Chapter 5
As soon as Leslie walked into the hospital, her mother threw herself into her arms, crying her heart out. "Leslie, what are we going to do? Felix is still so young, and those people are accusing him of molesting a girl.
"They even threatened to tear his arm off. But Felix is such a good kid. How could he ever do something like that?"
Leslie's head was already pounding. After finally getting her mom to calm down and fall asleep, she curled up by Felix's bedside, feeling lightheaded and exhausted. Before she knew it, she drifted off into a hazy sleep.
When Leslie woke up, she saw Felix struggling to cover her with a blanket using just one hand.
Seeing her awake, Felix gave her a shy smile. "Leslie, you're up. Don't worry. Mom was really scared yesterday. Those guys mistook me for someone else. After they beat me up, they took me to the hospital and even paid for everything."
Leslie didn't say a word. She gently touched Felix's forehead, then turned to check the home surveillance cameras.
When she spotted those familiar faces, a cold shiver shot through her.
Those thugs were clearly Edward's guys.
'How could Edward go this far?' Leslie thought.
Without a second thought, Leslie hailed a cab and headed straight for the Fleming Group. The receptionist tried to stop her, but Leslie just whipped out her marriage certificate and slammed it down on the desk.
"Am I allowed in or not?" Leslie demanded.
"No, Mrs. Fleming, Mr. Fleming is still busy and can't see anyone right now. Please, Mrs. Fleming—" the receptionist stammered.
Leslie shoved the door open and stormed in, only to find Joanne perched on Edward's lap, feeding him a grape.
"Edward, do you even have a conscience?" Leslie demanded.
Joanne gasped and tried to scramble off his lap, but Edward just tightened his grip around her waist, not the least bit fazed by being caught red-handed. He casually twirled a strand of Joanne's hair between his fingers.
"Leslie, are you losing it again?" Edward drawled, sounding utterly uninterested.
"Edward, why did you have your guys rough up Felix?" Leslie demanded.
"Felix?" Edward frowned, a hint of annoyance crossing his face.
Before he could respond, Joanne said timidly, "I'm sorry, Edward. You told your men to protect me, and someone suddenly rushed up and grabbed me. I was so scared, I couldn't see who it was.
"I remembered he was wearing a white hat, so I pointed at him. I had no idea I got the wrong person, and I didn't know he was your brother.
"But he wasn't seriously hurt. As soon as I realized it was the wrong person, I stopped them immediately, and I paid a lot for the medical bills."
Edward gave Joanne a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then finally looked up at Leslie. "Relax, it was a mix-up. Felix is already in the hospital, nothing serious. And he got paid just for getting beaten up. Easy money.
"Count yourself lucky. Most people would never get a chance like that."
Leslie felt her vision blur, her ears buzzing. She'd always thought Edward didn't like her. That was why he acted so cruelly toward her. But she never realized he was so rotten inside.
All those years of crushing on him hit her like a hard slap to the face.
Her blood surged, and she actually spat out blood. Through her dazed eyes, she saw Edward's expression suddenly shift.
'How disgusting,' Leslie thought.
When Leslie woke up, she found herself in a hospital room. Edward was leaning over her bedside, still holding her hand tightly.
"You're awake?" Edward asked.
As soon as Leslie moved, Edward's eyes snapped open, his eyes still bloodshot.
He asked, "Are you feeling any better? Why didn't you call the family doctor when you had a fever?
"I already had Felix moved to the best hospital and got the top doctors for him. Joanne paid a lot for the medical bills. She's always been nervous, so let's leave it at that."
Leslie felt exhausted. Edward pretended to care about her, but every word was really for Joanne. She was so disappointed, she just closed her eyes and said nothing.
Edward took her silence as agreement and let out a sigh of relief.
"Alright, don't be upset. I'll get you some gifts over the next few days. Didn't you say you liked that jewelry last time? I'll have someone bring it over for you," Edward said.
The silence between them was heavy. After lingering for a bit, Edward made an excuse and walked out.
For the next few days, Edward never showed up in the hospital room, but news about him followed Leslie everywhere.
In that private chat group, posts about Edward and Joanne showing up together at all the big events were blowing up and going viral. Their couple hashtag even racked up over ten million hits.
News about how perfect they looked together was dominating the trending charts, and fans were going wild.
[Oh my god, this is literally a romance novel come to life! A charming CEO and an innocent girl. They're just made for each other!]
[I heard Mr. Fleming had a first love back in school, but they never actually met. Guess what I found when I did some digging?]
[Check out that side profile. Who else could it be but Joanne? Plus, I discovered Joanne was at that school during that exact time.]
[Seriously? So they're finally reunited after years apart? No wonder Mr. Fleming, who used to be such a player, only has eyes for Joanne now. Turns out she's his first love. Do you guys think he's figured it out yet?]