He Treated Me as a Servant but Begged Me Not to Leave Chapter 06

He Treated Me as a Servant but Begged Me Not to Leave Chapter 06

“Blair!”

Landon stared at me in disbelief.

His eyes scanned my face over and over, like he was looking for any crack.

His expression was grim, his voice ground out through clenched teeth.

“You were the one who climbed into my bed back then…”

So that was what he truly believed all along.

But that drug was never strong enough to make him lose all control and act on raw impulse.

He’d been angry that Chloe broke up with him, and he used the alcohol to let himself go.

Just then, a thud came from behind him.

Chloe had followed and fallen, tears welling up in her eyes.

Landon turned and walked away.

His final words, “You have no right to call this off.”

After that day, Landon and I went cold.

Mostly on his side.

I threw myself into work; I barely had time for him anyway.

They say a secret crush is a one-man war, messy and all-consuming.

Mine had long since laid down its arms, buried under dust and forgotten.

It died the summer of my senior year.

Everything after that was just a final, fleeting flicker before it went out for good.

Three days later, Landon moved back from the hotel to the apartment we shared.

When he walked in, my supervisor was on the phone confirming my transfer.

Before I could get a word in, Landon said, “For what happened before… We both made mistakes. Let’s just put it behind us.”

“I’ve already fired Chloe. It’s done.”

I thought about the photos our mutual friend had sent me—Landon taking Chloe to look at apartments.

I hung up the phone and smiled, “Okay.”

Landon let out a breath.

He passed the sofa and seemed to notice something—he frowned and asked me, “Wasn’t there a painting here?”

“I remember you bought it from a street artist. You really liked it.”

I said casually, “Yeah, threw it out.”

Landon stopped in his tracks.

After that, we settled into a long, uneasy truce.

He worked late a lot, left at odd hours.

He said it was company business.

I didn’t ask.

Gradually, Chloe couldn’t hold back anymore.

During my meals with Landon, his phone kept ringing.

Even one time—on our way to the Hale house for dinner, while waiting at a red light, he glanced at his phone.

After a moment, he told me there was an emergency at work and asked me to get out of the car.

I got out without any hesitation.

Landon tried to say something, but I was already out.

“Blair, wait for me. I’ll be back once I handle it.”

He seemed to be promising me something.

I pushed down my irritation and said “fine.”

The Hale house was in a slightly remote area.

When I got there by cab, Vivian had already been waiting half an hour.

Seeing me alone, she wasn’t happy.

“What’s more important than dinner?”

Then she picked up her phone to call.

My recent non-interference had made Landon too comfortable.

He seemed to forget how long he’d been running the company. Vivian was still the one who really called the shots.

A few minutes later, Vivian came back.

Her face was hard.

She’d clearly found out Landon wasn’t at work.

Landon’s dad had cheated and left with nothing.

Vivian had been through it—she knew what a man’s “working late” really meant.

An hour later, Landon showed up.

His clothes were crisp and spotless, his hair reeking of shampoo.

Vivian called him into the study.

Landon’s first instinct was to blame me. “Did you snitch to Mom again?”

The study door wasn’t fully closed.

I caught some of the conversation.

Vivian said, “If you keep treating Blair like this, once she finds out, she’ll never forgive you.”

Landon’s tone was confident, “Blair won’t find out.”

“I’m always careful. I’m just trying to help Chloe…”

Vivian said, “Say that again.”

Landon paused. “I said I’m always careful about covering my tracks.”

Vivian laughed bitterly. The laughter was pure mockery.

Landon was confused, but he kept on, “Mom, as long as you don’t tell her, Blair won’t know. Trust me, this is the last time…”

Vivian cut him off.

“How did I end up with such a stupid son?”

“You really think Blair doesn’t already know?”

Landon’s voice cut off abruptly.