake him up. Upon opening the door, she found it empty, and the Minion backpack was also gone.
Ivana paused, thinking of Leon. Could it be that he sent Timmy to school?
There was the sound of a door opening in the living room.
Ivana walked out of Timmy’s room and saw Leon returning with breakfast.
His casual demeanor, coming and going freely, gave Ivana the illusion that this was Leon Keane’s home.
When Leon saw Ivana coming out of Timmy’s room, he placed the breakfast on the dining table and said, "I took Timmy to school this morning. He wasn’t late. On the way back, I bought breakfast for you. Come have breakfast!"
Ivana watched Leon’s slender fingers, as he opened the breakfast, like a good man at home. Her cheeks heated up, and she averted her gaze, saying, "You eat first, I haven’t washed up yet."
Leon uncovered a paper bowl, revealing steaming multigrain red bean porridge. He looked up at Ivana and said, "Go wash up, I’ll wait for you."
Ivana was startled and said, "Okay."
She went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, washed her face. Though she used cold water, her face was still unusually flushed after washing, and her heart was beating twice as fast as usual.
What was wrong with her? Seeing Leon being nice to her, she felt like a young girl experiencing her first crush?
This was too unusual.
Ivana washed her face twice more with cold water, covered her chest with her palms, closed her eyes, and cleared her mind. Only after her heartbeat returned to normal did she enter the bedroom, change out of her sleepwear, and put on her work clothes, walking out.
Leon was standing on the balcony, facing away from the living room and dining room, on the phone.
The morning light spilled into the balcony, as if casting a soft glow over Leon.
Ivana’s heart skipped a beat. Glancing at the dining table, she saw the porridge divided into two bowls, with boiled eggs, spring rolls, Chinese crullers, and small dishes placed in the center near the two dining chairs.
Ivana lowered her eyelids, pulled out a dining chair, and sat down to wait for Leon.
Leon seemed to hear the sound behind him, and in a low voice, he said, "Got it, I’m busy right now, we’ll talk tonight."
After finishing his call, Leon turned around and sat down beside Ivana, and she noticed his slightly furrowed brow.
Did something happen?
Leon didn’t say, and Ivana thought about it but decided not to ask him.
Ivana quietly finished breakfast. Leon didn’t say much either. After they finished breakfast, Leon helped Ivana clear the table and drove her to the company.
Ivana unbuckled her seatbelt, ready to get out of the car.
Leon suddenly reached out, grabbing her wrist, and looked at her saying, "You seem to have forgotten something."
Ivana was taken aback, "Huh?"
Leon’s hand on the steering wheel pointed to his handsome profile: "When the male lead drops the female lead at her company, before she gets out of the car, she should give him a kiss to show her thanks."
Ivana: "..."
Ivana’s face turned beet red, lightly biting her lip, saying, "Leon, where do you get all these absurd theories? Let go."
This was at the company entrance. She really couldn’t bring herself to kiss Leon in the car; what if someone saw or it was caught on camera? How embarrassing would that be? Even if she and Leon were alone in the car, just a simple peck could be misinterpreted into something else.
The power of gossip can swallow a person whole.
Leon, thick-skinned, said: "If you don’t kiss me, I won’t let go."
Ivana struggled several times but couldn’t free herself from his large hand. Seeing his handsome face, with a serious expression like a kid who wouldn’t compromise unless he got candy, she was utterly speechless.
Ivana was somewhat surprised by this childish side of Leon.
Having no other way, she softly said, "Just once."
Leon’s handsome face broke into a smile, agreeing readily: "Okay."
Ivana asked him to move his face closer and quickly gave him a peck like a dragonfly touching water. When she tried to pull away, he held the back of her head with his big hand.
His thin lips found hers, giving her a lingering, breath-stealing kiss.
Only when they were both nearly out of breath did he reluctantly let her go.
Leon looked at Ivana as she gasped for air. His dark eyes curved into a smile, and his handsome face was unable to suppress a grin of satisfaction.
Ivana glared at him in feigned anger, to which Leon’s smile broadened, finding her expression incredibly cute.
This is what it feels like to like someone; wanting to own her at every moment, even a kiss tasted as sweet as honey. Leon watched Ivana leave.
He withdrew his gaze, his dark eyes glistening with firm determination to win Ivana’s heart.
Even if he had to face resistance from his mother.
At the hospital.
Hugo got a call in the afternoon that The Young Group’s cash flow had broken down. The stock market had plummeted so drastically that a few shareholders took it upon themselves to announce bankruptcy on TV.
Hugo was the last to know about the collapse of The Young Group, and it came from his secretary.
Hugo felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, overwhelmed with rage to the extreme, that those damned ones dared to commit such a traitorous act as to send the company straight to hell while he was out?
Countless vicious words filled Hugo’s mind, cursing those old bastards who had completely ruined the company. However, cursing now seemed pale and weak.
The Young Group was completely finished.
Hugo’s legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground. Such a robust man, his eyes turned red, and in the ward, in front of the nurse, he broke down and cried unrestrainedly, disregarding his image.
The nurse was startled by Hugo’s behavior, hearing cries more pained than losing his mother, so she didn’t dare to step forward to help him up or comfort him.
Bella Young returned after buying lunch and saw Hugo sitting in the chair in the ward, head bowed, hands supporting his forehead, looking utterly despondent.
"Hugo, it’s time to eat."
Bella didn’t think much of it, walked over to Hugo’s side, and gave him a gentle tug.
Hugo suddenly swung his hand, knocking all the lunch from Bella’s hand to the floor.
Bella let out a startled cry; her hand was scalded by the hot soup from the lunchbox, instantly fueling her anger. She shouted loudly, "Hugo Young, what’s going crazy now?"