Chapter 74 Give us a shot
Mason looked at Leila’s back as she bent down to get into the car and said, “Okay.”
After getting into the car until they arrived at the apartment complex, neither of them spoke a word.
When they reached the apartment and Leila opened the door, Mason came up behind her, not waiting for her to turn on the lights, and pressed her against the wall.
He kissed her neck and whispered huskily, “Leila, do you know what it means to let a man stay overnight?”
Leila didn’t move, her fingers curling slightly against the wall. “I know.”
Mason’s breath was hot. “Is it willingly?”
“Yeah.”
“Not out of gratitude or obligation?”
A blush spread from Leila’s cheeks to the base of her neck, desire and shame driving her in tandem. “Mason, are you going to do this or not? If not, let me go.”
As Leila finished speaking, Mason chuckled behind her. He gently sucked on her earlobe, teasing her, his large hand pressing against her abdomen and pulling her back. “You have no idea?”
His erection was hot and hard behind her.
Leila bit her lower lip hard, forcing herself not to make a sound.
As Mason’s fingers slid down, Leila’s body noticeably trembled.
Mason chuckled softly in her ear, his hot breath washing over her earlobe. “Leila, I want to hear you cry out beneath me.”
“Well, let’s see if you’re up for it.”
As it turned out, Mason did have what it took.
Leila climaxed against the wall twice, sweating, while Mason remained composed in his suit and tie.
When her legs trembled and could no longer support her, Mason held her waist with his big hands and chuckled softly. “Are your legs weak?”
“No.”
Mason teased, “Then let’s continue.”
The last time was in the bathroom. Facing each other, Leila cried out, tears streaming down her face.
When Mason carried her out of the bathroom, Leila finally noticed that she had peeled off a piece of skin from his arm.
Following her gaze, Mason propped his hands on her side, nonchalantly kissing her, “Leila, maybe you should try to rely on me.”
Their eyes met, and Leila took a deep breath, facing him directly, “I don’t want to hold any unwarranted hopes for anyone. Without hope, there is no disappointment, let alone despair.
People can accept cloudy days before seeing a sunny one.
People can accept darkness before seeing the light.
But once they have seen the beauty, they can no longer tolerate the previous darkness and hardship.”
Mason’s Adam’s apple rolled. “Am I really not worthy of your trust?”
“My mom spent half her life with my dad, giving him all her love and youth. And what did she get in return?”
Leila continued, “My mom, who is so timid, could have filed for divorce and relieved herself of half the debt left after my dad disappeared. But she chose to hold onto this marriage, what was the result?”
The result was her father running away with money and rebuilding a new family behind their backs.
Facing Leila’s words, Mason cannot refute them.
Sometimes, promises are the most feeble and powerless things.
The next day, Leila woke up early and paid no attention to the still-sleeping Mason. She quickly washed her face and went downstairs to catch a taxi to Darren’s apartment complex.
Riding the elevator up, Leila raised her hand to knock on the door. In the next moment, she heard Elsa’s voice from inside, “Coming.”
As soon as she saw who was outside, she instinctively started to push the door closed.
Seeing this, Leila held the door with her hand and wedged one foot inside.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Annoyed, Elsa said, “You’ve already hit and yelled at me yesterday. What more do you want?”
“I’m not here for yesterday’s matter.”
“If not for yesterday, then what for?”
“I’m here to get my dad’s contact information. Don’t say you don’t have it.”
“You’ve met your dad already, and neither of you exchanged contact information?”
Ignoring Elsa’s question, Leila calmly said, “Just give me my dad’s contact details, and I’ll leave right away.”
A few minutes later, Leila walked out of the apartment complex with a phone number written down by Elsa.
Standing by the roadside, Leila looked down at the piece of paper in her hand for a moment before dialing the number.
The call connected, and Keith’s tired voice came through the receiver, “Hello, who’s this?”
“Dad, it’s me. When are you free to come back and finalize the divorce with Mom?”
As Leila spoke, there was silence from Keith’s end of the line.
