Leonard turned to the assistant behind him. "Aurora and I have something to discuss. Take my suitcase home."


    His meaning was clear: the assistant wouldn''t be driving.


    The assistant nodded, gave Aurora a polite greeting, and left.


    Today, Leonard wasn''t wearing gloves. Aurora had expected his mechanical arm to be conspicuous and frightening. But seeing it up close, she realized the prosthetic''s synthetic skin was virtually indistinguishable from real flesh. Even the skin tone perfectly matched Leonard''s, making it impossible to spot the difference.


    He seemed to havepletely adapted to the arm; his posture looked much more natural as he walked. He must have been continuously optimizing the prosthetic over the past six months.


    With today''s advanced technology, these kinds of prosthetics were made to look and feel just like the real thing. Once fully adapted, it didn''t affect his ability to grasp objects or even drive.


    However, no matter how realistic a fake was, it was still a fake.


    As Leonard drove away from the airport, he asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"


    Aurora sold out Simone without a second thought. "I met with Simone the other day, and she told me... she said you seem to have fallen for Star. Is that true?"


    Leonard pressed his lips together. After a long silence, he finally spoke. "That''s my private business."


    He didn''t deny it.


    For Leonard, not denying it was the same as admitting it.


    Even though she had been mentally prepared, the stark reality of it still left Aurora stunned for a moment.


    He had actually... fallen for Ste.


    Was it just because Ste was ''Summer,'' the artist he admired?


    But hadn''t he once said that ''Summer'' wasn''t that important?


    Aurora wanted to understand the reason, but as someone who never gave her heart to anyone, she couldn''t figure it out.


    After a moment, she spoke softly. "Star is truly exceptional. Even though she''s divorced now, there are still many men who like her. It''s just..."


    She sighed softly. "Star''s misunderstanding of you runs too deep. I''m afraid it won''t be resolved anytime soon. It''s all because of me that things between you and Star have be irreparable. Leonard, I''m truly sorry."


    Aurora dared to bring this up because she knew that she had


    nothing to do with the incident that tod destroyed Ste''s hand. In fact, one of the reasons Aurora had withdrawn from thepetition back then was so that Ste could shine in the world of violin and


    wouldn''t have to work at The Williams Group.


    But Leonard, unable to stand seeing her suffer the slightest grievance, had gone and destroyed Ste''s hand. Aurora had been exasperated for a long time after learning about it. Instea of helping, Leonard''s


    action had only forced Ste right back where Aurora didn''t want her.


    And while Aurora and Ste were on different sides, she had never spoken ill of Ste in front of Leonard. Even now, Aurora could bring up Ste''s name with a clear conscience.


    Leonard fell silent.


    He had indeed acted willfully back then, leaving no room forpromise. He never imagined that ''Summer'' was Ste.


    But even if he had known at the time that Ste was ''Summer,'' would he have spared her simply because he admired her work?


    Leonard had thought about this question for a long time. The final answer was: not necessarily.


    He might not have been so ruthless, but he wouldn''t necessarily have let Ste off the hook. To him back then, even ''Summer'' wasn''t as important as Aurora.