Justice has a way to make you pay. Leila should have appreciated that Charles was still unconscious. If he was already awake, Sheryl could have started to fight back and made Leila pay for what she had done.
"Are you sure about it?" Sheryl glared at Leila's face, focusing on her eyes with an indistinct smile.
It seemed that her smile contained a myriad of feelings--contempt, disgust, hate, and impatience, which made Leila even more nervous and panicked.
To maintain her apparent innocence, Leila stared back with her chin up and countered relentlessly, "Don't look at me like that, Sheryl."
"How I look at you or how I think about you has actually got nothing to do with you," contradicted Sheryl. She stepped forward and flexed her body like a cat ready to launch an attack.
Frustrated, Leila balled her hands into fists and gasped, but had nothing to say. Seeing her reaction, Sheryl laughed mockingly and turned away from her. Karma was yet to come, and Sheryl could wait.
Leila heaved a sigh of relief as soon as Sheryl had left. However, Leila still had to figure out why Cassie hadn't revealed that she had pushed her down the stairs, for this was the evidence that would seal her fate. Leila was curious as to why Cassie and Nick would suddenly spare her as if nothing had happened.
After some time, she got a chance and slipped into the office of Cassie's attending physician. She expressed her concern and told the doctor that she wanted to know more about her friend's condition. The doctor, not even confirming who Leila was, described in detail how Cassie was doing. She even suggested her to spend more time with Cassie, as talking to her could help her recover the lost memories.
"Doctor, is there any chance for Cassie to regain her lost memories? I'm worried, and I wonder what we can do for her, in case she can't remember these lost memories for the rest of her life." That was the true reason why Leila had showed up, to know if she could escape from the horror of what she had done. She suppressed her excitement and waited for the doctor's response.
She prayed and hoped from the bottom of her heart that Cassie would never remember what happened that night.
However, much to her disappointment, the doctor cast a ridiculous glance at her and assured her, "I'm sure it will never happen. She will remember everything soon. I can promise you that! All you should do is provide her with a caring environment that would support her recovery."
The doctor's words were pouring over Leila like a basin of cold water. She knew it was her end. She shuddered as if she was being chilled by the autumn breezes while her heart was sinking.
"Thank you, doctor. I'll spend as much time with her as possible. See you around." Leila then rose from her seat and hurried out of the room before the doctor could utter another word.
The doctor was confused by Leila's abrupt change in behavior. She tilted her head in curiosity as she watched Leila rush out of her office. This was the first time that she saw this uncanny woman since she took Cassie's case over from another doctor. As a physician who had seen thousands of people coming and going, her instincts told her that this woman was by no means a friend of Cassie.
But the realization merely flashed across her mind and was then gone. Just like Cassie, the young doctor was not open to sharing her feelings toward other people. Then, having put the bizarre incident from her mind, she delved into the mountain of paperwork that she had to finish.
After leaving the doctor's office, Leila returned to Charles' room absentmindedly.
Melissa was taken aback by Leila's face as it was as pale as snow. She worried about Leila, especially that she could possibly get sick. Having two sick people to look after would be more than she could handle. But on second thoughts, she couldn't figure out what was making Leila so scared and frustrated. Charles was getting better, although he wasn't showing signs of readiness to wake up yet. Melissa had also promised to let Leila work in Shining Company. Things were going according to plan.
"Are you alright, Leila? You look terrible!" Melissa asked, trying to put her concerns at the back of her mind.
"Oh, just fine, I'm fine. Please, don't worry, Aunt Melissa." Leila quickly donned a faint smile, trying to prove that nothing was bothering her.
"Look, my dear, you know you can always depend on me, Leila," Melissa assured her sincerely as she looked into Leila's eyes.
Seeing Melissa being so serious, Leila smiled wider, attempting to lighten the atmosphere and avoid stirring up suspicions. She came over to Melissa, held her hands, and said while pouting her lips, "I'm really fine. Look at me! I can't be any better! Aunt Melissa, I can take care of myself. I won't allow myself to lose it at this crucial moment. Maybe I'm just a little tired. I'll be brimming with energy again after a sound night's sleep. So, relax!"
