Mrs. Etman froze and glared at Leyla before walking to the chair and sitting on it. She straightened her posture and put her hat on the other chair.
Different nuances presented by Mrs. Etman when she saw her today left Leyla feeling uneasy.
"You've probably just returned from the police station." Mrs. Etman spoke first, "How's the investigation going on?"
"They haven't found any clues yet," Leyla said. "But it's not over yet, so I don't want to give up."
"Well, Leyla. I don't think it is a wise choice."
"Pardon?"
Taken aback, Leyla asked once again when the tea she had ordered came. An awkward silence prevailed between the two until the waiter left after carelessly dropping the cup on the table.
"May I ask what you mean, Ma'am?"
Leyla breached the stillness first.
"Your money, I have it."
Mrs. Etman uttered those without a trace of guilt; her sight dipped to the clouded boiling steam of the teacup.
Leyla's face was soon obscured by fluster. The words she had clearly heard sounded just like a delusion.
Mrs. Etman lifted her gaze to Leyla and again firmly said, "I was the one who stole your tuition."
"No, that can't be. How could someone like you do that?"
Her stiff lips tried to smile. Leyla was unable to understand how Mrs. Ethman could make such a bad joke. Yet, Mrs. Etman's eyes were chilling.
"I hid it. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to prevent you from going to college with Kyle."
"No, that can't be-…."
"Yes, it's stealing—a pathetic and cruel theft. Nevertheless I did it. I want to keep you away from Kyle."
Leyla's mind went completely blank. The gruesomely obvious truth said by Mrs. Etman jolted her awake, and she decided that she could no longer keep on living in denial.
"Leyla, I hate you."
Mrs. Etman stared at Leyla. Her disappointment and fatigue were epitomized in her greyish eyes.
"I really hate you to the point that I believe it would be better for me to be a criminal than to accept you as Kyle's wife."
"M-Mrs. Etman…"
"I thought you were a good girl who knew her place. I never thought that you were trying to use Kyle as a launching pad for your greed."
"What do you mean, Ma'am?" Leyla fiercely shook her head. "No, I'm not like that. How could I think like that about Kyle? I-I could never…"
She got the shock of her life and failed to notice her hands trembling at the edge of the table as well as her entire body starting to shudder.
"Are you friends with Kyle for this purpose? Using Kyle to go to college and marrying Kyle to improve your humble status in life?"
Mrs. Etman chastised and cornered the wordless Leyla even more harshly. Though she knew that Leyla's feelings for Kyle stayed within the bounds of brotherhood or friendship in the past.
Rather it was her son, Kyle, who fell head over heels in love with her, instead of Leyla. Leyla would not be caught up in this presumptuous affair if it weren't for her bumbling son. It was always this truth that wounded her self-esteem, and now it became the reason why she loathed Leyla even more.
"My hatred for you has turned me into a thief. I resent you enough to do this, and that will never change. Do you think we can become a family like this?"
"What do you want to tell me, Ma'am?"
Leyla's voice trembled, but she kept a straight face before Mrs. Etman.
"You must already know. You are a smart girl." Mrs. Etman stated briefly. Her eyes shone as cold as the untouched cup of cheap tea, while looking at her.
"If you have something to say, just tell me," said Leyla. Her glassy, round eyes glimmered in the rays of sunshine that fell upon her despondent face. The ugly face she wished to conceal at the moment.
"You can tell Kyle and the rest of the world that I did such despicable acts to stop you two from getting married."
You'll never be able to do that– Mrs. Etman looked confident through her words as she knew Leyla's personality.
"Kyle will be very disappointed with me if you tell him regarding this," She recited. "Our relationship will all but be broken, and maybe even our whole family's harmony."
Mrs. Etman's expression became colder as she saw Leyla stiffening.
"Since all of this has happened, it makes no difference whether you keep this a secret or tell Kyle everything. You and Kyle won't be able to get married. That's all I want."
"Do you hate me so much that you have to do this…?"
"Didn't I already tell you? I really hate you."
Mrs. Etman rose from her seat and walked away.
"I hate you terribly. You pushed me to take such an extreme choice; I really despise you, Leyla."
Mrs. Etman stared at her with a steely gaze. Her eyes could not hide her contempt.
"I will refund your money after the registration date."
She swallowed the curse words that were already on the tip of her tongue, knowing Leyla would have understood; that she should leave Kyle without wasting time or making a scene out of it.
Mrs. Etman was about to turn around when she groaned and lowered her eyes down.
"Today, I'm very resentful of Mr. Remmer."
She said,
"Why did he have to take you in and create such a tragedy in Arvis ?"
Those last words.... hit Leyla the hardest.
Her eyes froze and then turned glassy in a blink.
Mrs. Etman strolled out of the tea parlor leisurely, leaving the poor little girl behind, who didn't weep till the very end.
In her wake a tinge of pleasure and guilt was clinging like a shadow on the tips of her toes as she went.
He saw Leyla.
Her petite frame was crouched down beneath the blooming dry cottonwood tree on the roadside leading to the manor.
