Kevin just allowed himself to sink into silence for a couple of minutes. He rushed out of the room after noticing Leena was gone. He went upstairs and then downstairs in search of her. But he couldn't find Leena anywhere, though he turned the whole apartment upside down. Kevin finally panicked. He took the phone and called Leena, hoping she could answer his call immediately. But he heard Leena's ringtone nearby. It was there on the bed, flashing a dim blue light while it rang.
It was so late. Where did she go? Did she leave? Kevin picked up his keys and ran downstairs as soon as this idea struck him. He was in such a hurry that he still wore his pajamas. He needed to check whether Leena's car was still in the parking garage.
Kevin went to the parking garage by lift, and immediately saw Leena's red Ferrari as the door of the lift was opened. Kevin's heart resettled to his chest again. Leena didn't leave and her car was still there. Leena seemed to have undergone a tremendous emotional upheaval. What if she lost control of her emotions when she was driving? It would be dangerous for her to drive in that state.
Kevin returned home. Leena must still be in the apartment, and there must be some places he had forgotten. It was impossible for her to disappear all of a sudden. That only happened in period fantasies, and she was far from a ghost or a forest spirit.
Kevin rubbed his forehead to relieve the tension headache. Somehow, he felt regret. There must have been something wrong with him. Otherwise, he should not have upset Leena so soon after coming back from his training. Did the training numb his nerves or empty his brain? Kevin wondered why Leena got mad at him.
Kevin combed every corner on the first floor. Then the second floor. But he didn't find Leena although he had searched every room. Leena seemed to have vanished from the earth! Kevin's heart was in his throat now. He could not help but worry about her. Where had she gone? Kevin leaned against the wall, quite exhausted. Then a dim light from the attic caught his attention. Was Leena in the attic? He dashed toward it like a bullet from a gun. Actually, this attic was a large room on the top of the apartment. It was called an attic only because the walls were quite low compared to other rooms in the apartment. Since it was on the highest level, it was bright and luminous with plenty of sunshine. Before Kevin's marriage, both this room's location and area had turned out to be impediments in attracting the host's attention.
Kevin believed that Leena must be in there. He became more and more confident while approaching it. The balcony had been refurbished with new railings. The design and decoration were so delicate and exquisite, that it seemed impossible for Leena to have worked on it alone. She must have hired some professional workers to help her. Judging from the design and the quality of the construction, Kevin thought that some of Leena's brothers must have offered her help and sent some helpers.
Kevin took a deep breath before turning the doorknob. It was locked from inside, however. He knocked. Some big changes had happened in his home since he left for his training. In addition to the changes of decorations in the room, Leena had changed a lot as well. She seemed to have adopted a different attitude toward him, otherwise she would not have gotten mad just for something he said. 'Did she fall in love with me?' Kevin wondered.
"Leena, are you in there? Open the door, please." Receiving no response from Leena, Kevin had to ask in a gentle voice.
Leena got nervous again as soon as she heard Kevin's knocking. Her eyes were swollen from crying too much. How could she let Kevin see her with such a pair of ugly eyes?
"I'll be down later. Just leave me alone," said Leena with a sobbing tone. Actually, her voice had turned hoarse because of the crying. What she said was so unclear that Kevin couldn't understand it.
"I told you, Leena. No door will stop me from coming in. You know what to do, right?" Kevin didn't want to threaten her. But she sounded so bad, he could not help but feel worried about her. He couldn't let her remain here. What if she did something to hurt herself? He had to force Leena to open the door.
Leena wiped off the tears from her face before standing up from the floor. Since she had crouched and stayed rooted to that corner for quite a while, her legs had gone numb. She shook and almost fell back again. Leaning on the wall to steady her body, Leena tried her best to pacify her emotions as well. She didn't move toward the door until she resumed her normal attitude. No trail of tears should be seen on her face.
"Leena, open the door. This is your last chance. Open the door or I break it down." As the key for this room was kept downstairs, he could have easily gone downstairs, grabbed the key and opened the door. But Kevin wanted Leena to open the door for him.
Leena took a pair of nearby glasses and perched them on her nose. She seldom wore glasses ordinarily, except for decoration. As her eyes were so swollen and so ugly, she had to wear the glasses to hide them. Having cleaned herself up, Leena reached the door.
Kevin held out one hand and pushed against the door as soon as Leena opened it. He didn't want to chance her shutting it again. Though Leena had donned the glasses to try and hide her swollen eyes, they instead drew Kevin's attention to them like a moth to a flame. Kevin furrowed his brows at the sight of Leena's swollen orbs. In a stern manner, he stared at Leena's face for a long time.
Leena felt too shy under Kevin's scrutiny. Unwilling to show her red nose tip and eyes in front of Kevin, she turned around in silence. She was not in the mood to talk to him at this moment.
Kevin studied the interior carefully. The empty room was filled with stuff now: various mannequins, sewing machines and every conceivable kind of cloth. In the middle of the room was a huge desk, on which were scattered colorful pieces of paper. Since he stood a little bit away from it, he could not see the drawings on the paper.
"When did you change up this room? I don't even recognize it." If he hadn't come here for Leena's sake, he would not have known anything of those dramatic changes in the room. He really paid little attention to his home.
I'm sorry! I made an arrangement without your permission. This is my office now." This time, Leena sounded quite cold and aloof. She had concealed her usual sweetness and shielded herself under a cool attitude, which, in Leena's opinion, could protect her from getting hurt. True, it was hard for Leena to assume such a chilly attitude toward Kevin. Once she did so, however, it was obvious that she was very deeply hurt.