“Garrison is back?” Mr. Hamilton was surprised to hear about Garrison’s return, confirming, “You mean Miss went to find Garrison?”
“Yes.”
It seems that she won’t be back for a while. When it comes to who Winifred has the best relationship with, there is no doubt it’s Garrison. The two of them were often together since childhood, like two peas in a pod. Unfortunately, when Garrison was ten, he went abroad with his parents.
Over the years, Winifred never mentioned it, but she still missed Garrison.
Winifred rarely cried sincerely. The most recent memory of her crying was eight years ago when Garrison left.
Mr. Hamilton looked at the red mark above Leland’s left eye with mixed feelings.
“What happened to your face?”
Leland, not paying attention to Mr. Hamilton’s changing expression, replied, “Got bumped while playing basketball.”
Today, Leland clearly felt that his mood was not good. He changed into sportswear shortly after entering the house, wearing basketball shoes, saying he was going out for a run. He ran for a while until someone called out.
“Leland?”
He stopped and looked over. It was a female classmate named Jasmine.
Surprised and delighted to see him there, Jasmine hurried over. “Are you running here?”
Leland clearly didn’t want to engage with her. Just as he was about to run off again, Jasmine quickly ran up to him to stop him.
“Why haven’t you treated the wound on your face?”
“It’s just a minor scratch, not serious.”
Jasmine shook her head, took out a few adhesive bandages from her bag, and handed them to Leland. “Running with a wound can easily breed bacteria. If it gets infected, it could be dangerous. Cover it with these bandages for now, but you should really go to the pharmacy.” It would be a pity if such a good-looking face got scarred.
Although Leland was reluctant to take them, he suddenly remembered that Winifred had mentioned she liked his face.
Looking at the bandages in front of him, he reluctantly took them, thanking Jasmine.
Jasmine was especially happy. After exchanging greetings with Leland and giving him the bandages, she left.
Neither of them noticed a car parked not far away.
Leland ran back the same way, running for forty minutes. Today he ran for almost two hours, and his legs were starting to ache. Upon returning to the Dawson family, he saw Winifred’s shoes on the shoe rack, with the bow still tied.
For some reason, Leland breathed a sigh of relief.
Inside, he saw Winifred sitting on the living room balcony, her gaze fixed outside. It wasn’t until he made a noise behind her that she turned her head.
“You’re back…”
With a “bang,” Winifred raised what was in her hand and threw it at Leland. He stood there without dodging and was hit on the forehead by the object, emitting a muffled sound.
Leland furrowed his brows in pain. Caught off guard by the attack, he stumbled a half step back before regaining his balance.
Looking down at the object on the floor, it was a bottle of anti-inflammatory spray.
Did Winifred buy this? Why did she buy this?
Winifred walked up to him. “Why are you back so late?”
Leland honestly replied, “I went for a run.”
“A run?” Winifred scoffed.
Not understanding what she found funny, Leland was about to ponder when Winifred reached into his pocket and took out the bandages.
“What’s this?”
Leland pursed his lips, understanding internally that Winifred had likely seen him with Jasmine during the run.
Leland remained silent; he could clearly feel Winifred’s anger. It had been a long time since he had seen Winifred this angry, and at this moment, no amount of explanation would make a difference because Winifred did not trust him.
Sure enough…
“Did you run so far just to meet Jasmine?” Winifred accused him, but Leland remained silent, and his silence was an admission that only fueled Winifred’s anger.
She didn’t allow Leland to get close to any other woman, let alone fall for someone else. He could only belong to her; he was her pet, her possession. He had to stay with her forever unless she didn’t want him anymore.
She had raised him for so long, only to make him hers. If he dared to be nice to another woman, it would be considered betrayal. She absolutely wouldn’t allow a traitor by her side.
“Kneel down!”
Gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, veins bulging on his arms, Leland struggled to contain himself, slowly bending his legs to kneel on the ground.
It wasn’t the first time he knelt. Leland remembered when he met Winifred at the age of ten; he not only knelt but also learned to crawl and pick things up like a dog.
Winifred had always treated him like a dog, to have and discard as she pleased. However, over the years, he had held himself in high regard and slowly started seeing himself as human again.
In the past, when Leland knelt, it was voluntary and with one knee.
Now, angered by Winifred, Leland didn’t hesitate and knelt down with both legs.
Winifred’s angry voice attracted the attention of others. Mr. Hamilton and the servants were drawn over, seeing Winifred making Leland kneel. Sensing the tension, Mr. Hamilton quickly pulled the servant away.
Kneeling, Leland was now shorter than Winifred. She slapped him effortlessly, the force reverberating in her hand and leaving it numb, redder than Leland’s face.
Looking down at him from above, Winifred’s eyes slightly darkened, as if she were looking at an ant rather than a person.
“Leland, have you truly forgotten who you belong to? Have you forgotten how the maid back then left?”
With Winifred’s reminder, Leland recalled a young maid, in her twenties, gentle and beautiful, who had been dismissed three years ago. One day, when Leland returned home, he asked about her, only to incur Winifred’s wrath, resulting in him standing outside in the snow, stripped to his underwear, hugging a bunch of roses. Winifred sat inside the living room, sketching his humiliating scene.
Since then, every time Winifred mentioned painting him, he instinctively stiffened. Now, recalling that incident, Leland couldn’t understand why Winifred had been so angry and punished him.
Now, with Winifred’s reminder and today’s events combined, Leland finally understood that Winifred couldn’t stand anyone being good to him.
Leland hesitated before saying, “I bumped into her accidentally today and only exchanged a few words. If you don’t like it, I won’t talk to her again. From now on, there will be no other women around me except you.”