Leah stood there, holding a bunch of papers in her hand.
As Leo took the papers from her hand, Leah explained, "These are the properties left by my mom to me."
Leo went through them, slightly surprised at the considerable amount of wealth owned. From the information, Leah's mother was supposed to be a village woman who happened to meet her dad coincidentally.
However, all these properties showed she was to an extent a wealthy woman.
Why did she bring up Leah in the countryside then?
The silence from Leo made her add, "I heard you need money so..."
Leo's eyes locked on to hers. "You're handing over your wealth to me?"
Leah nodded. "It's not much, but if it can help then, I will be glad."
Helplessness crossed through Leo's eyes, mixed with anger. "Are you a fool? How long have you known for me? How can easily hand over all your properties to me?"
"This is not all," Leah corrected, trying to prove to Leo she wasn't entirely foolish.
"You think that makes it better?" Leo's expression turned dull.
"And this is an investment." Leah raised her chin. "You have to pay me back."
Her doe, hazel eyes stared at him in expectations, waiting for him to praise her for acting smartly.
Leo's heart melted at her appearance, wishing to smother her with love, but he reminded himself how he needed to be strict with her to let her learn awareness.
Leo's eyes darkened, and his voice dropped a tone lower. "And if I don't. What can you do against it?"
Leah fell silent. Then, with conviction in her voice, she said, "You won't do that."
"You're really a fool. Listen, Leah, there is no one out there who is worthy of your trust, not even me," educated Leo, "do you understand? This little wealth of yours— you need to safeguard it hard. This is what that is going to protect you."
"But I don't—"
Leo's eyes narrowed at her, turning intimidating. "Are you still arguing with me?"
Leah quietened down.
After that, Leo placed her documents back in her hand and said, "Now, hide them somewhere no one can reach. Got it?"
Lowering her head, Leah accepted the paper from Leo's hand.
Then, she looked at Leo, gathering her courage, and cheekily stated, "If you're a bad guy, you wouldn't be warning me. I am not a fool."
Leo stared at her for a second before covering his mouth and turning the other way.
This made confusion cross through her hazel eyes.
Did she say anything wrong?
°°°
After Leah bravely asked Leo about going to the mall to purchase her art supplies, the man agreed to accompany her. Her hazel eyes immediately brightened up at that.
Once they were out in the mall, her curious eyes wandered throughout the place. Seeing all kinds of gadgets and fancy items made her feel fascinated.
However, whenever eyes fell on her, anxiety struck Leah hard. She moved closer to Leo as he held her hand.
After they entered the art supplies store, Leah instantly let go of her husband— her nervousness disappearing into the air— and she rushed towards the aisles.
Looking at the colorful paint tubes, Leah reached out to grab few of the interesting colors. When she held it in her hand, she turned her head to look at Leo.
His eyes were doting as he replied, "Get whatever you like."
With that signal, Leah was instantly invigorated and did not stop herself from filling up her cart with the art supplies. It didn't take long for her cart to get overloaded with materials.
As she picked up the large canvas, about to place it on the cart, she realized she went overboard. Her guilty eyes fell on Leo.
"I will put back some," she softly said.
Then, Leo expressed, "I can afford to spoil you. Is that all you need?"
Leah nodded.
"Yeah. There are many novel things here. I want to get them all and try them out. At home, I could only work with supplies my father asked the housekeeper to buy for me," Leah said softly.
"Once you're done playing with these, we can come over again," Leo softly stated, "after you're bored with this store, we can go to another. My Leah can have anything she wants."
Listening to Leo's words caused Leah's cheeks to warm up.
Is it normal for the man to easily say these heart fluttering words?
As Leah stared at Leo, frozen, the man reached over to grab the cart and pushed it towards the counter. Leah blinked her eyes and followed him.
When the cashier was scanning the items, Leo took out his card, about to pay when Leah placed her hand on his arm, applying force.
Leo questioningly stared at her.
"You don't have to pay," Leah stated, "I have money."
To prove her statement, she took out her card from the bag and added, "Now that my father returned my mom's properties to me, I have little money."
"Keep that to yourself," Leo said.
"But it said in the news that..." Leah paused, not knowing how to carry on.
"That I am disowned, have no more inheritance rights, and am broke therefore?" The man raised one of his brows.
"It's alright," Leah said with conviction in her voice. "I am rich. No matter what you want, I can pay for it."
Leo's eyes narrowed. "Fool."
Then, as the cashier looked between both of them, Leo stepped forward, handing over his card and said, "Ring it up."