Chapter 4

Leo took the papers and started to open them. "What is th—"

"Ah!" A scream exploded nearby. Ava had twisted her ankle dancing in heels. "It hurts..."

Leo's expression changed on the spot. He scribbled his name down without even looking and rushed over. "What are you all doing? Can't you even take care of Ava? I'll carry you to the hospital..."

Luna stood frozen, watching her husband panic over another woman. Just as he was about to leave, Leo suddenly turned back. "Luna, it's pouring outside..." For one second, she thought he was about to show concern for her. Then he saw the umbrella in her hand, and his eyes lit up. "Ava's hurt. She can't get wet. Figure out your own way home." He didn't even wait for Luna to answer before snatching the umbrella away.

It was raining so hard outside that Luna was trapped at the company entrance. The curtain of rain was so thick it looked like a wall. "The car's right outside..." she said without thinking. Then her eyes fell on the rain, and she saw Leo open the umbrella and wrap an arm around Ava as they ran for the car, not once looking back. It was only ten steps, but he still couldn't bear to let Ava get hit by so much as a single raindrop.

Five years ago, on their wedding day, it had rained just as hard. Back then, Leo had only cared about shielding her with the umbrella, leaving half his own shoulder soaked. "In this life, I'll only ever hold an umbrella for one person—Luna Quinn. I'll take care of you for the rest of my life, until the day I die."

Back then, she'd smiled till her eyes turned red. Now she was walking alone in the rain, dripping from head to toe, while her heart bled just as hard. So that forever of his had only lasted five years.

When she got home, she curled up on the leather couch and shook from the cold. She didn't turn on the lights. She made no sound. She stayed like that until the front door opened. Leo jumped when he saw the figure on the couch. Once he realized it was her, he frowned. "Luna? Why are you... shaking like that?" The sight of her shivering set off his anger. He turned and barked at the servants, "Mrs. Stone caught a cold and none of you took care of her? None of you thought to contact me? Are you all useless or what—"

"Don't yell at them," Luna cut in. "Didn't you take my umbrella? The car was right at the door. You could've run a few steps and been fine." Luna's voice was tired to the bone. "You couldn't bear to let her get rained on for even a second, but you could leave me in the rain for half an hour." Leo turned his head away, guilty.

"Luna, I was afraid Ava would catch a cold if she got soaked, so for a moment... I didn't think about you..." He loosened his tie and softened his tone again. "I'll call the family doctor over. Don't be mad at me, okay? The day after tomorrow is Uncle Oliver's birthday banquet. He's a major shareholder in the company. I picked out a few jewelry sets for you. See which one you like, okay?"

He crooked a finger, and the assistant behind him immediately stepped forward and presented several velvet boxes with both hands. Luna only glanced at them. She was too tired, too tired to even speak, and just gave a faint nod.

Uncle Oliver was her real uncle, and over the years he'd helped Leo plenty for her sake. Some things really did need to be made clear to him face-to-face.