"Okay. Be safe and take care of yourself. Remember to check that it's someone you know before opening the door. Bye!" Kevin was worried about her, but like she said, she had been living there for a few years. She knew very well the security measures she had to take there.
Yeah. I know. Don't worry about it." Leena ended the call. She was about to open the door promptly, but thinking over the words Kevin just said, she decided to check through the door camera first to see if she knew the person who rang the bell. When she saw the handsome guy on the screen, she couldn't help but frown. Why was he here? They had already made the unanimous decision to break up, hadn't they?
After drawing a deep breath, Leena opened the door. Even though they weren't lovers anymore, there was no need for bad blood between them, right?
"Gerard, what a surprise." Leena said. She was fluent in French. She was seeing him a few months after their break-up. Clearly, she didn't feel the same way she used to feel when the two of them were dating.
"Hello! Mignonne*, we finally meet again." Gerard's arms were wide open, wanting a passionate hug from Leena. However, Leena subtly dodged his hug. Even though she knew it was just a friendly gesture in this country, she couldn't just forget her new identity. She was Kevin's wife now, how could she hug her ex?
(*TN: Gerard called her Mignonne.)
"Why are you here?" Leena's face showed no emotions at all. She obviously wasn't surprised or excited to see him again. On the contrary, she felt kind of annoyed at him for disturbing the phone call with her husband. The look on her face contrasted strongly to the excited one on Gerard's.
"Can I come in first?" Gerard could sense Leena's cold attitude toward him, but he really wanted her back. He decided to forego the awkwardness and asked her to let him in.
Alright, you can come in." Leena moved aside to let him in. She wasn't too worried about what he might do once he was inside her house.
"Mignonne, I always knew that you would be back one day." Gerard had thought he would never see this charming and beautiful Asian girl again. But much to his surprise, she came back.
"How did you know that I'm back?" Leena didn't hate him, but she didn't like him anymore either. After all, she hadn't forgotten why she decided to return home before.
"A friend told me that he saw you on the streets. So I came here to see if it is true that you are back." Gerard wasn't used to Leena behaving coldly with him. When he and Leena were together, she was always so passionate and lovely. Right now, under Leena's grim gaze, he felt uncomfortable.
"Now that you know that I'm indeed back, would you like to leave?" Leena didn't even try to be nice to him. She didn't think there was anything that needed to be said between the two of them anymore. In fact, she didn't even want to see him in the first place! She just wanted him gone already.
"Oh! Mignonne, why are you acting like this with me? You weren't like this before! You seem to have changed a lot." Gerard opened his arms and tried to hug her a second time. Again, Leena side-stepped his hug. She just wanted to get rid of him. He was making her uneasy.
"Well, sorry. There's an old saying in my country which basically means that things aren't how they used to be. You should know that nothing stays the same. People change all the time. Besides, I clearly remember you saying that I wasn't the one you liked. So don't blame me for being so straightforward." Leena snorted. She raised one of her eyebrows and looked at him mockingly. Was he being serious right now? Did he come here just to act like he regretted breaking up with her? This must be a sick joke. Well, no matter what, she was not going to change her mind!
"No! Mignonne, listen to me. I finally realize you are still the one I love the most. I did say that you were a bit conservative for my liking, I won't deny that. But now I can see that it's exactly the reason why I like you so much, Mignonne. You are so mysterious and elegant and you have that eastern charm. I can't stand a life without you. Give me another chance to prove myself to you, will you? I promise I will be better this time." Gerard put his hands on Leena's shoulders, begging her sincerely. He looked like he truly regretted breaking up with her.
"I'm sorry. But it is too late now. We are not getting back together." People were always like this. They didn't miss the water until the well ran dry. Once they lost something, they immediately found it was important to them. To be honest, she was quite grateful for Gerard. If he hadn't hurt her so bad that she went back home, she wouldn't have met Kevin. She wouldn't have gotten married to the man she truly loved. That made her realize that what she had felt for Gerard wasn't love. It was a crush, maybe, but definitely not love.
Why? What do you mean? Gerard quickly asked her. What did she mean by "too late? It had only been a few months since they broke up. Surely it couldn't be that late?
I'm already married. Leena smiled prettily. Whenever she mentioned Kevin, she always felt warm in her heart. Maybe that's was what people called the power of love.
That's not possible! You can't be married! You must be joking right? Gerard all of a sudden grabbed her hand to have a look of it. When he found that there was nothing on her ring finger, he secretly sighed in relief. Of course she was lying. How could she get married so soon? That was impossible!
Stop being unreasonable! Why would I joke about something like that? I don't need to lie to you, okay? That won't do me any good at all." Leena abruptly shook off his hand. She knew exactly what he was looking for. He wanted to see if she had a ring on her finger or not.
"Fine. If you want to insist that you are married, then tell me, where is your wedding ring?" Gerard didn't believe her words. He thought it was just an excuse for her since she was still hurt by their break-up. Gerard stared at her intensely. Under his watchful eyes, he believed she could not lie to him.
"Gerard, you should know that my country is different from yours. Married women in my country don't have to wear a wedding ring to prove that they are married. Besides, why are you so confident that I don't have a wedding ring? Maybe I'm just afraid that I will lose it because I'm always so careless. That's why I'm not wearing it right now." There was no real conviction in Leena's voice as she said these words. Truth be told, she and Kevin didn't even bother to buy a wedding ring when they got married. She just hoped that Gerard believed her and didn't catch her lie.