"L... Leo?"
When Mrs. Lynch had a clear view of whom the visitor was, she was so scared that her knees almost gave way.
This man, what brought him here?
And what did he just say? He just called Zoey Fuller by her name, right?
What was the relationship between the two of them?
Xavier was just as surprised as Mrs. Lynch. He had changed the name of the former Fuller Corporation to the present Lewis Enterprise and had since worked on expanding the company. Over the past few years, he was fortunate enough to have seen Leo in person on several big occasions. He knew that Leo was a highly distinguished figure with a supercilious attitude, and Leo did not bother giving even as much as a second of his time to many people. This was why Xavier could not help but wonder about the relationship Leo had with Zoey.
Leo Yancey did not care what the people around were thinking. He walked right up to Zoey and lowered his gaze to meet hers. Then he scrutinized her from head to toe.
Very well, no injuries!
The hostile and indifferent look on his face finally seemed to soften a little.
"Silly you. How can you not think of calling me when you are being bullied like that?"
He curled his index finger and lightly flicked Zoey's forehead. His gentle action and loving look shocked all those present.
The almighty Leo, was he not rumored to keep women at bay? Why was he so gentle to this particular woman?
Even Zoey herself was somewhat shocked. After she regained her composure, she knew that Leo was here to back her up, and she was more than happy to oblige.
And besides, she could ride on Leo's power to bring down people like Stella and Xavier.
"It's just a small matter; I can handle it."
She leaned towards Leo, showing a gentle side of herself, which was really a rare sight, and said, "But I am just as happy now that you have come."
Leo first froze from momentary shock, then a hint of smile appeared in his eyes.
He liked the way she relied on him.
"With me around, no one can bully you."
He reached out and wrapped his arm around Zoey's waist as his gaze swept from Mrs. Lynch to Xavier. Then he said, "Mr. Lewis, do you care to give me an explanation?"
Xavier felt his limbs going limp, but his gaze was fixated on that strong arm around Zoey's waist. His heart was pounding hard against his chest, and he was gulping non-stop. His knees were getting so weak that they were on the verge of giving way.
When did Zoey get acquainted with Leo? From the degree of intimacy between the two of them, could it be that they were romantically involved with each other?
When he thought of the possibility of the latter, he thought of dying.
At the moment, thinking about meddling with Zoey's personal affairs was the least of his concern. His mind was filled with thoughts about how he could quickly get past this incident so that he could go back to discuss with Mr. Lynch on what to do.
With Leo backing her up, Zoey was definitely not going to let go of what happened years ago.
"Mr. Yancey, I am very sorry. This was a big misunderstanding." Xavier pulled Mrs. Lynch over to his side and gestured for her to apologize,
"My mother-in-law thought that Zoey and I had rekindled our relationship, which is why she made such a scene today. She did not know about your relationship with Zoey."
Having said that, he secretly tugged Mrs. Lynch's shirt, prompting her to say something.
But Mrs. Lynch was already in shock by Leo's appearance. How could she possibly catch the subtle hints that Xavier was throwing her way? So, she simply stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded.
"Zoey? Mr. Lewis has a wife and daughter, and yet he is behaving so intimately with another woman. Don't you find it inappropriate?"
Leo's lips twitched, the corners were slightly lifted into a nonchalant smile, and he said, "... Or are you actually thinking about coveting my woman?"
"Mr. Yancey, I won't even dare to think about having desires on your woman. That's simply out of question."
Xavier kept his head low and body slightly bowed in a most subservient manner. In the face of Leo, he was completely void of the arrogance of a successful man, then he said, "Zoey and I... no, Miss Fuller, were a thing of the past, six years ago. Now, we are just friends?"
"Is that so?"
Leo lowered his head and asked Zoey.
Zoey bit her lower lip and said in a cold voice, "I don't have friends
like that."
Leo caressed her head dotingly and said, "Mm, you are right to have such awareness. Married men are usually wolves in sheep's clothing. If he succeeded in tempting you into going with him, where else would I be able to find such a wonderful fiancé who is as good as you are."
Zoey's lips twitched, but she said nothing to retort.
