Love My Friends with Benefits

Half an hour later, Leonard came to the hospital.

He led me to the cashier and gave them his card.

Now that there was money, Grandma was immediately arranged to undergo the operation.

The nurses pushed her into the operation theatre.

I hadn't stopped crying since Leonard had shown up. Once Grandma was in the operation theatre, I sobbed harder.

Aunt Nancy sat next to me and wept as well.

"Stop crying," Leonard glanced at me and said rather awkwardly.

I ignored him and cried harder.

His expression stiffened. He looked a little helpless and angry as he patted me on the shoulder awkwardly. "I said, stop crying."

I wasn't even paying attention to him.

I had never imagined that Grandma's condition would deteriorate so suddenly. If the operation were to fail, the conversation we had earlier today would become our last. How could things have suddenly become like this...

Aunt Nancy wiped her tears and stood up, saying hoarsely, "Thank you, Leonard. If not for you, Mum would've been in trouble."

I noticed that she addressed him differently now. Calling him Leonard instead of Mr. Nell was definitely much more affectionate than before.

He stood up and nodded politely. "It's no problem. It's only natural to help."

"How can it be natural?" She sighed. "I doubt that even blood relatives can do what you've done."

Choked up, I reminded her, "Aunt Nancy, you're saying too much."

After all, Leonard was an outsider. Regardless of Bell's shortcomings, it was still better to keep things between him and Grandma private.

Aunt Nancy realised that she'd had a slip of the tongue and felt a little embarrassed.

Leonard looked like he didn't understand what she'd said and changed the topic. "It's late, so you two should get some rest. Especially you, Queena. You're still sick, after all." Aunt Nancy asked, "How'd you know that she's sick?"

I pointed at my hospital gown. I hadn't had the time to change out of it.

"Oh, right." She looked a little embarrassed. "I forgot about that."

Leonard didn't react. "Go get some rest first."

Aunt Nancy shook her head. "No, it's fine. You should get going, though."

He smiled. "Phoebe's my fiancée. It's only right for me to take care of her grandmother."

Despite my sorrow, I still felt disgusted at him referring to Phoebe so affectionately.

"I guess that's fine, then." Aunt Nancy didn't insist.

She picked up her wallet. "You should be hungry after waiting around for so long, right? I'll go get you and Queena something to eat. I think there are two shops downstairs that are open round the clock." Leonard walked over to her and said, "I'll do it."

Aunt Nancy shook her head. "No, it's fine. I want to get some fresh air."

Well, it was only normal that she wanted to get out. She'd been cooped up in the hospital for such a long time while caring for Grandma.

Leonard moved out of her way. She sniffled and walked away.

We were left alone. He sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I felt a little strange and twisted a little. "What are you doing?"

"Don't move and don't get me riled up," he said indifferently. "I'm just allowing you to have a little cry. Don't think too much."

I just knew that he'd been pretending to be polite. Now that Aunt Nancy was gone, he was back to his usual self.

"There's no need, really." I pushed him away and said sincerely, "You know that I'm not interested in sharing shoulders with Phoebe."

I wasn't interested in sharing the same man as well, I thought to myself.

Leonard frowned and pulled me back into his arms. "Go on and cry. I know you want to."

What was with his know-it-all attitude? Who did he think he was? What made him think that he knew me so well?

I was so angry that it overshadowed my sorrow. "I don't need it! Let go of me!"

"You really don't know what's good for you," he said coldly.

He frowned and kept his arm around me.

"You..."

I was just about to say something when I looked up and saw Aunt Nancy standing not too far away. She was gaping at us.

A chill ran down my spine and I got to my feet. "Aunt Nancy, why are you back?"

She quickly concealed her shock. "I realised that I forgot to ask what you guys wanted to eat."

"Oh." I nodded, feeling a little guilty. "I'll have some pasta."

Leonard didn't even flinch. "I'm fine with anything."

Aunt Nancy nodded, then turned to leave.

She'd barely taken two steps when she stumbled over some cables on the floor and almost fell.

I figured that she'd probably seen everything.

I couldn't help letting my imagination run wild. Would Aunt Nancy tell Grandma about this?

"Don't think too much."

Leonard wrapped an arm around my waist from behind. "Queena, there's no need to prove our innocence. Nothing happened between us. You don't need to think of a way to explain things to her."

I said softly, "I wasn't thinking about that."

"I hope so."

Leonard lowered his head. His sharp jaw poked my collarbone.

I waited for him to let go of me, but he didn't show any signs of wanting to do so.

From my point of view, I could see the clock hanging over the door to the operation theatre.

The seconds ticked by, and it was soon midnight.

"When I drove Phoebe home today, she kept crying," Leonard suddenly said.

"She asked me whether I was interested in you."

I didn't say anything.

If this

definitere any other time, I'd

be curious to know what

he'd said. Now, however, I wasn't in

the

mood at all.

"I told her not to overthink things. I told her that we didn't need to prove our innocence." He paused.

If it weren't for the fact that he'd just paid for Grandma's operation, I would've burst into laughter.

He'd snuck into my house in the

middle

3. the night and forced me to

Ov

sleep with him. Why hadn't he said anything about proving his innocence then?

He was as innocent as the River Thames was clear.

He let go of me and continued, "But I don't think that's right anymore."

What was he talking about?

I was taken aback. Before I could question him, Aunt Nancy's voice rang out. "I got you your pasta."

I turned around and saw her standing there with two bags in hand.

She handed me one and Leonard the other.

I didn't take it. I asked her, "Aren't you eating?"

She replied indifferently, "I don't have the appetite."

For some reason, her words made me feel uneasy.

I ate a few mouthfuls of pasta before pushing it aside, barely even registering its taste.