Chapter 40
Leanne peered out the window, her gaze glancing across the night sky speckled with a meager handful of stars. In the distance, the silhouette of Northwood Heights loomed faintly.
Her eyes lingered there for a long time.
Truth be told, Leanne never expected to fall for Curtis.
Despite growing up under the same roof, Leanne wasn’t fond of Curtis. In fact, she disliked him a bit.
Curtis was a bit of a rebel in school, dating around, getting into fights, you named it. Once, he landed a school bully in the hospital. When the school demanded his parents come in, he showed up with a bruised face, all cocky, hands in his pockets, and said, “My folks are too busy for this small fry stuff. Whatever you’ve got to say, you can tell me. I can take responsibility for my actions.”
So the teachers called Leanne instead.
They didn’t dare lay into Curtis, but they weren’t so gentle with her, their attitude both fierce and stern, insisting she get someone from the Richardson family to show up.
With no choice, Leanne phoned Jennifer, who thought she was the one causing trouble at school and gave Leanne an earful.
Therefore, in her eyes, Curtis was essentially a heartbreaker and a harbinger of trouble.
For Leanne, who just wanted to steer clear of dramas and live a peaceful life, he was nothing but a major headache.
They held no affection for each other. At the start of their marriage, they were quite estranged. They even slept in separate rooms on their wedding night. Since Curtis couldn’t get time off work, there was no honeymoon.
But as time went on, they got to know each other better and stopped feeling like
roommates.
Curtis, post-marriage, was nothing like the man Leanne had pictured. He was gentle, always smiling, and had a knack for sweet talk.
If he wanted to, Curtis could lift your spirits like no one else.
When winter came, Curtis finally carved out some time for a honeymoon. He planned a trip to Iceland, but on the day they were supposed to leave, a massive blizzard hit, and their flight was canceled.
They ended up taking shelter at Northwood Mansion, planning to catch the next day’s flight. But overnight, the snow sealed the roads, trapping them there.
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That winter, the snow fell heavily, and Leanne spent those days in a mountain villa, with a world of white outside and a cozy warmth within, with only Curtis for company.
It was there that they became intimate for the first time.
Leanne vividly recalled one day, feeling slightly listless, she was leaning on the window, her eyes drawn to the thick layer of snow outside. Curtis, unbeknownst to her, had come up from behind, following her gaze out into the snow.
Then he asked her, “Fancy going out and building a snowman?”
Leanne wasn’t sure if he had read her mind or if he just wanted to play, but either way, it was what she wanted. It had been years since anyone had joined her in making a snowman, not since her parents passed.
That afternoon, she had a blast. Curtis built his snowman next to hers, deliberately making it taller.
Leanne’s bit of OCD made her uneasy about the mismatched sizes, to which Curtis said, “How can I be your husband if I’m not at least a little taller than you?”
She paused for a moment.
Then Curtis placed two grapes on her snowman’s head as eyes, while his own had raisins. “I’m taller, you’ve got bigger eyes, okay?” he said.
Leanne replied, “My eyes aren’t that big.”
Curtis laughed, “Seriously? They’re about to drown me.”
Leanne turned to look at him.
Snowflakes had settled on Curtis’ lashes. His affectionate eyes were curved with a teasing glint as he said in a slow and playful tone, “Leanne, stop staring. You’re gonna
make me blush.”
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