Chapter 137

Chapter 137 I Invited Them

Carly had only just come out of the bathroom in the hospital suite she was staying in when she saw her

mother holding up a basket of flowers. Surprised, she asked, “Who is it from?”

Marilyn’s face looked pinched as she said grimly, “Aidan.”

Taken aback by this, Carly pressed, “Aidan? But the Pearsons have already sent me gifts. Why would

he—”

“Heaven knows,” Marilyn cut her off agitatedly. “It’s a personal gift from him, apparently.”

Carly was even more bewildered after hearing this. Aidan had never been on good terms with the

Barnetts even though they were technically in-laws due to Zayn and Anna’s union. Their allegiance lay

with Gordon, a fact that only added more strain to their relationship with Aidan.

Under these circumstances, it was abnormal for Aidan to send Carly flowers to congratulate her on her

newborn.

“Isn’t he and Georgina getting married soon? Could she have been the one that asked him to send the

flowers?” Marilyn guessed.

“No.” Carly shook her head, “Georgina can’t ask Aidan to do anything. No one can.” The more she

thought about plausible reasons behind these flowers, the more uneasy she felt. One might call her

paranoid, but she knew that something must be very wrong if Aidan was sending her flowers out of the

blue.

Just as she was drowning in her thoughts, Marilyn said, “Carly, look at this card over here.”

“Let me see.” Carly took the card and opened it. When she saw the inscription, all the color drained

from her face.

At the sight of this, Marilyn asked frantically, “Are you okay? What does the card say?”

Snapping out of her daze, Carly quickly shook her head and hid the card behind her. “N-Nothing,” she

lied. “It’s just your run-of-the-mill blessing.”

Thankfully, the baby woke up and started crying in the crib, prompting Marilyn to hurry over to soothe

him. Carly sat on the bed, and even though the thermostat was turned up, she still could not help the

chill that spread throughout her limbs after reading the card.

Aidan had not written that line on the card without reason. He must have found out I was the one who

pushed Leanna into the water!

Knowing Aidan, this would not be the last time she heard from him about this.

…

The next morning, it was evident that Gordon was still unhappy about Aidan’s sudden return to the

family estate, and he made a point of it by looking grim throughout breakfast.

Meanwhile, Sienna looked as indifferent as ever, but Anna had her head down the entire time, not

daring to make a sound.

The only person who was unaffected by the brewing tension was Justin, who said, “Isn’t it great that

Aidan’s back? He hasn’t stayed on the estate for years. Now that you’re back, you should definitely

stay longer.”

Gordon’s face grew even darker when he heard that, but he made no reply.

A smile curled on Aidan’s lips as he said, “I should. It’s not every day that I don’t have to fret over

company matters.”

He had only just said this when Gordon slammed his utensils down on the table. Thereafter, he rose

and left for his study with his walking stick in hand.

Sienna wasted no time dabbing the corners of her mouth with the napkin and following Gordon into the

study.

Not wanting to be left alone with the others at the table, Anna got up as well and hurried after her aunt

and uncle.

A few seconds later, Justin pointed out, “You ought to keep Leanna company now that you’re back,

Aidan. I’m sure she could use a familiar face around here.”

“Really?” Aidan cast a perfunctory look at Leanna, who was determined to finish her oatmeal instead of

looking up at him. “I don’t know, she seems pretty happy here.”

Leanna almost choked on her oatmeal.

Justin laughed and began to roll away from the table. “The weather is splendid this morning. I’ll be

going for a stroll in the garden. I’m sure you guys have plenty to catch up on anyway.”

In truth, Leanna had nothing to say to Aidan. She was sure her lifespan would shorten if she were to

have to deal with him and his less-than-friendly conversation.

After breakfast, she habitually rose to head back to her room, but she had only just gotten on her feet

when she saw the maid leading two figures into the dining room. “These two claim they’re from Lux

Magazine,” the maid explained.

Leanna turned to see none other than Zoe standing next to the maid, throwing meaningful glances in

her direction.

Having heard the commotion outside, Gordon came bustling out of the study and asked with a frown,

“Who are these people and what are they doing here?”

Much to everyone’s surprise, Aidan said curtly, “I invited them.”

Already displeased with Aidan’s unannounced return, Gordon grew even angrier when he heard this,

and his face was stormy as he snapped, “What for?”

Shrugging, Aidan answered nonchalantly, “For an exclusive.”

Gordon was rendered speechless by this, and for a second, he was convinced that the younger man

was out of his mind. Most times, he could care less about what Aidan did, but to have a couple of

journalists show up at the house for an exclusive was going too far.

Needless to say, Gordon was incensed, so much so that he was at a loss for words. In the end, he

struck the floor with his walking stick as if to express his grim mood and turned to go into the study.

In truth, Leanna was not expecting this either, so she was confused as well.

Across from her, Zoe looked around and made sure that no one else was around, then jogged up to

Leanna and tugged her sleeve. “Earth to Leanna.”

Leanna snapped out of her reverie and registered her friend’s presence. “Zoe, what are you—”

Without waiting for Zoe to answer, Aidan interrupted by glancing at the other journalist who came with

her and said impassively, “Come on.”

He started walking out of the dining room, and the journalist hurried after him.

Seizing this chance, Zoe whispered to Leanna, “Where’s your room? We’ll talk once we’re behind

closed doors.”

Leanna agreed and led Zoe up to her bedroom. Now that they had privacy, she pressed urgently, “Zoe,

what’s going on? Why did Aidan agree to an exclusive by Lux Magazine? And what are you doing

here?”

“I’ve been worried about you ever since the Pearsons took you away,” Zoe explained. “So, I figured the

only way I could get any news of you is through Aidan. I ended up going to Pearson Group.”

After Leanna was taken away that night, she managed to tell Zoe that she would be living with the

Pearsons for the time being and that she wouldn’t be going to work at Lux Magazine for a while, though

she did emphasize that there was nothing to worry about.

However, Zoe couldn’t help fretting over her safety. Leanna was heavily pregnant when the Pearsons

took her away. The Pearson Family Estate was basically hell on Earth, and it was only natural for Zoe

to be concerned about her friend’s well-being.

As such, she sought Aidan’s help, only to be surprised when he agreed to let her drop by the estate to

visit Leanna.

“I’m serious, Leanna. I know he might be a jerk at times, but he really pulls through during a crisis, and

he even agreed to let me use an exclusive as subterfuge so that the rest of the Pearsons would stop

picking on you.”

It was a kind and sensible gesture on Aidan’s part, though Leanna still couldn’t understand why he

would go to such lengths.

She was just thinking about this when Zoe added, “What’s the plan now, Leanna? Are you really going

to stay put here for as long as they ask you to?”

Leanna shook her head, and after a moment of thought, she said, “Old Master Pearson is having a

birthday banquet next week; that’s my chance to escape.”

“What are your plans? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No,” Leanna replied. She paused to let the rejection sink in, then continued gravely, “Zoe, no one must

know about my plans to escape and leave Highside.”

“Not even Louis?” Zoe asked.

Leanna nodded. Once she got away from the estate, Aidan would pin his suspicions on Zoe and Louis

first, and he would undoubtedly try to crack them for answers. She could not drag them into this by

having them assist her with her escape.

A beat or two later, she promised Zoe, “I’ll get in touch with you and Louis after everything here at

Highside has been settled.”