Chapter 5

Lenora pointed at herself with a round face filled with confusion. After leaving Darius’s luxurious home, she had not even had the chance to think about what she was going to do after the divorce.

Now, before the wounds in her heart had even begun to heal, her grandfather was telling her that she already had a fiancé.

“Grandfather...”

“Don’t worry,” Xander interrupted before Lenora could ask again. “He’s not a man like Darius.”

Xander let out a long sigh before looking at his granddaughter with a serious expression.

Lenora did not approve of the engagement, but the moment she heard Darius’s name, the light in her eyes immediately dimmed. She lowered her head and unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.

The wounds Darius had left behind were apparently still far too deep to disappear simply because she had found her family.

“Grandfather won’t let you return to living alone like before. Grandfather lost you for so many years. Now that I’ve finally found you, I won’t let any man treat you however he pleases again. That man is younger than you, but I can guarantee that he will cherish you more than anything else he has in this world.”

Lenora fell silent. Younger?

A strange warmth filled her chest when she heard those words. All this time, she had always tried to survive on her own, but now someone was actually telling her that he would protect her.

Was there really a man like that?

“Who is my fiancé?” she finally asked.

The corner of Xander’s lips lifted slightly. “You’ll meet him soon.”

The car finally stopped directly in front of the main staircase. Several servants who had been waiting immediately stood straight when the car door was opened.

Xander stepped out first with his black skull-headed cane, then slowly walked toward the stairs.

Lenora followed him out. The moment both of her feet touched the cold marble, her mouth immediately fell open. She looked up at the magnificent building before her, her eyes moving from one side to another because she did not know what to look at first.

“Wow...”

Without realizing it, Lenora even forgot to close her mouth.

Xander, who was already several steps ahead, turned around and saw his granddaughter’s expression. A deeply satisfied smile appeared on the old man’s face.

“What? Surprised to see your own family home?”

Lenora hurriedly closed her mouth before looking at Xander awkwardly.

“This is our home?” she asked innocently.

“If it isn’t a home, what do you think it is?”

Lenora looked at the building again. She did not know whether she should laugh or cry. Only today had she discovered that she had a grandfather, and it turned out that her grandfather was no ordinary man.

Even his residence was far more magnificent than anything she had ever imagined.

Xander chuckled when he saw his granddaughter’s expression.

“Come inside. Everyone is waiting for you.”

“Everyone?”

The moment the main door of the Whitmore residence opened, Lenora was stunned once again.

Inside the vast and magnificent room, rows of servants stood neatly on both sides. There were so many of them that Lenora could not even count. They wore matching uniforms and looked incredibly professional, then bowed simultaneously when Xander stepped inside.

“Welcome back, Master and Young Miss Lenora.”

Their voices rang out in unison, filling the entire room.

Lenora, who was walking several steps behind Xander, grew even more nervous. She did not even know where to look. This house already made her feel as though she had stepped into an entirely different world, and now dozens of pairs of eyes seemed to be waiting for her.

However, Lenora’s attention suddenly fell upon someone standing at the far end of the room.

A man.

He stood calmly near the grand staircase leading to the upper floor. He looked much younger than Xander, but that was not what made Lenora freeze.

The man was far too handsome to look real.

His black hair was neatly styled, with a few strands falling lightly across his forehead, making his sharp features look even more attractive. His eyebrows were straight and defined, framing a pair of deep, dark eyes. His nose was high and perfectly proportioned, while the line of his jaw was so flawless that it seemed almost impossible to find a single imperfection. His lips were not particularly thick, but their defined shape looked attractive even when the man was simply standing there in silence.

His body was tall and well-built as well. The black suit he wore fit perfectly over his athletic frame, accentuating his broad shoulders and well-proportioned waist. Even the way he stood looked calm and authoritative, as if the entire room naturally fell under his control.

Lenora blinked several times.

The man who looked like a top fashion model began walking toward her.

His eyes never left Lenora’s face, as if he were making sure that the woman who had existed only in his search for all these years was truly standing in front of him.

“Lenora,” he said.

His voice was deep and low, yet it sounded incredibly gentle when he spoke her name.

“I’ve been waiting for you for fifteen years. I finally found you.”

Lenora stopped in her tracks. Fifteen years?

Waiting for her?

She stared at the man before her with a blank expression, trying to remember whether they had ever met before. Yet no matter how hard she tried, not a single memory of the man appeared in her mind.

Meanwhile, the man only smiled faintly. The smile made his face even harder to ignore.

Lenora blinked again. For some reason, her heart began beating slightly faster.

Who exactly was this man? Why did he say he had been waiting for her for fifteen years? And why did everyone in this house seem to know something that she had absolutely no idea about?

Lenora finally could not take it anymore. She stepped closer to him, and with an innocence she did not even have time to hide, she pointed at the man while frowning.

“W-Who are you?”

The man extended his hand, took one of Lenora’s hands, and gently kissed the back of it in a polite manner.

“You may not remember me, but I made a promise when I was eight years old. You are my life partner, and I will love you forever, no matter what.”

Lenora froze again.

Her eyes, which had remained fixed on the man before her, widened even further.

Life partner? Since he was eight years old? What exactly was going on?

She quickly turned toward Xander, hoping her grandfather could explain all the strange things that had suddenly filled her mind.

“I don’t understand...” Lenora frowned, then pointed at the handsome man with an innocent expression. “Grandfather, what exactly is going on?”

Xander merely raised an eyebrow, while Lenora awkwardly pulled her hand back and glanced at the man from head to toe.

His face was far too handsome, his appearance far too perfect, and now the man was suddenly claiming that he had been waiting for her for fifteen years.

Lenora became even more confused.

She then moved slightly closer to Xander and whispered, although her voice was still loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

“Did Grandfather actually pay this man to cheer me up?”

The room, which had been so quiet, suddenly fell silent.

Several servants lowered their heads, desperately trying to hide their expressions and suppress their laughter.

Meanwhile, the man standing before Lenora remained silent for a few seconds before the corners of his lips slowly curved upward.

He smiled faintly, realizing that after waiting for so many years, he had finally met the woman who had occupied his thoughts all this time.

And it turned out Lenora was still just as innocent as he remembered.

“I’m Jason Lancanster, your life partner.”