Annie's fists clenched. She must have been crazy enough to come here, to believe there was any chance between her and Rain. A stab of annoyance shot through her. Annie literally couldn't bear looking at her beloved man fooling around with another woman any more. She was excessively exhausted. The world started to spin at her feet. The sight of Rain and Leena giggling with each other hurt her eyes. Annie didn't know how to deal with her feelings toward Rain anymore.
"Aren't you hot standing here? Why are you just standing in the sun like that?" Edward's brow rose as he tried to block the sun with his palm. He couldn't stand the heat and urged them to leave.
"Not really. The sun is quite enjoyable today. Edward, you are cooped up in that air-conditioned room for too long. You don't know how to appreciate the gifts of nature." Leena teased him with a big grin. However, she could also feel the burning heat on her cheeks. Obviously, they had been standing in the sun way too long.
"Let's go! I don't want him to pass out from heat stroke right here right now." Rain stole a glance at Edward. He felt greatly amused to tease him in front of Leena, instead of getting teased himself.
Annie stood still as she watched their car disappear into the distance. Slowly, she stepped out from behind the pillar, tears ran down her cheeks like strings of pearls. Her heart ached so much that she started to have second thought about her boldness. She was wrong in the first place. She would never be able to catch up with him.
It would be better if she left now. She hated to lurk around in the background, looking for him in every possible corner and only to find him fooling around with another woman. She would rather retreat to her own world where she could pretend that he belonged to her. There, she imagined him to be hers. Annie took a last glance at the street end where the car took off and disappeared into the crowds as if she was never here today.
Edward and the rest soon arrived at Tender Whispers. This restaurant had romantic decor with an expensive menu and extraordinary service. It was the ideal place for lovers to go. However, Edward always hung out here with his friends.
"Leena, how come you suddenly want to have dinner with us?" Like Edward, Rain also suspected something fishy. He wondered why on earth Leena would bother to have dinner with them. As far as he was concerned, this tricky girl only asked them out when she was in trouble or had a favor to ask.
"I am flying to Paris later this afternoon. Before I leave, I just want to meet up with you guys. Is something wrong?" Leena acted all innocently. She quickly rolled her eyes and gave them a big smile. The words were already at the tip of her tongue and yet she still didn't have the courage to tell them the truth.
"Why? I thought you have almost finished your studies. Why leave for Paris all of a sudden?" Edward carefully put a glass of water in front of Leena and asked her. He looked quite worried.
"Yep! I am just going to be the judge for a fashion design contest there. I'll be gone for a week. Don't miss me too much!" Leena picked up the glass and had a sip. The cool water refreshed her instantly.
"What? You? A judge? You must be kidding me. You're going to ruin the contest. I don't think you have the fair mind a judge needs." Rain scornfully looked at Leena from head to toe. His voice sounded serious as he shook his head. As far as he was concerned, Leena was fair to middling useless!
"Shut up! I don't need you to believe in me. Anyway, that's not why I asked you out." Leena didn't have any hard feelings regarding Rain's scornful words. She knew him well enough that she understood he was just trying to get her to become a better person. As the old saying went, "bitter medicine cures sickness, bitter advice cures bad behavior." Rain with his quick wit, had unique ways of urging her to greatness.
"Well, what is this all about?" Edward carefully cut the steak into smaller pieces for her and pushed the plate in front of her. He casually threw the question at her and patiently waited for her answer.
"Promise me that you won't overreact once I tell you the news! And you can't yell at me like Mr. Cold." Leena summoned up her courage and warned them in advance. She was concerned that they would talk her ears off once she told them the news.
"Sounds like your story will piss us off. Might as well let it out then. I am now really curious what you have to say. What are you afraid of?" Edward smirked. His lips curled up as he fondly looked at her.
"Here goes... I'm married." Leena closed her eyes and spit out her secret. As she had expected, the two men reacted at the same moment but in two different ways. Rain spit out the water he was drinking, Edward dropped the knife that he was using to cut the steak. The knife hit the plate, making a clear, sharp sound that startled her.
"Unbelievable! If you're joking, it's not funny. Who would be so brave that he would actually marry you? Rain stared at her in astonishment. He couldn't believe her words at all.
Who in the world.? Edward's handsome face turned dark. He leaned closer to examine her. He believed what she just said. If she was just messing around, she wouldn't make such a big effort to meet up with them right before her flight. She must be telling the truth as she would ask them out for dinner only because she had something important to tell them.
Edward, you promised that you wouldn't be mad. Leena bit her bottom lip as she avoided his stare. She knew that Edward was crazier than Mr. Cold when he got mad. Therefore, it took her days to gather up the courage to tell him the news. She knew it would be better that he heard the news from her, instead of others. He would never forgive her if he found out about her marriage through other people.