After a while, he spoke in a deep voice mixed with some displeasure and disbelief, “Is this your idea or your mom’s?”
Leila’s voice remained steady, “Does it make a difference?”
Leila’s question caused Keith to fall silent again.
After a few seconds, Keith hung up the phone.
She was about to redial when Keith sent a text message: [I’ll be back the day after tomorrow. If there’s something, we’ll talk when we meet. I’m not available to take calls right now.]
“Can’t take calls?”
Her biological father was truly shameless.
When Leila returned to the apartment complex, she opened the door and saw Mason standing by the window in just his suit pants.
He leaned with both hands on the windowsill, his broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and overall presence exuding a strong masculine aura.
Upon hearing the door open, Mason didn’t turn around but asked casually, “Did you grow up here?”
Leila placed the breakfast on the hall cabinet and changed into slippers. “No.”
Back when The Patel Group was flourishing, she lived in a villa in the city center.
Mason lightly tapped his fingers on the windowsill, seemingly lost in thought. “Hmm.”
Then Mason paused for a moment before asking, “Leila, what’s that over there?”
Leila looked up at him. “Where?”
Mason’s voice was low. “Come here.”
Leila picked up the breakfast from the hall cabinet to the dining table and then walked towards him. “Hmm?”
Mason turned around, gazing at her for a few seconds before reaching out and pulling her into his arms, encircling her waist as he spoke in a low voice, “Went to see your aunt?”
His jaw rested against Leila’s shoulder, his warm breath brushing her earlobe.
“Yeah.”
Leila turned to him, explaining, “I went to see her not because of what happened at the hospital yesterday, but for something else.”
Pressing his hand gently on her shoulder, Mason chuckled softly, “I never met a woman like you.”
Leila knew he was referring to the incident at the hospital with Elsa, “How many women have you met?”
Mason looked down at her, smoothing stray the hair behind her ear, “You often say I’m surrounded by scandals.”
Both fell silent.
After a while, Mason suddenly spoke in a low voice, “Leila, how about having a relationship with me?”
Leila frowned, tensing up.
Mason added, “You’ll have full control. If you want to break up, we’ll break up. If you don’t, we’ll keep going.”
Time can be a strange thing sometimes. If Mason had said this a month ago, Leila would have thought he was being kidding.
But now, strangely, she believed him. Not that she believed they would have a long-lasting relationship, but she believed he genuinely wanted to try. Otherwise, with Mason’s status, he could have any woman he wanted; there was no need to drag things out with her.
Leila remained silent, and Mason didn’t press.
“Mason, saying I’m not attracted to you would be a lie.”
Mason wrapped around her waist, “I know.”
Leila continued, “I’ve been hurt in relationships, but I’m not planning to shut myself off. However…”
At the word ‘however,’ Leila paused.
Mason chuckled softly in her ear, finishing her sentence, “However, you want a straightforward, decent guy, not someone like me who seems unreliable.”
Both were adults, laying their cards on the table, which made things relaxed and easy.
Leila couldn’t help but smile, “Yeah.”
Mason asked, “What kind of guy counts as straightforward and decent?”
Leila answered honestly, “Hard to say.”
There wasn’t a specific standard for straightforward and decent. She couldn’t analyze human nature, and she couldn’t afford to gamble on it; she just had to go with her gut feeling.
Mason joked again, “How do you know I’m not the straightforward and decent type? Maybe my wild appearance is just an act. Perhaps I’ve been celibate for twenty-eight years, secretly in love with someone…”
“Well, then you’re quite reliable.”
Mason paused, squeezing Leila’s fingertips.
Thinking he was joking, Leila tilted her head, turning to look at him, “Who are you secretly in love with?”
Mason lowered his head, meeting her gaze, his breath catching. After a while, a slight smile tugged at his lips, “No one.”
“You can’t even tell a complete lie?”
Mason didn’t respond to her words. He leaned down, aiming to kiss her lips, his voice husky, “You sure you won’t give us a shot?”