What kind of tone I should talk to her in when I am so worried and anxious now? You tell me." Shannon frowned. Wasn't she her daughter? Why did she try to shield Louisa, an outsider from consequences?
Claire. It's okay. Don't fight with Auntie because of me," said Louisa calmly. She pretended to be generous as if she swallowed an insult.
"Louisa, don't be angry. My mom's not usually like this. I don't know what happened to her today to make her so aggressive." There was nothing Claire could do but comfort Louisa. She looked at Shannon with sad eyes, as if she were blaming her mother for not behaving kindly to her friend. She felt so awkward.
"Don't worry. I won't be angry," Louisa lowered her head and replied obediently. No one could see her cold and evil eyes hid by her hair.
"Yeah! That's really generous of you, Louisa. Huh! Unlike somebody else, who ran away from home and made others worry for her," Claire snorted through her nose. She didn't like Leena. Now she hated her more because Louisa was scolded by her mother because of her.
"You're really a piece of work, you know that Claire? I hope that no one takes advantage of you. I hope you never know how it feels." Shannon shook her head and sighed. She hoped that her daughter would find her way out of trouble when that day came.
Louisa raised her head immediately and took a quick glance at Shannon. Did she figure out her secret? Why else could she have drawn such a conclusion?
"Mom, what's wrong with you today? How could you say that?" Claire sputtered and stamped her feet. Leena was the root cause who stirred up all the chaos. Now her mother was even cursing her! Claire hoped Leena would never come back now that she had run away! She suffered even when Leena wasn't around.
"Anyway, take care of yourself!" Shannon did not believe that Louisa was a simple and innocent woman. Claire might end up with a world of trouble should she keep taking Louisa at face value. Louisa was up to no good. Shannon couldn't make up Claire's mind for her, but at least she could warn her.
"Mom, don't be so long-winded! Aren't you going out to find Leena? Why are you still here?" Claire said and reached out to push Shannon outside. Well, she would never have said hi and introduced Louisa if she had known her mom favored Leena that much.
"Claire, don't push me outside. Seriously! I haven't changed my shoes yet." Shannon had no option but to shake her head helplessly. She knew very well that it was not an easy job to change Claire's mind and get her prepared for the real world in a few days. She changed her shoes and then walked out in a hurry. Time was limited. She had been wasting too much time talking with them.
This time, Kevin widened the net. He really wanted to find her. He even swung by the place they had been in the morning, expecting that Leena might be there. She said she liked the beautiful scenery there, didn't she? However, his efforts were for naught. When he was about to sink into despair, his phone suddenly rang. He was so happy that he answered the phone immediately without checking the calling ID. He thought it must be Leena.
"Hey! Leena. Where are you? Stay there. I'll go to pick you up," Kevin answered the phone in a hurried tone. His voice was even trembling because he was desperate to know where she was now.
"Kevin, it's me. What? Isn't Leena with you now?" Duke could not help frowning. He called Kevin because Leena wouldn't answer her phone. But Leena wasn't even with Kevin judging from his words. What happened?
"Ah! Hi Duke!" Kevin was disappointed. It was not his missing girl who called him. He felt very frustrated.
"Yeah, it's me. Is Leena super busy now? Why didn't she take my call?" One hand holding the phone and the other in his pocket, Duke stood beside the window and watched the traffic leisurely streaming along the street.
"Oh, she probably didn't hear the phone ring! I'll tell her to call you back later. Sounds good?" Kevin always had concerns about his brother-in-law. Mr. Cold was always high-strung, despite his nickname. He decided not to tell Duke that Leena ran away from home. Duke was in S city and could do nothing but worry in vain should he know about it. What was more, Leena probably went out for a walk to get some fresh air. She might come back home soon.
"Yeah! Make sure to bring her to Edward's house when you get a free moment! I hear he has a beautiful garden. I imagine she'd love to see it. Sounds relaxing, man." Duke offered the suggestion because he was worried that Leena might get stressed out staying with Kevin's family.
"Edward has a house here? Whoa! Why didn't you tell me before now?" Duke's advice lit light-bulbs up in his head. A ray of hope was rekindled in his heart. Was his wife, the woman he'd been seeking for a while, hiding at Edward's place the whole time?
"Yeah he does. Leena knows about it too. What? She never mentioned it to you?" Duke turned around and walked to his desk, phone in hand. He sat down and started checking his files. He remembered that he had written down the address somewhere and wondered if he could find it. If he couldn't find it, he thought he could ask Edward directly. He needed to call him anyway to let him know so that he could inform the housekeeper. Little did he know that Leena was already there, and Edward was making sure she was well looked after.