A Matter of Wife and Love

Chapter 372

Chapter 372 It’s Not Because of the Inheritance

In the VIP room, the three of them continued drinking, and no one asked about Ashton. It was as though nothing had happened earlier.

Toby had already donned his signature smile as he strode to Leo and sat beside him. Then, he picked up a glass of wine in front of him and started drinking.

As Toby knew about the situation in Leo’s family, something popped into his mind, and he asked after finishing half of the wine in his glass, “I heard that Chandler is back. Is that true?”

Leo merely grunted in reply, “Yeah.” But there was no emotion in his voice.

Louie shot him a look from the other side of the room, signaling him not to speak more on the topic.

Everyone present knew that it was almost impossible for Leo to have a cornea change back when he lost his sight because of his body’s unique condition.

At that time, Chandler was placed as the next heir of Genesis with the help of Melissa, who seemed to have abandoned Leo.

Although the mastermind behind the heir change incident was Melissa, Chandler’s name was still Leo’s biggest shame and pain as it reminded him of his dark past.

Since Josiah and Louie had important things to do the next day and had to start the day early, they didn’t hang around for long and left after a few drinks.

The only ones left were Leo and Toby, who was lightly holding the glass in his hand as he kept his eyes glued on Leo the entire time while silently observing him.

Leo had been drinking quietly since arriving, looking serious and depressed the entire night.

Although he had always been a man of few words, he spoke even less now.

“Leo, I met Amelie today,” Toby started.

Leo’s hand that was holding the wine glass froze briefly before he mumbled a curt reply and continued drinking.

The indifference he displayed made Toby raise his brows, and he continued, “I would like to court her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t good enough for her two years ago, so I could only give up. But I realize that I still have feelings for her after seeing her again.”

“Okay.”

This time, Leo didn’t even pause for a second, and the iciness on his face and in his eyes was the coldest Toby had ever seen.

It seems like he doesn’t care about Amelie at all, he thought in surprise.

After a few seconds, he smiled and didn’t continue this topic anymore.

They continued drinking in silence until Toby placed his glass down, rose to his feet, and started to head out.

“Toby.” The moment his hand touched the door, Leo’s voice stopped him from behind.

Toby twisted his head and saw that Leo was filling up his glass. Then, his emotionless voice echoed into his ears, “If you like her, then ask for her heart with sincerity and don’t flirt around or try to court other women at the same time. Just give your full attention and heart to her.”

If Toby hadn’t witnessed with his own eyes that Leo was indeed the one who had said this, he would never believe that Leo really said this.

After that, Leo raised his head to stare at him suddenly. Although his gaze was steady, Toby could still sense the deep murderous intent in them—if he didn’t do as he said, he would be dead!

“You’re still in love with her,” he blurted, but Leo didn’t respond to him and continued drinking with his head as he lowered his head.

For a full ten minutes, Toby stood there waiting to see how he would respond, but to Leo, it was as though he was just an invisible presence.

…

“Oh, you’re home, Leo.”

Leo returned home at midnight, and right after getting out of the car, Chandler came out the door to greet him.

“What kept you so busy until this time of the day? Did you have dinner yet?” His voice was filled with concern and care, which made him seem like a genuinely nice person.

Yet, Leo remained quiet the whole time and went straight into the house, wholly dismissing Chandler’s presence.

That didn’t bother Chandler the slightest as he followed Leo in while sniffing the air around him. “Did you drink? If Mother sees you like this, she’ll be worried again. I’ll prepare some ginger tea for you.” After they passed by the living room, he scurried toward the kitchen.

Leo went upstairs instead as though he hadn’t heard Chandler at all, leaving him alone at the kitchen entrance with an awkward expression as he gingerly rubbed his hands together.

“Is Leo home?” Melissa inquired lazily when she saw Chandler after she came out of her room, dressed in pajamas.

“Yes, he is,” Chandler answered, cleaning his hands hastily before going to her. “But he’s tired and heading straight to bed. What do you need, Mother? Let me get it for you.”

Melissa stared at the empty staircase apathetically as she rubbed her temples and sighed. A few seconds later, she intoned lazily, “Get me a glass of water, then.”

“Sure,” he answered and immediately went to pour her a glass of water. “It’s better to have warm water at night.”

Melissa nodded in approval and started drinking. When she finished, she gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Thank God you’re here.”

Although Chandler was merely her adopted son, he treated her far better than her own son, Leo, attending to her every need and showering her with unabashed concern.

Hence, her approval for him was over the roof, and she couldn’t help but complain that Leo was too aloof toward her.

I merely made a small, tiny mistake back then. Does he need to carry the grudge to this day? she complained silently and sighed a couple of times.

Regardless, Chandler knew better than to ask what was troubling her and merely said, “You should be wide awake after waking up at this time, Mother. Would you like me to give you a massage? I’ve learned quite a lot over the years when I was abroad, and my massage skills are pretty good.”

“That will be great!” Melissa accepted his offer with delight and took a seat on the couch.This is from NôvelDrama.Org.

Then, Chandler trotted over and slightly bent his back as he started to massage her shoulders.

As she enjoyed the comfortable massage, she nodded and patted him. “You’re so considerate, Chandler.”

Back then, if it weren’t because Leo had regained his eyesight and she was worried that Chandler would snatch up the company shares, she wouldn’t have insisted on sending him abroad.

And now, when she compared his attitude toward her with Leo’s, a shard of regret crept over her.

If she had known that Leo was such a tough nut to crack, it might have been even better if the company had landed in Chandler’s hands back then.

If I had passed Genesis to Chandler, I wouldn’t have to put up with Leo’s attitude because Chandler has a lot of respect for me, she thought and sighed once more.

“Are you worried about Leo, Mother? He may be a little indifferent, but he’s always been career- focused and has made impressive achievements over the past two years, which makes me pale in comparison.”

He came up with all sorts of things to comfort her when he heard her sigh. Just as expected, when he brought up Leo’s achievements, Melissa felt the disgruntlement growing inside her instantly be doused by cold water.

“Yes, he is a workaholic.”

In the last two years, Leo had made massive profits for the company, and she could lift her head higher than before whenever she was in public.

“Chandler, you should stay,” she said.

That would be amazing, she thought. Since Leo wasn’t close to her, she decided to keep Chandler, who was willing to please her, by her side. On the one hand, she would have her own son to make money and make her proud. On the other hand, she would have Chandler, who would treat her like a Queen—the best of both worlds.

“This… I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Chandler answered. in a dilemma.

“Why not?” she asked instead. “It would have been so tiring for me if you weren’t around to take care of things around here. So, don’t worry. I’ll ask Leo to give you a part of the company’s shares.”

“No, definitely not!” Chandler shook his head profusely in shock. “I’ll have to leave if you really do that!”

This was exactly what Melissa wanted to hear! She offered him the shares earlier as a test, not because she really wanted to give him any!

Her eyes crinkled from smiling when she saw that he was not ambitious. “If you insist, I won’t force it on you, then. However, you’re my son, just like Leo!”

“Thank you, Mother,” Chandler said earnestly.

After a few minutes of massage, Melissa was finally tired again and ambled off with a yawn. In the living room, Chandler’s clear eyes, which seemed as though they held zero desires, narrowed all of a sudden, and a sharp light gleamed from within.

“I’m your son? Do you really take me for a fool? But rest assured. I didn’t return because of the family inheritance,” he murmured as the gleam in his eyes turned glacial and malicious.