Chapter 804 You Still Can't Forgive Me
Adeline stared at Leo, stunned.
"Did you... agree to pray for my mom because you knew it was me you'd be meeting today?"
His calm demeanor suggested he had anticipated her visit.
"Yeah," Leo replied with a faint smile, "Your friend filled me in on everything."
Adeline was silent for a moment. "Thanks."
No wonder Linda had been so excited, telling her that a kind person had offered to pray for her mom for free. It turned out Leo had known it was her all along.
"Don't mention it. Just trying to help out," Leo said, giving Adeline a serious look. "But you still haven't answered my question."
Adeline took a deep breath and decided to be honest. "I still have my doubts. After you left that day, I accidentally lost the ring. I didn't get a chance to check if there was anything unusual about it or compare it with the other ring."
She exhaled deeply and smiled at Leo. "But I did find out who Esther's biological son is."
Leo was silent for a moment before he smiled wryly. "Maybe it's just fate."
Fate had destined that the truth about Esther's death would never be revealed.
After a long silence, Leo looked at Adeline. "Let's go. Today's main task is to pray."
He turned and led the way. Linda, ever curious, clung to Adeline's arm, bombarding her with questions about what Leo had given her last time. When she learned that Brandon had knocked the ring into the sewer, Linda couldn't help but scoff. "He probably did it on purpose."
Adeline remained silent. In the past, she would have been the first to defend Brandon if anyone spoke ill of him. But now, she wasn't sure how much of Brandon's feelings for her were genuine.
Soon, Leo led them to the prayer hall. He guided them, while Adeline and Linda followed, silently praying for Zara to wake up soon. The prayer ceremony lasted the entire morning.
At noon, Leo invited Adeline and Linda to lunch. They prayed again in the afternoon, finishing by evening. By nightfall, Adeline and Linda were exhausted, their bodies aching. In contrast, Leo seemed full of energy. He warmly saw them off.
Linda, dragging her sore legs, couldn't help but remark, "Sir, you're in great shape."
Leo, who looked much healthier than Howard despite being the same age, smiled modestly. "Not too bad."
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned to Adeline. "How's your dad doing?"
Adeline recalled the image of Howard being choked by Jasper and sighed. "Not great. Definitely not as well as you."
She wondered if Daisy had taken him to the hospital and if he was okay now. Though Howard seemed fine on the surface, being overpowered by Jasper suggested otherwise.
Adeline furrowed her brow and looked at Leo. "Mr. Torres, did you know my father before?"
Leo smiled. "Yeah, of course. Howard, Esther, and I were classmates."
Hearing this, Adeline's breath caught. She bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and finally asked, "Can you tell me about the three of you?"
This had always puzzled Adeline. Everything about Esther was shrouded in mystery. Lily had once shown her a photo of Esther leaning on Leo, claiming Esther's first love was Leo and that things would have been better if she had married him. Fiona had called Esther a witch who bewitched Leo. The Torres family servants said Fiona had killed Esther. But when Adeline returned to the Phoebe family, she learned that Esther and Howard were in love, married, and had a son, Oliver, before Esther died.
Adeline couldn't understand the relationship between Esther, Leo, and Howard.
"I figured you'd ask that," Leo sighed. "If you hadn't lost that ring, you would have understood our relationship. But it's okay. There's nothing from the past that can't be mentioned."
He took a deep breath and looked ahead, his voice calm. "I was the third wheel between Esther and Howard. Howard and I were good friends. He had a crush on Esther and did many things for her, but she thought I did them. So she fell in love with me, and we were together for a while. Later, I didn't want to deceive her anymore, so I told her the truth. She then got together with Howard. After that, Howard and I lost touch."
Leo pointed to a silver car in front of them. "That's my story. You should head back now."
Adeline was stunned. "That's it?"
"Yes," Leo said, waving them off. "Safe travels."
He turned and walked back into the church. In the car, Adeline watched Leo's retreating figure. "I feel like his story isn't finished."
Linda scoffed, "If Mr. Torres says he's done, he's done. Why would he hide anything from you?"
Adeline was silent for a moment, then nodded. "You're right."
She shifted to a more comfortable position, stretching her tired body. "Let's go home."
The silver car drove away from the church. Inside a small room in the church, Leo watched the car leave and closed his eyes.
A woman's anguished voice echoed in his mind: "Help! Leo, I ran away from home to escape the rumors and came to you. I wanted you to take me away from Radiance Springs! Not to insult me like this! I thought you were my friend. What do you see me as?"
He sighed and opened his eyes. "Esther, you still can't forgive me, can you?"
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