Aaron’s been searching for Sandra’s birth certificate for several days. He must have found something by now, Amelia pondered. She immediately called Aaron, “Hey, Mr. Hall, any luck with that birth certificate?”
“Found it,” Aaron said. “The hospital already sent it out. It’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Perfect, thank you.” Amelia’s face lit up with delight..
Her crystal–clear laughter rang out like a melody, washing over landon’s ears and soothing his soul. His mood lifted instantly, and he couldn’t help but ask, ‘What did you need that for?‘
“Well, Sandra is older than me,” Amelia explained with growing atisfaction. “Which means dear old dad was sneaking around with her mother before I even existed. If this little detail about her background gets out, the Foster family would never accept her.”
In high society, those rich ladies had zero tolerance for mistresses and illegitimate children. Sandra’s background was exactly the kind that would make these socialites turn up their noses in disgust–especially Pamela, who had suffered deeply from a mistress‘ schemes in her earlier years.
Landon’s heart sank as he asked coldly, ‘You still have feelings for Zachary?”
“Of course not,” Amelia scoffed, looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “After everything that bastard put me through? Give me some credit.”
Then why are you trying to stop his marriage to Sandra?‘ Landon sneered, a strange bitterness rising in his chest. ‘Hmph
to himself. she’s clearly still hung up on her ex. What a foolish woman,‘ he thought
“Because they don’t get to ride off into the sunset like nothing happened.” Amelia shrugged. “I don’t want to make things easy for them.”
Landon didn’t believe her, but it wasn’t his business anyway. Tired from work, he started to drift off to sleep.
“You don’t believe me?” Amelia grew agitated, shaking him vigorously. “I feel nothing but hatred for Zachary, not love. Really.”
Disturbed from his near–sleep, Landon had no choice but to respond, ‘Whether you love him or hate him, it’s none of my business.‘
“It is.” Amelia was fuming, hands on her hips as she tried to catch her breath from anger. After spending her last life being played for a fool, she’d sworn she wouldn’t let anyone pull the wool over her eyes again. She couldn’t understand why Landon simply wouldn’t trust her.
“Landon, wake up. We need to talk this through properly,” Amelia shook his arm, calling out. “Landon.”
Landon continued to feign sleep, still as a corpse.
“I know you’re awake,” Amelia hissed, pinching his cheek and gradually increasing the pressure. “You can hear me.”
If Landon could feel pain, Amelia was determined to rouse him from his fake slumber. If she couldn’t, well, she just needed to pinch harder. Her fingers dug into his skin, transforming Landon’s perfect features into a grimace.
“Amelia, what the hell are you doing?” Wesley suddenly burst into the room, his voice sharp with anger.
“I was just “Amelia snatched her hands back as if burned, but the anger still coursed through her veins.
“First the ‘accident‘ with his back this morning, and now this?” Wesley’s face was thunderous, his normally calm demeanor shattered. “This is patient abuse, Amelia.”
13:11 Sun, Dec 22 G
Chapter 25
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“I… I was just giving film a nuassage,” Amelia mumbled, knowing how pathetic it sounded even as the words left her mouth.
“Cut the crap,” Wesley sneered, “I saw the whole thing. You were messing with him.”
When Gloria came upstairs to investigate the commotion, Amelia felt even more reluctant to admit she’d been tormenting Landon in front of his mother. After a moment’s thought, she claimed, “We were just…practicing facial pressure points. You know, for relaxation?”
“Oh yeah?” Wesley’s lips curled into a smirk as lie held up his phone. “Then how do you explain this?”
Amelia’s face burned as she stared at the photo on his screen. There was no way to sugar–coat it – the photo clearly showed her being a complete jerk to Landon.
Gloria’s face hardened. “Amelia, what on earth-”
“It was his idea,” Amelia cut in desperately, throwing Landon under the bus without a second thought.
Gloria’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding. ‘Ah, spicing things up in bed, huh? That’s sweet… Though it’s a bit embarrassing – who knew Landon was into that kind of thing?‘ she thought.
“Mrs. Gloria, don’t believe her,” protested indignantly, pointing at Amelia. “She twisted Landon’s waist this morning,
and now she’s pinching his face.” He had always felt Amelia wasn’t good enough for Landon.
just what married life looks like. Trust me.” “Oh honey,” Gloria chuckled, shaking her head. Wesley, still single, was absolutely shocked. “Mrs. Gloria, has she managed to deceive you too?”
“Well…” Gloria’s cheeks flushed. “You’ll understand once
“Watch closely, Dr. Harrington. We aren’t over yet.” Amelia’s voice was steady despite her racing pulse as she cradled Landon’s face in her hands. Her lips brushed against his–a feather–light kiss that ended almost as quickly as it began. Landon’s mind went completely blank. ‘Amelia, have you lost your mind? I dare you to do that again.‘
Amelia’s heart hammered against her ribs as she tried to catch her breath. In both her lives, this was her first time kissing a man. She hadn’t expected it to feel so electric.
“Oh Wesley, stop making such a fuss,” Gloria chuckled behind her hand. “You should focus on finding yourself a girlfriend instead.”
She studied Wesley with amusement. ‘Who would’ve thought the brilliant and handsome Dr. Harrington was such an innocent soul?‘ she mused to herself. ‘If Landon’s friend is like this, he must be quite the gentleman himself.
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