Hearts System: 1000 Ways to Tell CEO I Love You-Chapter 42: Not a Lie if It’s Real

Luellen could only freeze for a second. She glanced at the door before giggling. "Did I hit your head against the frame, Mr Leander? Why are you awake?"

Leander slowly sat up. "It’s easy to be jolted when two small people carry me. Both of you sound like pigs in a slaughterhouse."

"We tried our best, though! I just didn’t realize Mr Houston wasn’t as fit as he looked." Luellen whined and sighed. She then patted his shoulder. "You should be sleeping longer. Didn’t you pass out earlier? Sleep again, Mr Leander. I’ll watch Mr Beckett tonight. Mr Houston should be here soon, too."

"You lied again."

The maiden flinched. She turned to Leander and stared at him. "I lied? What do you mean? Mr Leander, I am sure Mr Houston will be back..."

Leander chuckled. "What did that nurse say again? Mr Wentworth, your wife is here... You lied again. This time, it’s to someone who can spread it outside the hospital. You can imagine how loud that gossip will echo throughout the Internet. And for what? Just to find me? I’m not even in danger."

Luellen flattened her lips. She looked at Beckett before saying, "Mr Leander, Sydney has a broken rib and some bruising. That’s not from me. I didn’t try to resuscitate her."

"...the vet examined her?"

"Yes, Madam Henny and I looked for a vet for her." Luellen shifted in her seat to face him. "You are in danger, Mr Leander. I don’t think you’re safe around Ms Gala and her niece. Shirley was the only other person with us. She didn’t even want to help me save Mr Beckett. I can imagine her kicking Sydney... but I don’t know about her motive.

"What did they tell you?" Luellen tilted her head. "Ms Gala should have arrived way earlier than I did. She was even hugging you."

Leander hummed and glanced at the maiden. "I didn’t pay attention to them. I didn’t even hear anything the doctor said."

Luellen blinked. She rubbed Leander’s shoulder harder. "It’s okay. I know how that feels. That same thing happened to me when... when my parents died. You don’t have to worry. I completely understand if you tuned out."

The man soon collected her hand in his. He massaged her fingers, particularly the ring finger. "What will you do tomorrow? The whole company will talk about you." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I’m prepared to face them." Luellen sighed with a bitter smile. "As long as I can keep her away from you and your brother, I will lie in all my waking hours. Mr Leander, I’m sorry. Ms Gala is too venomous... and cruel. Shirley surely got it from her bloodline. If I keep quiet, I don’t know how far she’ll go just to manipulate you into marrying her."

"Manipulating me into marrying her?" Leander chuckled. "Isn’t that what you’re doing instead? You’re the one openly calling yourself Mrs Wentworth."

Luellen almost pouted. She turned away. "...you never told me off. You just tell me not to say it if I’m not ready to face the angry women. Tell me now if you want me to stop. I won’t break a promise with you."

Leander shook his head. "Don’t promise me things you can’t do, either. Luellen, you won’t have to lie if I turn it into reality."

He looked straight into her eyes. "I once told you I wanted you. I still do."

The maiden’s mind crashed. Multiple emotions surged within her, and tons of thoughts flowed right in. Her heart pounded so hard that its sound drowned out most other noises in her head. It even drowned out the notification that the Hearts System gave.

Leander leaned close and pressed their lips together. Luellen closed her eyes and savored the feeling. A big hand held her face in place, and warm lips sucked on hers. Instead of fighting it, Luellen relaxed and lifted her hands to Leander’s shoulders. She didn’t realize making out with a crush would feel so good... so overwhelming.

"...Leander..." Luellen whispered as Leander pulled back slowly. She covered her face with her hands. "This is...! I didn’t think this could happen this way...!"

"Hm... no one did..." Leander combed her hair back from her face. He kissed Luellen’s face again. "I can watch over my brother on my own, Luellen. Why don’t you go home or back to the hotel instead? You need to rest."

Luellen dropped her hands and shook her head. She had a small smile on her face. "I can manage. I’ll watch him with you."

She didn’t know how long she stared at Leander. Her bright eyes could only inscribe his features in her mind, never to forget this night. If she could get another kiss, she might as well drown in it.

Leander leaned closer again, kissing Luellen’s mouth for the second time. He even moved to have enough personal space for Luellen to fill.

Knock, knock! Luellen froze, yet Leander only glared at the person by the door. Houston had his fist knocking on the open door. The secretary then cleared his throat. "The medical director wants to speak with you, Leander. It’s about Mr Beckett’s treatment. He’s, ahem, standing outside."

"Can’t they stop working? It’s past ten." Leander could only pull away from Luellen. He slowly got to his feet and smoothed his creased suit. He walked out of the room and spoke as if he had always been so attentive.

"Hey, you..." Houston walked inside and set canned drinks and a few snacks on the corner table beside Luellen. "Congratulations on your engagement with Leander, but try not to distract him too much. If his performance slips, I will blame you."

"Thanks..." Luellen sighed and picked up a snack. "I won’t drag you down..."

Houston sat where Leander was and visibly browsed on his phone. Luellen only glanced at his phone, but the privacy screen made it look black. Then, Houston fiddled with the settings to get rid of it.

The secretary glanced at Luellen sharply before clearing his throat. "The merger will still take precedence, but booking venues and catering services has to be done months in advance. I’m sure no one will let this go without them feeling grand about it. Since you’re going to be Leander’s new fiancee, you have to plan the engagement party with me."

Luellen flinched. "Isn’t this too soon? Shouldn’t we talk to Ms Valerie first? She’s Leander’s fiancee right now. Wait... he already has a fiancee! Why did he ask me to marry him now?"

"Ms Valerie has long since split from Leander. They only keep it a secret to avoid families from recommending daughters and sons again." Houston glanced at her. "Do you have more questions? Work with me here. I won’t pay attention to you during work hours. I barely have spare time."

"Why does it feel like you’re just so excited to plan a party?" Luellen chuckled before looking at Beckett’s bed. "I want to reserve the happy occasion after making sure Beckett is recovering. Can we do that?"

Houston hid his phone. He giggled. "It’s good that you’re not greedy."

Luellen turned to him. "Is there a chance that you’re related to Leander?"