Chapter 707: A Heart Like Dead Ashes

Chapter 707: A Heart Like Dead Ashes

At the foot of the mountain, David's car was already waiting there.

Seeing them come down, Alexander got out of the car too.

Kevin walked up close, and Alexander asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

"Ms. Sinclair twisted her ankle," Kevin said, then placed her in the back seat.

After closing the door, Kevin stood respectfully in front of Alexander, head lowered, and said, "Mr. Sinclair, Ms. Sinclair and I spent the night in a cave. There was no signal in the mountains, so I couldn't contact you in time. Please punish me."

Alexander looked at him with deep eyes and said, "Get in the car. We'll talk when we get back."

The three got in the car, with David driving and Kevin sitting in the passenger seat.

Alexander sat next to Leah and scolded her, "Why did you run off to such a far place when you were angry? Are you trying to make Mom and me worry on purpose?"

"Would Mom really worry about me? She's only worried I won't be able to get married, right?" Leah said grumpily.

"How dare you talk back!" Alexander said angrily. "You ran away from home—who wouldn't worry? And you even ditched my bodyguard. You're really something!"

Leah stared lifelessly out the car window, listening to Alexander's lecture, when her stomach started growling "shamelessly"—she hadn't eaten much since yesterday, and after a whole night, she was starving.

Alexander stopped at the right moment, grabbed the KFC bag beside him and put it on her lap. "Eat up."

"Thanks, Alexander." Leah smiled at him and pulled out the oatmeal porridge from the paper bag.

She opened the lid and was about to eat when she instinctively glanced at Kevin in front. He hadn't eaten all night either, so he must be hungry too, right? But then the embarrassing and humiliating scene from last night flashed through her mind again, and she immediately lowered her head, not wanting to care about him anymore.

Alexander observed quietly from the side, sensing that something must have happened between these two last night.

"When we get home, don't fight with Mom anymore. About the dating thing, I criticized her pretty harshly last night too, so she'll probably calm down for a while," Alexander said.

Leah had just put a spoonful of oatmeal in her mouth when she quickly said, "No, no, keep the dates going. Alexander, I've thought it through. Mom's doing all this for my own good, so let's not disappoint her efforts."

Alexander looked at her in surprise. "Leah, do you know what you're saying? You're accepting the dates?"

"Yes, I thought about a lot of things in the cave last night. Mom's doing all this for my good, right? So I'll listen to her. Who doesn't want a good life? Alexander, just stay out of this. I'll talk to Mom when we get home." Leah quickly finished the oatmeal, set the bowl aside, and picked up a hot dog to eat. She looked completely carefree.

Alexander watched her. Such a quick change couldn't be a good thing. Then he turned his gaze to Kevin in front, looking at him with scrutiny.

Kevin in front stared straight ahead, lips pressed tight, hands clenched into fists on his legs, not moving at all.

The car drove smoothly all the way back to Sinclair Villa. Samantha was on the sofa, supporting her forehead with one hand, looking exhausted.

Hearing a car pull into the yard, she suddenly looked up and stood up quickly, saying to Lillian beside her, "Lillian, look, is that Alexander bringing Leah back?"

She hadn't gone upstairs to sleep all night, waiting for news from Kevin, worried the whole night.

Lillian looked outside. Alexander and Leah were just getting out of the car. She said happily, "Mom, that's Leah!"

Samantha collapsed weakly onto the sofa, murmuring, "Good that she's back."

When the siblings came in, Lillian went over and took Leah's hand, looking her up and down. "Why did you run so far away? We were all worried sick."

Leah saw real concern in Lillian's eyes and couldn't help but smile at her. "Lillian, help me upstairs first. I twisted my ankle."

"That's what you get for running around!" Samantha said grumpily from her spot. "You deserve the twisted ankle!"

"Mom, Leah's back now, don't say that. You were really worried about her too." After saying this to Samantha, Lillian whispered to Leah, "Mom was so worried she didn't sleep all night. Just let her scold you a bit, don't take it to heart."

Leah smiled bitterly and shook her head without saying anything, letting Lillian help her upstairs.

Alexander was pretty speechless about Samantha too. She was clearly worried but just couldn't say anything caring. He suddenly felt he was a bit like his mom in this way.

He called the family doctor to come check on Leah. After the examination, there was nothing serious—some topical anti-inflammatory and pain relief medicine would do. Lillian helped Leah spray on the pain relief and chatted with her for a while before leaving the room.

Shortly after Lillian left, Samantha came in.

"Is your foot feeling better?" She sat on the bed with a stern face.

Leah said, "I just sprayed the medicine. How could it work that fast?"

"You almost scared me to death!" Seeing that Leah could still talk back, Samantha angrily slapped her leg.

"Mom! That hurts!" Leah cried out.

"If it hurts, I won't hit you anymore!"

Though Samantha was bossy with her daughter, she still cared about Leah. Only now did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"Leah," Samantha said to her gently, which was rare, "Mom knows you don't like dating. I was pushing you too hard before. Your brother really told me off last night, and I get it. So let's take a break for a while. After this summer, we'll talk about it again, okay?"

Leah said, "Mom, I was the one being immature before. That was my fault. I'm used to dating now, so let's just continue." She put on a reasonable face, but inside she felt desperate.

"That Mr. Scott I scared off yesterday—I thought he was pretty good, better than all the previous ones. If you have a good impression of him too, Mom, then I'll try dating him first." Leah said flatly.

Samantha looked at her with delight, asking in disbelief, "Leah, are you serious? You like Mr. Scott?"

"Mom, I don't like him. He just seems okay to look at."

"Okay to look at and liking aren't that different." Samantha beamed with joy. "Then I'll contact him for you. The Scott family has a good background, equal to our family's status. If we really form a marriage alliance, it'll benefit both families. Yesterday I saw him watching you act crazy, and he didn't seem disgusted. He probably figured out you were faking it."

"Mom, what you're saying is making me anxious. I want to sleep for a bit."

"You probably didn't sleep well in that cave last night. Go ahead and sleep then, I won't bother you." Samantha patted her gently, got up and left the room.

Leah lay on her side under the thin blanket, tears sliding down from the corners of her eyes and wetting the pillow.

Samantha went downstairs, her face darkening as she said to Alexander, "Leah spent the night with Kevin. Go ask what happened between them. Did he do anything to Leah?"