Leena was in shock as she looked at Nathan. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. What did he say? Was she hearing him right? Did he really mean that Louisa was more important than her, his daughter-in-law? Or was it because he was a good friend with the commander and he couldn't let his friend's daughter be treated as such? Now that made sense! That realization struck Leena's mind like a speeding car. It was definitely the reason why he said those things and treated her with this attitude!
"Dad, do you really dislike me that much? I don't expect you to treat me like your own daughter. I know that's impossible but I don't know why you are treating me this way! You don't even see me as your daughter-in-law, right?" Leena closed her eyes for a short moment. She didn't know how to feel or what to say anymore. Yes, she could apologize to Louisa. That was not hard at all because she was guilty of raising her hand to slap her. Nonetheless, being asked by her father-in-law in such an accusatory tone broke her heart. She felt so disappointed with Nathan and at the same time, lonely as there was nobody there for her.
"Why do you think that?" Nathan didn't really care about how or what caused the issue. The only thing he was concerned about was the fact that Leena hit someone. There was no way that he would tolerate anyone in his family who had beaten another person. That was why he demanded Leena to apologize to Louisa. It was just so wrong to hit a person!. Plus, Louisa was both their guest and his good friend's daughter. He couldn't just let this slide easily. How would he even face his friend in the future?
"Why do I think that? Are you sure that you have no idea? If you're really treating me as a member of this family, then you should have listened to my side of the story and never demanded me to apologize without even hearing me! You just believed what Louisa and Claire said without a doubt and blamed me for everything!" Leena looked straight into his eyes as she said those words. She had to admit that she was afraid of Nathan. She also knew that she shouldn't be saying those things because what she was doing would only cause even more trouble. However, she just couldn't help it, thus, she acted tough and fearlessly defended herself instead. She wouldn't back down easily.
"Leena, where is your manner? Is this how your parents taught you? Listen to yourself now. How dare you contradict me like this? I am your father-in-law. I don't like your attitude at all. You need to think about what your problem is! You did something wrong and it's reasonable for you to apologize. Well, if your parents didn't teach you then let me be the one to teach you a lesson." Nathan had always been a leader and he was used to being treated as one. This was the first time someone had defied his judgment and he couldn't stand it. Moreover, he didn't think he was wrong. Leena was just being unreasonably stubborn! Leena was also his daughter-in-law. She was his son's wife. She should listen to him by all means! Leena's defiance was making her lose his face. It made him feel like he couldn't even deal with a young girl.
"Well, I think I know what you want and what to do now." Leena's face was extremely pale. She could not believe that Nathan said those words to her. To be frank, he just wanted her to apologize to Louisa and admit her fault. Why did he have to bring Leena's parents into this mess? Didn't he think that insulting her parents like that was extremely impolite? It seemed that he didn't even consider Leena's feelings at all. Then fine! She would do as he said. It was just an apology anyway. It wouldn't kill her. It was not hard, was it? Nevertheless, she had already hit her rock bottom. She was done. She had finally decided not to respect him as her father-in-law anymore!
Nathan's eyebrows furrowed as he noticed how Leena's stare at him instantly grew colder. It sent him the message that something had changed and would never be the same again. The determination on her face was unbreakable. It seemed that she was both heartbroken and desperate. Nevertheless, he had a reputation to maintain, thus, he couldn't take his words back. That was not going to happen, ever.
Leena didn't remember how she walked out of the study room. She couldn't even explain what she was feeling when she walked to Louisa. It was only when she opened her mouth to apologize that she realized that her voice was shaking badly.
"Miss Ye, I'm sorry! I was too hotheaded. I shouldn't have slapped you. I was wrong. Please forgive my impulsive action." There was no blood on Leena's pretty face. She lowered her head and looked down at her toes. She couldn't even focus. She could hear the sound of her own heart shattering inside her ears.
"Huh! Leena, well, if you think you can slap someone then get away with it with just a simple apology then you are awfully wrong! Police would have nothing to do if an 'I'm sorry' could solve every problem." Claire's words were full of sarcasm. She enjoyed the miserable look on Leena's face. She didn't like Leena anyway. So she felt no sympathy for her at all.
"Then what do you want? Do you want to slap me back? If you really want that, please just do it now before I change my mind." Leena bit her lip so hard that it was almost bleeding. If it wasn't for Kevin, she could simply walk out of this house and never come back. It was all for the love she held for him and also for the happy marriage she pictured with him. She was willing to make the sacrifice and abandon her pride. She would be a docile and perfect little wife even if it meant losing her personality and dignity.