She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Needless to say, her delicate makeup was already ruined and smeared. But that didn't matter to her now. The man she wanted to please just abandoned her and left her alone. What else would she care about?
Although Leena's eyes were fixed on the screen of the television, her mind wandered. She wasn't paying attention to what shows were on. She was still thinking about Kevin's strange behavior, seeing Louisa off. She'd be fidgety and wondering until Kevin came back.
Leena knew very well what Louisa was doing with the necklace, and Louisa even tried to rub it in her face. Though she was quite pissed, she pushed her feelings away and hid them inside, pretending as if nothing happened. She made a point of ignoring the delicate necklace on Louisa's neck, because she didn't want to fall into her trap and let Louisa string her along.
Oh! Leena, you okay? I've been calling your name. Did you hear me?" Claire shouted, rather displeased. If the remote control weren't in Leena's hand, she wouldn't have asked.
Uh, Claire. You called me? What's up?" Claire's shouting ripped Leena from her reverie. She turned to face her, confusion lining her pretty features.
What's up?" repeated Claire, feeling strange that she would ask. "You're driving me nuts, that's what's up. What are you even trying to do? You keep changing channels all the time. Can't you just settle on one show? If not, hand me the remote." Claire stared at her. She didn't like watching TV much, and all the good TV shows were online anyway. Still, it was annoying to watch Leena just endlessly flipping channels.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I was just lost in thought. Here you are. You keep the remote and we'll watch what you want." Feeling embarrassed, Leena handed the little box to Claire. But her mind still lingered on Kevin and Louisa.
Let me guess. You're afraid something might happen between my brother and Louisa, right?" Claire suddenly became very interested in this topic. She rested her chin on her hands and looked at Leena curiously, as if thinking deeply about something.
Huh! Afraid? You know your brother better than I do. Does he seem like the kind of guy who would do something behind my back?" Leena asked, her tone sounding a little weak. True, she believed Kevin. But it was Louisa that made her uneasy. Leena knew too well what she wanted, and so did Kevin. So there should be some cause for concern. She remembered what happened to Edward and Duke. Love triangles never ended well for everyone.
Claire laughed, but there was no mirth in it. It was a hateful sound. "Don't pretend that you don't care. I can practically read your mind, you know? You're worried that Louisa would snatch my brother away from you. But you have every reason to be worried. My friend seems to be really infatuated with Kevin, and may stop at nothing to get him. Once she sets her mind to something, she can be really persistent. She's really a little heartbreaker." Claire didn't bother to hide Louisa's interest in Kevin. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain. Louisa would do everything in her power to seduce Kevin. And there was no one who could stop her.
There's a saying, Claire, 'If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it is meant to be yours.' If Claire succeeds in prying us apart, then it only proves one thing, that he never belonged to me in the first place. I don't think I'll shed any tears over that." Leena smiled bitterly. If Kevin really couldn't resist temptation or submitted to Louisa's embrace, she would never feel sad about that. She would only blame herself for not knowing who Kevin really was.
"Huh! Of course you don't care, because it hasn't happened yet. But when it does, I'd pay money to see if you're so calm about it." Claire was really beside herself. She didn't believe that Leena would really be so matter-of-fact about a breakup.
"You're right. It hasn't happened yet. So why should I feel nervous?" Leena raised her eyebrows and laughed. Talking about it with Claire made her feel so much better. She cheered up instantly. Like what she said to Claire, what was meant to be was meant to be, and no one could change that. Kevin was hers, so why should she be sad? A cheater didn't deserve to be with her, and wasn't even qualified to carry her shoes. But Kevin wasn't like that. He was a good and true man, and Leena had seen it this time and again. She trusted her gut.
"Well, I think you're just fooling yourself. Kevin is not yours. No matter what, just wait and see." Claire flashed a smug smile, having no qualms about poking fun at Leena. She'd make fun of anyone, especially Leena.
"Listen, I've given up hope of us being friends. But at least stop throwing Kevin and Louisa in my face. It's annoying. Kevin won't betray me, but it hurts when you talk like that." Leena frowned. She let Claire get away with a lot, but she just kept it going. 'Why can't we just get along?' Leena wondered.
"Hurt or sad, that's your own business. I just don't want you as a sister-in-law," Claire sneered in contempt. She always got the blame for everything after Leena came along. If she didn't get in trouble with her mom and brother so much, Claire might be more accepting. But when she got in trouble, it had something to do with Leena. It was always Leena, Leena, Leena. 'Poor girl, sorry I can't just laugh it off,' thought Claire.