Chapter 123 Delete
Ex-girlfriend?
The first name that popped into Caroline's head was Leopold's most recent ex. Thinking back, they hadn't been together long enough for any real drama to unfold. Besides, Leopold had brought it up so openly; there was no way she was asking to get back together.
"What did she want?"
"She's back in the country and wanted to meet up. I turned her down," Leopold said. "I also told her I'm married."
Wait. Something wasn't right. Not right at all.
An alarm bell went off in Caroline's head. "You just said 'back in the country'? You're not talking about your last girlfriend. You mean your first love, don't you?"
The moment the words "first love" were singled out, Leopold knew he had flipped Caroline's anger switch.
It was time to defuse this bomb before it even had a chance to go off. He quickly tried to soothe her.
"I already made it crystal clear to her that I'm married. You can't get mad about this."
"Don't you dare try to guilt-trip me!" Caroline's mind was as sharp as a tack. "You intentionally blurred the line between 'ex-girlfriend' and 'first love.' What's your game?"
Caught. Leopold knew he was in the wrong. "Don't be angry."
Caroline's expression was unreadable. "I'm not."
And she genuinely didn't look angry. She just pointed a perfectly steady finger at the building's entrance. "I left my phone in the car. Can you go get it for me?"
You didn't get fooled because the other person was a great actor; you got fooled because you had zero defenses up against them.
It never even crossed Leopold's mind that Caroline would trick him. "I'll go get it."
The second he turned his back, before he could even push open the lobby door, he heard the elevator doors begin to slide shut behind him. He whipped around just in time to see Caroline calmly holding up her phone.
"You can take the next one," she said, her voice flat.
"Caroline!"
Leopold's eyes widened in disbelief. He sprinted back, but it was too late. He could only watch, helpless, as the elevator ascended without him.
"Oh, for crying out loud."
He was learning a valuable lesson: Caroline's anger was a quiet, simmering thing, and her retaliation came without any warning whatsoever.
Watching the floor numbers light up one by one, Leopold stood there for a beat, then spun on his heel and headed for the fire escape.
Upstairs, Caroline waited. And waited. If Leopold had actually left, this was far from over.
After another two minutes, she heard the frantic pounding of footsteps from the stairwell. A second later, Leopold appeared, his chest heaving, his breathing ragged.
"You're going to be the death of me," he panted, reaching for her hand. Her gaze flickered to the stairwell door behind him. "You took the stairs?"
A grin spread across his face. "I ran," he corrected her.
"What were you running for?" Caroline immediately fished a tissue from her purse and started dabbing the sweat from his forehead. Leopold just smiled, soaking up the attention.
Then, just as suddenly, she shoved the tissue into his hand. "I'm not wiping it for you. Do it yourself," she said, her voice clipped.
Leopold leaned in closer. "I'm exhausted from the run. You do it. C'mon, honey, look at all this sweat."
Caroline followed his gaze. A fine sheen of perspiration did indeed cover his forehead, but the playful curve of his lips was a dead giveaway. He was trying to win her over with a pity play.
She pushed him away and turned to leave.
"Caroline." Leopold fell into step beside her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders as he craned his neck to study her expression. "I was wrong. Please don't be mad, okay?"
She stopped in her tracks. "Did you deliberately try to mislead me?"
After a moment of careful consideration, Leopold replied, "If I said the thought didn't cross my mind at all, I'd be lying. But my main concern was upsetting you. When you're upset, you get into it with me, and look here we are, getting into it."
Her expression softened slightly. Everything he said made sense, and she found herself listening.
"Don't be mad anymore. I really did refuse her request. I'm definitely not meeting her," Leopold said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Honey, please don't be mad."
She let him gently shake her. "You really turned her down?"
"Why would I lie? Making you unhappy just means I have to grovel and work my butt off to make it up to you. It's a huge hassle. If I genuinely wanted to get back with her, I just wouldn't have told you in the first place."
The logic was sound, but a knot of unease remained in her stomach.
She pressed on. "You still have her number?"
Leopold paused. "Yes, but we don't talk often."
"Not talking often isn't good enough," Caroline declared. "And your chats on Messenger, your Facebook connection, phone numbers, all of it. If you're connected anywhere, you're deleting it. Right now."
Honestly, she'd wanted him to delete everything related to his first love for a while now. She'd always thought it would make her seem petty, but after today's stunt, she was done playing nice.
She refused to live her life in a state of constant suspicion. It was too exhausting.
Without a moment's hesitation, Leopold pulled out his phone and started deleting everything right in front of her. He even blocked and deleted the new number she had just called from.
"Is that good? You want to double-check?"
He held the phone up for her. Caroline met his gaze. "You're the one offering. I'm not asking to go through your phone."
Leopold simply pressed the device into her hand. "Of course, I'm offering. Look all you want."
"I'm really going to look, you know. This better not be some reverse psychology thing where I look, and then you accuse me of not trusting you." She was laying down the ground rules, avoiding future arguments.
He chuckled. "It's not. Look freely. I promise I won't think that."
Caroline didn't hold back. If she played it cool now, she might not get another chance to check his phone this openly again.
She went through his apps, one by one. She couldn't find any trace of his first love. But then, she opened his food delivery app to check the saved addresses. There it was: a delivery address for a hotel, with the contact name glowing on the screen. Allegra. She'd never asked for her name, but Caroline had a gut feeling. This was her.
"Is this her?" Caroline asked.
Leopold nodded. "Yes."
"I'm deleting it?" Her eyebrow arched, a silent challenge. If even a flicker of hesitation crossed his face, she'd know he still had feelings for Allegra.
Leopold's expression was one of complete indifference. "The phone's in your hands. It's there for you to inspect and correct."
Her gaze dropped. She deleted the address.
Finally. A wave of relief washed over her.
Caroline took a deep breath and handed the phone back to Leopold. "Here."
"No more checks?" He asked with a playful smirk.
She shot him a look. "Are you implying there's something else you're hiding?"
Leopold laughed, a sound of pure exasperation. "Of course not."
"Then there's nothing left to check." Caroline linked her arm through his. "Let's go."
The moment they walked in, Elysia's voice called out, "You're finally back! Leopold, are you hungry?"
"Mom, I'm not hungry," Leopold called back. "Is Dad home yet?"
Elysia emerged from the kitchen carrying a large platter. Leopold rushed over to help. "Let me get that. Don't burn yourself."
"Not yet, but he should be home any minute."
Caroline, having washed her hands, came out. "Mom, why don't you give Dad a call and see where he is?"
Just as the words left her mouth, the front door opened.
Elijah walked in, slipping off his shoes. "Zaid just wouldn't let me go. He kept talking and talking, and I couldn't exactly say I was in a rush to get home. He's my boss, after all." Zaid Baker was the colleague who had joined Elijah on the inspection tour of the Starlight River project.