Chapter 5
Home.
The word made Leonard pause slightly.
His reaction made Margaret think he couldn't afford a house yet, and she felt she had misspoken.
"Ah, my parents left me a house. We can live there in the future."
Although Margaret hadn't been back to that house in a long time, it was spacious enough for two people.
It just needed some new household items.
Thinking of this, Margaret decided she could handle the shopping since she had nothing else to do these days.
"The house is at Azure Waters Garden on Maple Avenue, Unit A1501. It's a keypad lock. I'll send the code to your phone later. Oh, right, we haven't exchanged contact information yet."
Margaret took out her phone and opened WhatsApp, waiting for him to show her his QR code.
Seeing he hadn't moved, she waved her phone in front of him, "WhatsApp!"
Leonard snapped out of it and brought up his QR code for her to scan. After adding each other as friends, she sent him a short message with the door code.
"I'll be off then. We'll keep in touch on WhatsApp. Bye!"
She waved at Leonard and got into a taxi.
If she was going to live at Azure Waters Garden, she needed to go back to the Thorne Family to pack her things.
Leonard watched her disappear from sight and looked down at her WhatsApp profile picture, a cute little cat that resembled her a bit.
Putting away his phone, he got into his Hyundai and drove to the hospital for work.
As soon as he got out of the parking lot, a bright car light shone in his face.
He raised his hand to block the light and got out of the car.
The car lights flashed arrogantly for half a minute before turning off, and a man got out of the driver's seat.
The man wore diamond earrings, a punk denim jacket, and studded Martin boots.
"Dr. Graham, you're so low-key today, driving a Hyundai. Where did you get this antique car?"
Leonard looked at the man in front of him, who casually put an arm around his shoulder, and they walked towards the hospital together.
"Henry Graham contacted my family, saying you haven't been home for days. If you don't go back soon, he's planning to send bodyguards to the hospital to block you."
The man's annoying words didn't faze Leonard, who remained expressionless.
Seeing Leonard's lack of reaction, Frank Woods shrugged indifferently, "Why do you always look so expressionless? People might think you just had plastic surgery."
Leonard glanced at him, "Can plastic surgery make someone look like me?"
Leonard was quite narcissistic. Frank put an arm around his shoulder, "Yes, yes, you're naturally beautiful."
"Do you need something?"
Frank's expression turned serious, "Leonard, you finally came back to the country. Isn't it natural for me to come find you? I've been waiting for days, and since you didn't contact me, I had to contact you, Mr. Graham."
Leonard had been a renowned surgeon abroad for years.
But for some reason, he suddenly decided to return to the country.
"By the way, Henry asked when you're going back to the Graham Mansion."
Frank found it odd that Leonard hadn't returned to the Graham Family even once in nearly half a month. He probably wasn't answering their calls either, which is why Henry reached out to him.
Leonard remained silent and walked straight into the hospital.
"Could it be that you don't know how to face the Graham Family? We're friends, so let me help you out. I'll let you stay at my villa on Eldertop Mountain and even provide ten servants..."
He paused, remembering the Hyundai Leonard had driven, "After work today, I'll take you to a dealership to pick out a new car. Choose any brand you like. I have plenty of money!"
Frank's family had been in business for generations, and they were quite wealthy.
Leonard, thinking of the house Margaret had mentioned, gently pushed Frank off him, "No need."
He had a place to stay.
Feeling rejected, Frank clutched his chest in mock hurt, but Leonard didn't spare him a glance.
"Doctors are supposed to be kind. Why are you so cold?"
Leonard didn't stop, heading into his office to change into his white coat before entering the operating room.
He was very busy today, with one major surgery and several minor ones.
Watching Leonard's cold back, Frank thought to himself, "Is Leonard even human? Sometimes he's colder than a robot."
If he didn't say anything, who would know they'd been friends for over a decade?
Margaret returned to the house her parents had left her. The furniture was covered with cloths but still relatively clean.
It still needed a thorough cleaning, so she put down her bag, donned a mask, and got to work. By the afternoon, she had barely managed to tidy up the place.
The bed was usable, but the mattress needed replacing.
The sofa, an old-fashioned wooden one, was out of style and needed to be replaced too.
Since it was her house, even though she was married to Leonard, she didn't want him to pay for it. So, after a quick shower, she changed clothes and headed to the mall.
She had a car, an Audi A6, which she had bought herself and was quite sufficient.
But today, she had taken Leonard's Hyundai, leaving the Audi at John's house.
She hailed a taxi at the corner, thinking she should find time to retrieve her car and belongings from John's house.
"To Crystal Plaza."
The car drove smoothly, and since she had woken up early and hadn't rested well the previous day, Margaret felt sleepy leaning against the window.
Just as she dozed off, her phone rang. Seeing the caller ID "Layla," Margaret instinctively resisted.
She double-tapped the lock button, hanging up the call.
Layla was a proud person, and Margaret thought she wouldn't call back after being hung up on. But soon, the phone rang again.
She sighed, seeing the caller ID change to "Howard."
Margaret's hand trembled. Even though she had decided to let go and not get involved in Howard and Stella's affairs, seeing his name still made her heart ache.
This time, she didn't hang up but let the call go to voicemail.
At the mall, Margaret wandered through the furniture section.
There was still some time before 5 PM, and Leonard wouldn't be home so soon.
As she was about to have a mattress delivered, she noticed two familiar figures nearby: Stella and Layla.
"You're getting married soon, so you should buy new bedding. Red looks nice. I hope you have kids soon!"
Layla smiled, and Stella shyly patted her arm, "Mom, it's too early to talk about that!"
Margaret looked away, pretending not to know them.
But they walked into the same store, and Stella immediately spotted Margaret at the checkout counter.