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Chapter 279 Slipped Away
Leah took some time to calm down before shaking her head. “I can let go of him,” she finally said.
Her answer satisfied Shawn, so he chose not to pursue the matter any further even though he knew
that Leah was not telling the truth.
The next day, Leah and Shawn dominated the headlines of Linkville’s major tabloids. Speculation was
rife about their relationship and whether good news was to be expected soon. Shawn eyed the
magazine on the table with a devious glint in his eye. He was all too pleased.
Mr. Carling, the family’s butler, noticed the magazine on the table and approached Shawn tentatively.
“Mr. Shawn, do you want me to get in touch with the paparazzi?”
“No need,” Shawn responded. He closed the magazine and headed upstairs with a cup of hot milk in
his hand. He went into Leah’s room and placed the cup of milk on her bedside table. He then informed
Lucy to allow Leah to roam around the house as she wished before he left the house.
Leah slept until it was past noon. She noticed the cup of milk on her bedside table almost immediately.
“Ms. White, Mr. Ford brought this up for you this morning,” Lucy explained before Leah even had time
to ponder on the origins of the mysterious cup of milk.
“Mm,” Leah made a curt sound. Instead of feeling comforted, Leah only felt more suspicious of
Shawn’s motives. Although Shawn had not done anything untoward, she wondered why he kept her
locked in this place.
Lucy picked up a pair of house slippers and gently placed them right in front of Leah’s feet. Leah
quickly slipped them on and got out of bed without another look at the cup of milk.
“Ms. White, are you not going to drink the milk?” Lucy asked. She had worked for the Fords for almost
five years and never once saw Mr. Shawn bring a woman home nor show any sign of affection toward
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇta woman. Leah was the first, but she did not seem to appreciate Shawn’s rare gesture.
Leah dragged her feet toward the bathroom sleepily. “You can have it if you want to,” she told Lucy
before stepping into the shower. Once she was done washing up, she headed downstairs for breakfast.
As she was eating her meal, Mr. Carling came into the dining room with a paper bag.
“Mr. Ford prepared this for you and asked me to pass on a message. He said you should know who
you can contact and who you shouldn’t,” Mr. Carling explained before passing her the paper bag.
Leah peeked inside the paper bag. It was a brand new cellphone, to replace the phone that Shawn had
forcefully taken away from her. Leah knew exactly what he meant in his message delivered via Mr.
Carling. She was not allowed to contact Han.
“I understand,” she nodded as she took the new cellphone out of the bag. She barely even looked at it
properly before carelessly tossing it aside. Lucy could tell that Leah was not having a good time, so she
suggested a walk around the courtyard after breakfast.
“It’s alright, I’m tired,” Leah muttered glumly before she headed upstairs once again.
…
At the hospital, Alfred had kept all the tabloids and magazines out of Han’s sight. Last night after Leah
had left with Shawn, Han stood waiting in the cold until his body turned numb. Unable to watch a
despondent Han any longer, it was Alfred who decided on his behalf to bring him to the hospital
immediately, knowing his legs could not take much more.
Alfred held the surgery notice in his hands while observing Han carefully. “Mr. Howard, the doctors
have arranged your surgery for tomorrow. Is that alright with you?” Alfred asked cautiously. There was
a possibility that Han might not be happy with the arrangement, but he was willing to take the blame for
it. However, Han’s eyes looked unfocused and dispirited as he looked out the window with a blank
stare.
“Mm,” was all he said. Alfred breathed a sigh of relief. He would have never made such a big decision
on his own if he was not so worried for Han.
…
Ron had also read the news about Leah and Shawn through the tabloids. His eyes glazed with
cynicism as he let out a bitter chuckle. He wondered how Shawn must feel after finding out about Leah
and Shawn.
Leah had dumped him for Han Howard, and now she did the same to Han for Shawn Ford. It was a
vicious cycle indeed. Of course, Ron was the kind of man who did what he wanted, so he headed to
hospital himself once he found out about Han’s whereabouts.
In the hospital ward, Han was in the middle of a pre-surgery examination. Ron pushed open the door to
come face to face with Han who was seated on a wheelchair. He was about to let out a mocking laugh
before his eyes caught Han’s, which made him clear his throat nervously instead. Han Howard did not
look much different from the last time Ron saw him, but the coldness in his eyes made Ron shift his
gaze away uncomfortably.
“Yes, Ron?” Han’s tone was frigid.
“Oh, no, Han, I heard you were hospitalized so I decided to pay you a visit,” Ron said with a crooked
smile.
Han’s expression remained hollow as he stared at Ron. He knew Ron was here to mock him, and he
supposed it was karma. What comes around goes around, after all.
Ron, on the other hand, felt like he had made his point and was ready to leave. “You seem alright, so
I’ll leave you to it then,” he said before heading for the door.
“Did it hurt when she left you back then?” Han spoke all of a sudden. He never really knew how to love
someone or what love felt like. All he knew was a strong sense of helplessness and desolation when
Leah left him.
“No, only the weak let themselves be troubled by love,” Ron scoffed. Leah had ignited something in him
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwhen she left him alone in the dust. She also helped him realize that love was the most useless thing in
this world. He used to think that she was different from other women, but now, he could finally see that
she was just a woman with bad taste. It was Leah’s loss for letting Han go, because this would not be
the end of him.
…
In the evening, Shawn returned from the office to his villa. “How is she today?” he asked Mr. Carling as
he took his coat off.
“She’s eating today,” Mr. Carling replied politely.
Shawn took two steps at a time up the stairs and entered Leah’s bedroom without knocking. He found
her sitting by the window reading a book, barely even acknowledging his presence. He walked over to
her and fished the book out of her hands.
“Are you unhappy?” Shawn asked with genuine concern.
Leah shook her head. “No,” she whispered softly. Although she was a bird trapped in a cage right now,
nothing else mattered as long as her child could live. She did not dare to ask Shawn for much.
Shawn stared hard at Leah for a few moments. “Come downstairs and accompany me to dinner,” he
told Leah who got up obediently and trailed behind him as he made his way down.
Dinner was already prepared and ready to be served when they got to the dining hall. They took their
seats and Shawn immediately picked a large prawn and deshelled it for Leah. He placed the prawn on
her plate, but she left it untouched.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Shawn raised a curious eyebrow.
Leah used her fork to push the prawn to a side and grabbed some salad from the salad bowl onto her
plate instead. “I don’t like prawns,” she mentioned.
Shawn was a perceptive man who could easily tell what Leah was thinking, but he decided to allow her
behavior anyway. After all, it was no fun if she was completely submissive to him. After dinner, Shawn
suggested a walk in the courtyard to allow their food to digest.
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