Secretly Mine
Chapter 201: Warmth

Chapter 201: Warmth

I continued to rub my cheek in the car. My father didn’t even let me grab something cold to reduce the swelling before tossing me out of the house like a stray cat.

His last words rang in my head on repeat: ’Don’t bother coming home until Christian has forgiven you!’

My mouth curved into a big frown. I always used to think that my father was intelligent, simply fixed in his old ways. But after this most recent episode, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

It seemed like everything I thought I knew about him, about my family, was slowly being turned upside down.

Maybe it’s just because he’s desperate to get us out of this financial crisis?

I still didn’t understand how we were facing a financial crisis, especially after the huge payout from the Sophia season launch event...

-

As we approached the towering Vittoria Global, I pulled out a compact mirror from my purse to check my appearance. My cheeks were streaked with dried tears, and the side of my face that was slapped was raw and bright red.

I let out a sigh as I looked at my reflection.

Hopefully, no one will see me like this in the office today.

Once the car stopped, I got out of the car and hurried into the building, keeping my head lowered so that the red handprint on my face didn’t attract attention.

The lobby was relatively busy, but everyone seemed to be too preoccupied to notice me or my face. As soon as I made it inside the elevator, I finally relaxed. My cheek still stung and seemed to begin swelling.

I should see if I can find something to ice it with in the break room.

I pressed the button for the floor beneath mine and hoped that everyone had already finished getting their morning coffee by the time I got there.

When the elevator doors finally opened, I stepped out into the empty hallway.

Looks like the coast is clear.

But as I made it inside of the break room, I ran into the person I was trying to avoid the most-- Christian.

Fuck!

Just as I was about to turn around and sneak away, the clanking of my heels gave me away, causing Christian to turn around and look at me.

His eyes immediately landed on my face, causing his expression to darken.

"Leslie! Are you okay? What happened?"

He forgot about his coffee and quickly walked over to stand in front of me, looking at me with concern.

Why?! Why are you looking at me like that? You don’t care for me like that... right?

I quickly averted my gaze and covered my swollen cheek with my hand. Looking at him would only make me more emotional, and the last thing I wanted was to allow myself to burst out into tears.

"I’m fine. It’s nothing," I replied quickly.

I tried to be nonchalant, but the tremble in my voice gave me away. Christian took another step forward and reached out to touch my hand, but I backed away, not allowing him to touch me.

He paused immediately as I stepped away, but the concern in his eyes never left.

"Leslie... Did your father do this to you?" he asked. His voice was soft and gentle, causing all of the emotions I’ve been suppressing to try to come out.

I stood in silence, keeping my eyes lowered. I knew the moment I looked back up at him would be the moment the dam would break and my tears would come out.

He waited for a moment before walking away.

Is he leaving?

I felt a mixture of relief and sadness. Relief because I didn’t have to deal with potentially breaking down, and sadness because....

There’s no reason I should feel sad. It’s not his business anyway. Why should he care about me?

Just as I was about to steady my wavering heart, I felt something cold press against my hand. I looked down and noticed an icepack wrapped in a clean towel.

"Here, ice it to help with the swelling," he said gently. "I’ll send over some ointment here shortly."

I accepted the ice pack since it was what I came here for originally.

"Thank you." My words were very quiet, but I knew that he heard me.

There was another pause. I felt the air between us change.

Don’t look at him. Don’t look at him!

I kept my eyes fixed on the ground while holding the icepack to my cheek. I didn’t need to look up to know that Christian was still looking at me. I could feel his gaze all over me.

"About yesterday. Thank you. You really saved me from a situation I did not want to be in." Christian finally spoke after what felt like an eternity. His words were very gentle and full of gratitude. "I hope this isn’t because of what you did for me last night."

The next moment, I felt his large hand gently cup my hand, which was holding the icepack to my cheek. It was warm, and instantly made me feel the sense of security that I’ve been craving to feel since what happened in my father’s study this morning.

He held his hand there for a few moments before finally taking a step back.

"Let me know if you need anything. I’ll go get someone to purchase the ointment now," he said softly.

Before I knew it, I was standing alone in the break room. The warmth from Christian’s hand still lingered on mine, giving me a mix of emotions. All of his actions were filled with concern for me. The gentleness that I remembered and the care that I always felt when I was with him were still there.

Why? Why is he still acting like I’m something precious to him? Isn’t his goal to take down my family?

Wasn’t he just using me as a temporary fix?

If all of those things were true, then why did he seem to care so much about me?

Is he just grateful I came to help him?

There were so many different questions spinning in my head that I felt a headache take over. I decided to push the thoughts to the side again and made my way back to my office before someone else saw me with my swollen cheek.

But as soon as I stepped inside my office, I gasped!