<b>Chapter </b><b>217 </b>
Xylia instinctively swung her bag at the intruder, but arge hand intercepted it mid–air.
“It’s me,” a voice said.
Xylia nced up quickly and saw Mia Monroe.
“Wait, Mia? You?”
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Mia was dressed in a stylish long dress, her hair cascading over her shoulders, with her whole face covered by a pair of oversized sunsses.
That pair of shades was a gift from Leon.
Surprisingly, Xylia recognized her just from the small part of her face that wasn’t hidden.
“Do you need something from me?” Xylia asked, a bit surprised.
Mia slid off her sunsses and met Xylia’s gaze, her eyes quietly pleading for help.
“Girl, I need a favor,” Mia said.
Seeing Mia hiding out in thedies‘ room, Xylia immediately thought she was being chased by some obsessive fan.
Xylia quickly said, “Is a crazy fan after you? I can block them for you.”
Mia shook her head.
“It’s not a fan,” she replied.
“Then who is it?” Xylia asked.
“Leon,” Mia replied.
Xylia was speechless.
‘Leon’s not very good at chasing after women. It’s been so long, and Mia’s still avoiding him,‘ she thought.
“What happened between you two?” Xylia asked.
Mia didn’t answer, just held onto Xylia’s arm and looked up at her with those obsidian eyes, a little vulnerable.
“So, will you help me or not?” Mia asked.
Xylia asked, half–joking, “Did Leonmit some kind of serious offense against you?”
“Girl, as another woman, you can’t just leave me hanging here,” Mia said.
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Xylia let out a resigned sigh. ‘Seriously, why do I always end up in these situations?‘ she thought.
“Is Leon outside?” she asked.
Mia nodded.
“Alright, I’ll head out and buy you some time. Just sneak out when you get the chance,” Xylia said.
Mia shed her an OK sign.
Xylia quickly used the restroom and then stepped out.
She took a quick look around the mall, her eyes sweeping over the area, but Leon was nowhere in sight.
Instead, Joshua had bought Be an ice cream, and the two–one grown–up, one little–were sitting sweetly together on a bench outside the restroom, both looking well–behaved as they waited for her.
When Xylia came out, Joshua didn’t even pay Be any attention–he just got up and walked straight to Xylia.
“Want me to call Howard and ask him toe take this kid home?” Joshua asked.
Xylia could see how impatient he was from the look in his eyes.
She’d just watched him and Be getting along and figured he actually liked being around kids.
‘Wow, turns out he’s just been biting his tongue the whole time,‘ Xylia thought.
“You don’t like kids?<b>” </b>she asked.
“Nope,” he replied instantly.
Joshua blurted it out without hesitation.
Xylia nced past him to where Be was sitting nearby, holding her ice cream.
Seems like Joshua’s words actually worked–Be didn’t rush over, just stayed put and waited quietly for Xylia toe to her.
“Alright, go ahead and call,” Xylia said.
Honestly, Be swings by to hang out so much, it’s starting to be a bit of a hassle.
Joshua’s eyes lit up<b>, </b>and he quickly stepped aside to make the call.
Xylia didn’t forget her mission. She beckoned Be over, and the little girl scurried to her side.
“Sis!” Be called out.
“Let’s go wait for Joshua outside,” Xylia suggested.
Be grabbed Xylia’s hand and tagged along with her out.
Finally, Xylia spotted Leon at the edge of the mall corridor.
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Dressed in a ck coat and wearing a face mask, Leon was keeping a low profile as he fiddled with his phone.
Now Xylia realized why she hadn’t recognized Leon at first–he’d purposely used makeup to change his double eyelids to singles,pletely switching up his look. If he hadn’t shot her a nce when she came out, she honestly wouldn’t have known this was her superstar brother Leon.
Xylia led Be by the hand and walked over.
“Hey Leon, what are you up to?” Xylia asked.
Leon shot a curious nce at the little girl beside Xylia, but didn’t bother with it right now.
“Did you see Mia in the restroom?” he asked.
Xylia shot Leon a confused look. “Mia? She wasn’t in the restroom when I was there.”
“Come on, that can’t be right. I’ve been standing guard out here this whole time; no way she slipped past me,” Leon protested.
Xylia eyed him like he was some sort of suspicious stalker. ‘Does he even realize how sketchy that sounds?‘ she thought.
Leon awkwardly scratched his head, realizing how weird his exnation must’ve sounded. “I mean, we just had <i>a </i>little spat. One moment we’re shopping, next thing I know, she bolts. That’s all.”
As he talked about it, Leon’s voice sounded a little hurt.
“What exactly happened between you two to make her avoid you like this?” Xylia asked.
Leon said, “She was supposed to star as the female lead in a new drama, but the director suddenly switched things up and gave the job to some random nobody. I tried to use my status as one of the Sadler heirs to pressure the director, but Mia chewed me out for it.”
Xylia was honestly taken aback.
From what she knew, Leon had been hustling in showbiz all these years, never, not once, riding on the Sadler family’s name–he did everything by himself.
Back when he was a nobody, just ying extras, the guy got plenty of heat from the big names<b>, </b>even though he had the looks going for him.
He’d wed his way up to where he was now and thought those days of needing family backup were long
gone.
But for Mia’s sake, he was finally ready to y the Sadler card.
“You’ve got a solid reputation in the industry now–doesn’t your word mean anything?” Xylia asked.
Leon’s eyes shed with a rare, simmering anger.
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“It’s all about the investors on this one. The director’s always been someone who calls his own shots, never bothered by outside pressure. But now he’s suddenly done a one–eighty. I looked into it—there’s a major high–society family meddling in the background,” Leon exined.
Leon had dug up that it was Connor orchestrating the whole thing.
But he didn’t want to mention that creep to Xylia and end up making her feel bad.
Xylia paused, weighing her options.
Leon, growing anxious, pressed her, “Xylia, are you sure Mia’s not inside? Could you go check for me one more time?”
Xylia felt torn–she’d already promised Mia she’d help, but she still gave Leon a long, searching look.
Leaving Be by Leon’s side, Xylia turned and went back into thedies‘ room.
Mia was still holed up in there.
“You’re really determined to dodge Leon, huh?” Xylia asked.
Mia shot her a suspicious look. “You’re not gonna sell me out, right?”
“Honestly, I’m always Team Leon. Helping you would basically make me a traitor,” Xylia quipped.
Now Mia looked even more suspicious.
But Xylia changed her approach.
“So tell me are you running away because you don’t want Leon pulling the Sadler Group card to get you the lead role, or are you actually just trying not to face whatever’s going on between you and him?” Xylia pressed.
Mia knit her brows<b>. </b>
“Why would you even ask me that?” Mia shot back.
“Because I don’t think disagreeing over that drama gig is why you’re hiding from Leon. You’re not someone who avoids tough conversations. Be honest, Mia–do you just not have feelings for him?” Xylia asked.
Mia went quiet,
Xylia had a feeling she knew what was going on, but she couldn’t help wanting to say a few words for Leon.
I’m not going to betray you or anything,‘ Xylia said, her tone gentle. ‘But if you really don’t like Leon<b>, </b>you better let him know now–the longer you drag it out, the messier these feelings get.
Xylia slipped out of the restroom.
Leon was still anxiously waiting right outside, looking pretty stressed.
Joshua had just finished his call and was standing next to him.
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Xylia shook her head. “The restroom’s not that big. I checked everywhere, and Mia’s definitely not in there. Maybe she slipped out when you weren’t looking?”
“No way,” Leon said, his voice firm.
But deep down, he wasn’t so sure about his own memory.