Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
Jade opened her mouth, but after falling silent for a moment, she still could not speak against what she felt. “I like it very much. Thank you.”
“Jade, I’m your husband now. If you really want to thank me, can you use another method?” Max was displeased. Jade’s tone sounded as if they were not close at all.
Jade’s face flushed. However, perhaps because of the alcohol, she was not as restrained as before. She raised her head and gave Max a peck on his lips. Then, she said in annoyance, “That should be enough, right?”
“Well, I need a little more,” Max said.
“What-“
Just as she wanted to ask what more he needed, she was completely in Max’s arms in the next second. He immediately pressed his lips against hers and turned that gentle peck earlier into a deeper kiss.
Everybody in their surroundings screamed and cheered. Jade was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a place to hide.
That kiss lasted for a long time. It was unclear if Jade was out of breath or was just shy when it ended, but her face was as red as a tomato anyway.
She felt too embarrassed to face the others, so she glared at Max before running upstairs.
Max chuckled. He thought that this wouldn’t work. They were already married, but she was still so shy. What should he do in the future, then?
Danika and the rest were standing at the side. She had cheered quite loudly earlier. She would be lying if she said she was not envious of the happiness Jade and Max were feeling at that moment.
Danika turned her head as she wanted to say something to Eustace, who was standing next to her. However, she saw Eustace staring at her with a burning gaze. She cleared her throat and moved a couple of steps to the side.” There are many people here. Don’t fool around, alright?”
Not only were there quite a few people they were unfamiliar with, but they were also celebrating Jade and Max’s wedding. They were not the star of the show, so they should not make a fool of themselves.
Eustace put on a faint smile, pulled her into his arms, then whispered to her,” So what you meant to say is that I can do it when there are fewer people?”
Danika felt awkward. She did not want to speak to him anymore. She scanned the surroundings but didn’t see any signs of Stephanie. She was still standing there earlier. How could she go missing in a blink of an eye?
“Leonard took her somewhere else,” Eustace said.
Danika’s eyes widened as she could not believe it. “Where did they go?”
“Who knows? Maybe…Leonard wanted to take this opportunity to tell her something.” Eustace saw it very clearly. When Max and Jade were kissing earlier, Leonard had been staring at Stephanie the whole time. He clearly desired her.
At such a moment, other than feeling sorry for Paul, there was nothing else Eustace could do.
Eustace’s words, however, got Danika very excited. “Really? He finally can’t hold himself back and is going to confess?”
If that were true, then that day was truly a good day.
“You care about other people’s business so much. Why aren’t you caring about my feelings?” Danika wanted to look for Stephanie, but Eustace hugged her tightly, not allowing her to leave.
She felt Eustace probably had too much to drink, so she reminded him, “You should drink less if you can’t hold your liquor. If you get drunk later, I won’t be able to get you home.”
“Do you think I’m drunk?” Eustace was helpless. Was he the kind of guy who would get drunk easily?
Danika said nothing. However, her eyes were saying that he was drunk.
Eustace sighed and broke his gaze away from her. “Forget it. Go have fun, then. I’ll deal with you when we get home.”
He truly could not do anything with Danika since they were on someone else’s turf.
Danika glanced at him suspiciously when she heard that. Seeing he didn’t continue hugging her, she got up and went upstairs. She decided to go looking for Jade.
What if I Don’t Want To?
Danika knocked on the door before entering. Jade had already gotten changed. “Why aren’t you having fun downstairs, Danika?”
“I’m here to check on you and also to look for Stephanie,” Danika answered. She was not deliberately trying to ruin Jade and Max’s first night as husband and wife. It was rather because Max was still drinking with his friends downstairs at that time, so Danika felt it was not too good to leave Jade alone and came upstairs to check on her.
“What’s up with Stephanie?” Jade asked.
Danika shook her head. “Nothing. She probably went somewhere with Leonard.”
Jade was not worried anymore when she heard that Stephanie was together with Leonard. ‘I didn’t know Leonard before this, but I can tell through this wedding that he really likes Stephanie. I just don’t know when he’s planning to tell her.”
Everybody could tell. It was to the extent that even Stephanie, herself, knew about it. However, Leonard would not take the initiative to confess to her, putting Stephanie in a tough spot.
“Mmhmm. Let’s just wait and see. I’m sure he can’t hold it in for much longer.” Paul was still eyeing Stepanie. Danika simply didn’t believe that Leonard was not worried about that.
While chatting, both of them came out of the room and returned to the party downstairs again.
Stephanie was a little confused when Leonard brought her to the backyard. “Why did you bring me here?’
Compared to the lively front yard, the backyard was much quieter. There was almost nobody in sight.
She was having a blast watching the kiss when Leonard dragged her away.
“I just have something I wanted to say to you.” Leonard was a little drunk when he said that.
Stephanie blinked and said uncertainly, “Are you sure you want to do it here?”
