Mr. CEO's Young Mistress
Chapter 32: Are You Scared Because I Like You?

The hospital had called, their tone frantic, saying that Sharon had gone missing.

Oliver watched as Leonard hung up the phone. His face was stoic as he headed for the doors. Oliver rolled his eyes but followed behind him.

Back in Peace Hospital, everyone was looking for Sharon. Yet despite searching in every nook and cranny, she was still nowhere to be found. Leonard made his way to the family manor.

Surprised by his visit, Puvis frowned when he saw Leonard.

Leonard cut to the chase and asked, "Where's Sharon?"

"Shouldn't she be in the hospital right now?" Puvis asked.

Leonard's face was stony as he scrutinized Puvis. "She's gone. No one has seen her."

"Is that so?" Puvis narrowed his eyes.

Leonard flattened his lips without saying anything. After looking at Puvis for a moment, he turned and walked out.

Puvis humphed smugly to himself as he watched Leonard leave. Placing his hands on the arms of the rocking chair, he closed his eyes and leaned back, humming softly.

"You can stop searching. Sharon's with gramps." Leonard had stopped his car in front of the manor. Seated in the driver's seat, he gripped the steering wheel with one hand and called Oliver with the other. "Did you see her?" Oliver asked.

"No."

"Did he tell you that she was with him?" Oliver asked again.

Leonard did not reply. Exasperated, Oliver asked, "Then, how can you be so sure?"

"He's too calm." Leonard peered towards the manor.

Puvis adored Sharon very much, so much so that it was unusual to see him unaffected after hearing that Sharon had gone missing.

If Sharon hadn't been at the manor, Puvis's normal reaction to the news would have been to spring to his feet and yell at Leonard for not taking good care of her.

However, Puvis had remained calm, which made no sense.

That could only mean that Sharon was indeed in the manor.

"What do you mean?" Oliver's puzzled voice came from the other end of the phone.

Without another word, Leonard hung up the phone.

Oliver was speechless on the other end of the phone.

Sharon was indeed in the manor. Puvis made sure to hide this not only from Leonard but also from Nathan and the rest of the family.

At dinner time, Puvis did not eat with the rest of the family. Instead, he asked the servants to send his food to his room upstairs.

Since it wasn't the first time he had made such a request, no one thought much about it.

After the servants brought the food and left, Puvis secretly carried it to Sharon's room.

Sharon was sitting on the bed, staring blankly at a book.

Puvis gently knocked on the door twice. After getting her permission, he pushed the door open and walked in.

At the sight of Puvis, Sharon quickly lowered the book and lifted the blanket to get off the bed.

"Lie back down immediately, or your wound will open up again!" Puvis ordered worriedly.

Sharon gave a small smile and obeyed.

Placing the food by the side of her bed, Puvis pulled a stool over and sat down, stuffing a plate of food into Sharon's arms. "I instructed them to prepare a lighter meal since you're still wounded. Now, eat."

Sharon accepted the food and looked at Puvis. "Grandpa, have you eaten yet?"

"You can eat first. I'll replace something later," Puvis replied.

"There's an extra plate, and since I don't have much of an appetite right now, why don't we share?" Sharon took the empty plate and pushed half of her food onto it.

Puvis smiled warmly and his voice was sympathetic. "Oh, child."

"Here you go, grandpa." Sharon's face was still slightly pale, and her smile did not reach her eyes.

Puvis heaved a sigh, his heart aching. He kept pushing food onto Sharon's plate, asking her to eat more.

Sharon's heart warmed, and she thought to herself, "In the whole world, it's probably only grandpa and Master Leonard who—"

Leonard's face suddenly flashed in Sharon's mind. She clenched her fists and immediately shook herself out of it.

She reminded herself to not think about him, or else yesterday's events will continue to haunt her.

"Sharon, from now on, you'll be living here. If you don't want to eat with the others, I'll have the food sent here, and I will eat with you."

"I'll live here?" Sharon frowned hesitantly.

"Of course. Didn't we already discuss this matter the other day? Once you get better, you'll move in here and live with me." Puvis stared at her. Sharon's jaw tightened slightly.

