the two-faced Adopted Girl Who Melted CEO's Ice-Cold Heart

Chapter 1248: Five Simple Words, a Voice So Low It Was Almost Hoarse, Laden With Suppressed, Unknown Emotions

Leah was stunned for a moment. Was there more to the truth about what happened back then? Ever since she learned from Mrs. Huo that Richard Shaw’s parents and her parents died in the same year, she hadn’t dared to touch upon those past events.

But no matter how many hidden truths there were, it couldn’t erase the fact that four lives were lost.

"Over the years, I’ve gradually come to see through a lot of things. When you truly love someone, those feelings don’t fade with time; they only ferment like aged wine, making you love them even more as time goes on," Delphine gently consoled. "I once thought I could never forgive Ignatius Leclair, but when I faced the reality of him lying life and death in the operating room, I realized that instead of waiting alone for years, it’s better to forget the past and try to be together."

Long after Delphine hung up, Leah hadn’t regained her composure. There was a sense of bittersweet pain in her heart. Her best friend, with all her scars, had found her belonging, Griffith Squire had someone like his little rabbit after drifting through life, but she remained all alone.

In the afternoon, people from the Military District came to pick up Casimir Shaw. Leah helped put his suitcase into the car, and kissed the little boy several times, smiling, "Take good care of great-grandmother when you go back. She’s old now, so be good and don’t make her worry."

Casimir nodded heavily and hugged Leah, acting spoiled like a baby. In a tender voice, he said, "Mommy, you also have to take care of yourself. I’ve grown up, and I can take care of Grandpa Shaw and Great-Grandma. I’ll come to see you again after a while."

Leah smiled and nodded, gently patting the little boy’s head, feeling very gratified.

Leah took the next day’s flight to Imperial City. She didn’t go to Delphine’s little villa; instead, she chose a hotel to stay at and arranged to meet a buyer to discuss related matters.

The person who arrived was a tall, thin man in his forties. He was very polite, only inquiring about the ownership issues of the villa and the payment method. In less than an hour, everything was settled unusually smoothly.

Leah called Delphine after completing the deal, and then the tall, thin man excused himself.

The man walked out of the hotel lobby, headed directly to an inconspicuous street corner, knocked on a car window, and respectfully said, "Major General, it’s done."

Richard Shaw rolled down the car window, nodding slightly with a cool demeanor, saying in a deep voice, "You did well. You can go back now."

Richard Shaw sat in the car, gazing silently in the direction of the hotel entrance. During this waiting period, he smoked five or six cigarettes. The smoking habit he had quitted that year has slowly picked up again this year.

Before he finished smoking one cigarette, Leah, wearing a trench coat and hat, walked out of the hotel. In the late autumn evening, she stepped on the ground covered with withered yellow leaves, choosing a secluded path to walk slowly, her tall and thin silhouette standing out.

Richard Shaw gazed at her for a long time. When the burning cigarette butt touched his fingers, he finally frowned and snuffed out the cigarette, started the car, and followed like a snail, keeping a safe distance. Fortunately, as dusk fell and the city lights hadn’t yet lit up, it was difficult to spot him from far behind.

He really just wanted to see her, one look would be enough, but this desire was like a bottomless pit, never able to be filled. After the first glance, he wanted a second, and after the second, he wanted to follow from afar.

Richard Shaw lowered his eyes, the tea-colored eyes were deep and profound, his face sternly following behind.

After leaving the hotel and walking two streets, Leah realized that this hotel was very close to the Shaw Mansion area. The roads were lined with towering trees, giving off a unique tranquility of an old city in the cold autumn wind.

Two more streets ahead would be the Shaw Mansion—too dangerous. Leah hesitated momentarily, deciding to return to the hotel, and turned to cross the street.

It was just when the city lights began turning on, the street lamps on both sides suddenly lit up. As Leah stepped onto the crosswalk, blinding lights and the sound of sudden brakes accompanied by the driver’s low curse filled her ears.

Caught by the car’s inertia, she was thrown to the ground. Before she could react, the car fled the scene, leaving only the sound of the roaring sports car engine behind.

This road had few people and even fewer cars. Leah wasn’t hit, but she had fallen and hurt herself. Watching the runaway sports car, she was speechless. Wearing high heels, she’d gotten grazes on her arm and calf and was momentarily unable to move.

Just as Leah tried to stand up, another set of brakes screeched. A man got out of his car, rushed forward without thinking, and scooped her up, asking in a deep, urgent voice, "Where are you hurt?"

Leah’s body trembled as she looked at the suddenly appearing Richard Shaw. The man’s handsome, cold face still carried a trace of anger. His warm body was extremely close, he picked her up, and upon seeing the shocking grazes on her calf and knee, he immediately frowned without saying a word, carrying her to his car.

Leah realized what was happening by the time the man had already placed her in the car.

Richard Shaw had anger in his eyes. Without thinking, he called someone to investigate the hit-and-run driver. After hanging up, his eyes met Leah’s clear peach-blossom eyes, and for an instant, both were silent.

"Have you been following me?" Leah asked in a low voice, more a statement than a question.

Richard Shaw wanted to say that he was just passing by as it was near the Shaw Mansion, but he opened his mouth and said instead, "I wanted to see you."

In five simple words, his voice was so low it was almost husky, carrying an unknown, suppressed emotion.

"I’ll take you back to the hotel. The grazed areas need to be medicated. Did you get hurt anywhere else? You should have a check-up," he shifted the topic, driving toward the hotel.

"I wasn’t hit, just fell due to the inertia, no need for a check-up. I can take care of myself," Leah said, watching his hands gripping the steering wheel, the faintly bulging veins on the back, and his tense fingertips trembling; the words she intended to refuse were suddenly left unsaid.

In her indecision, Richard Shaw had already driven them to the hotel entrance and then carried her out of the car, asking in a low voice, "Which floor is your room on?"

"The twenty-fifth floor."

She lowered her eyes, her beautiful face showing a hint of paleness from the fright. At this moment, she suddenly quieted down, held in his arms, as he went through the hotel lobby into the elevator.

On the twenty-fifth floor, he entered the suite using her password, placed her on the sofa, and called the hotel lobby to have them send up medication for her grazes.

Richard Shaw went into the bathroom, brought back a warm towel to clean her wounds. Leah instinctively dodged, seeing the dim shadow in his eyes, she inexplicably explained, "It’ll hurt."

Momentarily stunned, Richard Shaw, his tea-colored eyes transfixed on her, hoarsely coaxed, "It won’t hurt, I won’t touch the wound, just around it."