She felt that the time and place were not quite suitable. However, Leonard looked like he could not wait any longer anymore.
“Stephanie, do you…have someone you like right now?” Leonard asked in a reserved manner.
Stephanie almost rolled her eyes at him. She thought, “If I do have someone I like, why am I still wasting my time with you here?”
“No,” Stephanie said.
At first, Leonard was happy. However, he immediately thought of something, and he became sullen. “No? What do you think of me then?”
Stephanie looked at him suspiciously and was straightforward with him.” Leonard, if you want to tell me that you like me, just tell me straight. Don’t beat around the bush.”
She didn’t like such an indirect confession like what Leonard was doing. If he liked her, he should just confess to her straight away. Why did he ask her what she thought about him? What if she told him he wasn’t that great? Was he going to give up?
Leonard didn’t expect to get such a reply from Stephanie. He suddenly did not know what to do. “Stephanie, l-l-l just…” He was so nervous that he could not speak clearly.
Stephanie was speechless. She might as well say the words for him, “You want to say that you like me, right?”
Leonard kept nodding his head. “Yes, yes.”
“Just tell me directly then. Why did you have to beat around the bush?” She was a person who liked to be direct.
Leonard’s face flushed as he was a little embarrassed. “I was afraid that you wouldn’t say yes.”
When Stephanie saw Leonard’s cheeks turning red, there was a moment where she could not tell who was actually the one being confessed to. She was not blushing at all, but his cheeks were already red.
“Stephanie?” Leonard was on tenterhooks as Stephanie remained silent. “I want you to be my girlfriend. Do you want to?”
“What if I don’t want to?’ Stephanie rolled her eyes at him.
Leonard was stunned. Once again, he didn’t know what to do. “If you don’t want to be my girlfriend, we can first be friends. I will wait until the day you say yes.”
“Leonard, you’re the deputy commissioner no matter what. Are you usually this shy when you work your cases?” Stephanie could not help but ask him. He was indeed not too similar to the impression of a deputy commissioner she had in mind.
Leonard was stunned, and then he immediately shook his head. He was not like this when he was working on his cases.
“This is my first time confessing my feelings to someone, so I’m a little nervous,” Leonard told her honestly.
Perhaps It’s Time to Take a Step Forward
It was his first time?
Stephanie’s eyes widened as she could not believe it. She questioned if he was telling the truth. “You’ve never had a girlfriend before?”
“Mmhmm. I was a chubby kid back then, so who would have had a crush on me?” Leonard said, feeling a little embarrassed. Then, he continued, “I started working after that, and I was swamped at work every day. So I didn’t have the time to think about it anymore.”
If he had not met Stephanie, he might not even want to get himself a girlfriend at that point. After all, it was not important to him to have a girlfriend.
“Then why are you thinking of getting a girlfriend now?’ Stephanie found it strange. No matter how she looked at it, she still found it a little strange that a person who had been busy working suddenly wanted to have a girlfriend.
Leonard looked at her. After falling silent for a while, he decided to tell her the truth, “Actually, it started because I knew about you and Paul. I knew his hands were not clean. I didn’t want you to be with that kind of person as you would ruin yourself sooner or later. Later, as we interacted more, I realized I really liked you. That’s why I’ve plucked up the courage to confess my feelings to you today.”
Stephanie said nothing, but she believed what he said deep down. After all, she felt strange when they first met each other. She didn’t think that she was pretty enough that someone would fall for her at first sight.
“Paul…”
“He was controlling the black market when he was in Parrington back then, so practically all of his businesses were illegal. However, now that he’s moved to Bardoff City, he has turned most of his businesses into legal ones. If he doesn’t continue breaking the law, and if he doesn’t let me find any evidence against him, I cant do anything to him as well. Dont worry,” Leonard said.
Of course, that was provided if Paul didn’t continue to do anything illegal. If he continued breaking the law, Leonard would still not let him off the hook.
Stephanie rolled her eyes at him and said, “I’m not worried about that. If he really did break the law, just catch him. It has nothing to do with me at all.”
“I’m very glad that you think so.” He was afraid that Stephanie still hadn’t completely given up on Paul yet.
They seemed to have gone a little off-topic. Leonard scratched his head.” Stephanie, you still haven’t told me if you’re willing to be my girlfriend.’
“You’re so busy. Even if I were to be your girlfriend, you probably wouldn’t have time to spend with me.” When she didn’t have a boyfriend, she could do anything alone. However, once she had a boyfriend, she still hoped that he could spend time with her.
When Leonard heard that, he immediately said seriously, “Dont worry. I’ll certainly free up more of my time to be with you. All of my time after work and during all the holidays are all yours.”
He was very sincere with his words. Stephanie was a little touched when she looked at him. ‘ You have to think it through. I’m not as great as you think I am.”
“I’ve thought it through.’ He would not have confessed his feelings that day if he had not thought it through.
“Then…” Stephanie looked at him and smiled. “My answer is yes.”