"Was that a discussion?" she asked herself.

After their meal, Puvis snuck out of her room, reminding her to rest earlier.

Once she was sure Puvis had gone, Sharon got out of bed and walked over to lock the door. She then headed for the bathroom.

She stood in front of the vanity and took off her clothes. Through the mirror, she surveyed the wound on her lower right abdomen.

She sighed to herself. "It had almost healed yesterday, but thanks to that ordeal, who knows when it will fully heal."

She started cleaning herself with a damp towel but just found it hard to reach her back and could only manage to clean the back of her neck.

Finally she was satisfied with her upper body, and then she went into the shower to clean the lower half of her body.

Once done, she grabbed a large towel from the cabinet and wrapped it around herself.

Just as she walked out, she saw a huge figure standing in the middle of her room.

Startled, she took a step back and covered her mouth to stifle her cry, her heart pounding in her chest.

Sharon's eyes went to the door she had locked from the inside, confused.

"How did he get in?" she asked herself.

The man saw her unspoken question, and his eyes flicked to the window.

Sharon followed his line of sight, only to see that the windows were wide open, and immediately understood.

"B-But, this is the second floor!" she exclaimed to herself.

Sharon bit into her lip lightly, her eyes reprimanding as she glared at Leonard.

"What if he had accidentally fallen?" she thought.

However, Leonard mistook the look in her eyes as an accusation for his actions the night before.

Leonard frowned deeply, his lips pressed together as he looked at Sharon with an unreadable expression.

Sharon, shaken by his expression, straightened her back slightly.

Her face started turning red, and she pressed her rosy lips together. Lowering her gaze, she whispered, "I'm not decent right now. Do you mind waiting outside?" Leonard glanced at her exposed feet under the towel before lifting his eyes to meet hers. "Did you come here by yourself, or did grandpa fetch you?"

Sharon blinked nervously, but merely bit her lip and remained silent.

That was all it took for Leonard to figure out that she had most likely sneaked out on her own.

Still frowning, Leonard swiftly made his way towards Sharon.

Sharon stared at him and held her breath, her heart in her mouth.

Leonard stopped in front of her. After staring at her for a moment, he grabbed her wrist and gathered her into his arms.

Sharon gasped, looking at Leonard with panic in her eyes.

Leonard lowered his gaze and reached out to grab Sharon's hand that was clutching the towel.

Sharon immediately widened her eyes, wary. "What are you doing?"

Leonard's jaw tightened, and he released the towel from her grip effortlessly, exposing her body.

Sharon felt a chill travelling over her entire body, goosebumps appearing on her skin. She shrugged her bare shoulders, her eyes roaming nervously. "Master Leonard..." Sharon grabbed his hand pleadingly, her voice tearful.

Leonard swept his eyes over Sharon's wound and turned to look at Sharon, unhappy.

Sharon was as red as a tomato, her eyes darting everywhere. Leonard could even feel her hands trembling.

His chest was tight, and he looked at her tenderly. He wrapped the bath towel around her body and said softly, "I just wanted to take a look at your wound, nothing else." "Was it necessary to remove the entire towel just to see the wound?" Sharon huffed to herself.

She clenched her jaw and glared at Leonard.

Leonard reached out to lift Sharon's head, staring into her blinking eyes, his eyes hard. "Are you drawing a line between us now?"

"Drawing a line?" Sharon asked herself, stunned.

Sharon looked at him blankly.

"Do you hate me?" Leonard asked in a deep voice, his eyes darkening.

"Do I?" Sharon asked herself.

In reality, it was a dumb question since she knew that there was no way she could bring herself to hate him.

Leonard might not even be aware of how much he really meant to her.

"Are you scared because I like you?" Leonard stared at Sharon with piercing eyes that looked right through her.

Sharon's heart immediately started beating erratically.

She studied his stern face. She knew that she could no longer trick herself into thinking that he liked her as a parent. "But, how could it be? I've always- Mmm!" Sharon's train of thought got cut off.

Leonard took in her flustered state, his eyes narrowing into slits, and lifted her chin. ☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