True Fated Marriage (Grace and Heinz)
Chapter 1583

As soon as Hogan heard about something being sold, he instantly became alert. He looked sharply at Leah as if she had done something disgraceful. He asked in a serious tone, "Did you make a deal with someone?"

Hearing this, Leah smiled coldly and said, "Hogan... the things you thought I sold, did you think I sold myself?"

Hogan's eyes narrowed as he stared intensely at Leah. There was an indescribable emotion in his eyes. He continued to ask, "Don't keep me guessing. Tell me, what's going on? What did you sell?"

A deep wave of disappointment flared in Leah's eyes. She tugged the corner of her lips. She never would have thought the day would come where her childhood sweetheart, the nice guy next door, would end up looking at her in this light.

Who knew this was how she was viewed in his heart.

She suddenly had a thought, and wanted to evaluate the disappointment in her heart by testing how Hogan would think.

So she blurted out, "I sold my body, Hogan."

Hogan froze. Suddenly, his hands gripped Leah's shoulders, and with a steel voice, he asked, "What did you say?"

In the adjacent room, Ernest's hand was on the door handle. He wanted to open the door, but as he came in contact with the cool metal, he hesitated.

If he went out now, he would probably bring a lot of trouble to Leah.

He couldn't afford to be impulsive.

Ernest didn't make any further movements. He could only frown as he stood by the door

Outside.

Leah looked at Hogan with a smile.

Hogan was furious and his eyes were bloodshot. He shook Leah's shoulders with force and berated, "Leah, I was wrong about you. You went down an awful path. I thought this was something you would never do no matter how desperate you might be, I never thought you would stoop this low!"

"Hah." Leah cut him off with a laugh. She stretched out her hands and pushed Hogan's arms away. Then he looked at him and said with a smile, "It seems like people always have such impudent views of things. They always think too much. In fact, Hogan, you were overthinking things too, weren't you? Or maybe Rowane said something that suggested I was dealing with other men, so when I told you I sold my body, you believed it?"

Hogan was stunned. He was frozen in place as he looked straight into Leah's eyes. With an odd expression, he questioned her.

"You... what do you mean?"

Could it be that he was overthinking things? Hogan looked at her in disbelief, feeling like he went out of line.

"I'm guessing Rowane told you I sold my body in exchange for money to pay my father's medical bills. No wait, she would never admit that the money I had was rightfully earned. She must have emphasized about how I didn't care about my father, because I must have been with an old bald man, saying I was clinging to the rich and powerful, and that I had raked in a lot of money from all that. That's what she said, right? Or maybe she told you I was grasping the thighs of some sleazy perverted man to run away from my family, was that it?"

Hogan pursed his lips. He couldn't respond because everything Leah said was on the dot.

Seeing Hogan's reaction, everything was made clear to Leah. She didn't want to keep him in the dark any longer and said bluntly, "I'm selling the rights of my book online. You may not have known this, but I'm a relatively well-known web novel author. The rights of the books I wrote could be sold for cash, and I was able to get my hands on a big reward."

Upon hearing this, Hogan instantly felt ashamed. He didn't dare look into Leah's eyes.

Leah's gaze was cold and sharp, clear and piercing, and Hogan felt guilty under her glare.

Leah didn't say anything else, she only looked at Hogan with angered eyes. Only after a long time had passed did he let out a bleak, helpless smile.

"Leah." Hogan finally broke the silence. After a few beats, he said sharply, "I'm really sorry, I was overthinking everything. Congratulations, Leah, on being able to sell the rights of your book. May I know your pen name?"

"You're not getting it, Hogan." Leah rejected him straight.

Hogan pursed his lips and said, "So you're saying you won't tell me."

"That's right, it'll remain unknown to you," Leah said smoothly, "because once I tell you my pen name, Rowane will find out about it. And for the sake of my peace and quiet, I still hope I'll be able to continue writing without any obstacles. I hope you'll respect my decision."

"When you say it like that, I really can't refute you." There was a bitter twitch on the corners of Hogan's lips.

Was it always like this between him and Leah?

He felt sour, uncomfortable, and helpless all at the same time.

