Chapter 413
Chapter 413
Chapter 413 Lovesick Puppy
The bridal shop's warm lights illuminated all the diamante-studded wedding veils, turning the entire place into an ethereal scene out of a fairytale.
Jackson's grim, thunderous expression was incongruous in the inviting, pleasant setting. Seeing that Shawn was once more determined to go his own way, he gave an angry snort and stalked out. Only after he got into his car did he eye the bridal shop balefully. "Useless piece of trash! He's eating out of that woman's hand!" After that, he glared at his chauffeur. "What are you staring at? Get back to Mr. Ford's place at once! I'm going to teach that b*tch a lesson!"
Now that she had access to Shawn's phone, the first thing Leah did was call Serena.
"Shawn Ford, don't you dare call me for no reason! I'm blocking you!" Serena had a thoroughly bad impression of Shawn by now, and she did not waste her breath being polite.
Before Serena could hang up, Leah hurriedly stopped her. "Serena! It's me!"
Serena blinked and stared at the number displayed on her screen, dumbfounded. It was definitely Shawn's phone number. In astonishment, she asked, "How did you get hold of his phone?"
Leah bit her lip, then immediately changed the subject. "Long story. How are you doing?"
To Serena, Leah sounded completely unlike her usual self. Frowning, she gave this due consideration and drew some conclusions. Snapping her fingers, she exclaimed, "Han broke your heart, so you ended up going back to Shawn instead, is that it? What about Han, then? Don't you like him?'
Serena's conclusions irritated Leah. "Stop talking nonsense. Anyway, you need to be careful in the near future and make sure you're safe!" She did not spend much time catching up; her main intention was to make sure that Serena was safe and well.
The two women chatted briefly. Before hanging up, Leah hesitated for a moment before saying, "Serena, I hope you don't dislike Shawn too intensely for now. I…I might end up marrying him eventually."
Serena could scarcely believe her ears. With eyes as big as saucers, she gasped, "Sarah? What on earth are you babbling about?! You've changed your tune suddenly after being kidnapped like that. This is completely unlike you!" It had merely been a few days since she and Leah met; why had her attitude changed so dramatically? Had Han genuinely broken her heart after all?
Leah sighed faintly, and a trace of exhaustion flitted over her features. "No. This is what I've decided after thinking it over. That is what's going on right now. You take care of yourself, okay? You can contact me using this number. I'm not using my old phone anymore."
The minute her friend ended the call, Serena sat there, flabbergasted, staring at her phone. It took a long time before she could pull herself together.
What in the world had happened?
Since Sarah was using Shawn's phone, she was almost certainly with him. From the looks of things, Serena felt that she needed to go see Sarah in person the next day.
After calling Serena, Leah contacted Ross and instructed him to call Shawn's number if he needed to
be in touch with her for any work-related matters.
Like Serena, Ross could hardly believe his ears either. Always the soft-spoken gentleman, he was agitated enough to snap angrily, "Ms. White! What do you think you're doing? Shawn Ford is Mr. Hendrik's nemesis! How can you betray him like that and go tumbling into that man's arms?"
The word "betray" was like a stone weighing down Leah's heart. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she began to feel a little light-headed. She did not say anything else, merely hung up the phone.
She had just seated herself on the couch to catch her breath and rest a while before an unexpected, unwelcome guest strode right up to her, grabbed hold of her collar, and yanked her up.
"Sarah White, if you know what's good for you, you'll stay with Shawn like a good little girl. Stop toying with his affections!"
Jackson had hauled Leah up in an extremely uncomfortable position; as she glanced up, she caught sight of the surveillance camera on the ceiling and suddenly had an idea.
She deliberately coughed with exaggerated discomfort and intentionally raised her voice. "Why won't you let me be together with him? Shawn hasn't objected to this, what right do you have to interfere?"
Jackson's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What the hell are you saying, b*tch? You're asking for a beating, aren't you? I think that if I don't teach you a lesson right now, you won't know your place…" With that, he abruptly let go of Leah's collar and let her drop to the floor like a broken ragdoll. Aiming at her head, he kicked her so hard she saw stars.
Leah did not cry or scream. Instead, her mouth twisted in an enigmatic, mysterious little smile.
This enraged Jackson even more. Before he could kick her again, he was abruptly prevented from doing so by Lucy, who had come running out.
"Mr. Lamere! Ms. White is part of our household! If you keep this up, Mr. Shawn will never forgive you!" Her shrieks were ear-piercingly loud; when she saw Leah lying so still on the floor, she almost wept with distress.
Jackson realized that he probably should not go overboard since he was in the Ford residence, after all. After delivering a few more threats and warnings to Leah, he stalked out and left.
Lucy helped Leah back to the room. "Ms. White, you just lie down here and rest for a while. I'm going to call Mr. Shawn so he can get the family doctor over here right away!"
The minute Lucy left the room and Leah was alone once more, she scrambled up from the bed and looked at herself in the mirror. The bruised bump on her head did not look very serious at all. Without hesitation, she slammed her head against the wall, targeting the bruised spot. Not content with this, she also bruised her arms and legs using the same method.
When she climbed back into bed, she felt so weak that she passed out. She was aware that she had very little agency in this place, and she could not do very much. However, she also was aware that Shawn was madly in love with her, and she could utilize this to her advantage. If she could sour the relationship between Shawn and Jackson enough that they parted ways, that would be ideal. She was quite sure that when spirited, arrogant Shawn saw that someone had hurt her, his very own plaything, he would at least be somewhat angry. RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
Leah awoke to the sound of enraged bellowing.
"You're a bunch of useless idiots! What's the use of hiring you when you can't even protect one woman? Get out of here! I'll deal with you later!"
It was Shawn; he appeared to be disciplining his subordinates. After shouting at them, he swept several porcelain vases off the table, which shattered on the floor with a clear, ringing sound.
Lucy came into the room with some medical supplies. When she saw that Leah had woken up, she called out to Shawn, "Mr. Shawn! Ms. White is awake now!"
Shawn left the bodyguards and ran to the room. Standing by the bed, he looked at her frail, weak form, and his heart ached with distress. Reaching out to brush his fingers lightly over her bruised forehead, he murmured, "Sarah, are you in a lot of pain still?"
Leah was taken aback by the drastic difference in his attitude toward her. He seemed to have let down the walls around his heart completely now that he finally had some hope of gaining her love.
He was very much like herself, in the end. Suddenly, she did not have the heart to deceive him any further. However, she had to stick to her guns and carry on for the greater good. Hoarsely, she murmured, "It hurts…"
She was not lying; her self-inflicted wounds were so painful they verged on numb.
Shawn blinked and pulled his hand away. He glanced over at his assistant, who was standing outside the bedroom door. His expression was glacial, and his voice dripped with hostility as he ordered, "Get that idiot Jackson Lamere over here right now!" After that, he turned back to Leah. "Don't worry. I'll deal with him. Once I have him here, you can torture him or do whatever you want."
Leah just stared at Shawn, overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling. From the looks of things, using self-inflicted injuries to gain the man's confidence was extraordinarily effective. Just like that, she had managed to sever his connection with Jackson. "It's alright. I'll let you deal with him…"