The fragrance of food wafted through the house.
Hearing footsteps at the door, Naomi came out. "Leanna, Aidan, take a seat. Food will be ready in a minute."
Leanna then volunteered, "Let me help you, Ms. Fletcher." Saying that, she took off her coat and handed it to Aidan before entering the kitchen.
Aidan took it and raised his eyebrows.
Naomi said, "It's fine. I'll be done soon."
"You should've been asleep by this hour, but we still came to bother you."
"It's no big deal. I live here alone, and it gets lonely sometimes. I'm really glad that you guys came to visit me!"
"You actually… live alone here?"
Naomi seemed not to notice anything and replied, "Yes. What's wrong?"
Leanna smiled and shook her head. "It's nothing. I just recalled that Ms. Shaffer mentioned that she was going to stay with you, so I thought you two…"
"Oh, Ms. Shaffer." Naomi grabbed the cutleries while uttering, "You know how restless she is. It's too quiet here, so after staying for a while, she went on a trip with her friends. She's now having so much fun."
Hearing that, Leanna did not prod further. Sure enough, she was just overthinking.
After eating, Naomi spoke, "It's getting late now. I've already tidied the room. You should head up and rest."
Leanna had already slept on the way here, so she wasn't drowsy at all. She decided to volunteer to clear the table. "Ms. Fletcher, go to bed. I'll clean up."
"Sure." After saying that, Naomi went back to her room.
Once Leanna cleared the table and was about to wash it in the basin, someone snatched the plates away.
"Go and rest. I'll do it," said Aidan.
Leanna couldn't bear to dispel his enthusiasm, but she also started feeling bad for the dishes.
After leaving the kitchen and sitting on the couch for less than five minutes, she heard the sound of plates breaking.
One was a plate while the other was a spatula.
Leanna was so used to it that she didn't even raise her head. Twenty minutes later, Aidan came out with a long face.
Leanna sincerely praised him, "Seems like it went well today. At least, you only broke one plate."
"Shut up."
Hearing that, she couldn't help but smirk, feeling lighter than before.
Aidan yanked his tie off with one hand, saying, "I'm going to take a shower."
Only then did Leanna notice that most parts of his shirt were wet.
He managed to make himself drenched just by washing the dishes. How incredible.
"Huh…" Leanna quickly spoke, "Is there only one room?"
After taking a few steps, he turned around and questioned, "What did you expect?"
Leanna couldn't help pouting. She knew this would happen.
Once Aidan went upstairs, Leanna stayed on the couch and hugged her knees while looking out the window, seemingly in thought.
Just then, the door to the bedroom beside the couch was opened. Naomi walked out and spoke, "You're still awake."
"Ms. Fletcher…" Leanna snapped out of her daze.
Naomi took a seat beside her and inquired, "Is work taking a toll on you? Seems like you lost a lot of weight."
In response, Leanna chuckled. "Isn't it summer now? It's the best time to lose some weight."
"Nonsense. Why would you lose more weight when you're so skinny?"
Leanna then changed the subject. "Are you used to living alone here?"
"I'm used to it after living alone for such a long time. Staying anywhere is the same for me," replied Naomi in a light tone.
That was true.
After a while, Leanna continued, "Ms. Fletcher, have you been living here since you left Underwood Lane?"
Naomi paused before saying, "I've stayed elsewhere too."
Leanna's eyes suddenly lit up. "W-Where?"
"In Weavside, but I couldn't get used to it. So, I moved here."
The light in Leanna's eyes dimmed little by little, and after a few seconds, she nodded in agreement. "Weavside is actually quite busy. Only Underwood Lane has the quietest neighborhood."
Naomi agreed with a hum. "What about you? I saw the news circulating on the Internet recently. Is it affecting you a lot?"
"Well, I wouldn't say it affects me a lot, but it's quite frustrating. Problems are coming at me one after another like endless waves," replied Leanna.
"Take your time to sort it out. Everything will eventually come to an end."
This time, Leanna suggested, "Once everything is settled, come back with us to Highside."
"We'll see by then." Naomi chuckled.
Leanna totally understood how Naomi must have gotten used to living alone. Even though she might feel lonely occasionally, it was better than having to deal with troublesome matters all day long. Honestly speaking, being alone was quite pleasant sometimes.
Naomi then got up and said, "Alright. I'm going to sleep now. You should rest up soon. Don't you have to get up early and return to Highside tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Okay. Goodnight, Ms. Fletcher."
After Naomi returned to her room, Leanna also went upstairs. The moment she opened the door, she saw Aidan, who just came out of the bathroom. His dark hair was still wet from the shower.
Their eyes met for a few seconds.
Leanna was a little speechless. She then asked, "Why aren't you wearing anything?"
"They're wet." He sounded pretty righteous.
She could feel her ears getting warm now. "Can't you just… get something to cover up a little?"
"Which part of me have you not seen?" he questioned.
Unable to win him, Leanna went into the bathroom.
Although she didn't bring any change of clothes, at least her clothes were dry, so she could still wear them after taking a shower. It was better than that b*stard who wasn't wearing anything at all.
After taking a shower and going out, she saw that Aidan was already lying on the bed.
Leanna's eyelids twitched. She really didn't want to sleep with him.
Now that she was lying down, she huddled near the side of the bed, keeping a distance from him. Not long after, however, a warm body crept up beside her.
The man's breath was right behind her ears, and his voice was hoarse and flirty, "Why are you wearing the same clothes?"
Leanna gulped and replied, "I didn't change."
"Take it off, then. It smells."
She stubbornly grabbed the hem of her clothes to prevent him from getting his way. "You won't be able to smell it if you don't come so close to me."
Aidan was speechless at that. Then, he continued seducing her, "I won't smell it either if you take it off."
Leanna knew what he was up to, so she furrowed her brows and asked in a hushed voice, "Are you trying to do it here? There's nothing here."
Planting a kiss on her temple, he uttered, "We can just have a baby."
"No way."
"Why?"
"I don't want to get pregnant," Leanna responded while turning her back against him.
This time, Aidan pulled her back and uttered, "Don't you like kids?"
After being silent for a while, she replied, "Liking them is one thing, but if I don't have the ability to protect them, what's the use of having them? Having them just because I like them without considering the actual consequences isn't a responsible thing to do."
"Is it that serious?"
Hearing his nonchalant tone, Leanna couldn't help but kick him in the shin. "If you're so desperate for a child, have one yourself!"
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