He didn’t explain anything about his mother, who showed up so suddenly. She thought that he didn’t have a mother. Much to her surprise, his mother was still alive.
Leila sat down and started eating as well.
For a moment, the dining room had become extremely quiet, so quiet that Leila felt strangled. She dared not to speak. Vincent looked gloomy as if a lot of things were bothering him.
After dinner, Leila cleaned up the kitchen and walked upstairs.
Vincent had already gone upstairs. Leila walked on the corridor, she overheard Nora ask Vincent, “What do you plan to do with the woman downstairs?”
“Mom, it’s not the right time yet.”
“When will be the right time then? Tell me. I can’t wait any longer. Vincent, I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
“I know, but it’s truly not the time yet.”
“You fell in love with her, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t!”
“Then do whatever we’ve planned!”
Leila panicked, almost tripping over. She wondered what plan Nora had, feeling so uneasy suddenly.
The door of Vincent’s bedroom was opened suddenly. Leila raised up her head in a panic and saw Nora coming out. When seeing Leila at the door, she was taken aback. Then she asked in a cold voice, “Are you eavesdropping on our conversation?”
“No, I’m not. Mom, I’ve just come upstairs,” Leila explained.
“I hated the sneakers the most. The villa is so dirty. Haven’t you seen the handrails on the corridor are dusty? How long haven’t the floor been mopped? It’s so dirty. What kind of hostess are you? How come you are so lazy? Are you still a woman?”
Leila was startled. Immediately, she answered, “I’ll clean it up right away.”
She went downstairs and fetched the cleaning cloth from the cleaning room. Then she lifted a bucket of water upstairs, starting to clean the handrail. Nora stood in the corridor and stared at Leila coldly. Then she ordered, “My suitcase is still in the car. Go get it for me!”
“Okay, Mom.” Leila had to stop what she was doing. She went downstairs to fetch the suitcase. However, she didn’t know what was wrong with the suitcase. When she carried it and entered the door, the lid opened suddenly. It turned out the suitcase was broken.
“Can you do anything? I asked you to carry my suitcase in. You can refuse me directly if you’re unwilling to do it. Why did you vent your anger on my suitcase? Do you think I’m a pushover because I’m sick?” Nora was pissed off again.
Leila immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to do it.”
Nora walked down on the stairs. With a twisted expression, she glared at Leila in angry. With a vicious sneer, she asked, “Are you declaring a war on me?”
“No, I’m not!” Leila stood up immediately and whispered.
“Pak!” Nora slapped her across her face. “I’ve told you not to retort!”
Feeling the burning pain on her cheek, the slap was quite heavy, which made Leila’s mouth corner bleed. Her teeth bit on the lip and it was broken. Leila was startled, wondering if Nora was going to torture her physically.
She inhaled deeply and suppressed all her feelings. She looked up and glanced at Nora, her eyes crystal clear together with sharpness. She gazed at Nora, making Nora feeling a sense of guilt. Yes, Leila always kept a low key and endured everything, but it didn’t mean that she was a real pushover.
Nora yelled to cover her guilty, “You! What are you looking at?”
“I’ll pick them up for you,” Leila said, choking between sobs. Sad tears dropped from the corners of her eyes, along her slim face, all the way flowing into her mouth. She tasted the endless bitterness. She squatted and started to pick up things.
With the burning pain on her cheek, Leila didn’t speak anything else. Inwardly, she heaved a sigh, wondering why such a vicious mother-in-law suddenly showed up as soon as Mr. White had treated her a little bit better.
Angrily glaring at Leila, who lowered her head without showing her expression, Nora felt surprised as if she had never expected that this girl would be so enduring.
The steady footsteps sounded from the corridor, approaching them. Nora couldn’t help smiling complacently. She stared at Leila, who lowered her head again and looked at Vincent, who just went downstairs. Immediately, she said, “My son, look at your good wife. She dislikes me, so she vented her anger on my suitcase, smashing my stuff onto the floor.”
Vincent’s eyes were tightened when looking at Leila, who was lowering her head and picking up the stuff. He turned to look at his mother, and then said to Leila coldly, “Leila, apologize to Mom.”
Leila’s hands trembled. She slowly stood up. Without raising her head, she whispered, “Mom, it’s my fault. Please don’t angry. I was wrong.”
“Humph!” Nora snorted and turned around. “Making an apology? If I killed you and made an apology to your dead body, would it work?”
“I’m sorry,” Leila muffled again in a low voice.
Vincent didn’t ask about the reason but he simply asked her to apologize. Leila felt quite wronged, but she didn’t say anything. She kept her head low to avoid letting him see the pain and grievance in her eyes.
Vincent’s gaze fell on her face. Although she kept her head low, there was still a trace of blood on her tightly pressed lips. A complicated feeling flashed through his eyes. With a deep frown, he said in a cold tone again, “Hurry up and clean it up. Then send the suitcase to Mom’s room.”
Leila could only feel the violent pain in her heart as if it was torn apart. Leila closed her eyes in silence and suppressed the bitter tears in her eyes. Choking between sobs, she squatted down to put everything on the floor into the suitcase.
Then she carried the suitcase upstairs. Her tears finally dropped. She trotted upstairs hurriedly and didn’t want to let Vincent see her tears, because he wouldn’t say anything even if he could see them.
His mother had heart disease, so she couldn’t make her angry. She had to endure it. She reminded herself not to get angry with a cardiac. ‘She’s a patient. Leila, you are a healthy person. You can’t get angry with a patient,’ her inner voice said.
“Mom, please go to bed. I’ll call Eira back and clean the house tomorrow,” Vincent said coldly while walking towards the upstairs.
“I’ll hold a charity party tomorrow and I’ll introduce Leila to the public,” Nora suddenly said.
Vincent’s body was stiffened on the stairs. He turned around and his cold face became much colder. Raising his eyebrows, he said, “Mom, if you think it’s appropriate, please go ahead. My suggestion is to wait longer.”
“I can’t wait any longer!” Nora walked to the sofa and sat down angrily. “No matter if you agree or not, I’ll ask my assistant to inform the famous media agents and all the big shots in the business circle of F City in your name.”
“Mom! I’ve said it’s not the time yet,” Vincent said again.
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The readers' comments on the novel: A Moment in Destiny
the writing is quite childish, but maybe it's just the translations...