Love's Change of Heart

Leanna pulled out her phone and downloaded all of the photos.

Zoe even added a few photos Leanna had not asked for, such as a photo of both Daphne and Louis.

The two of them looked so strangely perfect together. They even made the intricate backdrop they had spent hours on look boring and dull in comparison.

After arriving home, Leanna took off her shoes and headed straight into the bedroom to grab the photo album from the bookcase. She then returned to the living room couch where she pulled out her phone so that she could carefully compare Louis' looks to William's.

Aidan walked over to sit beside her. As he wrapped his arms around her, he asked, "What are you doing?"

She shuffled slightly, annoyed at him. "Behave. This is important."

He only needed one glance at her phone and the photo album to know what she was doing.

After repeated comparisons, she turned to Aidan and said, "Look! Doesn't Louis just look like my dad when he was younger?"

"Yes. Kind of."

She was confused by his answer.

"What do you mean by 'kind of'?" she asked, puzzled.

He took the album from her and languidly flipped through it. "It means all beauty looks the same."

She stared at him in silence.

Was there something wrong with him?

"Of course, I am not like them," he continued.

She was so speechless that she was speechless personified.

"You actually dared to say that to my father's face?" she huffed.

He froze and fell silent.

She snatched the album away from him and grumbled, "Louis doesn't look like Jethro as a young man."

"Have you seen photos of Jethro as a young man?"

After a beat, she eventually replied, "No."

"That solves the mystery."

She was not willing to give up on that train of thought, however. "Don't you think they look really similar in terms of their bone structure and brows? Maybe someone made a mistake with the DNA test…"

"You should not be thinking about that at this time," he said.

She fell for his trap. "Then…"

He placed his hand around the back of her neck and kissed her. "If you want another child, you need to make a move."

Before she could even make a sound, she was carried into the bedroom.

The rain continued to drizzle outside. Sometime during the night, it grew into a storm.

As drops of rain smashed against the windowpane, the air within the room grew warmer as moans filled the air.

As he kissed her fingers, his gaze wandered over her arms.

There was a spot on her arm that was different.

It seemed to be hiding injection marks.

He slowed down and softly asked, "What's happened here?"

As she caught her breath, she turned to look at the spot at which he was staring. The haze in her mind instantly vanished and she nonchalantly replied, "It's from mosquito bites."

"Is this what mosquito bites look like?"

"Yes. It's the really tiny kind. It's all because you planted so many flowers at the studio. We are drowning in them during the summer."

She thought her excuse was perfect.

He stared at her, stunned.

After a few moments of silence, he leaned down to kiss her brow and slowly repeated, "It's all my fault."

The tone in his voice made her wonder if she had gone overboard. After all, the flowers were nice to look at.

Furthermore, it was just an excuse she made up.

"Well… It's not that bad. They can't get in through the mosquito netting. I just… I accidentally left it open…" she stammered.

"Good on you for your self-reflection," he remarked.

She was rendered speechless.

Give him an inch and he will take a mile.

…

When Leanna fell asleep, Aidan tucked her in before walking over to the balcony.

He pulled out his phone and looked at the paternity test Jonathan sent him a few weeks ago.

His dark eyes narrowed in thought as he stared at the report.

After a while, he put it away and headed back inside.

Halfway through the night, Leanna sensed a cooling sensation on her arm. She even smelled the faint scent of herbs in the air.

She opened her eyes and turned to the man sitting beside the bed. As she resisted the urge to fall back to sleep, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"You said you were bitten by mosquitoes, right? Don't scratch at the spot and use this instead. Bring it to the office tomorrow. It's also a repellant," he softly replied.

She froze as all thoughts of sleep fled her mind.

He put down the herbal balm in his hand and turned off the light before laying down beside her. He then pulled her into an embrace. "Let's go back to sleep."

She spent a few minutes in silence with her head on his chest. Then, she softly called out, "Aidan."

"Hm?"

"If… Would you hate me if I am unable to bear you any children in the future?"

"That doesn't matter. Anyway, we already have a son," he answered, wrapping his arms around her.

"What if we don't even have a single child together? Would you divorce me?" she asked.

"He already exists. This hypothesis is baseless."

She fell silent.

Could he not even reassure her with a few words of love?

B*stard.

As she turned over to go back to sleep, he continued, "I recall telling you that I never liked children much. I only like you."

She smiled. "If my memory serves me right, you said you hated children. Why has it turned into 'not liking them much'?"