Chapter 210Amelie and Toby went to the hospital.Under the cold, harsh light of the hospital, Amelie stood quietly and watched as the doctor tended to Tobyâs wounds.She saw Tobyâs jaw twitching in pain multiple times. Even so, he didnât make a sound.A little while later, they both walked out of the hospital.
Amelie turned to look at Toby, who was covered in bandages all over. âWhy did you get into a fight?âToby averted his eyes and smiled a little embarrassedly. âItâs no big deal. It was just a personal disagreement.âThe more he tried to make light of it, the more Amelie became suspicious. She knew Toby as someone with a gentle personality who wouldnât get into fights with anyone. Furthermore, Leo was his friend and business partner. Thereâs no reason why theyâd get into a fight out of the blue.However, as Toby wasnât inclined to explain any further, Amelie didnât continue pressing him. At the end of the day, their relationship wasnât deep enough for either one to pry into the otherâs private matters.âWhy donât I drop you off?â Amelie asked as she walked over to the car. Toby agreed, but he jumped into the driverâs seat. âIâll drive.âAfter all the commotion tonight, Amelie wasnât in the mood to stand on ceremony with him, so she only hesitated briefly before getting into the front passenger seat.
A yawn escaped Amelie, and she began to feel a little drowsy.All of a sudden, Toby leaned over.Amelieâs gaze cleared a little. She saw him looming in front of her as his arms rested beside her.Their breaths clashed.She nervously shrank back into her seat and was about to speak when she heard a click.âYou forgot to wear your seatbelt,â she heard his gentle voice saying.âOh,â Amelie said a little belatedly.Toby didnât move away at once but looked down at her. âWhat did you think I was going to do?ââNothing.â Amelie brushed her fingers through her hair as she thought to herself, Thereâs something unusual about Toby today. Usually, he would maintain proper decorum and a polite distance between them, but he kept encroaching into her personal space today.Amelie was just about to push Toby away when he retreated on his own accord and started driving.Meanwhile, across from where the car was parked, two men walked over.The coat of the man in front flapped against the wind and exposed his long legs.Leo came to an abrupt halt. Eugene, who was right behind him, nearly crashed into him and had to rear himself back a little to prevent doing so.Eugene noticed that Leo was staring at the parking lot, so he looked over curiously, but all he saw was an empty parking spot. Eugene scratched his head. Whatâs he looking at? Thereâs nothing there.Leoâs mouth tightened, and he clenched his fists. It had only been for a brief moment, but he had seen the position Toby and Amelie had been in. Amelie didnât push Toby away, even though he was so near her. Does she really like him that much?Eugene didnât know what Leo had seen so he had no idea what Leo was thinking about.
However, he could sense the cold air emanating off of Leo and saw the way Leoâs expression hardened. Thus, he dared not say anything and simply stood behind Leo in silence.Amelie napped for a while. When she woke up, she was surprised to find that the car had stopped outside her residence.It took an hour to drive from Clouson City to Halport. Moreover, she said she was going to drop Toby off at his place.âYou were sleeping so soundly that I couldnât bring myself to disturb you,â Toby said warmly.Amelie looked up and saw Toby looking at her with a soft gaze in his eyes. He had a smile on his face that made his features look even more gentle.They were already at Amelieâs doorstep, so there was no point for her to comment on it. âOh,â she acknowledged. âHow are you going to head home?âToby shrugged non-committedly.âWhy donât you drive my car back?â He did drive me home. I canât possibly ask him to get a cab.Toby looked like a mess. It was as if he had been robbed earlier, so few drivers would be willing to stop for him.Since Toby didnât object, Amelie handed him the keys and got out of the car.âElie.â She had only taken a few steps when she heard Tobyâs voice. âI like you. Will you give me a chance to date you?âIt was such a shock to Amelie that she turned to him with a frozen expression.He had gotten out of the car and was leaning against the car with a soft, affectionate look in his eyes as he stared at her.It wasnât as if Amelie hadnât picked up on the fact that Toby harbored feelings for her. However, she didnât expect him to say it aloud. The two of us? Together? Thatâs impossible! âYou donât need to give me an answer now,â Toby cut in when he noticed that Amelie was about to respond. He then walked over to her and gazed at her lovely face. âIâm serious about this. I hope you will give it some serious thought too.