Chapter 702 It Was Too Late
"Aidan."
Justin's voice rang out behind them.
John smiled and said, "I still have matters to attend to so I shall take my leave now. I wouldn't want to
overstay my welcome."
He swiftly turned around and walked off.
As soon as he left, Justin's assistant wheeled him over. "Who was that just now?"
"I don't know him."
Justin withdrew his gaze. "There was a slight mishap at the auction earlier. It's on me for not making
the arrangements properly."
He turned around and took a ring box from his assistant. "Here. You can just take it."
Aidan took the box. "I'll transfer the exact amount to Pearson Group."
Justin chuckled. "You don't need to be so fastidious with me, Aidan."
"I'm just following official procedures."
"Be that as it may, we shouldn't get into disagreements over such petty matters." Justin paused for a
moment before adding, "Is it because you heard the rumors? That's just baseless gossip. You needn't
take it to heart."
"Do you think they're all false?" Aidan piped up coolly.
"Of course."
"And yet, I don't think they are rumors. They sounded like they were based on evidence."
Justin fell silent.
Joseph quickly tried to smooth things over. "I heard some rumors too, but they were all far too
ridiculous. I can guarantee that the Woodleys did no such thing. It's all just a sinister attempt to drive a
wedge between you two."
As soon as Joseph finished speaking, Lachlan questioned, "You left the family ten years ago, so how
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are you going to give a guarantee?"
Charlotte was riled up by the fact that Lachlan was picking on Joseph again. She was about to snap at
Lachlan when Leanna grabbed her arm and shook her head.
Thus, the hall fell silent after Lachlan spoke.
Joseph's smile was a little stiff.
At long last, Justin sighed. "Aidan, didn't we agree to call it even and put everything behind us?"
"I did say that," Aidan replied.
Then, he paused and looked at Joseph. "And yet, there are still some who want to make things play out
to the bitter end."
Aidan turned his gaze back onto Justin and pursed his lips for a few seconds before announcing, "I'm
leaving."
He pocketed the ring box and took Leanna's hand before striding off.
Everyone else didn't know what to say.
Charlotte was about to speak when she was dragged off by the arm.
Once they were all gone, Justin spoke up again. "Who's the one spreading those rumors?"
Joseph narrowed his eyes and responded, "It's not us."
Justin's assistant informed, "A few days ago, Jonathan dropped a few hints about it. If I'm guessing
correctly, it was Aidan who instructed him to do so."
"Where's Jonathan now?"
"Dealing with Theodore Frost."
Justin turned his wheelchair around and smirked. "I guess I don't need to make the trip then."
…
Once they were out of the hotel, Charlotte did her best to squeeze her way over to Leanna before
taking her by the arm and cajoling, "Leanna, can I follow you back?"
Leanna turned to Aidan who gave a monosyllabic response. "Nope."
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Charlotte looked behind her and pointed at Lachlan who seemed unconcerned with her. "But, he's
gone!"
"Go and look for your Uncle Joseph then."
With that said, Aidan took Leanna's hand and helped her into the car.
Charlotte stood still with a disgruntled pout.
What kind of people are they?! One of them dragged me out of the building before leaving me behind
while the other is as mean as ever. He even locked me out of the car!
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Her eyes began to pool with tears.
Thus, she didn't notice that the car that was still parked in front of her.
She was just about to wail in sorrow when Leanna's amused voice rang out. "That's enough. Get in.
You can sit in front, Charlotte."
Charlotte raised her head at once. Tears were clinging to her eyelashes as she looked up with eyes full
of hope and confusion.
Once she saw that Leanna meant what she said, she quickly opened the door to the front passenger
seat and got in.
Leanna saw Charlotte's teary eyes and immediately glared at Aidan.
"You're crying over something like that?" Aidan queried.
Charlotte grabbed a tissue and refuted him. "I'm not!"
"Well, it's true that you have no right to cry. The one who does isn't here."
Aidan always had a sharp tongue. Charlotte couldn't quite grasp what he meant.
However, Leanna did. Her hands curled up as her chest tightened, making it harder for her to breathe.
As she stared blankly out the window, someone unfurled one of her clenched hands. She felt
something cool slipping onto her ring finger.
Leanna instinctively looked down and saw the pink diamond ring.
Aidan held her hand with a satisfied expression that was rare on him. "It suits you very well."
Leanna finally reacted. "But, you spent twen—"
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"It's fine. Someone else is footing the bill."
Leanna was confused.
"William said to make sure I get it no matter at what cost, and he'll pay for it."
Leanna was speechless.
He's a b*stard, alright.
Half an hour later, the car pulled up outside the apartment.
Leanna took Charlotte by the hand before saying to Aidan, "You can go on up. I'll go and buy a few
things with Charlotte first."
Aidan knew what Leanna wanted to tell Charlotte, so he hummed in acknowledgment and went up.
Charlotte followed Leanna over to the convenience store with a skip in her step. "What are we getting,
Leanna?"
Leanna stopped walking. "Charlotte, there's something I need to tell you."
Charlotte stopped as well. "What is it?"
When she saw the grim look on Leanna's face, a thought occurred to her and she asked tentatively, "Is
it… about Zoe?"
"That's right," Leanna confirmed with a nod.
Charlotte quickly grabbed Leanna's arm. "How's she doing?"
"Not good," Leanna replied. "Charlotte, Zoe… had a miscarriage."
Charlotte's eyes were wide and dazed. "A miscarriage… Does that mean she lost her baby?"
"Yeah," Leanna sighed.
Tears began streaming down from Charlotte's eyes as she gasped, "How could… how could it be… I
got Uncle Joseph to take Zoe to the hospital. How could this happen…"
She choked and couldn't continue talking.
Leanna wiped Charlotte's tears for her. "Zoe's condition was too serious, Charlotte. By the time she
arrived at the hospital, it was already too late."
"It's my fault. It's all my fault," Charlotte wept. "What should I do now, Leanna…"
Leanna hugged her close and patted her on the back, but she didn't know what to say.