Free Web NovelChapter 57: The Girl I Shouldn’t Meet
A glaring stand-off ensued between the two men. Luellen could only watch their faces in silence and confusion. Mr Kenwood had long dissociated to avoid pressure.
Soon, Leander’s hand cupped Luellen’s head again. He turned to her, his angry face softening into a neutral look. "Luellen, what do you want to do?"
"I..." Luellen trembled in his hold. Her hands clutched his suit, yet her eyes couldn’t leave his gaze. She could only stare at him, her chest heaving harder at every passing second. "I... What do I...? I..."
"Luellen..." Leander shifted his position and held her with both hands. "You’re hyperventilating again. Breathe properly!"
"Ken, call the nurse." Sean waved his hand, and the male secretary ran off like he had escaped prison. The old man watched Leander embrace the poor maiden. Their gazes would meet at glances, but Leander ignored him.
In the end, Leander carried Luellen in his arms again. She passed out seconds into hyperventilating. He inevitably attracted Summer’s and Madam Henny’s attention when he passed by their office lobby. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
The best friend quickly dropped her call and ran off to help Leander with the elevator.
Inside the conference room, Sean sipped his coffee. He took his phone out of his suit jacket and dialed a number. When the other end picked up, he said, "I spoke to her. She doesn’t want to leave Leander. Maybe it’s you who has to let her go."
"No way..." Nathan’s voice sounded softly from the other end. "She’s mine first, uncle. Just because she doesn’t remember doesn’t mean I have forgotten."
...
Luellen’s eyes opened slowly. The song of medical instruments echoed in her ears, making her hands tremble. She turned to the side, feeling the cannula on her nose. Her hands moved to her chest, feeling the pounding heart. She could hear it over everything else. It even echoed her parents’ voices.
Ten years ago, the healthy girl fell ill. A simple flu paved the way for the doctor to discover holes in her heart. Even if the surgery was a success, Luellen never felt strong enough. She worked like a dog in her father’s company, but she also had regular checks.
"The checks..." Luellen whispered to herself. "I was so focused on the funeral and my inheritance that I stopped coming to the hospital..."
"Look at what that brought you."
Luellen looked up and saw Leander on the visitor’s stool. He folded his laptop and placed it on the floor. He stroked her head. "You should have remembered to tell me. We could have caught this."
The maiden closed her eyes and chuckled. "I’m sorry... I was so focused on getting my life back that I forgot what held me together..."
Leander nodded and reached out to the side. "I’ll let the nurses know you’re awake. Your last surgery was a success, but a high-stress event and a labor-intensive job added pressure on your heart. Your ultrasound didn’t show anything to worry about. However, your body is still acting on reflex. You should take a break."
"I can’t... I don’t want to stay here." Luellen held Leander’s hand. "You hate coming to the hospital and watching people lie down unmoving. I don’t want to give you that sight."
"...I keep thanking you for your kindness..." Leander picked up her hand and kissed her knuckle. "...and they expect me to let you go..."
Luellen smiled a little. "Have we met before I had that surgery, Leander? I can’t remember those whom I haven’t seen regularly. I used to think that it didn’t matter since we never met again. However, right now, I want to know if we’ve met before. You wouldn’t save me if we hadn’t, right?"
A small smile curled his lips. "Not really. I only heard of you from the whispers. Since Weyland Piper came to me for help, I asked for collateral. I didn’t choose his company...
"I chose you."
The maiden opened her eyes. "But Director Lawford said you didn’t collect...?"
"Yes..." Leander shook his head, hiding a laugh. "His deadline lapsed, but I didn’t take you. You were just a high schooler. I didn’t have a use for you. Also, the delay was the bank’s fault. I let it go. I just watched you closely in case he tried to take you away.
"...then you fell."
Luellen hummed. "I fell? What do you mean?"
Leander sighed, massaging his forehead. "My agent was watching you leave school when you suddenly fell. You already looked sickly, so I thought it was just from the flu. It turned out to be something life-threatening. Weyland Piper still had no money to give. He weighed the chances of paying me less just so he could pay for you.
"That was when I decided to donate to the hospital. He would never ask for more since I asked for you... and I was going to help you. That donation was a cover the hospital and I decided on. He must have found out days after, but would he ask me to take it back? He couldn’t. He could only smile and pretend that I was merciful.
"I don’t know what story they told you, but that is the truth." Leander hummed, rubbing Luellen’s hand. "You spoke about paying the money back. I didn’t want you to do that. I figured Houston had mistakenly planted his innocent thought in you. I did say it equated to your freedom.
"Weyland Piper took that dubious donation as another debt to settle. In two years, he handed me a check for it." Leander chuckled. "He also told me to keep my eyes off of you."
He then looked at Luellen’s face. His other hand reached out to rub her cheek. "I had already forgotten about you... until four months ago. Lawford told me about his passing. I didn’t think too much about it. It was news to me that Lawford found out about your application and fast-tracked it. If they really didn’t want you any closer to me, they should have denied it."
Leander sighed, taking his hands back. He then moved to sit on the edge of Luellen’s bed. Luellen lifted her hands to collect one of his. He chuckled. "Still, he needed to help you have money for your expenses. Perhaps they shoved you in the last place I would even look. I don’t like speaking about houses..."
The man gazed intently into Luellen’s eyes. "But you sat with me on that garden bench..."
"Did you panic?" Luellen chuckled, only averting her gaze away from his to keep herself from blushing too much. However, she still looked at their hands, liking every inch of Leander’s warm palm. "I even thought I spoke wrongly because you said you’d fire me."
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"Was that your real plan?"
"Houston said your application was accepted without multiple screenings. He figured someone wanted you in the company." Leander sighed and massaged his forehead. He even kept his hand in his face to hide from Luellen’s gaze. "I thought someone was taking advantage of you. It would be best if I could keep an eye on you like before..."
He laughed darkly, bringing his hand down. "I tried not to feel anything, but it was hard not to get intrigued when you were so magnetic. I saw you in the lobby that morning. When I ran into you in the garden that evening, I just had to speak to you.
"But you turned out to be that girl I was not supposed to meet anymore."
