"I'm fine. The more he rejects me, the more my affections grow," Louisa said, as she tried to maintain her dignity. She was strong in her determination to win Kevin over at the same time.
"Are we still following them?" Kevin's rage made Claire timid. She had never seen him so angry before.
"Claire, I need your help. I fell in love with your brother at first sight a few years ago. Then I went abroad for further studies. I thought he would still be single when I came back. But unexpectedly, he got married." Louisa was regretful. She could have already become Kevin's wife if she hadn't gone abroad.
"Don't worry, Louisa. I'll help you get my brother," Claire promised. Her hatred for Leena reached a summit and led to her immediate consent to Louisa's request.
"Thank you! I'll be so grateful to you if I become your sister-in-law." Louisa looked at Claire earnestly, trying to convince her that she meant what she said.
"I guess you have to be." Claire giggled. She always thought that only a woman with a similar or better family background deserved to be her sister-in-law.
A sly twinkle flashed across Louisa's eyes. Claire's naivety was beyond her expectations. 'What a waste it would be if I didn't take advantage of it?' she thought.
Leena had no intention of waiting for Kevin to follow her, so she quickened her pace. It was a long while before he finally caught up with her.
"Leena, why are you walking away in such haste? I almost lost you." Kevin had been nervous when she sneaked out of his sight. His forehead was sweating.
"I didn't want to be in your way. I left so you could have a good time with your sister and Louisa." Leena sounded a little jealous. She would rather be anywhere else than stay with those two women.
"Sweetie, are you jealous?" Kevin smiled, gazing at Leena's pout. Recalling how those plump lips had kissed him, a wave of happiness surged into his heart.
"Jealous? Why should I be jealous! Don't be ridiculous." Leena pursed her lips. In her view, if she and Kevin were meant to be together, no one could separate them; and if they were not, she couldn't force it. Therefore, she let nature take its own course. She had chosen to stay away from Louisa and Claire, not because she was worried that she wasn't as charming as Louisa, but because she couldn't stand Claire's verbal attacks on her.
"I am glad to hear that you are not. Let's go sit over there." Kevin held her by the wrist and took her to a row of benches.
"Kevin... I want to eat ice cream." There was a cabin not far from them. Leena fixed her eyes on it.
"Ice cream? You'll get sick from eating ice cream on such a cold day." Kevin furrowed his eyebrows in concern.
"I don't care. Are you going to buy me one or not?" Leena raised her head to look at him with sparkling eyes, full of expectations to which no man had the heart to say no. Neither did Kevin. As if hypnotized by the spell in her eyes, Kevin started to move toward the cabin.
Leena, you deliberately tried to separate my brother from us, didn't you?" Claire asked her in anger as soon as she found Leena. It had taken her and Louisa a while to find them.
"Be reasonable. Your brother is a grown man. Nobody can take him away from you, if he doesn't want to be," Leena said indifferently while sitting on a bench. Since Claire refused to appreciate her good intentions, she didn't see the need for her to put up with her insults anymore.
"Hmph! Of course. Leena, get yourself a mirror. If you really think it is possible for a low-class woman like you to manipulate someone like Kevin, you are out of your mind." Louisa narrowed her eyes at Leena, contempt written all over her face. The carefree air around her bugged Louisa.
"Then in your opinion, who can manipulate him? You?" Leena had quite a mouth if need be.
"I don't think it would be a problem if it is Louisa. She is much better than you. You are nothing but a fake." According to Claire, there was no way the painting Leena gifted his father for his birthday could be genuine. It must have been a fake she bought to deceive her father. It pissed her off just to think of it.
"Claire, you can hate me, but don't insult me. If you really hate me so much, why didn't you just pick a different path? You could have avoided seeing me here." Leena wasn't weak. She had put up with Claire because she was Kevin's sister. But since Claire didn't appreciate her friendly gestures and kept pushing her, Leena didn't see the point for further endurance on her part.
"Huh. So this is who you really are. You pretend to be so docile, polite, and sweet in front of my mother. Aren't you tired yet?" Claire glared at Leena as she gnashed her teeth, surprised to see the weak lamb suddenly grow sharp teeth.
"I am who I am in front of your mom, because she is kind to me and I respect her. However, with you, I've had enough. I have always put up with you, but this is enough. Don't push me any further." Leena gave her a sneer. She never picked on anybody, but she wasn't a wuss either.
"I beg your pardon? You put up with me? That's rich. Come on, don't blow your own trumpet. Besides, just because you married my brother doesn't mean you are my sister-in-law all the time," Claire yelled, instantly drawing attention of the passers-by. Noticing the gazes from others, she lowered her voice a little.
"As you said, I married your brother. It is your brother whom I am going to spend the rest of my life with, so why should it bother me whether or not you like me?" Leena laughed sarcastically. She had given Claire many chances to be friends with her, but in return Claire threw them away and bad-mouthed her again and again. Now, Leena would do nothing but be ruthless to her.
"Hah. So you really think you can spend the rest of your life with Kevin? You wish! The game is not over yet. Let's wait and watch." To Louisa's ears, every word Leena just said sounded like she was gloating to her. She hated Leena's guts.
"Okay. Let's wait and watch." Leena smiled and stood up. She decided to look for Kevin instead of wasting more time with these women.
"Stop! I'm not done yet." Louisa reached out her hand and held Leena by the wrist. She wouldn't let her go until she got out something satisfactory from her.