Love’s Change of Heart novel Chapter 338

It suddenly occurred to Leanna that Lloyd had brought her here on purpose. He simply had two purposes in doing so: aside from wanting to take the opportunity to find out where her mother was actually buried, he also wanted to make her kneel before his wife at this very moment. If she refused to do so, he'd have an excuse to accuse her of being unfilial, which would no doubt give him an excuse that she had an ax to grind in moving into Crossley Residence. Never mind, the big picture has to be put above everything else. The more I want to find out more information, the more I can't slip up and get kicked out of Crossley Residence by Lloyd at such a time. I'll kneel as he says. It's not a big deal, anyway; I've even called Jethro "Dad" so many times before.

She was just about to get down on her knees when a voice rang beside them. "Hi, Mr. Crossley and Miss McKinney."

Lloyd and Leanna simultaneously turned to look at the speaker; both of them were surprised to see William here.

Also holding a bouquet of flowers in his hands, William smiled at them, asking, "Are both of you here to visit someone, too?"

Lloyd was obviously displeased at the man's interruption, but he maintained his expression. "What about you, Mr. Morris?"

William replied, "I'm here to visit an old friend, but I didn't expect to meet both of you in such a coincidence." As he spoke, he darted a glance toward the tombstone in front of Leanna, his gaze falling upon the woman's smiling face. "May I ask who she is?"

Lloyd withdrew his gaze. "She's my late wife."

"Oh, I see. Pardon me for asking."

Lloyd replied with a wave of his hand, "Please go ahead with what you were doing, Mr. Morris."

William nodded. After giving Leanna a nod, he proceeded to walk on.

He had barely walked a few steps when Lloyd's subordinate, who'd been waiting outside the cemetery, hurried over and whispered something in Lloyd's ear, causing the latter's face to darken at once. Turning to look at Leanna, the latter opened his mouth, but his words suddenly took a different direction. "I've got something to deal with, so I gotta go. Why don't you stay here and keep her company?" he said to Leanna before striding off. As he reached the cemetery's entrance, he took a backward glance and ordered his subordinate, "Keep an eye on them."

Leanna stood there, getting lost in thought while staring at the photo on the tombstone. After a long time, William's voice reached her ears again. "Miss McKinney."

Leanna collected herself at once. "Mr. Morris."

William nodded with a smile before turning to look at the tombstone. Nobody knew what he was thinking, but after a long time, he finally said, "You look very much like your mother, Miss McKinney."

Leanna replied, "I can't remember what she looked like. Whenever I see a picture of her, I feel like I can vaguely recall something, but I can't grasp it at all. It's as if I were in a dream." It was precisely because of this that whenever she looked at the photos of her mother, she felt as though she were looking at the photos of a stranger.

William replied, "You'll remember her someday."

Leanna dropped her gaze for a moment. After composing herself, she looked up again, asking, "Are you done visiting your friend, Mr. Morris?"

William replied, "Yeah, I am. Speaking of it, it's a coincidence that my late friend and Mrs. Crossley are laid to rest in the same cemetery. If I'd known that Mrs. Crossley was also buried here, I'd have come to pay my respects long ago."

Leanna smiled a faint smile. "It's not necessary to go to such trouble. God knows who is buried in here?"

At this, William looked at her and pursed his lips without saying a word. Finally, he asked, "Miss McKinney, are you leaving?"

Leanna nodded. "Okay."

They left the cemetery together, but as soon as William asked if Leanna needed to get a ride from him, Lloyd's subordinate came over and said to her, "Miss McKinney, the car's waiting right there."

Seems like Lloyd is still a good enough actor by not leaving me alone here, thought Leanna. She said to William, "Well, Mr. Morris, I gotta go first."

"See you again," replied William.

Leanna had the chauffeur drive her back to her studio right away. After seeing her off, Lloyd's subordinate immediately returned to Crossley Residence.

Sitting in his study, Lloyd asked with a frosty expression, "What did they talk about?"

His subordinate recounted the conversation he'd overheard at the cemetery.

Lloyd turned the conversation over in his mind with a frown. Their conversation sounds normal; it doesn't sound like there's anything peculiar.

His subordinate asked, "Mr. Crossley, are you suspecting that Leanna was sent by William?"

Lloyd replied, "There's no reason for her to suddenly learn about what happened in the past. And besides, she sounds like she's certain of who I am."

"Then why do you still—"

Lloyd explained, "Things will only get even more troublesome if they escalate at this point." He narrowed his eyes. "And besides, she's still got Aidan behind her." Most importantly, he knew full well that it'd be a devastating blow to the Crossley Group if more confidential information about the company was leaked. It would no longer be an issue that could be solved by scapegoating two of the company's top executives. Leanna is the best candidate for this in the first place. Since she came to me on her own, she can't blame me for doing this.

However, his subordinate argued, "But the background check on William showed nothing wrong. Mr. Crossley, why don't you—"

"That's the point—that we didn't find anything wrong about him." Lloyd let out a sneer. "How could a businessman with a company this large have nothing dirty up his sleeve? Even Aidan has crippled God knows how much of Old Mr. Pearson's power while battling against the Pearsons both openly and covertly over so many years. William, on the other hand, is Chiojan by birth. Do you think it's possible that he achieved his present status with no backing behind him?"

He agreed to this time's collaboration because, for one thing, he was interested in the strength of William's company. For another thing, he also wanted those who were watching him to know that everything was normal at the Crossley Group and that the projects were still running. And besides, he wanted to sound out William's motives. After a while, he added, "Go find out about the friend whose grave he visited today. Find out who the person is or if the person even exists."

"Roger that, Mr. Crossley," his subordinate replied before leaving.

As the door to the study was closed again, Lloyd took the pocket watch out of the drawer with his face showing a hint of cold ferocity. I've managed to get through such a dangerous night. How can I so easily let those with evil intentions take away from me everything that I've worked so hard to own today?

…

That evening, Leanna received an email from The Designer Competition's organizers, who announced the topic for this time's competition. It was 'Confession of Love,' and contestants were required to produce a piece of jewelry that had a simple, straightforward design while being as touchingly romantic as a love confession.

In reality, the topic wasn't a difficult one, since it mostly depended on the designer's own understanding of the topic and how they gave play to their imagination.

The competition would last for a week. In addition to drawing the final product, designers also had to produce the actual product and have both the finished product and their drawings delivered a week later at 7:00PM sharp to the venue specified by the organizers. Early or late submissions were strictly prohibited. Considering the time it'd take to produce the finished product, there actually wasn't much time left for them.

Preoccupied with what had happened at the cemetery this afternoon, Leanna couldn't focus her mind to think about her design at all, nor did she have any inspiration for it. She looked up and rubbed her eyes, only to notice that it was already dark and raining outside without her realizing. Perhaps due to an early-spring cold spell, the weather had gotten a lot colder again these days.

She rose from her chair and took her glass to pour herself something to drink.