Before Leah could figure it out, she heard the loud, hurried footsteps behind her. Her shoulders were grabbed next, and she was turned to the other side before being lifted.
Leo smoothly carried her in his arms, and her hands tightly gripped onto his shirt for support before he settled her down on the table.
Leah stared at him, puzzled.
From his knitted brows to clenched jaw and darkened eyes, Leah realized he was angry.
"Are you a kid? Do you know how dangerous it is to lean from there? If you toppled and fell, not even a single bone of yours will be intact! Leah, you—!"
Leo turned to face the other way, pressing on his forehead to calm himself down. He reminded himself of how he promised to be gentle and sweet to Leah after his rebirth.
However, when he saw her almost swaying body on the windowsill, the memories of her dead body flashed before his eyes, and his heart almost leaped out of his chest.
Only he understood the intensity of the horror that consumed him.
Leah blinked her eyes and then slowly asked, "Are you mad?"
Leo faced her and let out a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he said, "Leah, can you try to be more careful? Do you understand how scared I was?"
"But I didn't fall," Leah pointed out, "I knew I wouldn't fall."
Leo pulled his lips into a thin line.
"Don't argue with me on this. If you don't listen to me well..."
After a second of silence, Leo closed his eyes, hardening his heart. He then threatened, "I might have to end up locking you up."
Leah frowned. "You can't do that. You promised to be nice to me."
He pinched her cheek and said, "But if you make me angry, I wouldn't be nice to you anymore. And nothing makes me angrier than seeing you in danger."
Leah lowered her line of sight. After a while of contemplation, she asked, "Are you... Perhaps... worried about me?"
Leo's solemn eyes locked onto hers, and he nodded.
"You're strange," commented Leah, "no one ever worried about me... at least not after my mom has passed away."
Warmth spread through Leah's chest.
Contrary to her, gloominess crossed Leo's eyes, heaviness weighing down his heart.
In his past life, he couldn't imagine how Leah managed to get by on her own, forming an understanding of the world around her. There was no one to support her; instead, the entire world was against her.
His wife was truly pitiful.
"Wash up, and change your clothes," Leo said, "otherwise, you are going to catch a cold. Then, come down for dinner."
Leah nodded.
°°°
One of her favorites ever since arriving at Leo's house has to be meal times. The food selected by Leo always pleased her, as though they were catered to her taste.
Using the chopsticks, she picked up the potato stir fry, coupling it with the rice next, and placing it in her mouth. The mix of spices with the bland flavor of rice complements each other well.
In the Xu Mansion, she spent countless days hungry when the servants forgot to bring her meals. Then, Leah could only clutch on to her growling stomach, curling up on the bed and convincing herself to sleep.
And even when she was served meals, most of them would be leftovers smelling funny that the servants themselves wouldn't dare.
Leah knew that when they watched her eat the scraps in desperate hunger, they laughed at her, calling her a 'hungry fool'. But Leah didn't care as long as they eased the ache in her stomach.
A piece of beef was placed on her rice. Leah lifted her head to look at Leo— her hazel eyes blank.
Leo frowned. "You're still too skinny." After contemplating for a while, he added, "Maybe you should have five meals a day."
Her chopsticks paused. Leah commented, "Even Little Flower didn't eat that much; you will make me fatter than him."
"Little Flower?" asked Leo.
"Yeah, it was the youngest of the pigs Uncle Wang brought up. Although it was only one year old, it got hungry all the time. That's why it grew to become the fattest and biggest of all its siblings."
Only after she had told him about the story enthusiastically did the realization strike Leah, and the light in her eyes disappeared. She focused on stuffing herself with food.
Leah recalled how people in the city didn't enjoy listening to stories from her time in the country. Her father was ashamed every time she brought them up and ordered her to keep her mouth shut if she had nothing better to say.
Would Leo think she was an embarrassing country bumpkin as well?
For a second, Leo was caught off guard as well. In his previous life, only a few times did Leah think about herself, and even then, she hardly mentioned her past before she entered the Xu Family.
Only after she passed away did he manage to gather the details from her diary, and then he investigated her past to quench his thirst for revenge on her behalf.
No one who wronged her should be allowed to lead a happy life.
Given his disdainful attitude towards her, it was understandable that she chose to assume a defensive behaviour and kept quiet about everything.
Probably, she was perceptive enough to realize her new husband would look down on her more.