Matthias, who was peering out the car window, did recognize her figure. All he could see was her back, but he felt confident that it was her.
"Doesn't that girl under that tree look like Leyla?"
The driver frowned as he kept an eye on a girl he seemed to know.
"Is she sick?"
Mark Evers, the Duke's aide, wondered as well so his voice was filled with concern.
Meanwhile, their car edged closer to Leyla, who was curled up on the ground. Leyla quickly stumbled up and straightened stiffly when she sensed their upcoming approach. She bent her head so deep that they couldn't see her swollen face, but it was noticeable that she wasn't fine.
Following that, Mark Evers continued to look out the car window before turning his gaze to the rear seat. He was reluctant to ask his Master, but his eyes were filled with hope that they could stop the car for a moment and help Leyla.
The driver's thinking seemed to be in tune and he steadily slowed down the car's speed.
Matthias glanced outside the car window at the slow-moving scenery beyond. Leyla was leaning against the trunk of the tree with her head down.
She was crying.
Matthias was sure of what he had seen on her face. Nobody else in this world had a better understanding of Leyla Lewellin's tears than he did.
Matthias clammed up. He turned his gaze away from the car window in place of his answer.
His assistant couldn't add any more words, with only a sad expression on his face. The driver, likewise, accelerated the car's speed to comply with his Master's wishes.
Matthias immensely enjoyed Leyla's tears, as he always did.
It entertained him. But, he wanted to monopolize her tears for his own pleasure.
The idea of someone else having to step in to create those kinds of entertainment wasn't pleasurable.
The car fled the scene, leaving Leyla alone with her tears, and soon stopped at the Mansion's entrance.
Matthias stepped out of the limousine, with a face that appeared more relaxed.
'Linda Etman, has she taken action?'
That was the only explanation he could think of for Leyla to cry until her shoulders sagged. And his guess seemed to be right. It was proven by Hessen, who approached him with a concerned face.
"Master, I have something to report."
He spoke secretly in a hushed voice as he walked beside Matthias.
"It is an unbelievable story; I'm at a loss for words…"
When the voice of his capable butler, who seldom panicked, shook a little, Matthias knew that Mrs. Etman had lived up to his expectations.
"I'm going to the office."
Matthias said so in matter-of-factly, gentle voice.
"Got cold during summer, huh? It's all because of that damn thief that you're sick like this."
Bill who strutted around Leyla's bed said.
He became concerned when Leyla said that she was ailing and after he saw her going to bed early last night.
Leyla said she had a cold and would recover with a bit of rest, but in Bill's opinion, her condition did not seem to be getting any better.
"You can't be like this. Mr. Etman…."
"No."
Leyla struggled to rise from the bed when Bill was about to turn around. She was shivering even with her thick pajamas, even though the weather had been relatively warm since it was still the wee hours of the morning, she looked as if she had gotten ill overnight.
"No, Uncle. Don't do that."
"I just wanted to call the Doctor because you're sick? Why? Did you have a fight with Kyle?"
"No."
"Even though you fought with Kyle, but Dr. Etman…"
"Uncle, please." Leyla's clammy hand, drenched in a cold sweat, groped Bill's clothes. "I just need a little rest. That's it. Please let me be."
"Leyla… … ."
"I think I'll get better soon. Please?"
Bill could no longer stay stubborn in the face of her desperate begging. He had a hunch it had to be related to Kyle, but he wasn't in a place to unearth it.
He grudgingly nodded, and Leyla seemed relieved just then. Bill could feel a searing pain in his heart when he saw her lying limp on the bed as if she'd fainted.
"Right, eat well! Sleep well! I should've said that!" Bill yelled aloud, "I'm going to sort it all out. I was on the verge of bursting within now!" He pulled up the blanket's seam with careful gestures that contrasted with his rough hand and then put a wet towel on her feverish forehead.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. Even if I can't catch and kill the thief, I will pay your tuition in some way…"
"Uncle."
Leyla's frail voice blended with her heated breaths.
"Please stay here. Don't leave me alone."
"You are thinking negatively again."
"I'm sorry, Uncle."
"What gibberish are you talking about?"
"It was because of me."
"If you keep saying that, I'll get angry. I'll come back for sure."
Bill regarded Leyla as lying and babbling, and then heaved a deep sigh that silenced her. "First, take a rest, Leyla. I'll be right back."
Bill shut the window in Leyla's room and draped the curtains to cover it.
"I'm stuffy… Please open it up a bit."
Leyla, who was shivering from the cold, asked him once again to open it. Her stubbornness persisted even as she lay weak on the bed.
Bill had to yield to her pigheadedness for the nth time. Again he rolled up the curtains a bit and partly opened the window, and finally, Leyla closed her eyes.
"If your fever's not coming down by the evening, whatever you say, I'll call Mr. Etman. Got it?"
He threatened her, but Leyla stayed quiet as if she hadn't heard him.
Bill then reluctantly left the house, leaving Leyla, who was already dozing off like a log.
He hastened off, determined to complete today's job as soon as possible.