Chapter 316



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At the Green Lemon Clothing studio, Dante was still busy designing. He had always been a night person. But his apprentice Anna, already exhausted from her day job, kept yawning.

Footsteps from outside the studio broke the silence of the night.

“Who is it?”

With a frown, Dante glanced at the door. Anna was startled by his sudden question, rubbing her eyes, she was less sleepy now.

“Miss Downey.” She eyed Hayden for a moment.

Hayden nodded as she entered the study. The lights illuminated her, brightening the darkness that obscured her image.

She hadn’t gone home after she left the party because she was sure Joseph would be there. And she still couldn’t talk to him about Poppy.

She sat on the couch as Anna poured her a cup of tea.

“Did you just get back from the party?” Dante interrupted her design and sat down across from Hayden.

Faintly, Hayden nodded his head.

“Why are you so depressed?” Dante studied her, frowning, “Has someone been bothering you?”

“Something like that.”

Hayden took a sip of the tea Anna poured for her. Refreshed, she asked Dante. “What the hell is wrong with men, huh? An adventurous vixen can always catch them with a little trick.”

“Come on, you’re being biased.” Dante understood her innuendo instantly, “I can’t speak for the others.But Joseph? He’s handsome and rich, he makes girls flock to him like bees to honey. But still, I’ve never seen him give in for any girl.”

Frowning, Hayden refuted. “Never? Now he’s as submissive as a puppet.”

He believed anything Poppy said-how dumb could he be?

“Impossible.” Dante waved his hand, “Joseph is like a giant iceberg that will take forever to melt. I’ve never seen him smile at any girl but you.”

“Why are you defending him?” Hayden spat, rising to his feet, “Can’t I find somewhere for a moment’s peace?”

“I’m just being realistic…”.

Feel the thrill at g aln ov el s . com Dante tried to explain himself and didn’t notice Anna waving him over.

Hayden left the study before he finished speaking.

He’d rather take a nap in a hotel than listen to Dante’s nonsense.

“Did I do something wrong?” Scratching his head, Dante was puzzled.

Anna set the tea in front of him. “You didn’t, but women don’t need your rational analysis when they complain to you.”

“Then what do they need?”

Anna shot him a look.

“They need you to be on their side and to unconditionally curse anyone who annoys her.”

That night, Hayden felt like he was a ghost.

He couldn’t go home. He went to his company for comfort, but Dante only poured oil on the fire. She wandered the street without purpose; the freezing cold chilled her to the bone. The joy and festivity of Christmas in the air contrasted with her mood.

“Hayden?”

A familiar voice sounded behind her.

She paused for a moment and turned to see a man covering his head with a mask, scarf, hat and sunglasses. From the clothes he was wearing, Hayden guessed he was out for a run.

He wouldn’t have recognized Leon if not for his unmistakable voice.

“Is that really you?”

Leon took a step forward and pulled his disguise down a little. “Hayden, what are you doing out here on such a raw winter’s night?”

Hayden paused for a second. “A walk after dinner. How about you?”

“I wanted to go for a run.” She smiled at him, “The hotel gym was too crowded and I wanted to get some fresh air.”

It was not at all unusual for him to have gone for a run at night, since his hotel was in the vicinity.

However, Hayden studied him for a while and pointing to his protections, asked suspiciously. “Fresh air? I doubt you can even breathe wrapped up in all this clothing. Are you trying to suffocate?”

“I had no choice.” He chuckled as he grabbed Hayden’s arm, “Want a drink?”

Well, I have nowhere to go anyway. Hayden thought to herself, it won’t do any harm just to kill some time. “Sure.”

There was a tea store nearby. One of the waitresses stared at Leon for quite a while when they were in line.

Hayden thought the waitress recognized Leon, but she wasn’t so sure because of the clothes Leon covered himself with.

“To go or to eat here?”.

“To go.” Leon answered her.

The waitress blushed as she passed the cups to Leon and whispered. “Are you Leon?”

“No, I’m not.” Leon shook his head.

“You’re Leon!” Insisted the waitress, “Could you sign an autograph for me?”.

Hayden and Leon wouldn’t leave if he signed the autograph.

Hurriedly, Hayden dragged Leon behind her, smiling. “You thought he looks like Leon too, didn’t you? But he’s not Leon, I’m sorry. He’s just my brother, an accident left some scars on his face.”

They turned to leave the store as soon as Hayden finished.

The waitress had to be a crazy Leon fan, because she suddenly yelled, “It’s Leon!”.

It was the weekend and the street was crowded. The waitress’ screams immediately drew a lot of attention.

Apparently, this is not the first time Leon has been recognized by fans. He grabbed Hayden’s hand and said, “Run!”.

He ran out into the street dragging Hayden.

By the time Hayden realized it, they had left the tea store behind.

Someone might have leaked information about where Leon lived, tons of fans had been hanging around. And now everyone had noticed him. After running several blocks, they still couldn’t get rid of the fans.

Exhausted, Hayden dragged Leon into a store in a hurry.

“Hayden.”

“Shhh…” Hayden covered his mouth as they lay leaning against the wall. She didn’t pull her hands away when the fans had passed by.

“I need to rest for a moment.” She crouched down with her hands on her knees panting.

Leon was still silent, Hayden was confused. He lifted his head to see if something was wrong, but his face suddenly changed when he saw the sex toys on the shelf.

What were the chances? The store he had entered to escape the craziness of the fans WAS a sex store!

“What are you looking for?” The owner’s voice came from the counter.

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