When Leland Burns woke up, it was already daylight. He looked around alertly, as memories of the previous night flooded his mind. The bed was a mess and the ambiguous scent had not yet dissipated. Sitting up, he felt generally okay, though a bit dizzy.
The woman was long gone, leaving behind only a pile of torn clothes on the floor and a necklace he was clutching in his hand.
Leland squinted, his gaze emitting a dangerous signal as he gripped the necklace tightly in his hand.
Still groggy, his body adjusting, Leland found his phone and called Henry James, asking him to come over.
In such an unexpected situation, of course, he had to call the most trustworthy person he knew.
After hanging up, Leland propped himself up against the headboard, closed his eyes, and began to meticulously recall the scenes from last night.
Why had he lost control? Why did he see Winifred Dawson’s reflection in that woman? Apart from their different faces, the look in her eyes, her scent… were all so similar, and their bodies matched so perfectly.
Thinking about what happened last night, his body, which had been still, began to stir again.
This feeling of being manipulated both physically and mentally disgusted Leland Burns. He always considered himself a person with strong self-control. Henry James often said he lived like a robot, setting a rigid program for himself, almost inhuman.
He had always prided himself on his strong self-discipline, yet today, he faltered.
His grip tightened, and the sharp edges of the necklace dug into his palm, the pain snapping him back to reality. He lowered his head to look at the necklace again.
The craftsmanship of the necklace, with its diamonds and gemstones, clearly indicated it was expensive, beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Rubbing his fingertip against it, Leland took a deep breath, threw back the covers, and noticed bloodstains on the sheets, likely from vomiting the night before, along with a few strands of hair.
Leland picked up the strands of hair, placing them on the nightstand along with the necklace.
He then stood up and went to the bathroom, soon the sound of water running filled the room.
After Leland had showered and returned, Henry James was already at the door. Having heard that Leland was in trouble, he had rushed over, now anxiously knocking and ringing the bell.
Leland, still in a bathrobe with his hair wet and the robe revealing much of his neck, collarbone, and hints of his chest muscles, exuded the sexy charm of a mature man. He reached for the doorknob and opened the door.
Henry James looked up, ready to ask what exactly had happened and if there were any other discomforts. But as he opened his mouth, his gaze caught sight of the wound on Leland’s neck, and he froze momentarily.
He blinked in surprise, and his words of concern turned into teasing as they reached his lips.
“Boss, this is serious! Looks like the monk has broken his vows! Where did you find this wild cat? Tsk tsk, have you seen your neck? Lots of little strawberries.”
Leland Burns subconsciously touched his neck, which he had simply washed during his shower without noticing any marks.
Feeling the ambiguous gaze of Henry James, Leland Burns kept a cold face, feeling extremely uncomfortable inside. He even thought about pulling his bathrobe to cover it up.
But since Henry had already seen it, trying to cover it up now would only make it more conspicuous, so Leland Burns endured.
“Go find out who drugged me last night.”
“To think someone could drug you, they must be pretty formidable,” Henry James remarked. “Just stuffed a woman in with you last night? Where is she now?”
“She ran away.”
“Ran away? Right under your watch?”
Mentioning the woman made Leland Burns’s face grow colder, even murderous.
Feeling the murderous aura, Henry James shivered, curious about who the woman who had spent the night with Leland Burns was.
Besides Winifred Dawson, it seemed there was another woman who could handle Leland Burns.
Henry James walked in, his eyes freely roaming the room, taking in the torn clothes on the floor and the messy, blood-stained bed. From these scenes, one could imagine how intense last night was?
Seeing the blood on the bed, Henry James exclaimed in surprise, “Was that woman a virgin…”
Leland Burns was silent. Despite knowing him for many years, he still couldn’t fathom what Henry sometimes thought, always managing to shock him into silence.
“Why ask all these messy questions?”
“How is this messy? If it was the girl’s first time, you’re responsible. A woman’s first time is precious, and…” Henry James, with mischief in his tone, continued, “It’s rare for you to react to a woman, last night turned out to be a blessing in disguise. If the woman is fine, you might as well marry her and have her mother your two little ones.”
Leland Burns coldly said, “I will not marry anyone.”
“Don’t speak so absolutely.” It seemed something occurred to Henry James as his tone shifted, “You couldn’t still be hung up on Winifred Dawson, could you? After all these years… The kids are nearly four, you can’t keep being single forever, not thinking about anything. I think the woman last night was fine, she broke your vows, so why not accept it? Think about it, you finally touched a woman last night, wasn’t it quite the experience…”
Henry James smirked at Leland Burns.
Contrasting with Henry James’s demeanor, Leland Burns’s expression grew colder, his dark eyes like the icy depths of an ancient pond, chilling to the bone when they fixed on someone. Initially, Henry James had intended to tease him a bit more, but under that gaze, his voice grew quieter until he dared not speak anymore.
He instinctively felt that Leland Burns was angry.
Indeed, Leland Burns was furious-angry with himself, angry that Henry James had voiced the thoughts deep in his heart. Despite the unpleasant look on his face and his obvious reluctance, he had to admit that he had indeed lost control with that woman last night.
It was like a traveler who hadn’t eaten for days, suddenly smelling the aroma of food wafting from a window, hungry and desperate.
“Did you take care of the arrangements I asked for?”
“The hospital is arranged. You can go directly for a full-body check-up without being noticed by others.”
Leland Burns was always concerned about appearances; the fact that he had been drugged was something that definitely couldn’t be made public.
Given last night’s circumstances, Leland Burns had been slipped an aphrodisiac, but it was possible that other substances were involved too, considering he had also vomited blood.
The vomiting of blood was something not even Henry James could be told-not to mention whether he would worry about it. Given Leland Burns’s understanding of Henry James, he would most likely mock him for his frailty.
Just the thought of that scenario made Leland Burns frown.
Henry James was always carefully observing Leland Burns’s complexion, seeing his frown and the veins popping out on his forehead, all signs of him struggling to endure.
Henry James thought he was unwell: “Boss, are you feeling okay?”
“My health is fine,” Leland Burns snapped back, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his reaction overly sharp.
Henry James was startled, touching his own nose: “Even if you feel fine, we won’t know for sure until after the hospital check-up. Why such a strong reaction?”
Leland Burns felt a headache coming on, not wanting to indulge in pointless chatter with Henry James: “I’m going to the hospital for a check-up. Afterwards, help me with two things quickly.”
Leland Burns handed over a necklace from the bedside table to Henry James: “Find out the owner of this necklace. Also…”
He wrapped a few strands of hair in a tissue, handing them over as well: “Take these and get a paternity test done.”
The necklace, obviously left by the woman from last night, made it normal for Leland Burns to want to know the woman’s identity and whereabouts. But why a paternity test?
“What’s this paternity test for?” Henry James voiced his confusion.
“I suspect she is Winifred Dawson.”
Henry James paused, then laughed, “How could that be?”
Slowly, the smile on his face froze because at that moment, Leland Burns’s expression was extremely serious and solemn. His eyes, dark as night, sparkled like stars. He knew Leland Burns wasn’t joking. Hope reignited within him that the woman from last night was indeed Winifred Dawson.