Chapter 461

Over at Kingsley Villa, the atmosphere was unusually heavy. Landon sat in a wheelchair in the living room with Gloria by his side.

As his mother, Gloria kept glancing at her son’s eyes. Landon was fuming–Amelia had clearly caused trouble again.

The clock ticked slowly, every minute dragging on endlessly. Finally, a string of messages came through on Landon’s phone. His expression eased, if only a little.

Gloria let out a sigh of relief and instinctively tried to console him. “Landon, Aaron has taken care of it. Let it go, okay?” Landon blinked, silently signaling, ‘Not happening.’

“Ah,” Gloria sighed, giving up. She thought, ‘This son of mine has always been so stubborn. Once he’s made up his mind, nothing can sway him. Amelia will have to figure this one out on her own.’

‘Why isn’t she back yet? It’s been over an hour since Aaron messaged. Could it be that she’s seriously hurt?’

Landon, meanwhile, sat tensely, his nerves stretched tight. He was just as eager to know how badly Amelia was injured and couldn’t stop wondering why she hadn’t returned yet.

Then, another half-hour passed, and Amelia finally walked in. She was even carrying two caramel macchiatos and a cake.

She was radiant, her eyes bright, her lips curved in a smile. She looked like a blooming rose–stunning and eye-catching. Even Landon, in his anger, found himself momentarily captivated.

“Gloria, I’m back,” Amelia greeted cheerfully.

Gloria’s face lit up as she went to meet her. “What took you so long?”

Landon was left speechless, thinking, ‘Wasn’t Mom supposed to scold Amelia with me? Why has the mood completely changed?’

“Here, I bought you a caramel macchiato,” Amelia said with a dazzling smile, her tone soft and slightly playful.

As soon as Gloria heard that, her indulgent side as a doting mother was instantly triggered. “Oh my, you got me caramel macchiato?”

“Try it. This place makes amazing caramel macchiatos. I stood in line for half an hour to get these.” Amelia placed the drinks and the cake on the table, letting Gloria pick her drink first.

The two of them wasted no time enjoying their caramel macchiatos and cake, completely in their own world. Meanwhile, poor Landon sat there, his brow twitching angrily as he fought to keep it together. Inwardly, he growled, ‘Amelia Edwards…’

Finally noticing his existence, Amelia quickly responded, “Oh, oh. Right.”

Gloria, oblivious to the silent communication between Amelia and Landon, worriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Is your injury hurting?”

“No. Don’t worry. It’s just a scratch. I did this on purpose,” Amelia said as she lifted her shirt slightly.

The smooth, delicate skin of her waist was covered with a thick layer of gauze. Gloria and Landon’s eyes both narrowed in shock–it looked worse than they had imagined.

Rip–As Amelia tore off the bandage, both Gloria and Landon instinctively sucked in a sharp breath. But underneath the bandage was just a thin, barely noticeable line of dried blood.

“Look. It’s just this little thing. I purposely nicked myself on Melissa’s blade. It’s even already healed,” Amelia said casually.

Only then did Gloria and Landon relax. But Landon’s face darkened further as he thought, ‘A small cut, why the dramatic bandage job? Is she trying to scare us?’

“Well, Wesley said to wrap it up more dramatically,” Amelia explained as she let her shirt fall back into place, covering the wound.

Gloria blinked in surprise. “Wesley was there too?”

“Yep.” Amelia nodded. “I was worried they might try to drug me, so I brought Dr. Harrington along just in case.”

Gloria beamed, “I see. Smart move.”

But Landon’s gaze only grew colder. He couldn’t believe Amelia had knowingly walked into such a dangerous situation, fully aware there was a chance she might be drugged again.

“I made thorough preparations,” Amelia said, her tone confident as she glanced at him with a hint of defiance. “I’d never embarrass the Kingsley family.”

Landon glared at her, but no words came out. He couldn’t deny it–she had planned everything perfectly. Not only had she come back unscathed, but she’d also managed to send her lousy father, stepmother, and that scumbag straight to the police station.

Still, he thought grimly, ‘As my wife, does she really need to handle everything on her own? There are plenty of ways to deal with trash like that without her getting personally involved.’

