“I cry, what does it have to do with you? Anyway, I have so many flaws in your eyes, one more crying doesn’t matter.” Winifred disliked his touch, tilting her head to avoid it, but Leland pressed her forehead back.
Leland insisted on wiping away the tears on her face, making her fair and clean face turn red.
“Seeing you cry, it hurts my heart…” Both of them were stunned by these words.
Leland held Winifred in his arms, trying to change the subject. “Now that you’re by my side, let’s live well together. Treat me well, and I’ll treat you well.”
He could continue to be Winifred’s dog, loving her, protecting her, treating her well, and being loyal. But he hoped that Winifred would only have him in her eyes.
Winifred’s body stiffened. Leland was telling her that she couldn’t leave or escape.
After holding her for a while, Leland let go. His dark eyes were occupied by Winifred alone. His eyes were beautiful, like the peach blossom eyes described online the most attractive and affectionate eyes.
The affectionate gaze didn’t mean he was truly affectionate; it referred to the eye shape that made people think he was affectionate, even when looking at a trash can.
So she couldn’t be deceived by his appearance. Even if he looked at her with the gaze of a loyal dog looking at its owner, she couldn’t show any fluctuations.
In this game, if she fell for him, she would lose.
Of the two ways to leave, Winifred thought that making Leland hate her and discard her would be more practical. But how could she make Leland hate her?
Sometimes Winifred felt that Leland was a pervert. In the past, she hadn’t treated him well she insulted and abused him like a dog yet he still liked her. Maybe it was as he said; there was something wrong with his mind.
Suddenly, Winifred became quiet. She didn’t even shed tears anymore. Leland felt a bit uncomfortable for a moment but then thought that maybe Winifred had taken his words to heart.
Leland led Winifred inside. The interior was even more luxurious, with crystal chandeliers and decorations made of precious stones. Twenty or thirty servants stood in two rows to welcome them.
Winifred had seen such scenes since she was young, but this time it slightly overwhelmed her. She grew up being served by servants but didn’t actually like living in such a big house or being attended by so many people.
After falling ill, she became somewhat reclusive and didn’t like crowded places.
“Do you want to rest upstairs?” Leland tried to speak gently, as if everything depended on Winifred’s wishes.
He had also thought about it if they were together, they should live happily together. It would be too exhausting if they harbored hatred and fought each other.
But he also knew that Winifred’s heart was made of stone; it wouldn’t soften easily.
Leland instructed the butler to prepare some dishes in the kitchen and named the dishes for him.
Winifred listened quietly beside him. It had been a year not a short time but Leland still remembered her favorite dishes.
“Autumn Joy Estate” had several decoration styles similar to those of the Dawson family. There was even a decorative wall made of fish tanks here, but the fish inside were more valuable and beautiful.
Winifred remembered her experience of keeping fish in the past and felt happy as she watched them. She fed them freely but accidentally ended up killing them.
It seemed that she couldn’t keep anything alive dogs died from being hit by cars, fish died in bathtubs, even plants died under her care. Perhaps it was retribution for all the lives she had wasted; now she had become a fish in someone else’s pond, at their mercy.
Leland specially prepared a room for Winifred on the third floor, accessible by elevator. As Winifred looked at the murals in the corridor, she realized that they were all drawings she had practiced before some random doodles framed with precious frames, looking out of place.
The bedroom also had fingerprint access. Leland held Winifred’s hand and recorded her fingerprint to open the door. He continued to embrace her from behind and asked, “Do you like it?”
Everything in the room was designed according to Winifred’s preferences. She liked sleeping on a large bed, and this bed looked outrageously large big enough for seven or eight adults. It was obviously custom-made by Leland. The room’s color scheme was mainly blue and white; although it was just a bedroom, it had everything and looked more like a living room.
On the bookshelf in the room were books Winifred had read before. There were also awards she had won in various competitions during school days big trophies and small medals. Everything was familiar to Winifred, but no matter how familiar it was, things had changed.
Since that night when he touched her on her birthday, Leland hadn’t touched her again. Mainly because he had hurt Winifred too much during their frequent encounters that night.
At night they both slept while embracing each other. Leland knew that Winifred couldn’t sleep well; he had seen her swallow two sleeping pills himself. After a brief sleep, her body would suddenly tremble and wake up again.
Leland knew exactly when Winifred slept and woke up.
Looking at the dark circles under her eyes, he said, “It’s still early; rest for a while. I’ll accompany you.”
“I can’t sleep…” Winifred looked at the trophies on the shelf and asked, “What did he say before he died?”
“He” referred to Gregory his death was an accident. Shortly after Winifred left him, news came from China that he died in a hospital. She didn’t inquire about it and didn’t even know how he died.
Regarding how she treated Gregory, Mrs. Reeves once said: “Winifred is too heartless; she can’t stay in our family.”
She overheard this conversation in the bathroom. Perhaps because of her cold and indifferent attitude towards Gregory, Mrs. Reeves disliked her and couldn’t accept her being with Garrison.
“Let me find you; he left you an inheritance which I now have control over. Do you want it?”
“It’s not just about that inheritance.” Leland acquired all the properties under the Dawson family; compared to those assets, what Gregory left for Winifred was insignificant.
“What’s mine is yours.” That sounded nice indeed.
A slight movement appeared between Winifred’s eyebrows as she genuinely thought: “You’re quite impressive.”
“It’s all thanks to your teachings.” Leland ignored her sarcastic tone and sat on the bed with Winifred still in his arms without letting go for even a moment he wanted to stick to her as much as possible.
Continuing from where they left off earlier, he said: “You taught me many things vision, perspective, how wealthy people handle things… If not for the money you gave me every day, I wouldn’t have become so powerful either. You also taught me how to love someone; I still love you just like before… Why aren’t you happy?”