True Fated Marriage (Grace and Heinz)
Chapter 1584

Ernest had never cared so strongly for a girl before.

It was never to this degree with Celeste.

He knew Celeste was very lonely, but it was never overly distressing.

Compared to this, Leah had suffered too much.

It was commendable, the way she remained optimistic and repelled any sort of self-pity. She always stood up tall, never leaving a trace of vulnerability. How could anyone not feel for such a strong girl?

"Do you need to keep looking at me with such sympathetic eyes?" Leah smiled helplessly and protested, "What are you doing? Hey, don't look at me like that, okay?" Only then did Ernest smile lightly and say, "I thought you would need my comfort. I was ready to give you a shoulder to lean on, but it looks like that's not necessary."

"What?" Leah was quite shocked. "You would lend me your shoulder?" "Of course." Ernest looked at her very seriously.

Her eyes were burning, and she looked very serious.

"What a pity." Leah sighed in regret and joked, "Ernest, you rarely lend a shoulder for people to lean on, don't you? I didn't savor it and insisted on acting like a tough girl. What should I do? I regret everything. Should I take on the guise of a timid and helpless girl? Maybe then you'll be rash enough to let me lean on them."

Ernest didn't know whether to laugh or cry, this girl was absolutely astounding.

She always brought along a pleasant surprise.

She was still smiling, and he continued staring at her beautiful face for a while. She looked adorable and radiant, and it made Ernest feel soft inside.

He smiled and said, "You can lean on my shoulders anytime as long as you need it."

Leah quickly waved her hand. "I was just joking. Don't take me seriously, I was spewing nonsense."

Ernest narrowed his eyes for a while before he suddenly jumped into action. His impulse took over, and reached out to embrace Leah, holding her in his arms.

Leah stiffened as the tip of her nose brushed against Ernest's chest.

She was paralyzed, and her heart started beating frantically, losing all sense of tempo.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Does this heart even belong to me? It's going to jump out any second now, this is terrifying!" she thought.

In all of Leah's writing career, she would never be able to write a male lead as fascinating or as overbearing as Ernest.

She was tremendously moved.

Leah's nose twitched, feeling like she was about to cry.

But for some reason, she only felt happy, and she opened her mouth and laughed.

Crying wasn't her style, and a smile would suit her better.

Leah smiled and said, "Thank you, Ernest."

Ernest was also a little nervous. With a bundle of Leah in his arms, he didn't know what to do, and his only option was to speak. He didn't want to feel too excited lest Leah should find out about his elation. He said, "When you suddenly pushed me into your room, I thought the person who came over was your boyfriend. Was he the boy next door you had a crush on?"

Of course, that was the question he really wanted to ask.

It was a very important inquiry.

Leah's heart skipped a beat when she heard him. There was nothing for Leah to hide, so she said frankly to Ernest, "You're right. When my feelings first developed, I was really drawn to him. But my sister was extremely clingy to Hogan, so I backed off. I'm not a rash person, so I didn't take any action. If I did, I would have to bite the bullet and go through with it."

Leah felt like she should answer honestly to Ernest's questions. No matter what happens in the future, as long as she wasn't hiding anything, it would be best for her to be truthful.

"And thus, she didn't conceal anything from him. "But now, it seems that there's no need for all that. His target isn't me, but my sister. Oh right, I have a younger half-sister. We share the same father. That's my family. To put it simply, it's complicated."

"Last summer, the doctor I asked you to introduce to me was for my dad. He's been bedridden in the hospital for a long time, even till now. I haven't seen him in a few days."

"To tell you the truth, I don't want to see him. I can't see him now. If I go, my stepmother will start pestering me for money. I've given her enough money, but the minute she opens her mouth to ask for more, I refuse to do so any longer."

Leah kept her head lowered against Ernest's chest and spoke in the embrace of his arms.

These words came from the bottom of her heart.

She had suppressed it in her heart for so long, never revealing it to anybody, and yet she was giving front row seats for Ernest to listen to her.

She didn't know why she was so weak.

She didn't care what Ernest thought. She just didn't want to hide anything because he would have to know it in the future anyway. It was better to tell him everything frankly before anything happened, so that if anything happened, he would be able to make a choice.

And speaking of complicated families, no one has it worse than Ernest, with his mother, his grandparents, and especially his maternal grandparents, so there was nothing to laugh at.

"If you're not going to give it, then don't," Ernest said. "If you want to, then go for it, but if you don't want to, you don't have to. Even if it's your duty, you're still a student in your third year, and you shouldn't have to shoulder everything now. You're a law student, you should understand more than anyone that it's your stepmother who should be responsible for your father."

Unexpectedly, Leah wrapped her hands around Ernest and hugged his waist. She nuzzled her face against his neck and muttered softly, "Your words really touched my heart. That was my thought process as well, it's just that Hogan coming here made me feel all frustrated again."

Ernest was stunned. He looked down at her and thought she was adorable buried in his arms.

When Hogan was mentioned, Ernest frowned and said, "Does Hogan affect you that much?"

"I can't explain it. He just adds fuel to the fire." Leah said, "My sister, Rowane, she's a total snake. Do you know what that means?"

Ernest nodded and said, "I saw it in your book and looked it up. From what I've found, a 'snake' is a slang that originated online to refer to people who appear kind, harmless, and incapable of doing anything wrong. They act nice and friendly on the outside but they're dark and rotten on the inside. They pretend to be pure and innocent when in actuality they're just a backstabbing two-faced b*tch."

"Holy sh*t! You're right on the dot! You actually memorized the description?" Leah said in shock.

Ernest nodded. "Well, I have a good memory, so I took note of it."

"Well, my sister is a snake. But I, the total opposite of a snake, so I have to put up with her all the time. She's not going to take advantage of me that easily." Leah raised her head from Ernest's embrace and looked at his resilient chin. She said, "Alright, your embrace is a miracle cure. My mood is lifted, I feel much better now."

"You're feeling better just like that?" Ernest didn't want to let go just yet, but Leah had comforted herself.

"Yeah." Leah said, "I can't stay in your arms like this forever. It may be warm and touching, but I can't be too greedy. It's just enough."

Ernest was speechless yet again. It was so easy for him to feel so much for her. She was neither childish nor annoying, and she knew to stop when needed.

It was hard to bear when he fully understood the situation.

He looked at her and reached out his hand to pull her into his arms again. "It doesn't matter. You can lean on me anytime. I'll never call you greedy for wanting to feel better."