"No need to pretend to care about me. You are so fake! Besides, Mom prepared this bottle of water especially for Kevin. If she gets to know that I drink all of it, she would be so angry with me." There was a trace of jealousy in Claire's words. Anyone could tell that she was bothered by Leena, because she was the only one being asked and cared about by Kevin.
"Claire, don't forget what you promised me when I let you go to S City with us." Kevin's tone was cold. If it had not been for Leena, who had pleaded on Claire's behalf, he would not have let Claire come to S City with them and interrupt their perfect married life. Now that he had promised to let Claire stay, she should also keep her word and be nice to Leena.
"Fine! I'll just have to keep my mouth shut. Are you satisfied now?" Claire glared at Leena with annoyance, as if it was her fault. Well, her brother couldn't be beside her all day long to take Leena's side! Claire could wait. She could think of lots of ways to make Leena's life miserable while she was in S City. Leena didn't understand what she had done to make Claire so furious with her. She thought that Claire was thirsty, so she gave her some water to drink, that was all. Why would she think Leena was being fake in pretending to care about her? It seemed to Leena that she should be the one keeping her mouth shut on this journey back to S City. She would just have to talk less, otherwise she would cause more trouble.
Sitting on the other end of the backseat, Louisa was happy to see this exchange. The corner of Louisa's lips lifted as she glanced at Leena, her eyes dripping with mockery and disdain. She pretended to comfort Claire.
"Claire, come on. No need to get upset over such a small thing, right?" Louisa patted Claire's shoulder and said in a sickly sweet voice, pretending to be considerate and understanding in front of Kevin.
It didn't go as she hoped for. Kevin's eyebrows furrowed. He was unhappy about what Louisa said, but he kept his mouth shut and didn't say another word. He stared at Leena intensely through the rearview mirror. He was worried about her. Although they had left capital city early this morning, it was already afternoon by the time they arrived in S City. There was a traffic jam on the way. Fortunately it was not rush hour, so it wasn't so bad, or they could have been trapped there for hours.
Kevin, is this the apartment you live in? I thought you still lived at the army base." Claire raised her head to look at the tall building in front of her. She could tell from the nice decorations outside the apartment that it was very pricey. She wondered if her brother had spent all the money he had saved buying this apartment.
"Yeah, I lived at the army base before. But I moved here after marriage. Living in the army base is inconvenient for a married man after all. All right, come on. Pick your luggage and let's go inside," Kevin replied to his sister's question simply. He didn't ask Lee for help, who had to drive Louisa back to her own house.
"Hey! Kevin, won't you help me carry my luggage?" Claire looked helplessly at the two big, heavy suitcases in front of her. She turned to Kevin, her eyes pleading.
Why did you bring two big suitcases? Do you really have that many things to bring with you? Leena and I only have one big suitcase, and it's enough for us." Kevin shook his head at his sister, picking up the leather suitcase in front of Claire. He wondered if she was planning to stay for a long time. Otherwise, why would she bring so many things with her? He really hoped that he was wrong.
"There are not many things in them. They are just the clothes and shoes that I will be wearing. If I hadn't brought them here, would you buy new ones for me?" Claire frowned, then picked up the other suitcase and followed them to the elevator. She was unhappy that Leena just had the small travel bag with her. Truthfully, it was Claire's own fault that she had packed up so many things. She just couldn't help but blame Leena for it unreasonably.
"Well, I understand that you need to take some clothes with you, but you don't need to bring your entire closet here!" Once they were in the elevator, Kevin immediately took the travel bag from Leena's hand. It looked as if he was afraid that carrying such a small bag would exhaust Leena. Upon seeing his action, Claire's mood soured even more.
"Well, you know, I'm a girl after all. That is what makes us girls, right? I need to change my clothes everyday. Besides, I'm going to look for a job here. That way, Louisa will not be so lonely here, because I can keep her company." As she talked, Claire's mood shifted. She was quite excited about her future life in S City. She was confident that she would be happy and successful here.
"What did you say? You want to look for a job here? Are you kidding? Are you sure that you can find a suitable job without Mom and Dad's help?" Kevin didn't expect to hear this. Claire wanted to find a job so she could stay here for a long time! He was a bit shocked at her words. Would she stay at his place for much longer? He didn't want that to happen, because Claire didn't get along with Leena at all, and he wanted to spend some time alone with his wife. If Claire lived in his apartment with them for too long, she would surely become a nuisance. There went his plan of spending some good time alone with Leena.
"Well, I have you, my dear brother. Won't you help out your loving sister?" Claire tilted her head and looked at Kevin with her eyebrows raised. She was sure that he would help her.
"Are you sure the jobs I find will be suitable for you?" Kevin looked her up and down, and helplessly shook his head. He didn't think he could help his sister find an appropriate job here.
"As long as it's a respectable job with a high salary, and there is enough freedom to work anytime, I would be satisfied." Claire wasn't even joking. She was serious about her conditions. She thought it would be easy to find such a job.
"You really must be dreaming. There is no such job like you just described. No company will ever hire you if you demand all that." Kevin let out a deep sigh. If he were an employer, he would never hire an employee with demands like those, unless she was extremely talented. But unfortunately, his sister was everything but talented.
"Kevin, don't lower my confidence like that! I haven't even started looking, for God's sake, and here you are, already pouring cold water on me." Claire was unhappy about her brother's words. She didn't think that her conditions for a job were so impossible to meet. According to her, a job with a high salary and the liberty to work any time was just standard.