â Then, he clasped her on the shoulder briefly before walking back to the car.Amelie stood in front of the car for quite some time. In the end, she turned and left without didnât say anything.Even after she walked off, Toby didnât drive off. He sat inside the car, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.He took in the air that smelled of her. The more he breathed in, the more he wanted to hold her close and protect her for the rest of their lives.As his fingers moved gently across the steering wheel, it looked as if he was comforting the woman he loved.Toby wanted to heal all the wounds Amelie had gotten from Leo. Iâll do it as her man.ââLeo returned to Alston Residence.Melissa was sitting on the leather couch in her nightgown and watching television. She jumped to her feet when she saw him. âLeo! Youâre back at last.âThe joyous smile on her face made it clear she was in a good mood. She had been waiting for Leo.âQuite a few socialites reached out to the family and passed their information to us. Come and take a look.â Melissa held out a folder filled to the brim with paper.It was evident that the socialites had gone to great lengths to prepare these things.No one was happier about the end of Leo and Elyseâs relationship than Melissa.She thought that Leoâs method of cutting the ties would affect the Alstonsâ reputation, but she ended up with an unexpected windfall instead.âIâve looked through the information. These socialites are all highly educatedâthey graduated from Ivy League schools, you know. They carry themselves with poise and conduct themselves with courtesy and sophistication, and every one of them can make an excellent wife for you.âEvery single one of these socialites was far better than Elyse and Amelie. That was what Melissa was most pleased about. Because of this, she even skipped her beauty sleep to stay up and wait for Leo.Naturally, her pride had been stoked as this proved how much of a catch her son was. Otherwise, there wouldnât have been these many socialites who came knocking on their door within a few hours after Leoâs announcement.Leo glanced at the folder, but he didnât take it. He rubbed his temples and said, âIâm not thinking about getting married again right now.ââEven if youâre not thinking about marriage, it doesnât matter. You can start looking for someone suitable and date her first.â Melissa wasnât deterred. She flipped the folder open and picked out a socialite. âThis is the one I like. Her familyâs from Seafare. Theyâre a prestigious family with great connections in both the public and private sectors. Youâve been thinking about expanding into Seafare, right? Sheâs the ideal candidate.âMelissaâs words only made Leoâs frown deepen. His tone became a little colder as he commented, âYouâre not asking me to choose a wife. Youâre asking me to choose a business partner.ââWhom you marry will be your business partner too, of course. Thatâs the case for everyone,â Melissa replied matter-of-factly. âIf you donât go after her, then someone else will because sheâs the cream of the crop. The strong should form alliances with the strong. Thatâs what your father and your grandfather did too.ââThatâs them. Iâm me,â Leo declared before heading upstairs.Melissa was dumbfounded and could only watch as her son walked off in a huff. She sighed in frustration. He finally divorced Amelie and ended his relationship with Elyse. I thought heâd finally marry a woman thatâs his equalâsomeone who can help the company and bolster the family reputation. In the end⦠No! This wonât do! I must think of something!Just then, Miss Potts came over and said, âI think I saw a wound on Mr. Leoâs face, Mrs. Alston.â She had tried her best to hold herself back, but she couldnât resist mentioning it anyway. She knew that all Melissa could think of was how to boost Leoâs standing in society to bolster her own reputation, but she cared little, if at all, about Leo himself.Melissa felt clueless when she heard that Leo was wounded. She had been too caught up in her attempt to persuade Leo and in too much of a rush to get him to check the socialitesâ profiles that she didnât notice if he was injured.Is he injured? Melissaâs reaction to this wasnât to check on Leo but to open the folder and make a call.After listening to the conversation Melissa was having, Miss Potts had no choice but to shake her head and leave feeling rather helpless.