The face that entered her vision was a clear, sculptured face. The man carried the charm and.
grandeur of a prince as though he had strolled right out of a fairytale.
âBlake?â Amelie called out his name, but when she saw him looking at her with a tender look in his eyes, she pursed her lips softly.
Still, she was especially excited to see him. âWhat are you doing here?â
Blake had gone for training recently, and it had been a while since the last time they met..
When he heard her question, a longing look flashed past his angelic, smooth face, but he quickly concealed it with a gentle smile. âIâm here to visit you.â
As he was born with an angelic face, the smile on his face was akin to a polished pearl that made him even more dazzling.
Amelie nodded. âBria has been missing you a lot recently, always telling me that she misses you. out of the blue.â
His smile wavered as he studied her. Is Bria the only one who misses me? He wanted to ask but was afraid to startle her. So, he merely continued to smile silently.
At this time, Brianna had already gone to bed, and Steven was about to fall asleep, too. Naturally, it wasnât appropriate to visit her now.
He lowered his head and stared at the woman who only reached the height of his nose, and the edges of his lip turned tender as he said gently, âI heard from Julia that youâre working on a new project and didnât take any funds from Starlight Media. So, thatâs as good as starting from scratch, right?â
At the mention of her new project, her eyes shone brightly with fiery ambition. âYes,â she said and briefly told him about her own ideas.
As he stood in front of her, her image was reflected in his eyes as a lively, happy pixie, and his heart melted secretly at such an energetic woman whom he found adorable and delightful.
In fact, he wanted to take her under his wing so she wouldnât have to suffer from any difficulties.
When he realized that his thoughts had wandered, he discretely bit his nails into the tips of his fingers as he asked in concern. âIs it tiring?â
âNo.â Her eyes were shining like stars. âIt doesnât make me tired at all to do something which I enjoy.â
He came here because he saw her reputation on the Internet and became concerned, but when she was right before him, happy and well, he wasnât sure if he should be happy or disappointed.
In his heart, he yearned for this woman to need him and rely on him. However, he also didnât want her to be upset.
Blake knew that he might have to keep this affection for her locked in his heart for the rest of his life.
He hung his head in resignation and whipped out a card after a while. âI know that youâre good at business, and I would like to make some extra money. May I join you as a shareholder?â he asked, without looking at her because he was worried that she would see through his true intentions.
Even though he knew that she was a capable woman and had it all handled, he still wanted to help her.
He still wanted to silently share and reduce her burdens but was afraid that she wouldnât accept his help. Hence, he proposed his intention of becoming a shareholder instead.
Of course, Amelie knew what he had in mind, but she didnât say anything about it and merely smiled. âI still have the money from you. What amount of money would you like to invest? Iâll just the money from there.â
use âThat amount is what I owed to you.â When she brought up the past again, his face fell, looking discouraged. âBack then, you spent money and time on me. Not to mention the amount, even a billion isnât enough to pay you back.â
Unfortunately, before she could say anything to dissuade him of that notion, he had hastily stuffed the card into her hands forcefully and said, âYou know that I canât be figure-skating all my life, and Iâll be retired in a few more years. I donât want to be without any security at that time. So, from now onward, Iâll pass you all the money I earn, and youâll manage it for me!â
Heâs betting all of his riches on me, she realized, feeling rather stressed.
Nevertheless, he had a point; figure skating was a career he could pursue as long as he was young, and nobody knew how long live commerce could sustain him.
So, his decision to save for a rainy day and make more investments when he could had been honestly the correct path to take.
âOkay, Iâll take you in as a shareholder. She decided to keep his card. âWhen I get home later, Iâll allocate you the shares according to the amount of money.â
Once Blake saw that she had accepted the money, he became very satisfied and nodded at agreeably everything she said. They chatted for a little longer, but he felt worried for her because she had been busy the whole day. So, even though he wanted to stay by her side for a few more minutes, he finally decided to say goodbye and left.
As Amelie watched his slender back silhouette, she smiled softly, lowered her head, and wanted to keep the card away in her bag. Yet, before the card could slip in, she felt it vanish between her She thought that she was getting robbed, so she raised her head in shock, and her eyes met a pair of icy eyes without warning.
Besides the chill, there was also anger, and the man furrowed his brows as his stunning face was filled with emotions.
âL-Leo Alston?â Amelie stammered his name and couldnât stop herself from looking around. Did he have a business dinner around my house or what?
âWhy didnât you tell me that you need money?â He frowned deeply, and the look on his face. remained angry. âIâm Briaâs father!â
She thought, But Iâm not in need of money.
Leo whisked out his wallet from his pocket, flipped it open, picked out a card, and handed it to her.
âIâm sorry, Mr. Alston, but did you get the wrong idea about something?â She tapped on Blakeâs çard that he was holding in his palm. âI donât want your card. Please return my card to me.â
Leoâs scowl became deeper when he saw that she was insistent on him returning Blakeâs card to her.
âWhatâs your relationship with him? Did you have sex already?â
His direct and rude words stabbed through her chest, and her face turned rigid and pale.
The polite smile she carried in the beginning gradually disappeared, and slowly, it turned into a stony expression.
âMr. Alston, this is my personal life. I donât need to report my life to you.â
For the sake of novelty, he and Elyse had played her like a fool. Although she didnât want to question him over that matter, it didnât mean that he could push her around without any limits.
Her cold voice was akin to a knife made out of pure ice as it pierced him right in the chest and was excruciating.
She didnât clarify their relationship and merely blamed him for intervening in her personal life. â Clearly, she had something going on with Blake.
So, it wasnât his motherâs coercion that she broke off all connections with Starlight Media, but she purely wanted to be with Blake?
Heâs just a pretty boy, he scoffed silently. Whatâs so special about him that she likes? Does she have no taste at all?
At the same time, his face turned into a myriad of colors, from pale to utterly fuming crimson the next, looking very nasty.
It became even worse when he imagined her underneath Blake in sweet lovemaking. It was as though a bowl of acid had spilled over his chest-burning hot and painful!
âIâm not interfering in your personal life. I just want to remind you that youâve promised my mom that youâll raise Bria with the money you earned, and Iâm here to supervise you. If you canât do that, send Bria back as soon as possible!â
His words were cold and heartless, and when he finished speaking, he tossed Blakeâs card at her chest. But he didnât leave immediately and merely watched her with dark, gloomy eyes as though waiting to see if she would really pick up Blakeâs card.
Amelie found it amusing and sneered when she heard his insults to her character.
Was she so timid in the past that it left a stereotype in the minds of the Alstons that she was useless and couldnât make a living for herself besides depending on a man?
âDonât worry, Mr. Alston.â When she spoke again, her voice was bitterly cold and without a shard of emotion. âI wonât use anyone elseâs money since I already said that I wonât. If youâre still worried, you can investigate and find out whether Iâm capable of raising Bria or not.â Then, she took a deep breath and spoke in an even icier voice, âAt the same time, I wish that once youâre done with the investigations, youâll stop showing up in front of me to insult me. Even if I did cling to you without dignity in the past, that was in the past. The Alstons had trampled on my dignity for four years as punishment.
We should be even now.â
After she said all that, she raised her chin indifferently and left without a backward glance. Behind her, Leo stared at her back quietly, pursing his lips as tightly as he could.
He was here to give her some money so she wouldnât be forced into a corner, but when he saw her smiling at Blake and taking his card, a boiling fury ignited in his chest, and he started blurting all sorts of demeaning words.
Nevertheless, he snapped back to reality once his phone started ringing. Only then did he set his emotions aside and pick up the call. When he left, he called Victorâs number.
âInvestigate something for me.â