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Chapter 449 A Massive Tree
"Get together with him?" Serena stared at Leah as if she had just suggested something unspeakable.
Her voice was rather shrill as she clapped Leah on the shoulder just a little too hard. "Sarah, this is the
modern era, you know. All we did was have a one-night stand; you shouldn't have such a conservative
mentality! Anyway, I don't want to get together with him. He's been working for Han for ages, which
means he's as wily an old fox as his employer and can't be trusted!"
Seeing that Serena was so adamantly against the idea, Leah did not force the issue. "Very well then.
Do you feel sore or uncomfortable? Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"
Serena smiled suddenly and threw her arms around Leah in a big hug, rubbing her cheek against her
friend's shoulder like a cat. "See, being together with you is much better. I don't want to hang around
people like Ben Wright. Let's just consider this chapter closed, alright? It never happened!"
Leah remained at Serena's place for the entire day. In the late evening, Han came to take her home.
The bleak winter landscape flashed past as they drove, and the cold, dry air seeped in through the
slightly open window. Leah rubbed her hands together and rolled the window closed. "Where's Mr.
Wright?" She was a little perplexed because Han was driving instead.
Han shot her a bland look. "He's lost his innocence, that's for sure. I gave him some time off. What did
Serena say? Is she willing to get together with him?"
Leah shook her head. "No. She said she'll treat it as though nothing happened…"
Before she could finish speaking, Han's sardonic chuckle interrupted her. "Heh. As far as these matters
are concerned, the two of you are astoundingly similar. Both of you don't bother taking responsibility for
your actions."
This was something Leah did not want to hear. Frowning, she retorted, "Serena might have initiated
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtthings, but in this kind of affair, she's the one who has to bear the consequences, right?" Besides, the
two of them are adults. Surely something like this can be handled a little more liberally?"
Han's gaze grew slightly chillier, and his grip on the steering wheel involuntarily tightened. "That's what
you think as well?"
For whatever reason, this made Leah feel a bit guilty. She looked a little puzzled as she answered,
"Something like that, anyway. It depends on the situation…" Why was he trying to drag her into this
when it had nothing to do with her at all?
Han gave a grim little smile but said nothing more, and the tension in the car gradually subsided.
Leah honestly had no idea why he was upset. Weren't things like that in society nowadays? She was
merely being truthful.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the Villa Victoria.
The minute she set foot through the door, Leah caught sight of a haggard-looking Ben. In one night, he
had undergone a startling transformation; it was as if he had aged ten years. She felt a pang of anxiety.
What on earth had Serena done to torment the poor man into such a state…?
"Ms. White, is Ms. Coleman…" Ben asked, hesitating before approaching her.
Now that she was face-to-face with the man himself, Leah could not bring herself to break his heart by
telling him what Serena had said. It would be too cruel. Instead, she chose to approach the matter from
another angle. "Mr. Wright, the two of you haven't previously had much contact with each other, so
there shouldn't be any sort of mutual feeling, right?"
Ben gave this careful consideration. "To be honest, even before yesterday, I've always regarded Ms.
Coleman as an attractive, generous young woman. I've thought that way about her all along. Last night,
though, when she complained of gastric pains and asked me to get her some medicine, I was quite
worried, but at the same time, I felt happy that she felt she could rely on me under those
circumstances. Just now, Mr. Howard explained that I might have developed feelings for her some time
ago…"
Leah gave Han a long, meaningful look. "So that's what Mr. Howard told you…" If Han had just kept his
mouth shut, Ben would have remained happily ignorant without the heartache that would come from
learning the truth.
Han guessed what she was thinking and smiled again sardonically. "Leah, love and affection are
seeds. Once they take root and sprout, they'll eventually grow into a massive tree. Lying to yourself and
saying that it's mere carelessness will only result in irreparable harm; once you've let the opportunity
slip by, you'll regret it, but you can never get it back. I should know better than anyone. I don't want Ben
to experience the same regrets that I did."
Ben had stuck with him through thick and thin and was practically family. Now that the young man had
met someone he truly liked, Han wanted nothing more than for them to be happy.
His tone was very cold; his meaning was unmistakably clear.
Leah knew that Han was referring to their own past, and she felt the pangs of old heartaches. Pressing
her lips together, she did not say anything else.
Han noticed her silence but turned toward Ben. "Serena doesn't have feelings for you at the moment,
but if you like her, then by all means pursue her and try your luck."
A trace of hurt flickered over Ben's expression. With a desolate smile, he replied, "I'll try."
At this point, the TV set in the room suddenly blared out the headlines for the national news.
"Princess Anna is engaged to Prince Ricardo! Wedding to take place in a month!"
Upon hearing Anna's name, Leah, Han, and Ben simultaneously turned to stare at the TV screen. Ben
was the most astonished of the three to discover that Anna had become engaged so quickly to the
prince of the neighboring country of Zardova. He had seen for himself from the start how obsessed
Anna had been with Han and to what lengths her pursuit of him had gone. How could she forget him so
easily?
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBen had worked for Han long enough to develop his employer's shrewdness; instinctively, he sensed
that there was more to the matter than met the eye.
"Boss, once Fetriybia and Zardova become allied through marriage, they're sure to establish a trade
embargo. That’s almost certainly going to cut our ties with Veyris. If that happens, it's going to result in
massive losses for both the Kendrick Group and the Howard Group!"
Geographically, Fetriybia and Zardova were in extremely strategic locations; they occupied the two
biggest trading ports in Veyris. As the third global economic power, Veryris had a huge consumer
market. If Fetriybia and Zardova declared a trade embargo, then Han would suffer considerable losses.
"Prepare for it; that will suffice." Han was a big name in the business world. Something insignificant like
this did not worry him at all. His gaze grew grim, and his mouth tightened. "Have you managed to
locate Shawn Ford?"
Ever since Shawn's laboratory had been destroyed and his scheme utterly ruined, there had been no
news of him, aside from when he engineered Leah's kidnapping. Han was certain the man would stage
a comeback at some point. Before that happened, he wanted to annihilate him once and for all.
Ben looked grave. "We haven't been able to find any trace of him at all, Boss. It's like the earth has
swallowed him up. I'm planning to have the Kendrick Group investigate from overseas."
"Alright. If you're too busy, you can pass your most recent assignments to Ross." Han nodded.
Ben's eyes were damp as he blurted out, "Thank you, Boss!" His employer had become so caring and
considerate; love could truly change a person!
For the next few days, Leah was kept busy, so she temporarily set aside all thoughts of Ben and
Serena's situation. Now that the company had expanded, the workload had increased as well. There
were over a dozen new departments set up, and each department had at least ten or twenty
employees. Every day, there were so many things to take care of that she wanted to scream, but the
payoff was significant and rewarding.
Her assistant came hurrying to her with some good news. "Ms. White! Today we managed to acquire
another four or five new collaborative projects!"
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