Chapter 88

“For how long?” Amelia asked, weighing her options for a moment.

Landon had expected her to agree, but he hadn’t anticipated that she would impose a time limit on staying.

Landon pressed his lips together, deep in thought. And he couldn’t afford to let any of his thoughts slip—he couldn’t risk Amelia reading his mind again.

“Landon, you need to understand that no matter what the reason is, I won’t stay forever,” Amelia said firmly, staring steadily at him.

“Same deal as before. Stay until I recover,” Landon replied after thinking it through.

“That’s fine, but from now on, we sleep in separate rooms. And what happened last night can never happen again,” Amelia emphasized.

“Sure,” Landon agreed.

They had a deal, though in reality, Amelia had compromised a lot more than Landon. She could have searched for Debra’s grave on her own, but she needed Landon, her legal husband, to be there with her if she wanted to claim Debra’s belongings.

Landon was her husband. If he refused to finalize the divorce, she wouldn’t be able to marry anyone else.

“Do you like it here?” Landon’s tense demeanor finally eased, and he took in the view.

The mountains were lush, the water clear, and bright red cherries hung from the branches, ripe and inviting. The sunlight filtered through the dense cherry leaves, casting an array of oddly shaped light spots across the stone table.

Amelia was by his side, which put Landon in a good mood. He picked up a cherry and put it in his mouth. “Did you pick them?”

Amelia shot him a cold glance. “No, your money had them crashing down.”

“Two million dollars a day for cherries, huh? They’re definitely sweet,” Landon said, aware of her sarcastic jab at his earlier show of wealth. He wasn’t offended, though, and continued eating the sweet cherries.

“Let’s settle today’s wages,” Amelia said bluntly, “and yesterday’s too.”

Landon wanted to roll his eyes, but he quickly made the transfer.

Seeing the amount of money in her bank account, Amelia finally relaxed.

With Landon’s quick recovery speed, he might be able to move his legs in a couple of days.

She could hold out a little longer and maybe earn a few more million dollars in the meantime.

“Mr. Kingsley, the cherry orchard deal is done.” Aaron jogged up, catching sight of Landon happily eating cherries. It was clear that the couple had reconciled, and Aaron breathed a sigh of relief at that.

“Let’s go,” Landon said.

Amelia shot them both a look, then stood up and headed down the mountain.

Aaron eagerly flattered. “Mr. Kingsley, you’re truly impressive.”

“Shut up,” Landon shot Aaron a glare, worried that Amelia might hear and get angry enough to back out of their agreement.

If it weren’t for the will Debra left behind, he would have lost today. Sighing, he couldn’t shake the feeling of insecurity. Despite thinking he had Amelia figured out, why did it still feel like he was on shaky ground?

“Mr. Kingsley, where are we headed now?” Aaron asked.

“To find Debra’s grave.”

“Got it.”

Seeing Landon’s car leave Sapphire Estate, Daniel felt a twinge of disappointment because Amelia did not say goodbye to him.

The mountain road was bumpy, and it wasn’t kind to Landon, who was seated in a wheelchair. Even though the wheels were secured, the constant jolting made him uncomfortable.

After another bump to his forehead, Landon couldn’t help but glance at Amelia, mentally grumbling, ‘This is all because of her!’

Amelia heard him and retorted in her head, ‘Please, he did it all for himself.’ Still, she stretched out her foot and pressed it against the wheelchair, hoping to reduce the bumpiness for him.

Landon glanced at her shoes, which were now dusted with dirt, and thought, ‘At least you’ve got a conscience. In that case, I’ll buy you new shoes then.’

Amelia was speechless, but she kept her gaze fixed ahead. Her ability to eavesdrop on his thoughts was her secret weapon for dealing with him, so she couldn’t let him find out about it.

“Amelia, can you still hear me?” Landon brought up the topic again.

“I can’t hear anything,” Amelia lied without hesitation.

“Really?” Landon asked again.

“Really,” Amelia assured him.

Amelia nodded firmly and then playfully teased him, “Back when you were unconscious, it was like we had a cheat code. But now that you’re awake, I guess it’s been turned off, hasn’t it?”

Landon smirked, clearly amused as he thought, ‘Keep going. I know exactly how to handle your cheat code.’

After an hour of being jostled along the rough mountain road, they finally reached a smooth stretch of highway.

After finishing a few calls, Aaron announced delightfully, “Mr. Kingsley, we’ve located Ms. Hughes’ grave.”

“Really?” Amelia asked, her voice trembling as tears welled up in her eyes, her heart flooded with a mix of indescribable pain and bittersweet emotion.

After all these years, she could finally pay respect to her birth mother.

“Absolutely,” Aaron replied with a smile. “We came to Pinecrest specifically to help you reconnect with your past.”

“Wait… What?” Amelia froze for a moment, her chest tightening. A sense of warmth softened the pain of hearing about her mother’s grave. The ache lingered, but all that was left was a deep, heartfelt gratitude.

“Mrs. Kingsley, Mr. Kingsley has done more for you than you know,” Aaron continued, noticing Landon didn’t stop him. “He was up all night worrying about you after you left last night.”

Amelia turned slowly to look at Landon.

Landon kept his gaze forward and, at just the right moment, reprimanded, “Aaron, you talk too much.”

“My bad,” Aaron said, smiling as he turned back.

Amelia was still processing the fact that Landon cared about her. She sat there, lost in thought, ‘It’s work only between us. Does he really care that much for me?’

Landon, feeling her gaze, tilted his chin up in satisfaction, the light outside the car window highlighting the perfect contour of his profile.

After posing for a while, he finally lowered his proud posture, clearly pleased with himself. Finally, he asked Amelia, “Shall we head over now?”

“Is that okay?” Amelia tightly gripped the armrest of his wheelchair. “I know it’s difficult for you. Just give me the address, and I’ll go myself.”

“Your mother would surely be at peace knowing you’ve gotten married,” Landon interrupted her and ordered, “Head straight to the cemetery.”

“Landon…” Amelia was flooded with emotions she had no idea how to express.

In her past life, she had married the wrong man and lived in misery. In this life, her marriage to Landon, though forced by circumstances, was still far better than the one with Zachary.

Landon might annoy and threaten her, but he would never hurt her. In fact, when she was in danger, he would help her. Amelia thought Debra would surely be delighted to see all this from heaven.

“It’s a win-win situation for both of us,” Landon said, handing her a tissue to wipe her tears. “You cry so easily. You should have tissues with you at all times.”

He was still hung up on her using Daniel’s handkerchief to wipe her tears. It made her think, ‘Is he jealous?’

Amelia wiped away her tears and suddenly felt the urge to tease him. She leaned in, locking eyes with him, and asked, “So, this was what bothered you last night?”

“What else would it be?” Landon turned his flushed face away awkwardly.

Luckily, his skin was a healthy tan, and the car was dimly lit, so she didn’t notice him blushing.

“It’s good for you to get angry, as it might help you recover sooner.” Amelia smiled mischievously with a playful glint in her eyes.

Landon immediately felt a headache coming on. “Amelia.”