"I don't understand, Claire. Did I offend you? Why do you hate me so much? I may be a bit quick-tempered but I'm not difficult to get along with." As the saying goes, a harmonious family can lead to the success of everything. Leena thought that she had to get along with her sister-in-law since she already married Kevin. She was now officially a member of his family. She perfectly knew that Claire was against her. Nonetheless, she didn't expect her sarcasm to be so irritating.
"Ugh, why? I don't know why. Actually, I also want to know why. Maybe I just don't like you naturally," sneered Claire. She was the apple of her family's eyes and they humored her even if she seemed unreasonable. It was the reason why she grew up to be so stroppy. However, Leena had been repeatedly frustrating her since she came into their family. How could she have a good opinion of Leena in that case?
"All right. Forget about it. I'll go upstairs," Leena said as she stood up. She had been idle for days, so she had accumulated some piles of work. The first thing for her to do was to check on her mailbox as there might be some urgent emails pending there right now.
Do as you like. We are so different from each other anyway." Claire waved her hand slowly as if she was just fanning away flies. It was more than clear that she disliked Leena and that she didn't want to stay with her at all.
Although Leena knew that Claire had developed this hobby of throwing sarcasms at her, she still couldn't help but scrunch her eyebrows upon hearing what she just said. A sad smile cracked Leena's lips before she walked upstairs. That was it. She had decided to give up her efforts on making Claire like her.
The conversation between her and Claire didn't end up right. However, warmth still filled Leena's heart when she opened her working room. How much she missed her things was just unbelievable. Other people might betray her in one way or another but her working room would not. Her working materials would quietly wait for her, no matter whether she was happy or not.
She turned her laptop on and logged into her email. As expected, her mailbox was flooded with unread messages from different people. She decided to start reading from the most important ones to the least until one email caught her attention and mildly surprised her. It was an email from her tutor, Bella. According to the email, she would come to S City next weekend as she was invited to be one of the judges for the Dream City design competition. Leena was also being invited but the organizers couldn't contact her, so they sent their invite through Bella instead. It was obvious that the last cocktail party was very successful and she had emerged as a new star in the international fashion circle.
Leena continued scanning through her emails when another one caught her attention again. This time, it was Gerard's. She hesitated for a while whether to open the message or not. In the end, it came to her that they were still friends so she opened it. Her jaw instantly dropped open while she read his message. Gerard said that he was on his way to the airport and he would come to S City to visit her. Such a type of email from him was what scared her the most. She was guilty of inviting Gerard to S City out of friendliness and kindness but never had she expected for him to take it seriously. She couldn't believe what a huge mess she accidentally made! Gerard's presence would definitely cause additional trouble. Leena quickly checked the time and found that the email was sent today. It meant that Gerard would arrive tomorrow. She unconsciously tapped her forehead out of depression as her mind started to reel thoughts.
Leena sighed in despair. She thought, 'Is it really possible for me to have run out of good luck? Gerard is a wet smack! I don't want to have any connection to him. He is even more obnoxious than Edward. He often goes beyond the secular beliefs and acts at will. My credibility will be compromised sooner or later. He just won't give up on me no matter what! He will definitely stir misunderstanding and finally, Kevin will be mad at me!'
After a few seconds, Leena was already lying on the floor while staring blankly at the ceiling. Her eyes were wide as her brain continued to drift off. 'How can I avoid meeting Gerard? I can ignore his messages before Bella comes but I can't do that after the competition begins. Gerard and Bella are close friends, so they will definitely keep in touch with each other. Gerard must have asked Bella where I live and that's why he is hurrying to come here!
Oh God! This can't be more annoying than anything! Can't anyone tell me how to get out of here so I don't need to meet him this soon? I shouldn't have told Bella my new address in advance. Now Gerard can find me easily!'
"Why are you here alone? Where's Leena?" On the other hand, Kevin asked confusedly upon entering the door. He just came home after seeing Louisa off when he saw his sister sitting alone on the couch.
"I don't really know but maybe she is upstairs. By the way, where's Louisa? Did you send her home?" It was obvious that Claire didn't want to talk about Leena, so she answered differently. On the contrary, it was also evident how interested she was when she mentioned Louisa's name.