Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Not long after Mary fell gravely ill, the wedding between him and Leanne was all set. Carl by marriage became even more stubborn about not returning what was owed.

“You’re marrying into the Richardson family who are loaded! They don’t need our little house. Are you trying to drive us to the poorhouse or what?”

Growing up, people were taught all these high-minded morals so as to shape oneself into a beacon of integrity. But once you stepped into the real world, you quickly realized that it didn’t give two hoots about your principles.

Try reasoning with a bulldozer like Carl was a dead end.

Over the years, Leanne had made several attempts to reclaim her family’s possessions, but to no avail.

But now, with divorce from Curtis on the horizon, her ties with the Richardson family were about to be severed.

She wanted her parents’ belongings back and reclaim her childhood home.

Leanne didn’t know how Violet managed to convince stubborn Carl. But within days, she received a call.

“Leanne…” Violet stammered on the phone, “I’ve had a word with Carl. We’ll pack up and leave tomorrow. We know we messed up and..

Leanne cut her off, “I’m at work. If there’s nothing else, I gotta go.”

“Oh, no, that’s all. I just wanted to say I’ll come by tomorrow to hand over the keys.”

ust FedEx them to me,” Leanne said curtly..

The keys arrived sooner than expected, making things a bit easier for her. Although Leanne wasn’t afraid of a legal fight, it was a hassle, time-consuming and draining. And she wanted no further entanglement with that side of the family.

However, claiming her inheritance became a bureaucratic nightmare, involving a carousel of government offices and endless paperwork.

After pulling an all-nighter at the hospital, Leanne trudged home to find her housekeeper, Laura, chattering away. “Mr. Curtis has been coming home more often lately. It’s like your two have synced schedules. When you’re here, he’s gone, and vice versa. Just yesterday, you

missed each other by a hair.”

Leanne had been swamped, dashing from dawn till dusk.

“Is he coming home tonight?” she asked Laura after finishing her breakfast.

give him a call?”

“Maybe later.”

Exhausted, Leanne told Laura to take the day off and crashed into bed, sleeping till noon.

The quiet villa felt serene as she took her time getting things done. Leanne packed up her two cats into carriers and handed them over to an elderly neighbor in building 12, carefully explaining pet care tips before leaving her contact info in case he needed her help.

The old gentleman wasn’t at all as Laura described him. He wasn’t quirky or strange from living alone for so long. As she was about to leave, he even asked her to stay a bit longer: “How about a cup of coffee before you take off? I bet you can’t find coffee like mine anywhere else.”

“I’ll take you up on that coffee another time,” Leanne said with a smile:

Back home, she rang up Curtis.

Curtis was on his way to a meeting, trailed by a pack of suit-clad executives. His Italian designer shoes tapped a crisp rhythm on the floor. He paused upon seeing Leanne’s call, _gesturing for the others to go ahead while he stepped to the panoramic window to

answer.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, he answered with a lazy smirk, “What’s up, busy bee? Got a minute for me today?”

“You free tonight?” Leanne inquired.

“Tonight?”

tis glanced at his assistant, Caleb, who began to whisper his evening schedule when

is cut in, “I’m free. What’s up?”

aleb was left speechless.

On the phone, Leanne said, “We haven’t talked about the divorce. Let’s settle it once and for all tonight.”

These words made Curtis crawl.

“Finished settling with your aunt, now you want to settle with me?” he jibed sarcastically. “Are you a doctor or the Grim Reaper, going around settling affairs?”

Leanne was silent.

She had been dropped off at Golden Grove Manors by Jake. It wasn’t surprising Curtis knew about it. But Jake was a hypocrite. Curtis’ whereabouts were a tightly kept secret, yet Leanne’s movements were an open book.

Chapter 80

Glancing at his watch, Curtis replied, “Got another meeting. I’ll be home in an hour and at

half.”

“Great. I’ll wait for you,” Leanne said, setting the stage for their final confrontation.