The car was started and driven out slowly. Claire looked at Leena complacently, not trying to mask her real purpose. Obviously, she did not consider Leena to be a family member, her sister-in-law, at all.
There was no doubt that Louisa was extremely satisfied with such deliberate arrangement. This way, she and Kevin looked like a couple since Claire and Leena were sitting on the back seats. She was much closer to Kevin. Meanwhile, from Claire's behavior, it could be deduced that Claire thought the same as her. An ordinary woman such as Leena who had no background would never match up to Kevin or be qualified to be his wife. Right now, Louisa felt that her chances of marrying Kevin were high. She believed that Leena was just a Cinderella who did not deserve a prince like Kevin.
Leena decided to ignore the provocation from Claire. She took out her phone and browsed on it. 'Far from eye, far from heart, ' that was how Leena thought. She did not want to trouble herself by making any responses to Claire.
With her fingertip sliding on the screen effortlessly, Leena soon finished editing her new post. She hesitated, wondering whether she should post it or not. Finally, she bit her lip and pressed the send button. She was sure that Kevin would never see it. As far as she remembered, he had never sent her a friend request. And she never asked him if he had a QQ account either. They had no connections whatsoever on social media.
Kevin took one look at Leena through the rear-view mirror and found that she was completely lost in her own world, like there weren't three other people with her in the car. She seemed to be calm and indifferent, just like she had been before.
"Kevin, Louisa and you have known each other for a long time. So why didn't you marry her?" Huh. It seemed to Leena that she was invisible in Claire's eyes. Why else would she ask such a rude question when Leena was present, without thinking twice about it?
Why should I have married her?" Kevin asked back carelessly. He didn't consider Louisa's feelings. Perhaps he didn't know why Claire asked him to drive at first. But now, it finally dawned on him what she was trying to do. He was not a fool.
Isn't she just great? I also think our families are perfect for each other," Claire said the unbelievable words as she pursed her lips. She despised Leena so much.
"It does not matter to me how great she is. Claire, I don't want to hear those words ever again, especially coming from you," Kevin replied distantly, warning her. All of a sudden, the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. His words left no doubt that he was warning Louisa too.
Louisa had been delighted at first. However, all her happiness vanished in an instant upon hearing Kevin's warning. But she still did not want to give up. No matter how many times Kevin rejected her, she still harbored hope, believing that her dream would eventually come true, as long as she tried hard enough.
Leena tried hard to hold back her rage and dejection. She still concentrated on her phone, as if she didn't hear what they were talking about. However, she knew how she felt in her heart. There was nothing but bitterness there.
Claire pouted a bit. Fine, she would stop saying such words. But she would not give up! She would make a plan to separate these two so that Louisa got the chance to date her brother. Huh! Any which way, she had to drive Leena out of her family. Her brother was an excellent man, and only an equally excellent woman such as Louisa could match him. They would be the perfect couple.
The destination Kevin wanted to take Leena to was a villa, that had beautiful, natural scenery. What was more, the atmosphere there was pure, not polluted by vehicular fumes or industrial waste gas from downtown. He thought Leena needed some fresh air to breathe and she'd like it there.
The moment Leena walked out of the car, she could not help but take a deep, full breath. She forgot the misery brought on by Claire as she gazed at the beautiful landscape, skipping around happily and feeling like she was drunk on the fresh air. She looked so adorable, as charming and lively as a little fairy from some mysterious forest.
"Isn't it beautiful here? I think this is much better than your former choice." Kevin stood beside Leena. He was satisfied with her reaction, praising himself for choosing this place. She looked so happy. Kevin saw that Leena had returned to her old self, animated and lovely.
"Huh. The ugly person always tries to get more attention," Claire scorned coldly. She detested Leena no matter what she did. All her actions and words seemed to offend Claire. She had to admit that Leena was the most beautiful one among the three of them, yet she hated her. In Claire's mind, Leena was a vain girl from an ordinary well-off family, instead of a famous or esteemed one. She was jealous of Leena and thought that she did not deserve to have such a beautiful face. She would never be a princess no matter what kind of clothes she wore!
"I'm sorry, Claire. But if I am too ugly to be looked at by you, you can just choose not to look at me. Nobody is putting a knife to your neck and forcing you to do so." This was the first time Leena fought back to Claire's insults. She was beginning to understand something: Claire did not even try to like her, so Leena did not have to bear her rude words or behavior anymore. Yes, Claire was the princess here whom everybody loved. But Leena was a princess, too. In S city, she was the most precious princess to her family and friends.
"Kevin! Are you listening to her? She is talking to me so rudely!" Claire shouted, blaming Leena. Claire had not anticipated that Leena would retaliate. She thought Leena was a timid woman.
"What? She looks good! I don't think her attitude isn't nice enough to you. And she's right, nobody is forcing you to look at her. All right. You should do as you promised me. Go somewhere else and don't interrupt us. We need some privacy." Kevin glanced back at them with cool, determined eyes.