Chapter 703 Going Over There in This State
One hour later, Zoe was about to head to bed when she heard her doorbell ringing.
She was rather nonplussed as she went to answer the door. I'm not expecting any parcels and I didn't order takeout either. She opened the door to find Leanna standing there.
Zoe was confused. "Nana? Why did you…"
Leanna had the password to Zoe's house, so she didn't need to use the doorbell.
Just then, a head popped out behind Leanna. Charlotte's eyes were red and puffy. It was clear that she had been crying. She hung her head low and murmured, "I'm sorry, Zoe…"
Zoe paused for a moment. "Are you alright?"
Charlotte nodded. "I'm fine, but you—"
"It's good that you're alright," Zoe cut in. "Let's just leave the past behind us. Come in."
Despite what Zoe said, Charlotte couldn't forgive herself. She kept her head down as she stuck close to Leanna.
Zoe sat down on the couch and stretched. "I'm feeling a bit hungry. Have you girls eaten yet?"
"Not yet," Leanna replied. "What do you feel like eating? I'll make some food for you."
Zoe stopped her. "Just sit down and relax. I'll order takeout. There's a new restaurant that just opened right around the corner. I heard that the food's pretty good. I've been meaning to try it."
She took out her phone before asking quietly, "Should I… order something for President Pearson too?"
Leanna smiled. "You don't have to worry about him."
Zoe exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness."
She turned to Charlotte. "What do you feel like eating, Charlotte?"
Charlotte was sitting rigidly on the couch. She quickly raised her head when she heard Zoe addressing her. "Huh? I-I'm… fine… No. I mean… I'm not hungry…"
"How can you not be hungry when you haven't eaten all night?" Zoe commented. "I'll just order a few things for us then."
"Don't get anything spicy," Leanna reminded. "You can't have spicy food."
Zoe leaned against the couch and pouted. "I know that. I'll just order some for you two and watch you eat. Can't I at least live vicariously through you?"
She had been holding back for too long now, so she ended up ordering nearly every item on the menu.
When the food arrived, the women could barely fit everything on the dining table.
Zoe stared at the cluttered table in silence for a moment before suggesting, "Perhaps… you could get President Pearson to come over…"
"It's fine," Leanna said. "I'll just take some back to him later."
She knew everyone would feel a lot more at ease without Aidan around.
Zoe grabbed eight boxes of takeout and passed them over to Leanna. "Let's set all of these aside for him."
Leanna was speechless.
"I don't think he can finish all of that," she mused.
Zoe agreed, so after mulling it over for a moment, she suggested, "Why don't we invite Louis over? I'll give Daphne a call too!"
In the end, the late-night supper for three turned into a much larger gathering.
Louis would always come over immediately whenever Leanna called him unless he was busy.
Meanwhile, Pearson Group's anniversary celebration had just ended and Daphne was hungry too. She had been planning on getting some food when she got Zoe's call.
As it was rather late at night, there was barely any traffic and soon, both Louis and Daphne arrived.
"Don't take the leftovers back to President Pearson, Nana," Zoe said. "Just invite him over. I don't want him to say that we left him out on purpose."
Leanna chuckled. "Alright."
When she went back next door, Aidan was on a call with what sounded like someone from Arcburg.
Leanna didn't disrupt his call. Instead, she went into the bedroom to change her clothes.
By the time she came back out, Aidan was also done with his call.
Leanna walked over to him. "Zoe—"
As soon as she started speaking, Aidan held her and pressed her against the couch.
Leanna looked up at him and blinked. "What are you doing?"
Aidan wrapped one arm around her waist before clutching her hand with the ring and bringing it to the front. "At a time like this, shouldn't you be spending your time with me?" he murmured. "Where are you heading off to?"
Leanna chuckled. "I spend time with you every day."
"How's that the same?"
"How is it not the same?"
"By the way, you seem to have forgotten something," Aidan remarked.
"What is it?" Leanna queried.
Aidan stared deeply into her eyes and drawled, "When are we registering our marriage?"
Leanna froze. She was about to respond when Aidan added, "Don't try to get out of it. You said yes when I proposed in Taevaia."
"That's true, but…"
"Did you plan on waiting for an auspicious day?" Aidan remarked.
That was just the reminder Leanna needed. She nodded along and said, "Registering our marriage is a big deal. We should pick a good day for it. We wouldn't want to start off our marriage with bad luck."
"You're right, so that's why I've already checked the dates. Tomorrow just so happens to be a very auspicious day. It won't come around for another hundred years."
Leanna was dumbstruck.
Before she could say anything, Aidan's lips crashed against hers. He easily pried her lips open and launched an invasion.
Leanna gasped. She remembered that the others were still waiting on them next door before they started eating so she quickly tried to push Aidan off.
Alas, Aidan took her rejection as bashfulness instead. He took her hands and locked them above her while his other hand roamed down to her waist before slowly creeping up again.
Leanna's breath turned a little ragged.
The atmosphere grew hot and heavy.
At last, Aidan let go of her lips and began planting kisses down her face and neck. His scorching breath was a little tight as he tried his best to take it slow.
Just as he was about to move things along, the sound of the doorbell killed the mood.
Leanna snapped back into her senses and shoved him off before sitting up.
Zoe's voice came in through the door. "Are you two coming over soon, Nana?"
"G-Give me a minute," Leanna responded in a rush. "You guys can start eating. I'll be right over."
"Hurry up. The food's getting cold."
"Okay."
After answering Zoe, Leanna turned around and caught Aidan's displeased gaze. She quickly explained, "I came over to tell you that we're all having supper. You're the one who didn't give me a chance to speak."
Aidan was speechless.
Leanna adjusted her clothes and got to her feet. "Anyway, let's go over. They're all waiting for us. Louis and Daphne are here too."
Aidan ran his tongue over his teeth and glanced down. His voice was a little hoarse as he asked, "How am I supposed to go over there in this state?"
Leanna held back her laughter and said, "Well… you can just stay here then. I'll bring you some food later."
"I'll be waiting," Aidan declared through gritted teeth as he fixed his eyes on her.
Leanna sensed impending danger and quickly fled.
She paused outside Zoe's house and took out her phone. She tidied up her hair and patted her reddened cheeks. Once her breathing was even, she keyed in the password and went in.
Zoe noticed that she came over alone and asked, "Where's President Pearson, Nana?"
"He's… not hungry. Let's just eat. We don't need to worry about him."
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