Winifred yanked Leland’s tie as if she were pulling a dog’s leash.
She had thought that everything Leland did to her was out of revenge, to disgust her. But unexpectedly, he had fallen in love with her and wanted to marry her.
In this “war,” whoever fell in love first was destined to be the loser, and she would never fall in love with Leland.
Thinking about how Leland had just tried to put a ring on her finger, if she wasn’t mistaken, his fingertips were trembling.
What was it? Fear of her rejection, or was he too nervous from excitement?
Winifred didn’t miss the panic in Leland’s grip when he held her hand.
She was certain.
With emotions as the chain, Leland was destined to be a slave. Of course, if he wanted to do something to her, she couldn’t resist, but at least… it wasn’t just him controlling her; she might also have some say.
“Leland, you have fallen in love with me,” Winifred said with certainty, a cold sneer on her face.
Leland didn’t mind Winifred pulling his tie; he even enjoyed being close to her. It made them seem intimate as they could hear each other’s breathing.
However, he didn’t like the sarcasm on Winifred’s face. Hearing her words, his expression remained unchanged. He reached out and held Winifred’s hand that was gripping his tie. “Yes, I love you. Isn’t this what you taught me? Didn’t I learn it well?”
“Good, very good, exceptionally good,” Winifred gritted her teeth and pushed him away before sitting down again. She began to think about what to do next.
Leland held the ring in his hand. He knew it was impossible to put it on Winifred for now, but that was fine. He had plenty of time to wait for the day when she would willingly wear it.
For now, the issue at hand was the Reeves family. He couldn’t understand why Winifred still treated Garrison so well when the Reeves family had betrayed her and sent her to his bed.
Clothes and medicine were delivered. Leland watched as Winifred quickly swallowed the medicine, feeling a pang in his heart.
Of course, he wanted Winifred to bear his child. With a child, it would be easier to keep her confined. But he also knew that given Winifred’s current health condition, pregnancy wasn’t suitable. He couldn’t risk both their lives for a child.
“Change your clothes; I’m taking you to the Reeves family,” Leland said while sitting on the sofa and lighting a cigarette. He had only learned to smoke this year.
Winifred almost choked on her water at his words.
She put down the cup and looked back at Leland playing with his cigarette.
Sensing her gaze, Leland turned around too. Thin smoke rose slowly as he flicked the ash with his long fingers and sneered. “After all, they’ve taken care of you for a year; we should pay them a visit.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“If we don’t go, we’ll stay in the hotel all day.”
Winifred thought staying wouldn’t be so bad; she felt unwell and tired and could sleep all night. Going to the Reeves family now-who knew what Leland would do? Besides, facing Garrison in her current state was beyond her pride.
Seeing through Winifred’s thoughts and noticing her indifferent attitude, Leland took a drag of his cigarette before extinguishing it. “Staying in the hotel during the day is perfect for trying out all the positions and places we missed last night.”
Leland stood up and pointed out places one by one: “The coffee table, the carpet, against the bathroom glass door, on the dining table, in the bathtub, by the floor-to-ceiling window, on the cabinet by the door-I can hold you…”
With each place he mentioned, Winifred’s face grew paler. She was sure that Leland would absolutely follow through; in this regard, he had complete control over her.
“Are you an animal?”
Leland slowly walked towards her. “Trust me; I can do things far worse than what I’ve just said. Why don’t you try me now?”
In the end, Winifred was thrown into the car by Leland. The driver started driving after seeing his boss carrying a woman out and sensibly raised the partition inside the car for privacy.
Throughout the journey, Leland held Winifred close. He knew everything about Winifred-what had happened to her over this past year-but Winifred knew nothing about him.
Of course, Winifred wasn’t interested in anything about him either. Yet Leland insisted on telling her everything: how he used the money she gave him initially to start a business step by step; earning his first profit; doing business; paying salaries; even buying back the Dawson family’s villa and putting it under Winifred’s name.
If she didn’t like that place, he had other properties too. Now he owned many properties besides real estate; he also bought a yacht. Once they returned home, he could take some time off to take her on a trip to relax.
They soon arrived at the Reeves family home. Regardless of whether Winifred agreed or not, Leland opened the car door and carried her out.
He had notified them beforehand. Mrs. Reeves hurriedly tidied up their home and waited with her husband and son for their arrival.