"Alright, that sounds reasonable to me. You need to get enough rest. Here's an idea. I'll stay here with Charles today, and you're going home right this very moment so you can catch up on some sleep." Melissa heaved a sigh of relief as she believed Leila's explanation. Leila had been coming to the hospital early in the morning and leaving late at night every single day since Charles's accident and resulting coma. With everything that Leila did, Melissa was easily overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude towards her. Leila had shown ultimate patience and kindness to their family.
But Leila refused the suggestion and insisted on staying in the hospital to look after Charles. Melissa, pretending to be disapproving, held Leila's hands and said, "Please, go back home and take a break, Leila. There are lots of things waiting to be done in the next few days. Besides, you're going to report for work at Shining Company in a few days. You need to have all the rest you can before your busy schedule starts. Go home now!"
Leila then nodded reluctantly at her. She had to listen to Melissa to please her and would do whatever Melissa asked her to do.
"Okay, I'm going. Please, call me if you need something, Aunt Melissa!" Leila urged. But Melissa jokingly pushed her out of the room, closed the door, and waved at her through the glass window.
Holley had almost run out of air when she gasped in surprise. She patted her own chest to validate that they could still do something about the unfortunate incident. It was the best option out of the worst.
After a long silence, Holley spoke slowly, her eyes focusing on her freshly manicured nails, "She won't say a word about you if she's dead. And it's the safest way."
She then lay back on the sofa. It was Leila's business to take care of, and she was not supposed to take it on her shoulders. Besides, even if Leila were arrested, Holley didn't believe that the police would come to her for an explanation.
Seeing through Holley, Leila sneered, "Right, thank you for your kind suggestion. I'll go and kill Cassie right now, and then I'll surround myself with the police. I believe that they will be interested in the things going on between us!"
Holley was threatened, so she hurriedly rose from the sofa. The threats Leila spoke brought her back to reality. She regretted the slip of her tongue and had to admit that she was too naive to think that way. Leila was her ally and it was not supposed to be this hard between them. She then cracked a smile to ease her embarrassment and explained, "Please, let me clarify my suggestion, Leila. I didn't ask you to attack her with a knife. Killing a person is the most stupid way to solve problems. Let's try another feasible way. Since she's lost that specific memory, we can help to prevent her from regaining it. How about putting some memory declining drug into her drops? If you can't make it happen, then you can deny whatever she says when she does remember. Just make sure that they won't get any solid evidence against you!"
Leila then put her heart at rest. Two heads were really better than one, she believed. Holley's words soothed her nerves and Leila now knew what she should do next.
"That sounds great to me. Then please do me another favor of acquiring this drug for me. I'll manage to put it into her drops!" Leila immediately hung up the phone after she finished voicing her demands.
Hearing the other line beep, Holley was nothing but surprised by the abrupt busy tone on the line. She furiously threw her phone to the sofa and stood up, clutching her hands so tightly that her joints started clicking.
"Leila, let's wait and see. I'll show you how to cry for mercy some day!" Holley hissed from between her clenched teeth, ultimately offended by what just happened.
Leila then returned to Dream Garden. She felt a lot better because Holley had helped her to figure her way out on this matter. She glanced at her phone and smiled triumphantly. At the same time, Leila was well aware that Holley would never cooperate with her smoothly if she was useless to her, and made up her mind to keep an eye on Holley so she would complete her task.
Leila then stretched her neck to release the tension and proceeded to the living room. Her stomach grumbled in hunger, and then she realized that it had been a while since she had something to eat. Finding her way to the kitchen, she noticed that Nancy was finishing up some chores. "Nancy, I'm starving. Make something for me, right now!" she ordered as if she was the hostess of the house.
"It's not mealtime, Miss Zhang. Besides, I'm busy cleaning the kitchen now. If you feel like eating, please, feel free to cook whatever you like!" Nancy respectfully refused to make Leila a plate. And before Leila was able to utter another word, Nancy turned around and walked out of the room, proceeding to the backyard to water the plants.
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