Crushed Affections

Chapter 29 Taking Orders from a Woman for the First Time

Dominic, on the other end of the call, sounded a bit irritated. "Get lost. If you can't speak properly, don't speak at all. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

Leonard quickly changed his tone as he complained, "I've been stuck in this backwater place for a month now, barely scraping by for the sake of this project. Where's your humanity? Finish up what you're doing and come over soon, and don't forget to bring the planning do Before he could finish, the call was cut off. It was unclear whether Dominic had even listened.

Just then, Bella came out with a plate of food. "Food's ready. Help me bring out the rest of the dishes."

There were tables and chairs set up in the yard, and the weather was just right-not too hot, not too cold. Eating outside in the gentle night breeze felt rare and peaceful.

Leonard, with his usual lazy stride, walked into the kitchen to help carry the dishes. It was the first time in his life that anyone had dared to order him around, and it was a woman, no less.

While they ate, Leonard offered a suggestion. "You should avoid going to the hospital for now. Take a

break from work."

Bella looked puzzled. "Why? Didn't we already take care of it?"

If she didn't go to work, she wouldn't get paid on time, and without that money, how could she repay

Dominic?

Leonard gave her a strange look. "Do you really think it's over? Do you even know what the word scoundrel' means? If you try to go back to work like nothing happened, they'll be waiting for you again. You can test that theory if you don't believe me."

That actually made sense. Those two "toy guns" might have only scared them off temporarily, but there was no way those thugs would just give up so easily.

Bella sighed and stuffed a big spoonful of rice into her mouth. "Let them do whatever they want. I don't have any money for them. All I have is my life..."

Leonard's lips twitched in disbelief. "You really are all about the money, huh? Besides, how much do they even pay you at that hospital?

"Never mind. Since you're my tenant, I'll take care of it. Just stay home and rest for a couple of days. Surely you can manage that, right?"

Bella wanted to say she didn't want to burden him, but then she remembered how he had handled those thugs, and for some reason, she felt he could manage it. "Then thanks, I guess?"

Leonard playfully slapped the table. "Say it with confidence!"

The next morning, Simon somehow heard about what had happened to Bella in the town and called her early.

"Bella, are you okay?" he asked. "I heard someone gave you trouble... Honestly, that place isn't right for you. Why don't you come to Holha with me? Even if you don't want to be around me, at least don't punish yourself by staying there. Life could be so much better. Bella was still half-asleep, and she mumbled into the phone. "Who is this... Simon?"

Simon was taken aback. "Yes, it's me..."

Chapter 29 Taking Orders from a Woman for the First Time:

Before he could say anything else, Bella hung up on him. If she had been fully awake and seen the caller ID, she wouldn't have answered in the first place.

After a bit more sleep, she finally woke up around noon.

She walked out to the yard to check on the plants and flowers and found that Leonard wasn't home. She didn't think much of it.

Just as she was about to go make something to eat, she noticed a shadow moving near the front gate. She quickly grabbed a wooden stick from the corner, feeling wary. "Who's there?"Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

As soon as the person outside heard her, he bolted..

Bella cautiously approached to take a look and saw a man with a limp hobbling away. Despite his limp, he moved surprisingly fast, though his gait looked rather comical.

He ran off too quickly for Bella to get a good look at him. When she looked down, she saw that the wallet those thugs had stolen from her was lying on the ground by the gate.

She stared at it for a moment before bending down to pick it up. The cash that had been taken out before had been replaced.

Could it be that Leonard had sorted this out for her? And could that man she just saw have been the one Leonard beat up?