Kevin left the army base early as yesterday. He didn't head for the Leng's house and instead went straight to his apartment. Kevin bought some cute gadgets on his way home -- he was going to decorate his apartment to make it look more cozy.
After he was done, Kevin leaned against the door, admiring his masterpiece, a comfortable apartment with a facelift. He smiled as he began to imagine life in this little space. Before meeting Leena, he never planned to live here forever. He had always viewed this apartment as a temporary residence.
As Kevin was enjoying his daydreams, what was happening at the Leng's house was another story entirely. Leena had showed Duke the marriage certificate. He stared at it with open-mouthed incredulity. His hands, holding the luggage, began to tremble. Leena looked at him, trying to gauge his reaction. To her surprise, he burst out laughing. That was typical of his sister, doing anything she had to in order to get what she wanted. She would even use the most serious things, like marriage, to avoid leaving home.
"Leena, a fake marriage certificate won't work. You hear me? This isn't going to get you out of studying in France." Duke had no idea why Leena hated to go there so much that she even forged document.
"Duke, we agreed that you wouldn't ask me to go to France if I got married." Leena's eyes filled with tears. Her brother was so fixated on sending her back to France that she didn't get a chance to tell him Kevin was coming by for a visit. Leena started panicking as Duke began to take her luggage out. France was far away from home and she had no friends there. Going back there was the least thing Leena wanted to do. The marriage certificate was her last chance -- Duke wouldn't go back on his word, would he?
"Yes, we agreed on that. But what I meant was that you need a real marriage, not a fake certificate." It's obvious that Duke didn't believe this really happened at all. He was so sure about it that his sense of amazement vanished.
"No, it's real. I never planned to trick you with a fake one. Are you calling me a liar? It's a real one. Look at it carefully." Leena said, raising her voice. The family had been spoiling Leena so much that no one was hard on her. She felt sorry for herself as Duke yelled at her -- she raised her voice to defend herself.
"Okay, it's fake anyway. Looking at it carefully won't turn it into a real one." Duke responded with a sneer. Actually, he kind of looked forward to seeing how his sister would act after he proved it was fake. As he opened it, Duke was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw what was inside: a picture of Leena and a man in an army uniform.
"Duke... are you okay?" Leena asked carefully as she saw his face contorted in amazement.
"Leena, who is this guy? Where did you find him? Why is he in a military uniform? Okay, forget it. I don't care who he is. Today, you are going to France. End of conversation." Duke said in a cold tone. He knew his sister staying at home would cause trouble and this just proved it.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: It'll Come Naturally