Chapter 1082: The Affectionate Moment (part one)

"I just got in touch with her some time ago. How come you speak of me and her as if we were old friends?" Kevin frowned in confusion. He would have forgotten about Louisa if she hadn't tricked him to her birthday party that day.

"What? I heard that you used to be lovers, though." Claire was puzzled. Weren't things like what she had been told?

"What lovers? What are you thinking? I just met her a couple of times and that's it." Playfully, Kevin reached out and pushed her on the forehead. He wouldn't have acted so naturally around Louisa If they were really old lovers.

"Really? That's it?" The young lady ended up furrowing her eyebrows. She didn't understand a thing. Why would Louisa lie to her?

"Why Claire? What else should it be? Okay, I am going upstairs to have a shower. I'll leave you alone." Kevin stood up and was ready to leave. He decided not to stay any longer since Claire didn't want to tell him why she was mad anyway. Moreover, he had no interest in talking about Louisa at all.

"Where is the study? I need the computer." A bad mood wasn't enough for Claire to forget her curiosity about the FX International Group. Thus, she decided to surf the Internet and learn about it amidst being low.

"It's upstairs. But you are only allowed to use the desktop. Do not touch my laptop because there are a lot of important work-related files on it." Uneasiness flooded Kevin even with the thought that his computer was password protected. All the files that he was keeping were way too confidential. He couldn't afford an accident in regards to those.

Okay, okay. I got it. Gee, relax. I am not a spy. Why would I be interested in your files?" said Claire as she jumped off the bed. The lady had this mild case of being simple-minded and she couldn't really keep things inside her head for long. She had to feed her curiosity as soon as possible or else it would just slip her mind.

"I just felt that I need to give you a heads-up just in case you make trouble for me." Kevin knew his sister too well to let his guard down.

"My God, I said I got it. Why are you still nagging? You sound just like Mom." Just like how little girls would, Claire twitched her mouth disapprovingly. Should Kevin really be this overacting? For Pete's sake, he was too cautious!

"I said it for your own good. You should appreciate it." The man exhaled in resignation. Kevin was just trying to explain things to her. What was bad in making her understand that she couldn't use his laptop? Did she really have to be impatient about it?

"It's not my fault. Sometimes you can be very annoying." As childish as she was, Claire made a funny face at Kevin and ran upstairs. The act made her look as adorable as Leena. In all honesty, Claire wasn't really a troublemaker. There were times when she could be as lovely as sunshine. It was only when Leena was around that Claire's loveliness caved in and got replaced by her hateful and mean attitude.

The idea made Kevin shake his head as he went upstairs too. Fatigue was suddenly surging in him. It could probably be because he had just recovered from a bad cold and was still weak, or because of the long drive from his parents' house.

He was literally trudging when he opened their bedroom door and found Leena coming out of their private bathroom at the very same time. The lady involuntarily straightened her pajamas upon seeing him as if she was scared that something might be inappropriate with how she looked.

Your hair is still wet. Why didn't you dry it in the bathroom before coming out?" His automatic reaction was to give their room a quick once-over in search of the hairdryer. He took it as soon as he found it. He signaled Leena to come over and sit beside him after.

"I forgot. I was going to dry it in the bedroom." Leena smiled with embarrassment and walked up to him. She sat on the dressing chair with her eyes filled with excitement.

"Remember. Next time, come out of the bathroom after you dry your hair. Otherwise, it will wet your pajamas and you can catch a cold from it." Kevin grabbed a clean bath sheet and wrapped her in it snugly. He didn't want the water dripping from her hair to wet her pajama jacket even more.

"I'll remember it. Is Claire okay?" The gentleness Leena received from Kevin made her flush. It was only through this kind of affectionate moment that she felt him caring for her.

"She is fine. She was just making a fuss. She is in the study googling FX International Group." Kevin lifted her hair before the hair dryer blew on it. She sighed with how comfortably warm it felt.

"It's very easy to learn about FX International Group. Edward used to keep a high profile. He was a public figure before. There were tons of news about him all over the place, mostly negative though." Many people said that Edward was a playboy but only those few who were close to him knew what kind of person he really was. Although Daisy had struggled in the past years, she had been very happy since she and Edward were together again. Everybody knew that Edward was faithful and devoted once he fell in love.

"Did Edward's private life really use to be as scattered as it was said?" Kevin threaded to the topic carefully. He had never been interested in Edward's private life until the day he showed up out of the blue and claimed to be Daisy's husband. It made Kevin curious. Thus he started digging for information about Edward. It was odd, though, that all he had ever found of him was gossip about him and other women. It had made him crazy worried about Daisy before. It was fortunate that Edward and Daisy were now very happy together. Kevin sometimes thought that maybe the gossip had been posted just to disguise who Edward really was. He was a very arrogant man after all and men like him would do everything to keep his private life from the public.

"Edward used that gossip for a purpose. Unexpectedly, the outcome didn't turn out to be so good and he regrets his action very much." Another sigh escaped from Leena's chest. Edward shouldn't have started the gossip. Some things wouldn't change just because you wanted them to. He just got lucky that he found the woman he wanted to spend his life with. Leena couldn't be happier for him.

"I see." A thoughtful smile crossed Kevin's face. His curiosity about Edward grew but he didn't ask any more questions. A well-cultivated man like him knew when to stop.

A sudden silence filled the room as Leena studied Kevin's expression through the mirror of the dressing table. She was wondering why his eyebrows were furrowed. Did the information about Edward disappoint him? Or did it frustrate him? Men were as competitive as women and Leena could see that her husband was not an exception.

Truth be told, Leena didn't know Kevin that well. Proud men like him hated being compared with anybody. They thought that their honor was everything and how one praised them was everything that mattered.

Happy days were usually short. Kevin wasn't around anymore when Leena woke up the next morning. She felt dejected to think that he would have little time for her in the following days.

She wanted to sleep some more but remembering that Claire was in the house pushed her to freshen up and hurry downstairs. Claire was still sleeping. She would definitely make sarcastic remarks if Leena got up later than her.

Kevin and Leena had only been away for a couple of days, but their house was already dusty. Such things were something Leena couldn't live with, so she decided to clean the house while Claire was still asleep. She planned to take her out for breakfast as there was nothing fresh inside the fridge.