Chapter 810: Annabelle, I Can’t Sleep...

Chapter 810: Chapter 810: Annabelle, I Can’t Sleep...

He wanted to do something meaningful... like making a baby.

Annabelle Linton led him into the room, pulled back the covers, and made him sit on the bed. She crouched down to take off his slippers, not even lifting her head as she busied herself. "Go to sleep and be good. There’s no negotiating this."

Leona Grant frowned as if he had a toothache. "But..."

Annabelle looked at him impassively. "If you keep this up, you won’t see me from today onward. Don’t talk to me again until you’ve fully recovered."

Huh? Did that mean she wasn’t going to keep him company?

Leona immediately yielded, though he still protested reluctantly. "Ah... but I can’t fall asleep in broad daylight like this..."

"You still have to try. Close your eyes first, empty your mind, and then you’ll fall asleep."

"Then why don’t you come up and sleep with me? I can’t sleep without holding you," Leona said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.

Annabelle’s heart gave a vicious twinge, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She deeply understood his words; habits were incredibly hard to break. If he couldn’t even sleep without holding her for a short while, what would he do in the long future ahead? There was definitely no turning back on her departure. Annabelle pursed her lips, resolving to slowly wean him off this habit starting today.

She sat in the chair beside the bed, watching him expressionlessly. "If I come up, are you sure you’ll actually go to sleep? There’s no room for negotiation."

Leona relentlessly clung to her arm and whined, "How will you know if you don’t try? Come up and stay with me, honey."

Annabelle looked at him coldly, her stance uncompromising. "If you don’t lie down and behave within one minute, and keep trying to bargain with me, don’t expect me to say a single word to you for the next week."

Leona instantly deflated. He knew she wouldn’t sleep with him. Reluctantly, he dawdled as he lay down on the bed, clutching the edge of the blanket and staring at her pitifully.

Annabelle actually really wanted to laugh, but she kept a straight face and said calmly, "Right, just like that. Close your eyes, and you’ll slowly drift off."

Frowning, Leona closed his eyes in extreme displeasure. Seeing this, Annabelle lowered her head to read the book in her hands.

Although her eyes were focused on the pages, her peripheral vision remained entirely fixed on his handsome face. It was only when he was asleep like this that she could gaze at him so recklessly. Secrets of the heart were like that—even if one tightly sealed their lips to keep them hidden, they would still spill from the eyes. During the day, his gaze was completely anchored on her, and Annabelle didn’t dare hold eye contact with him for too long.

She knew she would have to let Leona know about her illness sooner or later, but she wasn’t ready yet. She didn’t know how to tell him or how to face the deep pain that would inevitably fill his eyes. Sitting in the chair, Annabelle thought about the impending scene of their separation. Her heart felt as though it were being gouged out by a knife, leaving it a bloody, mangled mess.

Leona lay there for a while but couldn’t fall asleep at all. He opened his eyes helplessly. "Annabelle, I can’t sleep... Let’s either skip the nap, or you come up and keep me company..."

Annabelle stared steadily into his eyes for a moment, saying nothing.

Leona had no idea what she was thinking, but being stared at like that made his stomach tie in knots.

...She wasn’t angry, was she?

Truth be told, back when Leona hadn’t taken his own health seriously, Annabelle had indeed gotten genuinely angry. If the roles were reversed, Leona would have felt the same.