Chapter 425
Seraphina’s gaze was as tranquil as still water.
Leandro, upon noticing, was fully aware that she had learned about Gloria’s situation.
Clearly, she had anticipated the outcome of this ordeal, hence her lack of agitation or anger.
At this moment, Leandro found himself wishing that Seraphina would let her emotions loose, causing a scene-however, no matter she was the Seraphina of the past or the Seraphina of the present would never resort to such behavior.
She continued to hold Valerio tightly, accompanying him while he flipped through his picture book. After a while, she finally said, “I’ll stay here with Valerio tonight. You should head home and rest.”
Upon hearing this, Leandro simply said, “I’ll stay too.”
At these words, Valerio’s eyes lit up. When he turned to look at Seraphina, a faint smile appeared on his face.
Seraphina wanted to say something, but upon seeing Valerio’s reaction, she relented.
Throughout the evening, neither of them mentioned a word about Gloria’s situation in front of Valerio.
Around ten o’clock, Valerio fell asleep in Seraphina’s arms, his breathing gradually becoming steady.
Leandro was still sitting on the couch, reviewing some documents until he heard Valerio’s stable breathing. Only then did he slowly look up.
Seraphina was semi-reclining on the hospital bed, her hand on Valerio’s back, gently protecting him, trying to provide him with a peaceful sleeping environment.
At this time, although Valerio had already fallen asleep, she still maintained her position, quietly watching Valerio, not moving an inch.
Leandro put down the documents in his hand, stood up, and walked over to Seraphina to adjust her blanket.
“Thank you,” Seraphina murmured.
Leandro didn’t respond. Instead, he sat down at the edge of the bed and after a moment of silence, he finally said, “I know you’re worried, but I can assure you that from now on, my mother will never be able to harm Valerio again.”
Upon hearing his words, Seraphina’s gaze immediately fell on Valerio’s face. Seeing that Valerio hadn’t been startled, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I don’t want to discuss this here. Valerio might get scared if he hears us.”
“Valerio is asleep,” Leandro said. “He won’t hear us…”
“How do you know what he’s dreaming about at this very moment?” Seraphina interrupted. “Your words can seep into his subconscious mind and affect his dreams-he’s already had a tough day, so I don’t want him to continue being scared even in his dreams.”
“Even if he hears us, he doesn’t have to be scared,” Leandro said. “Because from now on, no one can hurt him.”
Seraphina slightly closed her eyes, then opened them again to ask, “What makes you so confident?”
Leandro said, “Sera, my mother’s mental state isn’t something I made up. She’s been in a terrible emotional state for a long time, which is a serious mental illness. In the past, she avoided treatment and refused to face her condition. From now on, I will have someone keep an eye on her at all times and treat her.”
“I know you have a whole team of psychological experts,” Seraphina said. “But is that enough to ensure Valerio’s safety?”
“I can assure you-Valerio will be safe.”
“I don’t know, and I’m not sure!” Seraphina said. “Let’s talk about it after Valerio calms down.”
After saying this, Seraphina slowly closed her eyes.
Leandro sat by her bed for a while before finally standing up and leaving the room.
Hearing him leave, Seraphina slightly opened her eyes and watched his retreating figure in silence.
Only when he reached the end of the hospital corridor did Leandro take out his phone and call Keen, “How’s the situation?”
“It’s… not good.” Keen seemed a bit conflicted but had no choice but to tell the truth. “Madam is very resistant to the forced intervention and contact by the psychologists… They say she’s in extreme despair and pain, with tendencies of self-harm and suicide, so her mood needs to be adjusted as soon as possible… Mr. Reynolds, maybe you should come back and check on her?”
After hanging up, Leandro glanced towards the direction of Seraphina’s room but ultimately headed towards the elevator.
Leandro was gone for several hours. When he came back to the hospital, it was around 5:30 in the morning.
In the ward, Valerio was still sound asleep, while Seraphina was wide awake and saw him enter.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Leandro glanced at her and dimmed the room’s already faint light a little more.
Seraphina’s gaze remained on his face, “You’re here at this hour, doesn’t that mean you haven’t slept either?”
Leandro didn’t respond. He sat back down on the couch and said, “It’s still early. You had a long day yesterday. Get some more rest.” However, Seraphina just got up from the bed, put on her shoes, walked over to him and turned on the floor lamp next to the couch.
The warm light spread out, clearly illuminating the scratch marks on Leandro’s face.
The moment he entered the room, Seraphina noticed the marks on his face. Now they were even more visible. Four in total, not too noticeable, but still enough to stand out.
Seraphina quietly observed Leandro for a while, until he reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Seraphina didn’t struggle, but she didn’t look at him either. After sitting quietly for a few minutes, she finally turned her head and asked, “Does it hurt?”
Leandro’s eyes were deep, and he merely shook his head slightly.
Seraphina was silent for a moment, not saying anything. She stood up, put on her coat, and left the room.
When she returned a short while later, she had a tube of ointment in her hand.
Seraphina slid back next to Leandro, uncapping a tube of ointment. She dabbed a bit onto her fingers and warmed it in the palm of her hand before gently applying it to Leandro’s wounds.
“You’re the mighty CEO of Reynolds Group. Don’t you think it’d be a laughing stock if people saw you in such a state?” Seraphina teased.
“I’ve never been afraid of ridicule,” Leandro retorted.
Seraphina simply hummed in response, then added, “But Valerio would be.”
At hearing this, Leandro couldn’t help but fix his gaze on Seraphina.
Only after she had finished applying the ointment did Seraphina continue, “She’s always been so protective of you, and yet she’s the one who caused this… It just shows how terrible her condition must be, doesn’t it?”
“She’ll get better,” Leandro said, his voice icy.
“Healing the mind requires a different kind of medicine,” Seraphina said. “Are you not worried that your aggressive approach might backfire?”
Leandro’s gaze grew even colder. “Are you concerned about her?”
“She’s ill, perhaps not even in control of her own actions. From your perspective, from an outsider’s perspective, she could be forgiven,” Seraphina said. “But from my perspective, she’ll never be worthy of forgiveness. So no, I’m not concerned about her. I’m concerned about you.”
Seraphina was a helpless orphan living with the Reynolds family when she fell in love with Leandro, the charming second son of the family. But their crush was short-lived as Seraphina was blamed for pushing Leandro's girlfriend off a building and forced to leave the Reynolds family.
Seven years later, Seraphina had become a stunning and successful overseas journalist, while Leandro had taken over the family business as the sole heir of the Reynolds fortune. When they unexpectedly crossed paths again, Seraphina tried to ignore him, but Leandro kept appearing in her life, interrupting her every chance of finding a boyfriend. One day, Seraphina confronted him and asked, "What exactly do you want from me?" Leandro, always calm and reserved, blew a smoke ring in her face before answering, "I want to sleep with you."...
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