After dinner, the rain stopped. The floodwaters receded, and the paralyzed traffic slowly came back to life.
Josh Sterling didn’t dare leave the dog at home. Taking Nemo with him, he drove Leah Sinclair back.
Her phone had been dried with a hairdryer at the restaurant for quite a while before it finally turned on. Seven or eight messages popped up, all from Kian Hawthorne:
"Mr. Lewis said he didn’t pick you up. Where did you go?
"Leah, don’t throw a tantrum. Reply to my message.
"Where exactly are you? Reply as soon as you see this."
There were also over a dozen missed calls.
Leah stared at the screen for a couple of seconds but didn’t call him back. She placed the phone face down on her lap.
Josh kept his eyes on the road, his tone casual. "Is Mr. Hawthorne looking for you?"
"Yeah." Leah feigned a relaxed tone. "My husband called a few times, but I missed them."
He was silent for a few seconds. "He seems to care about you quite a bit."
"Yeah." Leah smiled.
Silence fell between them. The sound of the air conditioning was faint.
"When there’s water on the road, there can be unexpected dangers. Electrical leaks, or open manholes," Josh said. He paused. "If something like this happens again, call me. No matter where you are, I’ll come pick you up."
Leah was momentarily stunned.
"If you don’t want your brother to know, just tell me," he said, still looking ahead. "Don’t carry it all on your own."
Leah suddenly felt a stinging sensation in her eyes. She turned her head and looked out the window. For so long, she had been holding on purely by sheer willpower. The slightest bit of warmth from anyone made her feel as though she had found a safe harbor, tempting her to just let her guard down entirely. But she couldn’t. She still had to keep going.
"Call me, okay?" he repeated.
Leah nodded with her back still turned to him. "Okay."
She could only manage a single word. If she said any more, her underlying grievances would spill out.
***
At Selene Shaw’s apartment.
Kian leaned back on the sofa, rubbing his temples as he faced the documents scattered across the coffee table. After a busy night and dozens of phone calls, he had finally managed to suppress the issue.
Selene sat opposite him, watching him. "Kian, are you exhausted?" When he didn’t reply, she added softly, "Why don’t you go into the bedroom and take a quick nap?"
"There’s no need. I should head back." Kian glanced at the time. It was almost midnight.
A torrential downpour had started right after he parted ways with Leah, and by then, it was too late to turn back. Later, Mr. Lewis reported that the car had stalled halfway due to the floodwaters, and that he couldn’t get in touch with Mrs. Hawthorne. Meanwhile, Selene was facing major trouble. After much deliberation, Kian had decided to stay and handle the investigation into the illegal fundraising. After all, Hawthorne Corporation had invested in that project. If a lawsuit was actually filed, the group’s reputation would suffer immensely.
He checked his phone again. Still no news from Leah. Frowning, he set the device down.
The moment he stood up, the room spun. He braced a hand against his forehead.
Selene hurried over to support him. "Kian, are you alright?"
Once the dizzy spell passed, he finally spoke. "I’m fine. Low blood sugar."
"Rest here for a bit. I’ll go make you a bowl of noodles."
"No need." As Kian bent down to pick up his suit jacket, another wave of dizziness hit him.
Selene snatched the jacket from his hand and tossed it onto the sofa. "Listen to me. Eat something before you go."
Kian frowned. Just as he was about to speak, his phone lit up.
It was a WhatsApp message from Leah: "My phone got wet and turned off. I’m home now, don’t worry."
He stared at it for a couple of seconds before putting the phone away.
Selene had seen it too. She lowered her eyes. "Are you in such a rush to get back because you’re worried about her?"
Kian didn’t respond.
"I’m sorry," she said. "I’m keeping you from being a good husband."
Kian sat back down on the sofa.
"You’re not leaving?" Selene looked at him.
"We need to talk."
She sat down beside him.
"Selene, that project must be shelved," Kian said with a solemn expression.
Selene was stunned.
His tone was even. "When you first came to me, I told you there were risks. Now that a lawsuit has been filed, the corporation cannot be associated with this."
Selene lowered her head. Tears fell, splashing onto the back of her hand.
Kian watched her tears, staying silent for a few seconds. "If this project fails, there are always others you can pursue."
"No." She looked up, forcing a smile. "Maybe I’m just destined to end up with nothing."
Kian said nothing.
She leaned closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "I’m sorry," she murmured, her voice muffled. "Let me borrow your shoulder for a moment."
Kian didn’t move. After a long while, he raised his hand and patted her back twice.
He owed her. The Hawthorne Family owed the Shaw Family.
Selene finally stopped crying. She gave him a radiant smile. "I forgot, I haven’t cooked those noodles for you yet."
She got up, went to the kitchen, dug out some dried noodles, and began to cook.
More than ten minutes later, she came out with a bowl of noodles and gently placed it in front of him.
"It doesn’t look great," she smiled at him sheepishly, "but it should taste pretty good."
Kian stared at the bowl of white mush—where the noodles didn’t resemble noodles and the broth didn’t resemble broth—and instantly lost his appetite.
Whenever he came home late, Leah would also cook him a bowl of clear broth noodles. The broth would be crystal clear, and every single strand of noodle would be distinct. She didn’t use any special seasonings, but it was always incredibly appetizing.
He had assumed all clear broth noodles looked like that.
Under Selene’s expectant gaze, he braced himself and took a bite.
It was overwhelmingly salty.
Kian put down his chopsticks. "I’m past the point of hunger. I don’t have an appetite."
He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I’m leaving. Get some rest early."
The door closed.
Selene stared at the bowl of noodles that only had a single bite taken out of it. After a long time, she smiled slightly.
The project was gone, but that didn’t matter. As long as his heart belonged to her.
For her sake, he had abandoned that woman halfway, completely disregarding whether she would get drenched by the storm or swept away by the flood.
Leah was nothing more than a little girl with a crush on him. How could she possibly compare to their childhood bond?
They had been married for two years, yet he still hadn’t gotten her pregnant.
He must be waiting for her return.
He absolutely must be.
***
Kian opened the front door to a pitch-black living room.
Light spilled from the crack under the guest room door. He gave it a quick glance, tossed his wrinkled suit jacket onto the sofa, and walked over to the guest room. Without knocking, he pushed down on the handle.
The door was unlocked.
Leah was sitting at the computer with her arms wrapped around her knees. An oversized cotton nightgown draped over her legs, revealing her bare toes beneath the hem. The loose neckline exposed the snow-white skin of her nape and shoulder blades. Her hair was casually pinned up, a pen was clamped between her teeth, and a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses rested on the bridge of her nose.
He stood at the door, watching her for a few seconds.
"Ah!" When she finally noticed him, she was so startled that she nearly fell off her chair. Her knee slammed into the edge of the desk, and she frowned in pain.
Kian walked over and glanced down at her knee. A small patch of skin had turned red.
"Why are you back?" she asked, a trace of complaint in her tone.
Kian didn’t reply. He noticed the research papers on her computer screen, densely packed with tiny text. "What is this?"
Leah reached out and closed the laptop. "I’m reading academic papers. My uncle’s illness requires a new treatment."
Her uncle again. The slight trace of affection he’d just felt instantly turned cold.
"I chewed out Diana Carter, and she’ll get it sorted. Are you satisfied now?"
Leah pursed her lips and said nothing.
"I’m hungry," Kian said flatly. "Go cook a bowl of noodles."
Leah shot him a glance. She thought, "He spends all that time with Selene Shaw, yet he doesn’t even bother to eat?"
"Are you going or not?" Kian raised an eyebrow.
"Hold on." Mentally cursing the scumbag, Leah stood up and headed for the kitchen.