Love's Change of Heart

Chapter 37

It would only take a word from Aidan's lips for Leanna to give up her baby back then.

It was just as easy as that.

So, tell me. What exactly have I terribly done wrong?

After leaving Lux Jewelry, Leanna took a cab to the Pearson Group.

Without any registration needed, the Pearson Group's receptionist had only asked her last name before leading her directly to the president's exclusive elevator as if they had been expecting her.

Leanna recalled the scenario when she was here to deliver some documents to Aidan a long time ago. At that time, she was afraid to tell any of the employees that she was his wife for fear that it would make his blood blood. Hence, what she ended up doing was standing quietly at the reception desk like a fool until the receptionist was available to tend to her. Only then was her arrival reported to their superior.

In the end, that b*stard even gave her an attitude.

When Leanna exited the elevator, Jonathan was already waiting for her.

"Madam, President Pearson is in a meeting. He invited you to wait in his office," he stated.

However, Leanna could not help but correct him, "Please refrain from calling me Madam. I don't deserve that title."

Struck by her words, Jonathan remained silent. Well, that was self-deprecating of her to say.

He tried to cough off the awkwardness before extending his arm. "Ma—Miss McKinney, please."

As she sat in Aidan's office, she said to Jonathan while looking at the coffee he brought, "Could you help get me a cup of hot water? The kind that can scald people if you spill it?"

"Miss McKinney… You have a great sense of humor."

"Not as great as President Pearson," she responded while smiling.

The quick-witted Jonathan instantly recognized Leanna's demeanor as a sign to denounce Aidan's act of charity and he had no idea where Aidan had the impression that she was here to express her gratitude.

Still, Jonathan replaced her coffee with a cup of hot water that did not burn. He reasoned carefully that if Aidan was to really be splashed later, at least plain water would be better-looking than coffee on his suit.

Leanna, on the other hand, was simply venting her rage and had no intention to pour water on the man. Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

At that moment, the baby in her stomach was causing a commotion which resulted in her to retch a few times. Thankfully, she was relieved after drinking some water.

By the time Aidan returned, her glass was already empty.

"What's the matter?" he asked indifferently as he unbuttoned his suit and sat opposite her in a business-like manner. This man is a total jerk. He's aware of the reason yet he still asked.

Without wasting her time on arguing, she took a new IOU from her bag and said, "The way you meddle around, your inconsistent words and deeds, and your duplicitous acts..."

When she was halfway through her sentence, she felt the temperature in the office drop abruptly.

In spite of the change of atmosphere, she continued her words with unchanging expressions, "I truly admire your way of doing things, especially how you kill without spilling blood."

Tired of listening to her nonsense, he rudely interrupted her, "Cut the bullsh*t."

"To put it simply, even though I find your actions to be heinous, I don't think I'll be able to sleep in peace knowing I have an enormous debt on my shoulders. So, here I am swallowing my pride and writing you an IOU today."

Precisely what the b*stard desires.

Raising his gaze, he revealed his stern and emotionless face at her. "How are you going to pay this time?"

As she was parting her pursed lips, he took a wild guess as to what was about to come out of her mouth. Before she could say anything, he slowly interjected, "I don't accept installments."

This rendered Leanna speechless. I knew this evil capitalist would not show his mercy!

"Since you have carried out such a detailed plan to embarrass me, let me be honest with you then, President Pearson. I don't have the money to pay you back, so you are free to tell me whatever you want now," Leanna stated.

"So, you think I did all this just to embarrass you?" Aidan's beautiful brows frowned slightly as he asked.

"Isn't that right? I'm honestly not sure what I have to do for you to be satisfied. If what you really want is for me to leave Lux Jewelry, I promise you I'll terminate the contract today and flee to somewhere you can't see me."

"Leanna, are your brains made out of mud?" Running out of patience, Aidan asked in his deep and cold voice, "I've sent a PR team to Lux Jewelry, provided a candidate from the show with full resources from Pearson Group, and requested Daphne to fill the vacancy on stage. Do I look like I did all these just to get you out of my sight?"

"You did all those things for Mia. What does it have to do with me?"

"For her? Why would I even do things for her? She doesn't have anything to do with me."

Not to be outdone, she retorted, "But she has everything to do with your body."

Out of anger, he let out a frustrating laugh and his tone softened. "Leanna, I have told you this so many times. Eat less junk and more berries; your brain needs it."

Guilty as charged, Leanna was rendered speechless. Back then, she used to order boxes of pizza and her favorite stinky blue cheese as dessert at home. Whenever Aidan returned, he would throw

everything into the trash bin outside before pressing her to the sink to brush off all the oiliness and pungent smell.

Hold up. Is this the right time to be talking about this?She brought the conversation back on track by asking, "How should I pay you back, then?"

Aidan raised his brows without saying anything and lightly tapped the armrest of the couch with his slender fingers. The phrase 'beg me' was practically written all over his body.

Leanna, on the other hand, knew that this b*stard would not be satisfied solely from her pleas, but he thoroughly had no idea what he was up to.

When he noticed her bowing her head in silence, he uttered slowly, "Leanna, I've said before that if you ever regret it, I can give you another chance."

She responded quickly this time as she knew exactly what he was referring to. "Why?" she asked at first instance.

"No reason."

She smiled as she knew the exact reason why. He's retaliating.

During their loveless marriage, she could bear to be unlucky, despised, and disgusted, or even a wife who could only sit quietly at home and wait for her husband's return.

Now that she was divorced, there was no way she was going to reduce herself to that level anymore. I can do whatever I desire now, but I guess this isn't what he wants to see.

Sure enough, Leanna was the one who dragged him into the grave of marriage three years ago, so how could she just brush it off and walk away? "Although I was once criticized by some arrogant jerk for not having dreams…" she finally said after a long pause.

Aidan went silent upon hearing this.

"But I always knew what I wanted and what I could achieve within my capability," she added. "After three years of failed marriage, I really thought I could rely on my own efforts to pursue my dream again. But… if you're truly unwilling to let go of me, I shall give up my hands and you will never see me holding another graphite or coming up with any designs ever again. If that still doesn't satisfy you, hire a murderer and finish me."

Shutting his eyes, Aidan unwillingly voiced out, "Get out of my sight. Leave the IOU and repay me in installments."

"All right. Goodbye, President Pearson."

Leanna carefully picked up her bag and exited. As she approached the door, she came to a halt. "President Pearson, I will transfer the money I owe you to your account on time every month. If you require anything else, just have Jonathan contact me. My phone works around the clock."

The implication was that she would not add his contact information back on her phone.

However, after leaving the Pearson Group, her mood did not improve just because she had gotten what she wanted… The damn installments.