Kian Hawthorne also froze, complex emotions churning in the depths of his eyes. After the initial shock came a cold, simmering anger. Someone actually dared to embarrass him on his own turf.
At the auctioneer’s repeated urging, Leah Sinclair had no choice but to step onto the stage.
Inside the jewelry box, the lustrous pearls reflected the spotlight. Leah had never felt so dazed.
"In addition, Mr. X has one more request," the host’s voice rang out again. "He hopes that Ms. Leah can put on this jewelry set in public, allowing the entire audience to bear witness!"
Another uproar swept through the venue.
The lights suddenly dimmed, and a spotlight struck Leah with pinpoint accuracy, making her slender figure appear even more delicate and elegant. A female attendant had already picked up the necklace, stepping behind her to rest the cold pearls against her collarbone.
Leah looked down from the stage. She wasn’t sure if it was just the lighting, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Kian’s expression was incredibly gloomy.
Reporters swarmed forward, the flashes of their cameras turning the space in front of Leah into a blinding sea of light.
"Mrs. Hawthorne, look over here!"
"Excuse me, is Mr. X actually Mr. Hawthorne?"
"When do you plan on having children?"
Suddenly, the crowd automatically parted to make a path.
Kian strode through the throng of people. He reached out to wrap an arm around Leah’s waist and gave the reporters a slight nod. "Thank you all for your concern, but it is inconvenient to discuss the Hawthorne family’s private matters."
The grip on her waist tightened, forcing Leah to lean against Kian. The reporters still refused to disperse. Keeping his arm around her, Kian pushed through the crowd and walked toward the exit.
No one noticed that in the darkest corner of the banquet hall, a man stood completely still, like a shadow cast against the wall. He took out his phone and snapped a photo of the woman’s silhouette. It was one of his very few movements the entire night.
His good friend leaned in, lowering his voice. "Josh, you’ve been playing a shadow here all night just for this moment, haven’t you?"
Josh Sterling didn’t reply, simply putting his phone away.
Phillip Pierce shook his head. "You spent ten million, yet everyone thinks her husband gifted it. She definitely thinks so, too."
"I don’t care what others think, only what she received," Josh said coolly.
Phillip was suddenly amused by his own thoughts. "Did you see Kian’s expression? He looked like he’d swallowed a fly. He’s definitely going to investigate who sent it."
"Let him investigate. I’ll be waiting." Josh straightened his suit cuffs. "By the way, give me that Toyota SUV of yours. I’ll trade you my Bentley for it."
"Huh?! Are you crazy!" Phillip’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"I drove your car to take her home last time. I can’t let her know my identity just yet." Josh stood up. "Let’s go."
Phillip followed him, still muttering, "What are you after? I really don’t get you..."
***
Kian led Leah out of the venue, his arm still tightly wrapped around her waist. His palm pressed against the thin velvet fabric of her gown, feeling the delicate curve of her waist underneath.
Just as they reached the entrance, Theodore Jennings and Selene Shaw chased after them.
Selene glanced at Leah, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Theodore, however, was blunt and grinning. "Kian, you’re heading back so soon? Weren’t we supposed to hit up a second spot?"
Kian looked down at Leah. His gaze fell upon the pearls around her neck. The soft luster of the gems accentuated the pale, flawless skin of her collarbone. His eyes darkened slightly.
"My wife is tired, so I’m taking her home. You guys go ahead."
Theodore wanted to persuade him further, but Selene held him back with a gentle smile. "Theo, what are you doing? Kian is usually so busy with work. Now that he finally has some free time, he should spend it with his wife."
Leah lowered her eyes, staring at the floor. She understood the underlying meaning perfectly: spend it with his wife.
Coming from Selene, it made Leah sound like someone in need of charity. And it made her husband seem like someone who only remembered to go home when reminded by others. But she didn’t need another woman to "donate" her own husband to her.
She had long since stopped wanting this husband anyway.
Kian gave a curt nod. Tightening his grip, he steered Leah outside.
The parking lot was quiet, their footsteps echoing through the cavernous underground garage. Kian was driving himself tonight. Leah sat in the passenger seat, completely silent. She stared out the window, but the glass reflected her wearing the pearl necklace—a blurry mass of light and shadow that looked like a completely different person.
A long silence stretched between them.
"Do you like it?" Kian suddenly asked.
"...Huh?" Leah turned her head, her gaze blank and bewildered.
It was a soft, innocent look, like a small animal. Kian paused for a second before asking again, "This pearl set—do you like it?"
Leah’s fingertips absentmindedly brushed against the pearls around her neck. They were icy cold to the touch.
"It’s quite pretty," she said, lowering her eyes slightly.
"Have you met any new friends lately?"
"No. My uncle’s illness is so critical right now. Where would I find the time to socialize?"
"You run to the hospital all day. Have you bumped into any acquaintances at Aethel Hospital? Say, a former upperclassman or a junior from school?"
"No. Not a single one."
This answer dispelled half of Kian’s suspicions.
What was he even suspicious of? She was a girl from an ordinary family whose biggest advantages were her decent looks and soft, submissive personality. Marrying him was already the absolute peak of her life—something others wouldn’t dare dream of in several lifetimes. As long as her brain functioned normally, there was no way she would harbor any ulterior motives. Besides, she was just a petty woman whose entire world revolved around her husband and her maiden family.
This pearl jewelry set definitely wasn’t bought for her. Someone was deliberately trying to embarrass him, and he had already sent his people to investigate.
Leah asked, "How much did you spend on these pearls?"
"Not much," Kian replied.
Leah murmured, "The starting price was 3.8 million. Since you pledged to outbid everyone no matter the cost, it must have been at least ten million, right?"
Kian froze for a moment. Ten million. Who would spend ten million just to play a prank? A touch of gloom shadowed his eyes.
"I don’t want these pearls," Leah suddenly said. She stared straight ahead. Her voice was incredibly soft, yet completely serious. "I’m only begging you for one thing. Help my uncle get that new drug. Consider it the only thing I will ever ask of you in my life."
Kian was taken aback. What did she mean by that?
"Didn’t I instruct Diana Carter to handle it?" his tone turned cold.
"She gave me a director’s phone number, and that director gave me a manager’s phone number. I’ve been passed around four or five times." When it came to crucial matters, Leah didn’t mind being a snitch. Her voice was flat, but it clearly carried an undertone of resentment.
Kian’s frown deepened. Diana hadn’t done her job properly, and his little wife had directly exposed it, giving him absolutely no face.
"What, did Mrs. Hawthorne suffer a grievance?" his voice was freezing. "The tens of billions in investments at Hawthorne Corporation are nothing, and only your family’s trivial issues matter? Are all my employees supposed to revolve around you?"
Leah said nothing more. The air in the car felt like it had been sucked dry. The two of them sat in silence; neither spoke.
A red light. The car rolled to a stop.
Kian shot Leah a glance from the corner of his eye. Her face was turned away, her eyelashes cast down. The streetlights outside the window flickered across her cheek in alternating waves of light and dark.
Kian raised an eyebrow. This wife of his was still quite presentable, all things considered. His grandmother had clearly weighed her options carefully when she chose her back then.
"Don’t worry, I’ll help you," Kian said impassively. "We are husband and wife."
The corners of Leah’s mouth twitched slightly. A fleeting trace of a smile appeared and vanished in an instant.
He thought she smiled.
But she hadn’t.