Chapter 158

Chapter 158

Cullen didn’t feel there was anything wrong with what he said, despite the chilly gaze from beside.

He had been feeling unwell and went to see a psychologist regularly, using the half- baked theory he learned to distort and analyze emotional problems for himself.

“Here are your car keys, by the way,” Cullen said.

Remembering what he came to the Rose Garden for in the evening, Cullen took out hist car keys from his pocket and handed them to Madison. “Hey, thanks for lunch. The car is parked next to the cake shop at Green Water Bay. I heard you live around there, so you should be able to see it as soon as you go back tonight.”

Madison caught off guard, accepted the keys. “I didn’t say it was urgent. Why rush over here to return them?”

Cullen’s expression conveyed a sense of defeat.

He let out a heavy sigh, annoyance evident in his voice. “Some people insisted on a lunch that dragged on, then I ended up borrowing your car. He wasn’t pleased, so I had to make it back for dinner to hand over the keys.”

Madison offered a tight-l*pped smile, her response curt. “Well, since you’re here, you might as well join for dinner. But don’t expect me to wait around. I’ve got my i

meal to catch.”

She dismissed Cullen with a wave and turned away from Leo, signaling the end of the conversation as she led her second brother out of the scene.

Joe acknowledged them with a mere nod, not well-acquainted enough to engage further.

Once Madison and her brother departed, only Leo and Cullen remained.

“Aren’t we going to grab something to eat?” Cullen looked back at Leo with a mixture of curiosity and humor.

Since Cullen appeared, Leo had not said a word again, only cold eyes, even if you looked at him now, there was no slightest easing.

Glancing at Cullen, Leo took a step and headed towards the direction of Rose Garden.

As he walked toward the Rose Garden, Cullen couldn’t help but form his theories about why Leo had shown up in the first place, and he couldn’t help but find it funny when he thought of the way he looked in the car.

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Chapter 158

‘Leo’s face turned black when he saw Jessica pounce on her boyfriend, yet he forcibly pretended as if nothing had happened.

‘What is even more excessive is that he didn’t say anything, but as soon as he left, he came running over eagerly. I just don’t know what he said to his sweetheart Jessica.” Cullen thought.

Cullen, intrigued, pressed Leo for answers, “What’s the deal with you and that couple? You can’t still be hung up on Jessica, can you?”

“What are you implying?” Cullen’s statement was met with a warning from Leo to choose his words carefully.

Leo stopped abruptly, turning a frosty gaze on Cullen.

Cullen, taken aback by the intensity, blurted out his disbelief at Leo’s seeming indifference to the potential harm to the relationship, questioning Leo’s humanity in such a blunt manner.

Upon hearing Cullen’s fl*ppant remark, Leo’s already stern expression turned even sterner. They’re not even engaged.”

“But think of the consequences. What if your words damage their bond?” Cullen admonished, his tone serious.

The word ‘couple’ seemed to echo in Leo’s mind, stinging him.

Biting back his frustration, Leo snapped, “You saw the way he treated Madison. She was upset. How could she be with someone like that?”

With no one else around, Leo didn’t even want to utter Joe’s name.

Cullen raised his eyebrows slightly, and in his heart, he also knew what was going on

with Leo.

He carried on, undeterred by Leo’s glare. “Is it so unusual for lovers to argue? I’ve had. my share of spats and makeup. Some were forgotten by the next anniversary…

Cullen stopped counting as Leo fixed him with an icy stare, causing him to fall silent.

it being pri cked with needles at Cullen’s carelessness..

Leo’s heart felt like s

“I wasn’t justifying their actions,” Cullen clarified. “But isn’t it common for couples to have ups

and downs? You’ve had your disputes with Sally, haven’t you?”

“Stop referring to them as a couple,” Leo interjected sharply, unable to hide his

irritation.

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Cullen, ignoring Leo’s displeasure, pressed on. “Ah? And how should I refer to them? I’ve already given my blessing, haven’t I?”

“Enough,” Leo commanded, a stern frown on his face.

The man beside him fell silent, his hand miming the action of zipping his l*ps.

Leo didn’t even want to glance his way and the headache was too much.

Cullen’s incessant references to Madison and Joe as a couple were grating on him, the me ntal image of them together fraying his nerves.

Cullen’s chatter felt like an endless pric kling against Leo’s patience and he couldn’t bear another word.

Though Leo ignored Cullen’s words, it didn’t mean he was deaf to them.

His history with Sally was his own never official; never a lovers’ quarrel, especially not since his marriage.

As for Madison and Joe…

Leo curled his fingers hanging by his side, furrowing his brow as he looked at Cullen,

solemnly and seriously saying. “Joe is not worthy of Madison. Even if it was just a solemnly and seriously saying. “Joe is normal argument as you said, he shouldn’t have made her cry like that. You saw for yourself how sad she was at that moment.”

Leo had watched Madison grow up, her happiness always transparent, her sorrows rare and fleeting.

‘When we were young, every time we met, she would be like a snowball, laughing like a flower. Even if she fell and got hurt, she never complained. At most, her eyes turned red from the pain, but a piece of candy could easily cheer her up. As she grew older, I never saw her shed a tear again. In the Hale family, Madison never shed tears over trivial. matters, let alone over a man. Was she still as naively influenced by a simple bouquet of flowers as when she was a child?’ Leo thought.

Cullen challenged Leo’s disdain for tears. “What’s wrong with crying? It’s normal for girls to cry. When a woman cries in front of a man, it shows weakness. If a woman cries. because of a man, it means she cares about him. Don’t you understand this? That girl Sally must have cried in front of you many times, right? Do you always give in to her every time?”

Cullen earnestly gave a lecture to Leo, “What you see is Jessica is crying because of Mr. Daves. What if she’s making some demands on Mr. Daves? Didn’t you see how happy Jessica was smiling afterward?”

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Leo had long ignored the conversation between Madison and Joe Daves, only remembering that she threw herself into the man’s arms after receiving a bouquet of

roses.

“But what could she possibly request from him? It’s just roses,” Leo thought bitterly.

‘What is there for that man to be cared about, as for her crying?” Leo thought.

Ignoring Cullen’s provocation, Leo’s frustration simmered.

Cullen was not afraid of causing trouble and added fuel to the fire in his heart: “It’s obvious that Mr. Daves has some skills, he is the person who holds Jessica’s heart, so it’s easy for him to please her. I think they are quite compatible, so don’t meddle too much and just live a good life with Sally.”

With that, Cullen patted Leo’s shoulder, leaving him to stew in his silent turmoil.

Leo pushed him away with a backhand and looked at Cullen with a cold face, “Are they compatible? What do you think?”

“Sure, a handsome man and a beautiful woman. He’s got a decent career as the CEO of XR Entertainment, and she comes from the Daves family. They seem well-matched.” Cullen answered.

Cullen agreed earnestly but caught a glimpse of Leo’s stern expression.

“But their relationship is their business, not ours. You and Jessica are no longer together and it’s best to stay out of it.” Cullen continued.

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