Fiancé?
Xavier felt his knees weakening further, and he was dangerously close to collapsing to the ground.
...
He originally thought that Zoey was, at most, a plaything that Leo kept himself occupied with, or that they were just a couple in name. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that they were actually engaged to each other.
"Mr. Yancey, you and Miss Fuller... are engaged?" He asked with lips quivering.
The Lewis Corporation had grown sizably under his management in recent years, and he has since made it to be among the top ten best young entrepreneurs. But the difference between him and Leo was as far as Heaven and Earth, and he certainly didn't dare to think about the consequences of offending Leo.
"I am picking a date to get married to her."
Leo held Zoey's hand up and drew a circle around the smooth skin of her finger. With a slight frown, he said, "How I wish I can put the diamond ring that I specially made for her on her finger much sooner. I think, it will be stunning."
Xavier knew that Zoey's long, slender finger would look beautiful with a diamond ring on it, but his mind was filled with the thought that he was a goner.
"Con... Congrats!"
He gave his best wishes to the couple.
When Mrs. Lynch heard the words 'get married', she was completely brought back to reality. In a shrill voice, she asked, "Leo, how can you take a fallen woman like her as a wife? Do you know that she has been totally ravished by my son-in-law?"
She was so preoccupied with how she could dissuade Leo from wanting to marry Zoey. Otherwise, it would spell impending doom for both the Lynch and Lewis families. However, she forgot that whatever she said might cause Xavier to meet his end much sooner than expected.
Xavier instantly went pale.
He wished he could strangle Mrs. Lynch so that she could no longer be a hindrance to him and hold him back.
"Mom, you're out of your mind. What are you babbling about?"
He grabbed Mrs. Lynch, pulled her aside and said, "If you go on talking nonsense, I won't mind suggesting to Dad to send you to a mental hospital for treatment."
Mrs. Lynch was startled and finally came to her senses.
"Leo, I'm babbling nonsense. This vixen has nothing to do with Xavier."
She hurried to explain.
However, the more she explained, the more messed up the situation became.
Leo narrowed his eyes that were shooting out a dangerous and appalling light.
"Ravished? Vixen?"
His voice was surprisingly gentle as he said, "Mrs. Lynch, may I ask, are you using such crappy words to refer to my fiancé?"
Mrs. Lynch, on the other hand, felt as if some evil spirit was bent on taking her life. She plopped down on the ground and immediately found herself kneeling right in front of Leo.
"Leo, please have mercy on me. It was just a momentary slip of the tongue. I definitely would not dare to offend you in any way possible."
She was once lucky enough to see Leo teach someone a lesson for speaking to him insolently. His method was so ruthless that, up till now, it was still fresh in her memory. This was the reason why she became so fearful and timid from the moment he appeared. The arrogant and domineering woman she was acting like previously was completely gone.
"Did you do anything to offend me?" Leo raised a brow and asked her back.
Mrs. Lynch understood him right away. From where she laid, she turned to face Zoey and begged for mercy, like a spineless coward, "Miss Fuller, I am terribly sorry. Please forgive my thoughtless mistake. I was just too worried about my daughter. I was afraid that you are so good-looking and would want to rekindle your love with Xavier. But if you have such an outstanding man like Leo, then it's impossible for you to be attracted to Xavier."
Surprisingly, when Xavier heard her derogatory remarks about him, he was not the least bit displeased.
Indeed, he could not hold a candle to Leo at all.
On the other hand, Zoey was looking condescendingly at Mrs. Lynch, as how a master would to a pet dog. There was a flash of sneer in her eyes, but along with it, also a trace of heartache.
Back then, she was actually beguiled and bullied by such cowardly bullies. Just how foolish had she been?
"Let's hear you learn how to bark like a dog."
There was a subtle smile playing on her lips as she said indifferently.
Mrs. Lynch was unable to react for a moment and simply looked at Zoey in a daze.
"What, you don't know how to bark like a dog?"
Zoey laughed and added, "That's right. People like you are worse
than dogs. How could you possibly know how the wild barking of a dog will sound like?"