Love's Change of Heart

Chapter 58

Meanwhile, at Patheon Club, Oscar walked into the private room to find Aidan nursing a drink alone. The room was so silent he could almost hear a pin drop.

He sat down opposite Aidan and poured himself a glass as he asked, "What happened?"

Aidan said nothing.

When Oscar spotted Aidan's busted lip, he snorted. He got the picture without having to ask any further.

They drank in silence for some time before Oscar asked at last, "Is it that hard for you to admit that you like her?"

Aidan's hand froze mid-air, still holding his glass. He threw Oscar an icy stare. "What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter what I'm saying. It matters what your heart's thinking. You keep saying that you hate your ex-wife, but everything you do screams otherwise."

"That's not true."

"Then, why did you get someone to keep an eye on Zayn Barnett?"

After a pause, Aidan stated coolly, "She tried her hardest to get a divorce so that she could marry into the Barnett Family. Do you think I should just let her get her way?"

Oscar had nothing to say in response.

There was no use trying to convince someone who was lying to themselves.

…

As soon as Anna returned to the Pearson Family Estate, she went straight to her room and started a rampage. Soon, the floor was littered with fragile items.

The servants gathered outside the door. None of them had the courage to go in to stop her, so they decided to inform Sienna about it.

Sienna frowned when she heard what the servants told her. "Who pissed her off this time?"

"I'm not sure. It started as soon as Miss Anna got home."

"Is Old Master Pearson back yet?"

"Not yet."

Sienna nodded in acknowledgment and got to her feet. "I'll go and take a look. Get a few servants to clean up her room."

Anna's temper had grown wilder over the past few years. When it came down to it, she was not truly a Pearson, so Gordon was less than keen to put up with her. He probably would have chased her out of the house by now, if not for the marriage alliance with the Barnetts.

When Sienna came to Anna's room and saw the horrid mess, she felt a headache coming on. "What's going on?"

The moment Anna saw her, she began to wail. "Aunt Sienna…" she called out aggrievedly.

"Stop crying and tell me what happened."

"I went to see Zayn today, but that woman was pestering him again."

Sienna's expression soured at once. "What woman?"

"That… Aidan won't let me say," Anna mumbled.

"You're not going to tell me just because he said not to? Don't come crying to me then."

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you, Aunt Sienna." Anna bit her lip and added, "It was Leanna McKinney."

"Why was she pestering him?" Sienna frowned.

"I don't know why… Ever since she divorced Aidan, she's been hanging around Zayn all the time. I don't know what's gotten into Aidan either. I just said some things about that woman and he scolded me for it."

"They're birds of a feather," Sienna snorted.

"Aunt Sienna—"

"Enough of that," Sienna cut her off. "Anna, you're not a little girl anymore. You should learn to hold your temper. How do you expect Zayn to like you if you continue to act this way once you're married to him?"

Anna's eyes lit up at once. "Does this mean you'll help me, Aunt Sienna?"

"Don't concern yourself with all these unnecessary things. Just focus on preparing for your future wedding."

"Thank you, Aunt Sienna!"

After exiting Anna's room, Sienna instructed the servants who stood in wait outside, "Hurry up and get her room all cleaned up."

Sienna was just about to leave when Justin popped up from around the corner. He asked softly, "Mom, are you really planning on marrying Anna off to the Barnetts?"

"Under the circumstances, do you think he'd agree if I decide against the marriage now?" Sienna asked.

"Aidan's the best candidate to become the next company president. I'll talk to Dad about this."

"Don't you understand? He doesn't want to find a successor. He wants to find a puppet who would do his bidding. You don't need to trouble yourself with this. Aidan's just a puppet that is no longer under his command. He doesn't compare to you at all."

Justin had a helpless expression on his face. "Mom, no matter what, Aidan is still my brother."

"The likes of him? He's not worthy," Sienna sneered.

He could only sigh.

"Don't bother yourself with all these. Go back to your room and rest," she said.

…

Leanna sat wordlessly on the couch while Zoe sat across from her. She cupped her hands around the cup as she threw furtive glances at Leanna, but she did not say anything either.

It seemed like forever before Leanna finally came out of her spell. "Are you feeling any better?" she asked slowly.

Zoe replied at once, "Yes, a lot better. My head doesn't hurt at all after drinking the hangover cure you prepared for me."

Leanna seemed to be caught up in her thoughts once more as she fell silent again.

Zoe scratched her head. She could not make head or tail of the situation, so she did not know what to say to Leanna.

After a few minutes, Leanna said, "Since you're fine, I'll head back now. Call me if you need anything."

"Why don't I go with you?" Zoe was worried about her. "Anthony's going to keep showing up every couple of days, so I'll get some peace and quiet if I stayed with you instead."

Leanna gave it some thought and figured that Zoe had a point. "Sure."

Once they arrived at Leanna's home, Leanna sat down at her desk to work on her designs. She worked for hours without moving an inch.

As for Zoe, she plopped herself down on the couch and had a few snacks before falling asleep. Once she woke up, she started eating again, and the cycle repeated itself.

At midnight, Zoe was startled awake by the sound of a phone ringing in the study. She watched as Leanna's expression changed as soon as she answered the phone. Leanna grabbed her jacket and charged out of the study.

"What's going on?" Zoe asked.

"Louis is at the police station."

"Oh, crap. What happened? I'll go with you."

"It's fine. I'll go by myself. On the call, they said that Louis was the victim, so it's probably nothing major."

"Okay then. Call me if you need anything," Zoe said.

Leanna rushed out after nodding in acknowledgment.

Once she arrived at the police station, she saw a few rough-looking men sitting on a bench. All of them looked up with unfriendly gazes once they heard someone coming in.

Louis was seated not too far away, and his handsome face was covered in bruises.

She gasped as she walked over. "What happened?"

He frowned once he saw her. "Why did they call you?"

"I'm your sister. Who else are they going to call?"

Just then, a police officer walked over with a notebook in hand. "Are you Louis McKinney's next-of- kin?"

Leanna turned around and nodded. "I'm his sister. What happened?"

"Those bunch of men rushed into your brother's workplace and they got into a fight that turned physical," the police officer stated. "It's up to you now to see how you plan on resolving this. Do you wish to settle it out of court, or do you want to press charges?" Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Louis got up all of a sudden. "Let's just leave it. We don't need to press charges."

"So sorry about this, but could you please give me a moment to discuss this with him?" Leanna said to the police officer.

He nodded and walked off.

Leanna pulled Louis aside. "Louis, tell me everything that happened, and don't leave anything out."