Ste coldly pulled her hand from Leonard''s grasp and tried to leave.


    "Why do you think he came back?" Leonard''s voice was t.


    Ste''s steps faltered almost imperceptibly.


    Leonard''s voice continued from behind her. "Don''t think he''s some selfless saint. He came back this time to collect his due. You''ve heard the rumors about the Gardner family, I''m sure. A man like him isn''t so easy to shake off."


    Ste hadn''t wanted to engage with Leonard, but hearing him speak about Joshua like that sparked a flicker of disgust.


    She turned back to face him.


    "A man like him? No matter how bad Joshua might be, he''s a thousand times better than you, Mr. Lerman. Before you go demeaning others, maybe you should think about what you''ve done. What you''ve done isn''t any better than what he''s done. At the very least, Joshua never targets innocent people."


    Leonard''s eyes narrowed.


    Even though Joshua had hurt her deeply, even though she knew he was no saint, and even after he had just revealed his own intentions toward her, Ste still defended him without a second thought.


    Was it just because he had helped her? Was she willing to forgive him so easily and stand by his side without hesitation?


    An emotion akin to jealousy suddenly rose in Leonard''s chest. It was a kind of favoritism he had never experienced.


    A strange idea surfaced in his mind.


    If he had helped her the way Joshua had, would she defend him like this too?


    Leonard knew, deep down, that even if he did, Ste probably wouldn''t treat him the way she treated Joshua. Yet, the desire for something he''d never had, something he desperately wanted, swirled in his mind, making him feel as if he were possessed.


    Leonard''s gaze on Ste grew deeper, darker.


    Noticing the change in his expression, Ste instinctively took a few steps back. She wasn''t nervous like she had been with Joshua; instead, her face was filled with wariness. She thought Leonard must be plotting another way to kill her.


    Just then, a long, cool hand rested on her shoulder.


    "Star."


    Ste turned and saw the man''s familiar, handsome face, and her heart inexplicably calmed.


    "Leonard, stay away from Star," Joshua said coldly.


    Leonard''s eyes were dark and unsettled. Seeing the identical


    expressions on their faces wel


    them in his side.


    For some reason, a cold smirk crossed his face, and he turned and walked away.


    After Leonard left, Joshua asked in a low voice, "Star, did he bully you again?"


    Ste shook her head. "Not really. It was just the same old attempts to stir up trouble. Nothing new."


    She hadn''t paid any attention to Leonard''s words.


    Leonard''s appearance had diffused some of the tension between them. However Ste still found herself


    subconsciously avoiding Joshuas gaze.


    Joshua noticed her avoidance and didn''t press her further.


    He said, "Star, it''s gettingte. Let me take you home."


    Ste agreed almost too eagerly. "Okay."


    The next day, Ste showed up to work with dark circles under her eyes.


    On the way to the office, she kept dozing off, clearly having not slept well the night before and trying to catchup in the car. In the past even when she was so busy she only got two or three hours of sleep, she rarely looked this tired.


    It was obvious Ste had been up all night.