Chapter 135 I Take Back What I Said
Returning to Seaside City hadn't slowed Leopold's workload. On the contrary, he became a ghost. Preston had him buried in so much work that he often didn't get home until the early hours of the morning. With Caroline also swamped at her own job, their schedules were a cruel mismatch. She'd be clocking out just as he was digging in for another late night. More often than not, she'd be fast asleep when he finally stumbled in, and he'd retreat to the guest room to avoid waking her.
The next morning, Caroline was up at the crack of dawn, heading to a construction site to check on its progress. When Leopold finally opened his eyes, the house was empty. He was alone.
Forget intimacy, they could barely exchange a few words.
They were living under the same roof, yet their lives felt worlds apart.
But being this busy all the time isn't a solution. On the weekend, when she finally had some free time to rest, Caroline thought about going to a massage parlor with Leopold to relax. However, by 11 o'clock at night, he still hadn't come home. She left a message on WhatsApp, and he replied half an hour later with just a photo. He was working overtime with a few colleagues and told her not to wait up and to go to sleep first.
When Caroline's eyes fluttered open the next morning, she realized Leopold hadn't come home at all. She had just stepped into the kitchen when her phone rang. The caller ID showed Elysia.
At that moment, Elysia was surveying the mountain of wedding gifts she had assembled for Caroline, which had nearly consumed her small cottage. Years ago, Elysia had made some savvy investments, accumulating a considerable nest egg for her daughter. Coming from a well-off family herself, she had also splurged on numerous luxury items for Caroline. A small chest was filled to the brim with gold bars and jewelry. Everything from the bedding and pajamas to the wedding shoes came in matching pairs. It was all ready.
They both had cars, but the original plan was to buy a new one for the couple. Leopold had adamantly refused. So, Elysia had deposited the car money into a separate bank account for Caroline. As an additional gift, Caroline's maternal grandparents had given her a prime retail property in the city center, a remnant from a redevelopment deal years ago. The elderly couple, holding three other properties and aware of their advanced age, wanted to pass their assets down to the next generation.
All told, the gifts stacked in the room were easily worth over a million dollars.
They were a testament to her parents' love, but also the greatest source of confidence they could give their daughter.
Caroline tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear. "Hey, Mom. What's up?"
"I was just calling to see how the wedding preparations for the house are coming along," Elysia said. "If you and Leopold are too busy, just give me a list, and I'll go buy everything."
Their new house wasn't even finished with renovations yet; they were using Leopold's current place as their temporary marital home.
Caroline had spent the past week running between construction sites and traveling to other cities for research. She felt utterly drained. A yawn escaped her. "It's pretty much done. There's not much left to buy."
Elysia caught the weariness in her voice. "Another late night? I keep telling you to put your phone down and get some sleep. You can't be staying up late before the wedding. You want to look beautiful on your big day, don't you?"
Another yawn. "I wasn't on my phone. It's work. I'm constantly running to job sites. I was on a business trip yesterday, didn't get back until after nine. I'm just exhausted."
"You've gotten even busier since you became a manager," Elysia sighed. "If you're always this busy, how are you ever going to have kids after you get married?"
Caroline switched to speakerphone, placing the phone on the kitchen island. "Mom, you just finished nagging me about getting married, and now you're jumping straight to nagging me about babies. What's the rush? Is there a royal throne we need an heir for?"
Elysia laughed. "You sound just like your father. It's no wonder you're his daughter—you even annoy me in the same way. Where's Leopold?"
"He worked late last night. Didn't come home."
"You're about to get married, and they're still making him work overtime like this? Are they that short-staffed? They just had to pick on the guy who's about to get married," Elysia grumbled, launching into a tirade against Leopold's company and throwing in a few choice words about his boss for good measure.
Caroline chuckled. "Mom, the soulless, inhumane boss you're talking about? That's Leopold's father."
A beat of silence from Elysia.
She quickly changed the subject. "Are you coming over for lunch later?"
Just then, Leopold's call came through. "Mom, Leopold's calling me. I'll talk to you later." She switched over. "Are you trying to work yourself to death?"
Leopold was lying on the sofa in his office, the whites of his eyes webbed with red veins and a layer of stubble shadowing his jaw.
"We were hashing out a proposal. By the time we finished, it was already three in the morning, so I just crashed here."
"You're taking today off, right?" Caroline insisted. "If you keep this up, you're going to burn out completely."
"I'll head back after Mr. Preston Wipere gets to the office and I've presented the proposal to him."
"What time will that be, roughly?"
"Around ten, I think."
After a quick breakfast, Caroline hurried to the market to buy a whole chicken. She was going to make him a nourishing chicken soup for lunch, adding plenty of restorative herbs and tonics.
Just after eight-thirty, Preston arrived at the office.
Spotting Leopold waiting by the door, he said to Erik, "Bring two coffees in."
"Right away, sir," Erik nodded.
Leopold inclined his head slightly as Preston approached. "Good morning, Mr. Preston Wipere."
In the office, whether in public or private, Leopold always addressed him with the formal title.
"I hear you and your team pulled an all-nighter," Preston said, walking through the door he held open.
Nothing in the company escaped his notice, but trying to use the long hours to curry favor would be a rookie mistake.
"We ran into a problem that needed solving," Leopold explained. "Everyone had their own ideas, and we lost track of time. Next thing we knew, it was dawn."
"Tough night," Preston said, settling into his chair. He looked up at Leopold, his gaze holding a strange, calculating quality.
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Preston Wipere," Leopold said smoothly. "Without your guidance on the overseas project, we would've been completely lost. If anyone deserves credit for hard work, it's you."
Preston smirked. "If your mother had possessed half of your temperament, she wouldn't have—"
"Mr. Preston Wipere!" Leopold cut him off, his voice sharp.
Preston knew exactly how to provoke him, and he seemed to relish doing it.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
Erik entered with two cups of coffee, immediately sensing the tense atmosphere. As he placed a cup in front of Leopold, he said pointedly, "Mr. Leopold Wipere, your coffee."
Leopold's gaze flickered, and the hard lines of his face softened slightly. "Thank you."
Erik retreated, closing the door gently behind him.
Alone in the office, the two men—father and son—faced each other. Preston took a sip of his coffee. "The report," he said simply.
Leopold reined in his emotions. "For the overseas hotel's operational strategy, we must fully consider the unique characteristics and demands of the local market. The focus should be on researching the preferences and essential needs of our target demographic. This will allow us to develop a tailored strategy and capture our customer base with precision."
"The culturally specific services are a major selling point. Our market research shows that eighty-eight percent of hotel guests are interested in services and amenities that reflect local culture. If the hotel can offer these complimentary, it becomes a significant factor in their decision to book with us."
"Here is the data visualization our team prepared. I'll walk you through the details."
The clock hands crept towards noon, and Leopold still wasn't home. Caroline sent him a message on WhatsApp, but it remained unread.
Caroline said to herself, "If only he were like the CEOs in TV dramas, who don't do any proper work all day, just fall in love with the heroine and have all kinds of romantic plots. God, please grant me one too."
Then, a second thought struck her. A man with no career and no money? What good would he be?
She declared to the empty kitchen, "I take it back."