Leonard looked down at her.


    His gaze was strange, filled with an inexplicableplexity. It felt as though


    someone who had never given her a second nce was suddenly studying her with intense scrutiny.


    It made Ste feel extremely weird and ufortable.


    She looked at Leonard defensively. "Is there something you want?"


    The icy caution in the woman''s eyes was a world away from the rxed trust she showed Joshua. If he hadn''t seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed they were the same person.


    Somehow, Leonard thought of Summer again.


    Summer was always patient and gentle with him, just like... just like Ste was with Joshua.


    Was Summer..... really Ste?


    Seeing Leonard remain silent, still staring at her with that bizarre expression, made Ste even more uneasy.


    "Leonard, what is it you want?" she asked, her tone cold.


    Leonard opened his mouth, intending to ask if she was Summer, but the words that came out were, "Did you send someone to beat up Aurora?"


    Aurora?


    Ste raised an eyebrow. "She was beaten up?"


    She found it hard to believe. In Solmaris, someone actually dared to attack Aurora?


    With her legion of admirers, anyone who let Aurora suffer the slightest grievance would have people knocking on their door to teach them a lesson, let alone physically assaulting her.


    Who on earth had been so bold?


    As Ste was trying to guess who it could be, Leonard''s voice came again.


    "It wasn''t you?"


    Ste scoffed "Ms. Williams is the apple of Mr. Lerman''s eye. Forget beating her up; if she''s even slightly criticized by public opinion online, Mr. Lerman is ready to destroy someone''s hands If someone really dared toy a finger on Ms Williams..."


    Ste paused, her voice dripping with sarcasm.


    "Wouldn''t Mr. Lerman have to tear them limb from limb?"


    Leonard froze, his gaze unconsciously falling on Ste''s hands.


    Her reminder made him recall what he had done to her. In the past, even if he had known Ste was Summer, he might not have cared. But now...


    Thinking of the three paintings Summer had given him for free, and how she had helped him find rity during his most painful and confused moments, Leonard felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest.


    Ste''s fingers were beautiful, clearly the hands of an artist.


    From their appearance, one would never guess she had suffered such a severe injury.


    He remembered that when he had destroyed her hands, Ste had tricked him. Her right hand hadn''t sustained any damage to the bones or tendons. She couldn''t y the violin anymore, but she could still paint.


    Because Leonard had been observing Ste through binocrs, he knew perfectly well that her hands functioned normally in daily life.


    When Ste saw Leonard staring at her hands, she felt a chill run down her spine. This madman wasn''t thinking of a way to destroy her other, unharmed hand, was he?


    Aurora had suffered such a huge loss, and now she''d been beaten up. Leonard might just decide to settle all old and new scores with her at once.


    Others might not be so


    unreasonable, but for Leonard, it was perfectly normal Even after Joshua had crippled one of his hands, Leonard''s nature meant he wouldn''t feel any fear or restraint. Because this man was an obsessive, extreme lunatic.


    At this thought, Ste instinctively pulled her hands under the table, her expression growing even colder. She knew Leonard probably couldn''t attack her in public as brazenly


    before, but who knew if Aurora


    situation had pushed him over the edge?