Chapter 291

Leander Steele was still waiting for an answer from her, but with the kind of upbringing Melody Steele had, there's no way she’d tell her parents she’d sneaked into some estate to steal apples because she was starving—let alone that she'd bumped into some random boy there. So, after a slight pause, she lowered her head and said, “Dad, I bought it myself. Just liked the way it looked.” Leander had always been a generous and easygoing father. As long as his daughter liked it, he wouldn’t dig too deep—so he let it go. The whole thing ended up just like a tiny blip in Melody’s life. Once it was over, it was really over. Back at the Steele house, her pampered princess life continued as usual, all the way until college graduation. That day she got her diploma, Melody was over the moon. Leander had promised her that once she graduated, she could finally move out and start her own career. Life at the Steele house was cushy, especially with Craig Steele as her older brother—the guy was crazy co