Let’s start all over again,shall we?

Chapter 236 Food Snatcher

Maggie’s eyes shimmered with moisture as she gave a weak smile, shifting the conversation.

Leo shared a similar background with Maggie, yet their paths diverged.

His mother, once Joshua’s mistress, was a fleeting figure that disappeared soon in his life.

She had hoped to manipulate Joshua through Leo, using cunning ways to conceive his child.

But when she tried to leverage the child, Joshua had grown indifferent, showing no interest in the child she had schemed to bring into the world.

The woman’s efforts to manipulate Joshua blew up in her face, resulting in threats, bribes, and finally. expulsion with a stern warning.

This descent into madness left Leo to navigate a childhood marred by abuse.

In her rare moments of clarity, she’d shower him with maternal affection, but in her darker times, she’d unleash verbal and physical torment upon him.

Raised without a father and in such tumultuous conditions, Leo forged a resilient and hardened shell,

Yet, he quickly learned that sheer strength wasn’t enough without a solid support network by his side.

Hence, the lad who once frolicked in the mud mastered the art of projecting the image of a model. student, at least on the surface.

He realised that by adopting the persona of a courteous and capable individual, he could earn trust effortlessly, bypassing the necessity for physical confrontation.

Experiencing the dark side of human behaviour from an early age, he cultivated a frostier demeanour, seamlessly merging it with his natural aloofness.

His interactions were always polite, never condescending, yet his true essence remained veiled. He observed others discreetly, responding to provocation with calculated ferocity.

Similar to Maggie, he was thrust into maturity ahead of his time, relegated to the role of a supporting

character.

of

Leo’s mind of the moments when Maggie had

those days, she possessed a grace that seemed distant yet luminous, akin to

you keep getting yourself into trouble?” she asked, a touch of exasperation in

at her interference, pushing her away as he struggled to stand amidst the pool of blood, snapping. “Stay

as a leopard, he found her naivety and acquiescence

236 Food

sending him into a cold sweat and

her lips, arching an eyebrow as she observed. She commented, “Stubborn as a mule. No wonder you keep landing

of sweat trickling down his

determined girl knelt before him, her eyes bright and unflinching, undeterred by the

of kids they prefer in orphanages?” she queried.

his

well–behaved, sensible ones. They won’t even feed bread crusts to children like

his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut against

rest, a girl with a darkness that matched his own, a depth that drew

out a bag of warm buns.

of the hot, fragrant buns, even though

if he could grab the buns in his current condition, but the girl caught on

words, I’ll gladly hand them over. I might even consider bringing it to you

a twig, let alone

nibbled on the bun. Leo quietly tallied how many she devoured. One,

had purchased five buns, and two

convince her to hand

every cent in his pocket came from his hard–earned job. He was accused of stealing another’s work and endured a brutal beating.

gnawed

help, but in the

Farewell, she/bid politely,

Leo chuckled softly, marveling