Love's Change of Heart

Zayn took a long look at Aidan as he was about to leave the house. He wasn't sure if Aidan knew about Leanna's pregnancy. "Mr. Barnett," Aidan called. "I hope this doesn't happen again," he told Zayn.

Hearing Aidan's words, Zayn halted his footsteps and contemplated Aidan's words before responding, "Are you saying this because you're worried about Anna?"

"She's my cousin, after all. Don’t you think I should be concerned?" Aidan asked in return.

"Well, that's surprising. You might not be a good husband, but it seems like you're a good cousin, huh, President Pearson," Zayn uttered. His words made Aidan's gaze darken for a moment. While Aidan fixed his angry gaze on Zayn, Zayn simply nodded before walking away.

Then, Aidan turned back to find Anna standing close to him. Gordon and Sienna were both sitting on the couch, and they didn't look too pleased. This entire incident was supposed to be Zayn's fault, but after the fuss they created, and since Anna didn't have evidence, it now seemed as if the Pearsons were just stirring up some drama.

"I want you to tell me everything from the start, Anna. Is Zayn hiding something, or are you creating something out of nothing?!" Gordon growled.

"I—" Anna was afraid to overdo anything when Aidan was right beside her. Fortunately for her, Justin spoke up at that very moment to save her. "Anna's young, and she places a lot of value on her relationships. Misunderstandings are bound to happen in relationships, right? It's great that we've clarified things. The Barnetts no longer have an issue with this matter either," he said.

Then, Justin shifted his gaze to Anna. "You shouldn't do this in the future, Anna. Both you and Zayn are adults. If you want to be with him for a long time, then you should learn to communicate your issues and talk things out with him. You shouldn't get both families involved—you'd just be causing more havoc," he said.

"I got it," Anna uttered with her head hanging low.

Since Justin had made his statement, Gordon felt like it was no longer appropriate to continue losing his temper. Instead, he let out a cold scoff before he hobbled up the stairs with the support of his walking stick. He was still filled with anger, but he couldn't find an outlet for it.

After Gordon left, Sienna followed along behind him. As she stood up, she gave Anna a stare and turned to look at Aidan before walking away. She looked as if she were considering something as she headed off. "Send me back to my room, Anna," Justin ordered. Anna looked as if she had just won a prize after she heard what Justin said, and she hastily agreed to his orders before pushing his wheelchair to the elevator.

However, Anna had just calmed her nerves when she bumped into Aidan while on the way to Justin's room.

"A-Aidan…" she muttered. He had his hands stuck into his pockets, and there wasn't any warmth in his gaze. "Follow me," he ordered. Anna followed him to the park, and she bit her lip in hesitation before she finally spoke up. "I didn't talk bad about her, and I didn't mention how she's related to—"

Aidan interrupted her words. "When did you find out that she's pregnant?" he asked icily. Anna was taken aback as she hadn't expected him to ask her this question. She panicked for a moment—she knew that she couldn't mention the recent birthday party. Leanna fell into the water that day, so Aidan will suspect that something's fishy if he finds out that I found out on the same day.

"Just two days ago, I heard Zayn saying—" Anna uttered at an unusually quick pace. "Did he tell you about it himself?" Aidan asked with the same emotionless look on his face.

Anna bit her tongue before nodding excessively. "He said that Leanna's pregnant with his child and that he wouldn't leave her even if he married me."

Aidan stood as still as a statue. There wasn't even a hint of emotion on his face, so Anna couldn't tell if he trusted her words or not. "Aidan…" Anna muttered in a cautious tone. "The baby in her belly belongs to Zayn. Are you going to let her give birth to it?

He shot Anna a side glare before responding in an icy tone. "Whether or not she gives birth to the child is none of my business," he uttered.

"W-Well, that's true. I just thought you guys might remarry since you seem pretty nice to her recently," she replied. He scoffed in response to this, but he then parted his long legs to leave without saying anything else. He had only taken a few steps before he stopped and spoke in a dangerous tone. "I don't want anyone else in the Pearson Family to know about the details surrounding her pregnancy," he warned.

She froze for a moment as an icy sensation spread from her toes all the way up to her face. "I… I won't say a single thing." She only felt herself coming back to life after Aidan was long gone—she was too stunned to move before that. She was just about to head back to her room when she saw Sienna walking down the corridor.

"D-Did you hear everything, Sienna?" Anna felt like her heart was about to leap out of her mouth. Sienna crossed her arms in front of her chest before speaking in a hostile voice. "Were you planning to keep this a secret from me if I didn't overhear your conversation?"

"No, but it was Aidan who told me not to say…" Anna protested. Sienna scoffed—she didn't care about Aidan's opinion at all. "If you're so afraid of him, then where did you find the guts to push Leanna down the stairs?"

"Sienna!" Anna let out a sharp cry. She was worried that Aidan would overhear them if he was still nearby. "Don't worry. I've already settled everything that happened in the past, so he'll never find out about it," Sienna replied.

Anna bit her bottom lip. She was pale from the fear that she felt. Back then, when Leanna had been lying on the ground, there was a pool of blood that surged out of her lower area. Even though Anna had insisted that Leanna's pregnancy was a lie back then, Anna questioned her own words after seeing all that blood… Aidan will kill me if he ever finds out about this!

Sienna continued talking before Anna could respond to her. "You should know that this child of Leanna's has to be disposed of, right, Anna?"

…

Achoo! Leanna rubbed her nose after sneezing. The weather had been gloomy and wet over the past two days, and the temperature in the city had gone down. However, all the clothes that Leanna packed were short-sleeved outfits for summer, and she would need time to purchase new clothes.

So, Naomi passed Leanna a few of her own clothes, "I used to wear all of these, but you can have them if they match up to your standards." Although the clothes had relatively old and traditional designs, they didn't seem too out-of-trend when Leanna wore them. It looked more like a retro-themed outfit.