"Then don't, the outcome would be the same anyway. Hogan, you misunderstood me way too much, it's a miracle I didn't slap you." Leah's tone was distant yet extremely cold. She wasn't angry, but her deliberate indifference was frightening

In that instant, Hogan didn't know how to respond. He could only look at Leah with a complicated expression. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it.

Leah walked to the coffee table, picked up the fruits, and placed them back in Hogan's hands after making her way towards him. She said, "Hogan, you should bring these fruits to Rowane. I don't need to eat fruits. My cold is pretty serious and I don't think I can eat cold foods. I'm sorry, I'm going to sleep. Please leave and never come back."

This was Leah's final order for him to leave, her resolute demeanor left no room for a compromise.

Looking at the fruits in his hand, Hogan frowned. He put them back on the coffee table, then turned around and went out. He stood at the gate and looked at Leah. He said softly, "Leah, I'm sorry. I was overthinking just now. Again, I apologize."

Leah smiled again and said, "Hogan, you're not just thinking too much, you're also worrying too much."

Hogan frowned, his eyes looking more conflicted and shocked. "Leah."

"It's not your place to interfere with my affairs. If you care about Rowane, I believe she'll be very happy," Leah said in a solmen voice. "Since you value Rowane so much, you don't have to worry about what I think. No matter what my thoughts, it has nothing to do with you, and I've already decided you're not qualified."

"Leah, I grew up with you. Why are you being so difficult? I admit what I did just now was my fault, but I did it for your own good," Hogan argued. "Why are you like this?"

"For my own good?" Leah laughed. "Hogan, do you know what outsiders think?"

"Outsiders?"

"Outsiders say people like you don't have a position. You want to sway between Rowane and

I. You don't understand the conflict I have with Rowane, but I know that she likes you, she wants to own you. But you trying to care for the both of us like this isn't what Rowane wants, and it's certainly not what I want," Leah said in a low voice. "Do you understand?"

Hogan was stunned. He was completely stupefied, unable to say anything.

"Hogan, if you like Rowane, then treat her well. You came to see me today on behalf of Rowane, she'll be very happy," Leah said with a smile. "But next time, just call me. We don't need to see each other. Goodbye."

Leah couldn't care less about Hogan's reaction and slammed the door shut.

The moment she closed the door, she felt her entire body go limp, and her heart was beating in pain. After all, they were childhood friends, and she always treated Hogan as somewhat of a brother. Even when she was still young and cute, she always had a good impression of him. Now, however, all that was left was disappointment.

After closing the door, Leah leaned against it. She first lowered his head and massaged her face, hoping to pull out a bright smile. What she didn't know was that Ernest had already witnessed the scene. The door to the bedroom had been opened in silence. Ernest leaned against the doorframe and looked at Leah despondently. A faint trace of heartache flashed clouded his eyes, but it was gone and cleared in a flash.

But when Leah raised her eyes, she was met with the figure of Ernest. She was slightly surprised, and an embarrassed smile was frozen on her face.

Could Ernest have overheard her conversation with Hogan?

Of course he must have heard it. The door wasn't soundproof in the slightest, so he must have heard everything clearly.

Leah's lips twitched and she smiled sheepishly. "Looks like you heard everything. That guy was my next-door neighbor. If he saw us in the same room, at night, with the both of us in pajamas, he would probably jump to conclusions. So for my recklessness just now, I hope you won't take it to heart."

Leah still took the step to try and explain everything to him.

Ernest felt heartbroken when he looked at her withdrawn state.

He heard everything in full clarity.

He had also overheard Leah's family matters involving her stepmother and her younger half-sister.

Her father was ill, her stepmother treated her terribly, and her younger sister might also be plotting against her. Amidst it all, Leah never gave any clues about the matter away.

She was always seen as the happy outgoing girl, so it wasn't easy to see sadness buried in her eyes.

If he hadn't heard her conversation just now, Ernest would have found it hard to imagine how Leah had such a complicated family with troublesome affairs.

Everyone has difficulties in their lives, but there is no one way to deal with it. The more Ernest looked at Leah, the more he felt sorry for her.

When Leah saw Ernest standing quietly with a pensive look in his eyes, she instantly raised her hand in a gesture to stop him. She said firmly, "Ernest, if you're my friend, don't look at me with such pitiful eyes. Your sympathy will only give me goosebumps.'

Hearing Leah sounding so defeated, Ernest's heart ached even more.