Chapter 456 The Taste of Oranges
Austin's room was massive, like almost 500 square feet. He had this giant rotating bookshelf that was pretty cool. Bella checked out the books and asked, "Have you actually read all these?"
"Yeah, I have," Austin replied. He'd been stuck in bed for ages, barely leaving the house except for the occasional stroll in the garden. Most of his time was spent buried in books.
He got out of bed, grabbed his cane, and slowly made his way over to Bella. "If you want, you can borrow any of them."
Bella suddenly heard a noise behind her and turned to see Austin standing right there. She was so startled she dropped the book she was holding. Austin bent down to pick it up, and their fingers brushed.
Her fingers were super soft, and she had this faint smell of fruit candy, like oranges. Really sweet and nice.
Austin was momentarily stunned.
"I got it. I'll pick it up," Bella said, her cheeks a bit red. Austin's fingers were cool, probably from lying in bed all the time. He must be really sick. The thought made her chest tighten a bit.
"I'll just borrow this one. I read fast, so I'll bring it back tomorrow," Bella said quickly.
Then she realized that meant she'd have to come back tomorrow. Wasn't that too obvious? Would he think she was making excuses to come back?
Before she could explain, Austin smiled gently. "Alright, see you tomorrow, Ms. Swan."
Bella said, "See you tomorrow. Just call me Bella."
Austin called her, "Bella."
Bella smiled. "Yeah, that's what my family calls me."
Austin said, "Alright, Bella, see you tomorrow."
Bella walked out of the room. Maybe because she was in a good mood, even Brian seemed less annoying. As she went downstairs, Brian's gaze got more complicated.
Brian knocked on the bedroom door, and after getting the okay, he walked in to see Austin standing by the bookshelf with his cane.
He asked, "Mr. Reynolds, what book do you want to read? I'll get it for you."
Austin asked, "Has Ms. Swan left?"
Brian replied, "She just went downstairs. She's probably in the living room with Cassidy now."
Austin said, "Don't stress too much. I think Ms. Swan is pretty nice."
"Mr. Reynolds, Ms. Swan seems innocent, but you can't judge a book by its cover.Remember what Cassidy pulled before?"
Austin closed his eyes in pain. "Of course, I can't forget."
Bella walked downstairs and saw Cassidy sitting in the living room, looking like she'd been waiting for a while.
She walked over. "Mrs. Reynolds."
Cassidy immediately noticed the book in Bella's hand. "Looks like you had a good chat with Austin."
Bella said, "We talked a bit. He likes to read, so I borrowed a book."
Cassidy asked, "How's Austin's health? What was he doing in the room?"
Bella's heart tightened. Cassidy wanted her to spy on Austin. She said, "He was reading the whole time. When I went in, he was in bed with a book. He looked pretty weak, his lips were pale."
Bella had heard about the drama in the Reynolds family. Power struggles in rich families were always messy. Rumor had it that Austin's car accident was Cassidy's doing, but there was no proof.
Bella wasn't dumb. She could guess what Cassidy was worried about.
Austin was a prodigy, a business genius. Cassidy was probably scared Austin would recover and try to take over the Reynolds Group. She probably wished he'd just die already.
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