Chapter 349
Penelope blushed and nodded.
Aaron finished dressing and was about to leave when Penelope’s gaze dropped to his leg.
“Aaron, is your leg still not better?”
Aaron froze, his back stiffening. His face, turned away from her, darkened
instantly.
Better? His leg would never get better.
Harrison had ordered it—condemned him to a cripple’s life. Googlá´‡ search.net
His family had quietly taken him to all sorts of hospitals and specialists, but not a single doctor could help. Deep down, he knew the truth: his leg was ruined for good.
His expression twisted. “The doctor says I need more time to recover. Enough questions.”
Relieved by his answer, Penelope let go of her lingering doubts, not caring about his impatience.
As long as he could recover, that was all that mattered. After all, she was only stringing Aaron along because of the Lancaster family’s vast fortune. Harrison wouldn’t last much longer. Once he was gone, they’d need an heir. Aaron’s background was a little complicated, but with the right maneuvering, who was to say he couldn’t be chosen?
But if he was left a cripple, all her plans would fall apart.
The Lancaster family would never accept a lame man as their successor.
Penelope’s heart raced as she pictured Aaron at the helm of the Lancaster estate, herself as the lady of the manor, and Anastasia left a widowed nobody, helpless beneath her heel. The sting on her cheek from earlier didn’t seem to hurt so much anymore.
Aaron, still grim-faced, arrived home-only to bump straight into Shirley.
“Where have you been?” Shirley demanded, her tone sharp with annoyance. Aaron was in a foul mood, but he didn’t dare show it to Shirley. He had to placate her-after all, their family couldn’t afford to lose the Wests right now.
After a few soothing words from him, Shirley’s expression softened a little, and she quickly brought up the evening’s party.
“I upset Mr. Harrison Lancaster tonight. I’m worried the Wests might get dragged into trouble. You need to go to Rosewood Manor and plead my case.”
Go to Rosewood Manor and plead?
Aaron hesitated.
Their family couldn’t even get through the gates of Rosewood Manor these days -plead? How?
“Uncle Harrison’s furious right now. I’m not sure he’d listen to anyone, least of all me
“But you’re the heir he values most,” Shirley cut in. “You’re not like the others. What you say carries weight!”
Aaron’s face tightened.
Seeing him stall and dodge, suspicion flickered in Shirley’s eyes. “This should be nothing for you, shouldn’t it? Or is there something else—”
She trailed off abruptly as her gaze landed on something. Suddenly, her eyes widened. Striding forward, she yanked open Aaron’s shirt collar.
There, plain as day, was a fresh mark-a telltale love bite.
Shirley’s expression darkened. “What is this? Who did this to you?!”
Aaron’s face drained of color. He fumbled for an explanation, but before he could speak, Shirley snapped, “Was it Anastasia?!”
He was thrown for a moment, caught off guard by her accusation.
But almost instantly, a new idea took shape in his mind.
“It was her,” he said quickly. Before Shirley could explode, he forced a bitter smile
and added, “Since you know already, I won’t hide it anymore. Yes, Anastasia’s been chasing after me for a long time.”