"If you continue to be so indifferent to me, I will probably never be okay," Kevin said, taking the opportunity to take hold of her wrist. She had managed to avoid him the entire morning, but this time he wouldn't let her go.
"What do you mean? Are you ill?" Leena exclaimed as she touched his forehead with the back of her hand. She was worried that he was exhausted.
"Yes, I'm ill. So now you have to take care of me," Kevin replied before intentionally leaning toward Leena, a cunning smile spreading across his face. His trick had worked.
It's better for us to go home now." Leena didn't show a trace of doubt at his words. She was the kind of woman who was easily convinced. She effortlessly forgot about her decision to keep him at arm's length, beginning to feel concerned for him.
"It's not that serious. Let's go and buy you some clothes first before we go back home." Upon seeing that she was worried for him, Kevin felt relieved. He knew that Leena didn't really want to ignore him.
"But I'm worried about your health. We should go home now." Leena was so anxious that she didn't realize it was not easy for a strong soldier like Kevin to fall sick.
"Yes! Kevin, if you are not well now, we should go home. We can buy the clothes some other day." Truthfully, Claire was a little dubious about him being ill. Ever since childhood, she had never seen Kevin get sick. He was such a strong man.
"I just feel a little dizzy. It's okay. Don't worry." Once you told a lie, it never ceased to be. One deception led to another. Kevin regretted lying about his sickness. He felt like shooting himself in the foot.
Because of Kevin's insistence, Leena bought some warm clothes. Of course, all of them were very expensive, and it amazed Clare. As opposed to Claire's complaints about the exorbitant price when she was buying her own skirt, Leena bought what she liked without hesitation. She simply asked the saleswomen to pack them for her, with no scruples.
On the way back, Claire drove the car. She still stared at Leena through the rear-view mirror, as if she was a monster. 'She is so heartless! Leena takes Kevin's hard-earned money for granted and is spending it without hesitation. What's worse is that she doesn't feel guilty at all about spending so much money on clothes,' Claire thought.
"Claire, is there dirt on my face?" Feeling Claire's eyes boring into her, Leena finally asked, reaching out to touch her face with her hands.
"Oh! No." In all honesty, Claire wanted to question her spendthrift habits. Leena was just like a Cinderella, so was it so necessary for her to buy those luxurious clothes to show off? No matter how she pretended otherwise, a crow could never become a phoenix.
Leena looked at herself. Did Claire just want to find fault with her? There was nothing wrong with the clothes she wore today. Although they were a little different from the styles she usually chose, they felt very authentic to her true self.
"Do we need to buy a cake?" Leena asked. The question came to her mind as they passed by a cake store.
"I don't know. Let me call mom and ask her." Kevin was dumbfounded when he heard the question. He never cared for such trifles.
"Claire, pull the car over near the store." Kevin took out his cellphone and dialed his mother's number. He waited for a while before the call was picked up. She was probably very busy right now.
"Okay, Sure." As it was always their mother who organized everything at home, Claire also didn't have any useful answers.
"Hello, Kevin, what's up?" Shannon asked with nervous energy. She had an apron on and was busy frying up meat balls in the kitchen.
"Oh! Mom, Leena is asking if you have ordered the cake." Kevin was a very considerate man, so he didn't forget to mention that it was his wife's thoughtfulness that prompted him to ask this.
Oh! I almost forgot about that! Thank you for reminding me. No, I haven't yet. Can you buy a cake on your way back? I'm very busy today and might not have the time to go out."
Shannon tapped her head. How could she forget such an important thing? She had planned to order the cake yesterday. But she had gotten carried away with the preparations as it was the first time her daughter-in-law was visiting them. In the haste, she completely forgot to buy the cake. Fortunately, Leena was kind enough to remind her of that, otherwise they would have the birthday party without a birthday cake.
"Okay, I will hang up now. We're outside the cake store. We'll pick one up." Kevin ended the call, glancing at Leena with admiration. He found her to be so special. She was a very thoughtful woman. Although she was very young, she cataloged all the tiny details in her mind and surprised them in the time of need.
"What did she say? She didn't buy a cake yet?" Leena looked at Kevin with doubt, trying to figure out what Shannon said over the phone.
"Yes, let's go buy the cake. Claire, you find a place to park the car. We can't pull up here for too long." Kevin pushed the car door open and got out. As always, the gentleman's hand reached out, waiting for Leena to grab onto it.
"I know." In all honesty, Claire didn't care much about the parking problem. She had always been very arrogant. Only a handful of people in the city didn't know her. But since her older brother asked her to park her car, she thought she'd better follow his words. She didn't want to be scolded again later.