Chapter 31: A Nightmare for Sharon
"Um... Master-"
Sharon subconsciously used her hands to shove him away, and she quickly realized that he was feverish to the touch. She felt that something was amiss, but the current situation did not spare her any time to ponder further.
Sharon was confused.
"Why is he acting like this, and why did he kiss me?" Sharon thought, terrified.
"M-Master Leonard! L-Look, I'm Sharon," Sharon stuttered.
Her voice shook, and her eyes were swollen as she repeated herself.
"Yes, you're Sharon. My Sharon."
Leonard's voice was unusually hoarse, sounding slightly out of breath. "Sharon, I'm feeling sick."
"Sick?"
Sharon was shaking like a leaf, tears hanging off the corners of her eyes. Despite that, she took a close look at Leonard, trying to see why he was feeling sick. She looked at Leonard fearfully, her mouth agape.
Beads of sweat covered Leonard's forehead. "Sharon, will you hate me?"
Sharon stood frozen, her face pale.
"This is Master Leonard, the person I trust the most. How could he ask me a question like this?" she pondered.
"Hmm?" Leonard seemed to have reached his limit. He kept rubbing his lips on Sharon's cheeks. Sweat dripped off his hair and down to where their chests met. "M-Master Leonard, p-please stop! I'm scared..." Sharon shrank back, terrified, looking at Leonard's tense face with tears streaming down her face. "Don't be afraid, Sharon. I won't hurt you." Leonard's eyes were bloodshot, his voice croaky, like he was in pain.
The following two hours felt like a nightmare for Sharon, who was in a trance the entire time.
In the bathroom.
Leonard took out a clean towel from the cabinet and placed it on the countertop beside the sink. Then, he gently lowered Sharon onto the towel. The two of them were silent, and even their breaths were quiet.
Despite the flush still present on Leonard's lowered face, he was still gentle as ever when cleaning Sharon's hands.
Once he was done, his gaze intensified, and he clasped his fingers to hold her hand, bringing it to his lips to give it a kiss, his lips still feverish.
Sharon's hand was trembling slightly. She slowly turned her stony eyes to look at Leonard, her eyes red. Almost immediately, tears started dripping down her face again.
Leonard felt his chest tightening, and he lifted his head to look at Sharon, who was trying her best to remain silent. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he reached out to wipe off her tears.
But before his hand could touch her skin, Sharon jerked her face aside.
Leonard's outstretched hand was left frozen in midair.
This was the first time that Sharon had rejected his intimate gestures so fiercely.
Leonard pressed his lips together grimly and withdrew his hand. He abruptly lifted Sharon off the countertop.
Startled, Sharon held her breath and turned to look at Leonard. From her angle, she merely saw the outline of his tight jaw.
Leonard carried Sharon out of the bathroom and gently placed her onto the bed, covering her with a blanket. He softly placed his hands on both sides of her head, staring intensely into her eyes. "Now, I won't try to explain what happened tonight, nor will I apologize."
Sharon was stunned and stared at Leonard in disbelief.
"After doing all that to me, how dare he say that!" Sharon exclaimed to herself internally.
The shock soon turned into feelings of shame and being wronged.
Despite the tears streaming down her face, Sharon was adamant about not letting him hear her cries.
She bit into her lip hard to stifle any sound, glowering at Leonard.
Leonard felt his heart clench at the sight, getting more agitated by the second.
What happened tonight was undoubtedly an accident.
However, he did not regret his actions.
The episode had caused Sharon's wound to open up once more, so Leonard quickly rushed her to the hospital to get new stitches.
By the time they were done, it was already morning the next day.
Sharon was passed out on the hospital bed after crying for the whole night. Her eyes were swollen red, her dark circles were apparent, and her face was pale. Even as she slept, her face drew into a tight frown.
Leonard stood at the foot of the bed, his head low as he stared at Sharon, contemplating.
Leonard was so used to hiding his emotions behind his cold, indifferent mask that, even in this situation, no one could tell what he was thinking.
In the CEO's office on the 68th floor of the Lefebvre Group building.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Sharon in the hospital right now?"
The office doors pushed open. Oliver entered the office, sending a glance to the man smoking by the window.
Leonard gave a puff, smoke wafting upwards, concealing his expression.
Oliver closed the door, walked over, and plucked the lighter and the box of cigarettes out of Leonard's hand. Taking out a cigarette, he lighted it up and brought it to his lips, staring at Leonard with questioning eyes.
Leonard's brows knitted tightly as he took in puff after puff.
Oliver narrowed his eyes and looked out the French windows.
"Sharon is still young. It'll take time for her to see things the same way we do," Oliver said.
"I almost slept with her last night," said Leonard, his voice gruff.
Oliver's grip on the cigarette tightened, but he said nothing.
After a few seconds, he replied, "I bet she was shocked."
Leonard merely tightened his jaw, silent.
Oliver tilted his head, looking closely at Leonard. "Sharon is turning twenty-two soon, so why..." he trailed off.
Leonard's eyes darkened. "Shirley Cook came by yesterday and brought spiked wine."
Due to some difficulties in the company, there had been a meeting until late last night.
After the meeting, he returned to the villa, intending to visit Sharon after cleaning himself up.
Just as he was about to leave, Shirley came over with a bottle of red wine, saying it was an authentic 1982 Lafite that she had brought to share with him.
He ignored her. The only person he would share wine with was Sharon.
However, Shirley was persistent. Leonard, desperate to reach Sharon earlier, drank some to pacify her.
He had not anticipated Shirley to spike the wine with that!
Neither had Oliver. He was stunned that Shirley had been desperate enough to go to such lengths, even resorting to using drugs.
After hearing most of the story, Oliver wondered how Leonard had managed to resist the temptation after being drugged.
Leonard glowered at Oliver with hard eyes.
Oliver raised an eyebrow and raised his hands in surrender. "The most important thing right now is placating Sharon. Otherwise, you'll be the one who suffers the most." Leonard scowled at Oliver's mocking tone.
Alas, the worst had happened.
Oliver had been right about Sharon.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