Chapter 49
Leanne clenched her fists tight as she spun around to him, her voice laced with a mix of indifference and challenge. I can shrug off your insults, but is this the way you talk about your brother? Is he that unworthy in your heart?”
Curtis landed his icy gaze unwaveringly on her face. “He’s not. You might be.”
A sharp pang hit Leanne’s heart, a choking sensation rising in her throat, making every breath a struggle.
“It takes one to know one,” she retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I might have. misjudged someone, but at least I’m not flaunting Suzan around town like a trophy. What right do you have to judge me?”
“Why brin
bring Suzan into this?” Curtis frowned, evidently thinking she was making a mountain out of a molehill. “Kyle was like a father to her. Now that he’s passed, she’s just paying her respects out of the kindness they shared since childhood. What’s wrong. with that?”
“You always have an excuse. Bringing her to the memorial service is sentimental, but how about jetting off to Emberland under the guise of business?”
Leanne gripped the banister with one hand, her knuckles white. “Tell me, Curtis. Did you fuck her during those cozy nights in Emberland? How many times?”
Laura, hearing Leanne return, was about to step out of the kitchen when she caught the explosive exchange. Hiding by the kitchen door, anxiety written all over her face, she watched the argument escalate. Unable to hold back, Laura rushed out to defend Curtis.
“Madam, you shouldn’t talk like that. Mr. Curtis isn’t that kind of man!”
“And what kind is he?” Leanne shot back.
Laura choked on her words. “I mean he would hever be unfaithful!”
Leanne was calm, almost too indifferent. “Wasn’t it you who whispered about his affairs, about how he ran off to Emberland to chase an old flame?”
Laura turned pale as Curtis’ piercing gaze shifted towards her. Panic-stricken, she waved her hands frantically, “No, I never said that!”
She realized too late that Leanne’s past leniency had been nothing more than courteous
straint.
generous, sharing with Laura the bounty of workplace benefits, the gifts the precious food deliveries that were too much for one person, and the Donuses. Leanne wasn’t one to fuss over the odd lazy day, and Laura had it easy With her light workload.
Laura had mistaken Leanne’s kindness for weakness, but now she saw a different side of Leanne. It was a side even more intimidating than Mr. Curtis himself.
Laura didn’t dare utter another word and scurried back to the sanctuary of the kitchen.
Curtis, his expression as cold as stone, tossed his half-smoked cigarette into a cup on the coffee table and stood up, striding towards Leanne.
He towered over her, his height even more apparent as he approached. Curtis’ brown eyes bore into her, his voice icy. “Who told you I slept with her? Were you hiding under my bed?”
“If not her, then who?” Leanne was expressionless. “Or are you going to tell me you’ve been a saint these past couple of years? You are a notorious playboy. Do you event believe yourself?”
“A playboy?” Curtis darkened his face with anger. “So in your eyes, I’m just a man driven by lust, unable to stand loneliness?”
Leanne had once made up every grand excuse for his behavior and had once loved him. enough to justify it all. But now, as she looked into those same handsome and charming features, she felt not an ounce of love.
“Are you not?” she asked, her tone steady and indifferent.
If it wasn’t for restlessness, why did he pursue her while his heart lay with Suzan?
If it wasn’t for lust, how could he have loved her so passionately, only to withdraw so abruptly?
Curtis let out a bitter laugh, his anger morphing into mockery.
“Fine. I’m a slave to my desires. I’m a playboy. I’m so damn restless I can’t go a day without a woman!”
Grinding his teeth in fury, he suddenly scooped Leanne up in one swift motion before she could react. With powerful strides, he carried her up the staircase.
Caught off guard, Leanne found herself airborne, her slippers tumbling down the stairs as she dangled upside down, her soft belly pressing against the hard ridge of his shoulder. Instinctively, she clutched the fabric of his shirt for balance as Curtis made his way to the upper floor.