Hearing this, Kayden was visibly stunned for a moment.
“Who? My sister-in-law?” Kayden asked, confused. This was beyond his expectation. He had no idea that Leah had shown up at the Atkinson family’s place after he left the hotel, nor did he know what happened afterward.
“Yes. She seemed very upset. I don’t know how she found the Atkinson family, but I settled her in,” came the response.
“Where?” Kayden asked.
“In the room you used to stay in.”
They hadn’t traveled through the night but had stopped at Inassea instead. After all, Leah was Kayden’s family. Although she could be a bit childish in her actions, she didn’t harbor any malice toward him. Even when Kayden had lost his memory, Leah had never shown ill intentions.
She had cried-who knew what she had been through?
Leah was curled up in the vast emptiness of the room. It had been two days since she’d had a proper night’s sleep.
What tormented her most now was Kayden. Her heart ached for him. She couldn’t understand why her sister had divorced him. Losing someone like Kayden was undoubtedly a mistake on her sister’s part.
And that other woman-Sariah, wasn’t it? Why was she with Kayden?
To be fair, Sariah wasn’t inferior to her sister in any way. Could she be Kayden’s backup plan?
As these thoughts tormented her, the door creaked open suddenly.
There was no knock-just the sound of the door being pushed open.
Then, the room’s light flicked on.
Standing in the doorway was a figure Leah recognized instantly. It wasn’t anyone else-it was Kayden.
“Kayden!” Leah sprang from the couch, startled. She hurriedly grabbed a bath towel to cover herself. She hadn’t expected anyone to come, so after her bath, she’d simply lain on the couch without dressing.
Wearing clothes felt suffocating to her, but without them, she could relax.
Yet she hadn’t anticipated Kayden’s arrival, which left her feeling utterly embarrassed.
“Are you okay?” Kayden asked, scanning her quickly with concern rather than anything else.
Leah’s face was pale, with visible exhaustion and dark circles under her eyes.
Once she had wrapped herself in the towel, her expression softened slightly.
“Kayden!” she cried out, tears welling up in her eyes.
Leah wasn’t someone who cried easily, but the weight of her grievances had clearly overwhelmed her.
Kayden also noticed faint marks on her face-remnants of what seemed to be bruises.
“Kayden!” she called again. This time, she ran barefoot toward him, without hesitation, and threw herself into his arms, wrapping her hands tightly around his waist.
At that moment, Wood Faulkner happened to walk in and paused as she witnessed the scene. She hesitated for a few seconds, then lowered her head and quietly began tidying up the room like a cleaner.
“I’m sorry, Kayden,” Leah murmured, clinging tightly to him, her voice filled with guilt.
Kayden raised his hand to pat her comfortingly. “It’s not your fault. Did they hurt you?”
“I’m fine,” Leah said, shaking her head as she pulled away. “Kayden, I’m truly sorry! I don’t understand what my sister was thinking. You’re such an amazing man, and she didn’t cherish you.”
Kayden gave a faint smile. “It’s all in the past.”
“By the way,” he said, his tone turning serious, “why did you run away from home?”
Leah’s expression hardened as she replied, “I couldn’t stay there any longer. They’ve gone too far-especially my mom! She’s completely obsessed with money, flaunting it on stage like it’s some kind of trophy.”
“Kayden, I left because I wanted to come to you. I’ve made up my mind-I want to stand by your side.”
Kayden hesitated for a moment as though he wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent.
“Kayden, you won’t abandon me, will you? If you do, I really don’t know where else I can go!”
“I won’t,” Kayden assured her, placing his hand on her shoulder. “You can stay here. This house belongs to her-you can live here as long as you want. You can even go to school nearby. I’ll withdraw the money for you tomorrow.”
Leah blinked, looked at Sariah, then at Kayden, and asked hesitantly, “You… you aren’t living here with her, are you?”
If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Leah wouldn’t have believed it. But now, seeing the two of them together, she couldn’t help but suspect.
This was a spacious villa with two bedrooms and a large living area. There were plenty of Sariah’s belongings scattered around, making it clear that this was her residence.
Kayden shook his head. “No, she’s just my subordinate. She bought this house a while ago.”
At this point, Wood Faulkner spoke up. “You can stay here without any worries. What’s mine… is Mr. Scott’s.”
“Oh,” Leah murmured, still finding it hard to believe as she glanced back and forth between Sariah and Kayden. “Well, I think I’ll rest now. Kayden, where are you going to sleep?”
Kayden pointed to the couch. “I’ll sleep here. You two go rest.”
“That’s not right!” Wood Faulkner protested, stepping forward. “Mr. Scott, you should sleep in my room. I’ll take the couch-there’s no reason for you to sleep out here.”
“How about…” Leah suggested hesitantly, “how about you sleep with me, Kayden?”
Her words left Wood Faulkner visibly stunned. Was this girl trying to throw herself at the Defender?
“That’s enough. Both of you, go to bed. I’ll stay here,” Kayden insisted.
By now, dawn was breaking, and they only needed a brief rest before continuing their day.
As the argument persisted, a sudden knock at the door interrupted them.
“Who is it?” Wood Faulkner asked warily, her eyes darting toward the door as she moved cautiously to answer it.
She pulled out a knife, startling Leah, who instinctively shrank back.
The door creaked open to reveal a young girl with two pigtails standing outside.
It was Vivian, Ivy Taylor’s niece, who lived next door.
“Have you seen my dad?” the little girl asked sweetly, looking up at Wood Faulkner.
Wood Faulkner hesitated, then crouched down and asked, “Who’s your dad, little one?”
“Daddy! Daddy!” the girl exclaimed suddenly, her eyes lighting up as she spotted Kayden. She ran toward him excitedly.
“Mommy! Mommy!” she called out as she ran back toward the door. “Daddy’s back! Daddy’s back! And he brought two aunties with him!”
At that moment, a woman in a suit appeared at the door.
When she reached the doorway and saw Kayden standing there with two women, she froze, clearly shocked.