Chapter 158
After her rage subsided, a profound sense of helplessness washed over her.
Leanne sat at the desk, effectively trapped by him. She could neither run nor hide.
She stared into Curtis’ brooding eyes, his dogged determination not to relent until he had his answers, and she felt exhausted.
He fell for another girl, yet he consistently brought up Phillip as if she were the one who had betrayed their marriage.
“Curtis, what do you want? Why do you have to push me like this?”
His grip on her loosened slightly, his fingertips grazing her cheek gently, his once forceful tone mellowing as he coaxed her.
“I’m not pushing you. Just be good and answer me, okay?”
Leanne was indeed someone who responded better to a gentle touch. She pursed her lips. and faced off with Curtis for a moment before she replied. “I see Phillip as family, like Mary was to me, a relative who’s always been kind. Is that enough for you?”
Curtis’ heart felt like a heavy bell, struck by a dull clapper, vibrating ominously in his chest. “Then why did you tell Mom you wanted to marry him? That didn’t make sense
“I was thinking of Mary’s wishes, okay? I just wanted to get through three years. peacefully. Phillip is more reliable than you,” Leanne said softly, “He wouldn’t mistreat me.”
Curtis’ heart sank as if it was suffocating every organ within him.
Past events cascaded through his mind like a fast-rewinding film, eventually shattering into sharp, fragmented pieces that jabbed at every nerve.
“Is that all?” Curtis pressed.
“What else is there?”
“You don’t love him?” Curtis asked again.
Leanne replied, “I never said I loved him.”
Curtis’ hand tightened around her waist as he realized he had misunderstood something.
It was a colossal, ludicrous mistake.
He swallowed hard, continuing his interrogation. “If you don’t love Phillip, why did you stare at him the day when he introduced Tina Watson as his fiancée? After dinner, why did you seek him out to ask if he loved Tina Watson?”
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Chapter 158
Leanne took a moment to recall the events he mentioned.
Phillip’s engagement was around the time of Devin’s birthday party.
The words Curtis had said that day had shattered her self-esteem, plunging her repeatedly into a whirlpool of self-doubt and identity crisis.
She felt unworthy of love, just as she always had.
How could she have ever thought Curtis truly loved her? It was all her wishful thinking.
He must find her laughable, right? Cheap and foolish, easily won over by the slightest bit of affection.
At that time, she felt like she was on the edge of a cliff, about to tumble into the abyss.
She would daydream incessantly, and at night, the vast emptiness of the bridal suite engulfed her alone, its hollow silence devouring her soul.
She suffered through sleepless nights, her childhood nightmares returning, and even when sleep finally came, it was fitful.
On the day Phillip brought his fiancée home, she saw Curtis again.
They sat on the same side of the dining table, far from each other.
She didn’t dare look in his direction, frightened of encountering his icy, mocking gaze. She had already shed her protective shell around him, making her too vulnerable to injury.
Throughout dinner, each bite was a struggle to swallow. Everything Leanne ate threatened to come back up.
Across the table, Phillip and Tina seemed like a contrasting image to her and Curtis.
Tina was the pampered princess of a high-profile family. Her engagement to Phillip was much like Leanne’s to Curtis, arranged by their parents, a transaction devoid of affection. Yet, they treated each other with mutual respect. Phillip was gentle and considerate with her.
After dinner, when Leanne escorted Mary back to her room, she bumped into Phillip in the hallway.
Tina needed the restroom but had a poor sense of direction in the vast layout of the Richardson Manor, so Phillip escorted her personally, waiting outside the door.
Leanne called out “Phillip” and was about to leave when she couldn’t help but ask, “Do you love Ms. Watson?”
Phillip replied, “In my position, love isn’t the most important thing.”
Leanne hadn’t realized Curtis had overheard.
As she was about to speak again, Curtis continued, “That day, you looked at Tina with
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Chapter 158
envy. Why?”
Why, indeed?
“Because I was envious. Tina’s got parents and lots of people who love her. Even if Phillip doesn’t love her, he can offer her dignity and respect. Not like me. I’ve got nothing. People can push someone like me around without any consequences, so you can play with my feelings without remorse, trampling my dignity underfoot.”
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