"I also sense it. Actually, you shouldn't be mad at my brother. Rachel is nobody. Are you afraid that you might lose?" asked Leena knowingly. She bet that Belinda would take the bait for a dare.
Bullshit! "I'm not afraid. I just don't want to be looked down upon because of her. That's all." Belinda roared with laughter. Rachel meant nothing to her. However, Duke's attitude was another thing entirely. She cared what he thought.
"You're right. There's no need to worry about all this BS." Leena was sitting at the table sipping lemonade, with a sly smile.
"Silly, do you call that BS? Well, forget about it. I can't be serious with you. I might go crazy. By the way, why are you so mischievous while your brother's so dull and boring?" It finally occurred to Belinda that arguing with Leena was a waste of time and energy, since she could never be reasonable.
"He's not boring or dull, My brother's cool, ok? What's wrong with you?" Leena's mouth twitched slightly, with a mocking smile flashing on her face. She was definitely teasing Belinda and defending Mr. Cold.
Daisy sipped her jasmine tea with pleasure. Watching those two girls arguing and chattering, Daisy felt her life was perfect right now. She had a family who loved her, several good friends in whom she could confide, and plenty of leisure time. She was happy, and had felt this way almost every day recently.
At that moment, her mobile phone rang, jarring her back to reality. She picked it up and put a smile on her face, answering the call.
"Daisy, are you finished? Should I come pick you up now?" She heard Edward's attractive voice on the line, which warmed her heart once again.
"I was gonna call you. I'll be back later than I expected. So, you might need to have dinner without me," answered Daisy. Daisy looked at those two women who had stopped arguing and were now staring at her nervously. Daisy knew what they were thinking about. They were afraid that Edward might disagree.
"Are you still out shopping?" asked Edward. He leaned the chair back lazily, dropped his pen, and his brow furrowed, sullen.
"No, we're done with shopping already. We will go to a pub and have some fun. Are you ok with this?" Daisy tensely asked. She sensed Edward's displeasure from his voice.
"If I don't like this idea, will you come home right now? Will you listen to me?" Edward stood up from the chair, walked to the window, and looked down at the cars on the street. This city was really such a dynamic and prosperous one.
"What do you think?" Daisy could imagine that Edward must be frowning with those caring eyes.
So whether I agree or not, you'll do it anyway. You've already made up your mind, so why ask me?" said Edward with a mocking smile He wouldn't deserve his title as 'the only person who understood her' if he had no clue about what was on her mind.
"I'm sorry. As you know, something happened today." Daisy knew that Edward was already aware of the reason. At lunch, Duke and Belinda were acting weird, so he figured something must have been wrong.
"Alright, I know. Be careful and text me the address of the pub when you're there. Then I'll pick you up when you're ready to leave." Edward knew that Daisy was Belinda's best friend, so he wouldn't object.
"Don't bother. I can call a taxi. It'll be more convenient for both of us," Daisy insisted. Daisy never thought of herself as a little girl needing extra care and protection. So, without hesitation she refused her husband.
"Now you've got two options. Come back home right now, or tell me the address," said Edward, pissed off by Daisy's stubbornness and ungratefulness. Edward's concern was well-justified. Girls could lose control and become quite vulnerable when they were drunk. Besides, he had known Daisy's tolerance for liquor for some time now. So, he was worried about whether a drunken Daisy could come back home safe and sound.
"I don't like either of those two options," Daisy answered briefly and stiffly. Daisy hated being threatened. So, she wouldn't accept any proposals under pressure.
"What about me taking you back by force? Do you like it?" said Edward coldly. He was okay with Daisy going out and having some fun with her friends. However, his bottom line was that her safety wouldn't be compromised.
"Do you really think you can do that?" said Daisy in a mocking voice. She was losing her temper, and didn't take his threats seriously. After all, it wouldn't be easy to find her and catch her. Her military training had taught her how to disappear if she needed to.
"Try me. We can play cat and mouse, if you like," said Edward sullenly. He really cared about and loved Daisy. However, she could never take anything for granted, as far as Edward was concerned.
"You bastard!" shouted Daisy angrily. Then, she hung up. The promise she had made to Edward, that she should never hang up first, was forgotten in her rage.
"Hello?" Edward shook his head, accepting things as they were. Then, he smiled broadly. Although she hung up on him, she conceded. So, he won. As long as his goal was achieved, nothing else mattered.
"What's up? Are you allowed to go with us?" Leena asked, nervous when she saw Daisy hang up angrily. Edward's authoritarian tendencies were legendary. Once he made a decision, he let others know by giving them orders. And he never allowed anyone to disobey him.
"He's fine. He just told me to text him the address of wherever we're going." Daisy's mouth twitched slightly and helplessly. It suddenly occurred to her that she would never be treated as a competent solider and even a colonel by her husband. In his eyes, she was just a weak woman, and needed protection.
"Then tell him. What's the big deal?" asked Belinda in bewilderment. 'Why did Daisy get angry about this?' Belinda wondered. 'It seems simple enough.'
"Don't you think that he's treating me like his daughter? Now, he wants to control my life, and tells me where I can and can't go." Daisy sighed. She hated being controlled and treated as some inferior to Edward. However, she didn't know why she cared about this so much.
"It's so sweet. Haven't you ever heard that a daughter is actually her father's lover from the previous life? Shouldn't you be glad that he's trying his best to protect you and take care of you? Do you want Edward to be cold and indifferent, just like he was in the old days? Is that what you want? Maybe you don't appreciate what happiness really means. You like being tortured?" Belinda shot a defiant look at Daisy, and wondered what kind of girl would refuse Edward's care and kindness. However, Daisy had the audacity to complain that she had a protective and caring husband.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it. You know I'm a soldier, accustomed to army life. I give orders, not take them. I just don't like the fact that my husband feels he can actually control my life and order me to do anything." Daisy was smart enough to figure out her mistakes and apologize for them.
"Daisy, I know Edward rarely cares about a woman this way. His love is special and unique. He wouldn't give a shit about the safety or welfare of any woman he had before. He didn't even talk to them nicely. Do you know that?" In Leena's eyes, Edward was the best of those outstanding men, so countless women would make sacrifices for him so they could win his heart and his love.
"Shut up. You're always ready to defend those men. You're like a traitor to our women." Belinda looked at Leena coldly and finally knew why those men liked Leena. She was like a defense lawyer who would do anything to make her defendant look not guilty.
"I'm telling you the truth. I don't lie." Leena was hurt and her full lips pouted slightly. Each and every man she loved had unique characters and deserved her love and defense.
"Stop. Shut up. Don't talk nonsense in front of me, please." Belinda was afraid of Leena being stubborn and arguing. So, she decided to silence Leena first.
Belinda, you better call Duke, otherwise, he might get anxious and worried," said Daisy. Daisy knew Belinda well enough that she was sure Belinda had turned off her cell phone so that Duke could not talk to her on the phone.
Don't we have a traitor here to tip us off? So, don't worry about him. Belinda gave Leena a quick glance and was sure that Leena must have told her brother about where they were going and what they were gonna do.
Haha, I told him nothing but that we won't be back home early. Leena smiled with a guilty conscience, knowing that she have been exposed. She attempted to gloss over this embarrassing moment.