"I thought maybe if I was more like Daisy, then you'd look at me more, you'd see me as desirable and lovable. Was I wrong?" This time, it was Leena's turn to be confused. Was she wasting her time on this? So she was doing it wrong? Then what was she in the end? Just a clumsy imitation of someone else?
Oh, Nana! I'm so sorry. It is all my fault that you're scewed up. Now, look into my eyes, do you see who I'm looking at? It's not Daisy or some other girl, it's a silly girl named Leena." Kevin gently lifted her chin up and made her look into his eyes. It was his fault that Leena was so unsure about herself. How he wished he had just paid more attention to her and he'd given her more signs that he loved her. Going over this in his head, his heart broke again.
"Really? You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" This was why Leena was so insecure. It was not that she wasn't confident, it was that Daisy was an amazing woman. She couldn't compete with that, and she knew it. And that was why she felt she wasn't good enough to be his wife.
"If I automatically said 'no', would you believe me? So I won't promise that I won't lie. However, I'll always have your best interests in mind. I'll try to take your feelings into account. In fact, you should know that already, silly girl." Kevin embraced her and sighed. He rocked her back and forth, feeling the warmth and letting her soak up the love. Maybe she tried to act mature, but deep inside, she was still one insecure and naive girl.
"Okay, I get it. So, you'll be good to me from now on, right? And no matter how much I mess things up, you'll help me fix them?" Leena blinked, and asked in an innocent tone. Her beautiful guileless eyes made it hard to refuse her.
"Yeah, I'll be good to you. But if you screw up, it's not like there won't be consequences. I can't have you running all over the place thinking that you can do what you want. There are limits. I'll need to punish you." He didn't smile at all, like he meant what he said. LIke he was totally serious. But when Leena looked more closely, she saw there was a glint of mischief in his eyes. He was just joking around.
"Umm. No thanks. I'm not into kinky stuff." Since he was joking, she could joke right back. Leena puckered her beautiful lips. He still didn't love her yet, but she still held out hope. Because he cared for her, and she hoped that would blossom into a beautiful bloom of love. She didn't know how long she could wait, but she believed that as long as she was kind, and loving, and patient, he'd eventually fall in love with her.
Leena could never have imagined what was waiting for her, while she was waiting for Kevin's love. A knock on the door brought her back to reality. Opening the door, she found...
"Gerard? Why are you here? How did you get my address?" Leena started massaging her forehead. She developed a headache after seeing him. She was in utter shock after she saw who was knocking. A lot of things happened yesterday, and she managed to put him out of her mind for a while.
He answered in his trademark French lilt, "Mignonne, I called you several times, but you did not pick up. So I asked professor Bella for your address. She directed me here." Gerard's eyes lighted up when he saw Leena. He thought that it was indeed a correct decision to come here and find Leena.
"Umm... I forgot to turn on my phone." Leena's eyebrows furrowed deeply. She turned her phone off, because she was afraid Patricia would call her once she heard that Leena was married. She didn't want to answer any of her questions, so she turned her phone off and let it gather messages. But, to her surprise, there was a much bigger issue waiting for her.
"Mignonne, won't you invite me in?" Gerard looked at her with mischief in his eyes. He'd found out that Duke was her brother. If she lied about that cold and distant man, then maybe she'd lied about being married? That was good for him. Very, very good. Maybe he still had a chance, then.
"Can you give me a couple of minutes, Gerard? We can talk after that." There was nothing between her and Gerard anymore. Still, he was a romantic rival, so it wouldn't be wise to just invite him in, especially with her sister-in-law around. Maybe if she just went outside to talk to him, she could let him know, once and for all, that she wasn't available.
"Leena, who is that? Why is it taking you so long to open the door?" Curious, Claire walked over to the door. But she screamed when she saw the smiling Gerard, and fled back to her own room. She was wearing only a thin shirt with nothing under it, and bare legs to boot. It really wasn't appropriate attire to come to the door in anyway, never mind greet a complete stranger in that outfit.
"What is wrong with her? Am I really that scary?" Gerard trilled in confusion. He didn't do anything, for God's sake! Why did that girl act like that when she saw him? He considered himself handsome. He'd been told that, as a matter of fact. So how could he possibly scare her?
"No, you're not scary at all. You're just here at the wrong time. Well, now that she's seen you, you may as well come inside." Leena rolled her eyes helplessly. It was normal for Claire to have such an reaction. After all, there were only the two of them at home, and she didn't have time to change her clothes since she woke up. Of course she would be shocked when seeing a foreign man standing outside the door.
"Thank you!" When Gerard came in, he looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was looking for wedding pictures, masculine decor, anything that would indicate that there was a husband around.
"Have a seat! So why are you here? This is a long way from Paris!" Leena started to prepare a cup of coffee for him. Though she didn't expect his visit at all and didn't want to see him here, she still didn't forget that he was the guest here. So she should at least do what a good hostess should do. That was only appropriate.
"If I remember correctly, you told me to come. You pretty much invited me to your house." Gerard said these words to Leena, uncertain as to whether that was the case. His young and handsome face showed that he was a bit hurt. Leena wasn't expecting him? He was hoping she'd be delighted, not flustered.
"Maybe you should have told me first." Leena's worried mindset spilled out onto her face. She was a bit worried about how to explain Gerard to Kevin tonight. She was unsure about how he'd react.
"I e-mailed you. Did you get it?" Gerard looked at her with unassuming eyes. He could tell she was angry, and he was nervous because he couldn't quite figure out why.