Chapter 910

A few minutes later, Leonie's Uber arrived. She yanked the door open and slid inside. As they pulled away, she glanced in the rearview mirror, watching Connor's car speed off in the opposite direction. Unable to hold it in any longer, she burst into heavy, racking sobs.

That infuriating jerk always knew exactly how to pour salt in her wounds, right when she was at her happiest. How had she ever fallen for someone so toxic?

Leonie swore to herself that she would never speak to him again. The driver, noticing her uncontrollable crying, gently offered her a tissue.

"Are you okay, miss? Heartbreak is tough, but it's not worth doing anything drastic over."

The driver was terrified of transporting devastated young women. A few times, passengers had demanded to be taken straight to the ocean, forcing him to refuse the ride entirely. He'd rather risk losing his license than have someone's life on his conscience.

Kids these days terrified him.

Leonie took the driver's well-meaning concern as a lighthearted joke.

With tears still clinging to her lashes, she forced a small smile.

"Don't worry, sir. Even if I wanted to die, I wouldn't do it in your car."

She had the driver take her straight home. Mrs. Everhart had been waiting up for her, only seeing her walk through the door at 10 PM.

"Why are you getting home so late recently? Leonie, it isn't safe for a young woman to be wandering the streets at this hour."

Mrs. Everhart noticed her daughter's red-rimmed eyes and immediately knew she had been crying. She opened her mouth to ask more, but Leonie just offered a lifeless murmur of acknowledgment and slowly dragged herself upstairs.

Just then, Mr. Everhart walked over and gently wrapped an arm around his wife.

"Our daughter is growing up. We can't control everything she does. Let her live her life, as long as she's safe."

Mrs. Everhart sighed, knowing he was right.

Once back in her room, Leonie sent a message to Gwyneth.

"Are you asleep yet?"

The moment she sent it, she regretted it, but before she could unsend it, Gwyneth replied instantly.

"Not yet. Are you home?"

Seeing Gwyneth's immediate response, Leonie's eyes welled up with tears all over again. Gwyneth was the only person she felt safe enough to be truly vulnerable with

"Yeah, I just got back. Why are you still awake?"

She had just desperately needed some comfort, typing the message without thinking it through.

Gwyneth replied quickly.

"I took a long nap this afternoon, so I can't sleep now. Did you just get in? Hawthorne told me the guy you were with ended up in the hospital. Is he doing alright?"

Gwyneth was the only person who genuinely cared about both her and Dorian.

Leonie typed out a weak "He's fine"

and fell silent. Gwyneth waited for several minutes, and when no

further response came, she

assumed Leonie was struggling and

decided to push gently.

"Did something happen? Hawthorne is still home for the next few days. If you need

him to handle anything, just ask him."

Leonie thought about Dorian recovering in the hospital. Sully had nearly beaten him

to death, which was a brutal way to sever ties with his past.

With Hawthorne stepping in, there was no way Sully would dare bother Dorian again.

Her thumbs hovered over the screen before flying across the keyboard.

"Dorian is fine. It's Connor who's the problem. I'm just so frustrated right now."

She tossed and turned in bed,

unable to sleep. Thinking about Connor's behavior made her chest

ache with disappointment

ern

could have had a wonderful relationship, but he insisted on making a massive, humiliating spectacle out of everything.