Chapter 56

When Isabella saw him, she instinctively took a few steps back and said, "What are you doing here?"

"I played basketball all night," Leo patted the basketball twice, grinned, and said, "I figured out the answers to some questions I couldn't figure out before last night. I just saw you when I came out of the basketball court. I wanted to say hi to you, but you ended up cursing me."

"I wasn't cursing you," Isabella said.

"Really?"

"Really."

Leo smiled and said, "You really have no reason to curse me. After all, I didn't betray you. I was the one who was betrayed."

Isabella looked at him speechlessly.

Leo glanced at her and asked, "Are you heading to work?"

"Yes."

He took out a key from his pocket, twirled it between his fingers, and said, "I'll give you a ride, how about that?"

Isabella was curious about what kind of car he had as she had never seen it before. But instead, he walked straight to a bicycle on the side of the road. He first put the basketball in a bag and hung it next to the bike. Then he took out a coat from the bike basket, folded it twice, placed it on the back seat, patted it, and said, "What do you think about this?"

Isabella looked at him blankly, feeling a little confused.

Leo sat in the bicycle seat and propped his long legs on the ground. He smiled and said, "What kind of expression is that?"

Isabella waved her hand and said, "I didn't mean to laugh at you, I just think your car is unique."

Leo laughed and said, "Are you always so subtle when you speak? My car is uniquely what? Uniquely run-down?"

Isabella was amused by his remarks.

It was an old and worn-out bicycle. The paint on it had faded which made it look like it had been picked up from a junkyard. She couldn't believe that Leo had a bicycle like this.

"Are you getting on or not? If you're not getting on, I'm leaving," Leo urged her.

Isabella was about to say no, she could walk there herself, but then she turned her head and saw Matthew's car coming toward them. She was afraid that he would bother her again, so she got on the back seat of Leo's bicycle and said, "Let's go."

Leo turned to look at her, his expression somewhat surprised, and said, "Hold onto my waist, or you'll fall off."

Isabella carefully held onto his clothes and said, "I'm ready."

Leo chuckled lightly, said nothing more, raised his foot and stepped on the pedal of the bike. The bicycle started to move forward.

A downhill slope was just ahead. When Leo rode the bike to the highest point, he shouted, "Hold on tight! We're going downhill!"

As he finished speaking, he unexpectedly let go of the handlebars with both hands. The bike slid down at high speed without anyone controlling it. Isabella was so scared that her heart almost stopped, and she could only hold tightly onto Leo's clothes. The bike kept going faster, and as it was about to make a turn, Leo opened his arms, both feet still frantically pedaling, and let out a joyful shout, looking like a madman.

Isabella was afraid she would fly off, so she had no choice but to let go of his clothes and hold onto his waist with both hands. If she was going to fly off, she would drag this madman with her!

When Isabella held onto him, Leo hesitated for a moment, then he grabbed onto the handlebars, gradually slowing down.

When Isabella opened her eyes, she saw Matthew's car driving past them with the window half open. Matthew was looking ahead with a cold and serious expression.

When they arrived at the bus stop, Isabella got off the bike. Her legs felt weak. Leo looked at her as if he was still savoring what had just happened.

Isabella was helpless about what he had done and said, "Remember to get insurance for yourself."

He would get into an accident sooner or later if he rode his bike so recklessly.

Leo smiled and said, "I don't have money."

"If you don't have money to buy insurance, why are you riding around so fast? Don't you want to live?"

"Who cares whether I live or die?" Leo said coldly.

Isabella was stunned for a moment and said, "If you don't even care about yourself, who will?"

Leo looked at her, his tone becoming softer. "I told you to hold onto me earlier, but you refused. You waited until a critical moment to finally hold on."

"Don't get me wrong, when I held onto you, I was thinking of you as pig."

Leo was amused by her words and laughed loudly. He seemed be in a good mood. "You're quite, interesting young lady!" he said.

Isabella felt helpless. Why was he was calling her a young lady even though they were around the same age?

"The car is here," Leo said, raising his chin. "Stay safe."

Isabella boarded the bus. As she settled in and looked out the window, she realized Leo had already turned and left.

When Sebastian arrived at the hospital, Vanessa was feeding Zoe water.

"Mr. Landon, you're here," Vanessa said, setting down the cup and stepping aside.

"Are you okay, Grandma?" Sebastian asked Zoe with concern.

"I'm fine now," Zoe reassured him, patting his hand. "It's just been hard on Vanessa. She didn't sleep at all last night because she's been taking care of me."

After this incident, Zoe's attitude toward Vanessa improved greatly.

Sebastian looked at Vanessa and noticed her bloodshot eyes, a sign of exhaustion. It seemed like she had indeed had a difficult night.

"Thank you, Vanessa!" Sebastian said.

Vanessa shook her head. "You're welcome. I had to do it. I tried calling you so many times last night but couldn't reach you."

"I slept at the office last night and forgot to charge my phone," Sebastian said calmly.

"I see." Vanessa didn't expose his lie.

"I'll go downstairs and buy some fruit for Grandma. She mentioned wanting to eat some," Vanessa said, walking toward the door. However, after taking a few steps, she collapsed on the ground.

After a doctor's examination, it was determined that she had fainted due to fatigue from staying up all night and low blood sugar from skipping breakfast. Sebastian peeled an apple and handed it to Vanessa, saying, "Have something to eat."

"Thank you, Mr. Landon." Vanessa took the apple but started crying.

Sebastian was taken aback and asked, "Are you alright?"

Vanessa shook her head, looked at him, and said, "Mr. Landon, Jack took me to the police station last night and said the incident with Samantha attempting to harm Isabella had something to do with me. I really didn't know about that, and I didn't tell Samantha to do anything. That text message was just a joke. I didn't expect Samantha to use it as an excuse to harm Isabella. I'm sorry, Mr. Landon. I feel guilty every time I think about how I almost indirectly caused harm to Isabella. But I truly had no ill intentions."

Vanessa spoke while crying, looking extremely remorseful. She appeared even more weary since she hadn't gotten any rest during the night.