“Amy, you’re amazing–just like us Kingsleys,” Gloria said with admiration. But a flicker of sadness crossed her eyes as she thought, ‘If Kayla were still alive, she’d probably be just as incredible as Amelia, huh?’

“You’re too kind, Gloria. Let’s toast to that,” Amelia said, raising her cup.

“Cheers,” Gloria replied, lifting hers as well.

The two clinked their caramel macchiatos together like glasses of champagne. Amelia couldn’t resist throwing a smug look in Landon’s direction as she took a sip. Watching her antics, Landon scoffed inwardly, ‘Why’s she so smug over sugary junk?’

“Did Landon use to drink caramel macchiatos?” Amelia asked Gloria.

Gloria thought for a moment and replied, “He did, back in high school.”

Amelia looked absolutely stunned. “Wow. So even the young heir of a top-tier family had a taste for sugary junk like this, huh?” Landon took a deep breath at the sarcasm.

“Well, of course, he had to share one with the girls,” Gloria chuckled, “Back then, so many girls were after him. He’d get so many caramel macchiatos every day that he couldn’t finish them all.”

“Geez, and he brought them home to share?”

“Nope. He gave them all to his buddies.”

“Wow. What a world-class best friend!” Amelia remarked with exaggerated sarcasm. Landon was speechless. The mockery was too obvious.

“So, did any of those girls ever chase him all the way home?” Amelia asked, adopting the stance of a gossip-hungry spectator.

Landon groaned inwardly, ‘Mom, please don’t reveal all my embarrassing moments…’

Gloria nodded with a grin. “Oh, yes. One girl even came crying to our house. Want to guess why? Because Landon threw the caramel macchiato she gave him straight into the trash.”

Amelia’s jaw dropped. “Uh…”

“And then there was another girl who caused such a scene at school that the staff had to call me in.”

“What happened?”

“She tried to grab Landon’s hand while handing him a caramel macchiato, but of course, he wasn’t having it. He knocked the drink over, and it spilled all over her brand-new dress. She was heartbroken.”

Amelia burst out laughing, barely able to contain herself. She thought, ‘I never imagined that the cold, untouchable Mr. Kingsley had such ridiculous stories from his school days. I’ve got to keep Gloria talking so I can collect more dirt to tease Landon with later!’

Meanwhile, Landon, completely exasperated, inwardly yelled, ‘That’s enough. Amelia, come give me a massage.’ If his face could show any expression, it would’ve been as grim and furious as a hurricane rolling in.

Amelia glanced at him, pretended not to hear, and kept gossiping with Gloria. He felt lightheaded as he thought, ‘This wife of mine is something else. Not only can she drive me insane, but she might actually drive me to an early grave.’

“Has he ever had a high school romance?” Amelia asked curiously.

Gloria glanced at her son and answered tactfully, “No, he hasn’t.”

Amelia looked disappointed. “So handsome, smart, and rich–how could he not have had one?”

Landon scoffed internally, ‘Did you have one?’ Though he couldn’t help but silently agree with her assessment. At least she had good taste–he was indeed handsome, smart, and rich.

A hint of sadness flickered in Amelia’s eyes. “I didn’t. My family was really strict, so I never had the chance.”

The only relationship she’d ever had was with Zachary, which had ended in heartbreak. Naïve, she’d been deceived and left with nothing but scars. Thankfully, she had been given a second chance at life.

“Zachary?” Gloria asked tentatively, skimming the edge of gossip. After all, it was only natural to hope for those connected to her loved ones to come with a clean slate.

“He was a blind date set up by my family, and I was too inexperienced to see through him,” Amelia said through gritted teeth. “Luckily, I’ve seen his true colors now, and it’s not too late.”

Gloria patted her head approvingly. “Give Landon a chance. I promise he won’t trick you.”

Amelia was utterly baffled, and her face flushed crimson red. She wanted to refuse, but as Mrs. Kingsley, it felt awkward not to engage romantically with her own husband.

Yet agreeing felt insincere–after all, she knew Landon, the mighty CEO, probably didn’t even think much of her.

“You’re not willing, Amy?” Gloria frowned, looking slightly displeased.

Amelia didn’t want to refuse. Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself and gave a slight nod. “I’m willing,” she said, even as her chest tightened with unease.

Immediately after, Landon’s sneer echoed in her mind. ‘Ha…’