Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
Though Leila had never felt lesser than anyone due to her muteness, except in Landon’s presence, she found herself despising her inability to vocally challenge Sarah’s cruel words.
Sarah’s smirk widened. “Gee, I don’t get your hand signals. Let me tell you this. Don’t delude yourself. You think you’re entitled to be his wife? To Landon, you’re nothing more than a pet dog.”
Leila’s eyes grew wide. She opened her mouth to object, struggling due to her damaged vocal cords. “That’s not true!”
“Don’t bother trying,” Sarah taunted. “Why waste your breath explaining when you could just bark like a dog to entertain me instead?”
Sarah paused, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, my mistake. I forgot you can’t even do that. You can’t even bark like a dog. Why don’t you play the part of a dog on the ground for us?”
Sarah sneered at Leila, her gaze filled with derision.
Then, abruptly, a hand reached from behind and grabbed Sarah’s hair firmly. “You’re nothing but a shameless mistress. How dare you torment Landon’s lawful wife? Can’t you distinguish between decency and disgrace, you bitch?”
The grip on Sarah’s hair was so fierce that it nearly ripped her scalp, her agony manifesting in a scream as she tried to fight back.
Linsey reacted quickly, catching Sarah’s outstretched hand and sharply slapping her across the face.
“How dare you hit me back? Who do you think you are?” Linsey demanded, her voice icy.
Teetering in her nearly four-inch stilettos, Sarah stumbled backward from the force of Linsey’s slap, losing her balance. Sarah fell right at Leila’s feet.
The next moment, however, Sarah’s expression shifted from anger to a pitiful plea. She clutched at Leila’s ankle. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. It’s just that I met Landon earlier. We’ve been together since we were teenagers. I never intended for him to leave you. Please, don’t hurt me…”
Leila, taken aback by Sarah’s actions, stood frozen in shock.
Suddenly, a cold, stern voice cut through the air. “Leila! What are you doing at this hotel?”
Startled, Sarah turned to the voice, tears welling up as she feigned innocence. “Landon, please, don’t be angry with her. It’s all my fault. I instigated this. Whatever she does to me, I brought it upon myself…”
Linsey, appalled by Sarah’s audacity, interjected sharply, “Don’t be ridiculous. I was the one who hit this bitch. Leila had nothing to do with this.”
Landon, his expression unreadable, simply helped Sarah stand on her feet and fixed his gaze on Leila, his voice devoid of warmth. “Leila, you really disappoint me.”.
Tears welled up in Leila’s eyes, yet she steeled herself against the urge to let them fall. She raised her hand, attempting to reach out to Landon, but he had already turned his back on her and walked away, his tall figure exuding an air of icy determination.
“Wait for me!” Sarah called out, hurrying to catch up. She reached out and grabbed Landon’s hand, their fingers weaving together seamlessly.
“Why is she even at this hotel? Either she’s here to stir up trouble, or she’s meeting someone else. Gee!” Sarah murmured, her voice barely audible. Landon slowed his pace, momentarily caught off guard by her words.
Yet, rather than stopping, Landon abruptly pulled his hand away from Sarah’s grasp. “Stop spouting nonsense!” he snapped.
As Landon settled into his car, a distant rumble of thunder echoed, soon followed by a downpour. Sarah, just a few steps behind him, was immediately soaked as she left the shelter of the hotel. Her hair, once meticulously styled, now clung to her head as she sprinted toward Landon’s car, her hand reaching for the door handle.
To Sarah’s surprise, it was locked. “Landon, open the door…” she pleaded, knocking on the window.
Then, from behind Sarah, a scornful voice called out, “Bitch!”
Sarah turned around to see Linsey standing in the hotel entrance, arms folded, a smug look on her face.
“She attacked me earlier, and now she’s here causing more trouble…” Sarah’s eyes glinted with malice, yet she swiftly masked it with a look of sorrowful innocence as she tapped on the car window.
“Quit the act. Why don’t you just review the surveillance footage?” Linsey’s voice escalated, piercing the tense air. “Landon, be a decent man. Live well with your wife and avoid fooling around and contracting illnesses from shameless women. It’s not just about you. Think about Leila!”
“You!” Fury washed over Sarah. Linsey’s words were a clear jab at her. She turned to confront Linsey, but at that moment, Landon’s car behind her roared to life. Landon left.
“Leila, we should leave,” Linsey said sharply, shooting Sarah one last disdainful look before shepherding Leila back to the hotel to wrap up their work.
However, when it was time to clock out, the relentless downpour hadn’t stopped.
“I’ll drive you home,” Linsey remarked, assisting Leila with her raincoat.
Leila hesitated, shaking her head. She didn’t want to impose the journey on Linsey since her home was too far away.
“Then take a cab. Don’t skimp to save that jerk’s money!” Linsey huffed.
Leila managed a wry smile and nodded.
Despite her intentions, no taxi would venture so far in the storm. By the time Leila reached home by subway, her legs and clothes were caked in mud, her lips tinged blue from the cold.
Trembling, Leila tried to unlock the fingerprint lock, only to find the door stubbornly shut. Landon had locked her out.
“Sir…” The butler, who had come to serve drinks, glanced at the rain pouring outside. Yet, under the imposing presence of Landon, he refrained from speaking further.
The study was cloaked in darkness, with Landon seated in the shadows, his expression severe. He scrutinized the video feed on his computer screen, his emotions churning as violently as the storm outside. What was Leila doing at the hotel?
Landon meticulously watched every frame of the surveillance footage, tracing Leila’s and Linsey’s arrival at the hotel, their interaction with Sarah, and Leila’s departure. It turned out Leila had merely gone to drop off some books.
“How long has she been back?” Landon asked, his voice easing slightly after viewing the last segment of the footage.
“It’s been an hour…” the butler muttered, not daring to lift his gaze. “Your wife has been at the door this entire time.”
Just then, thunder cracked again, lightning streaking across the sky while the wind howled and rain lashed against the villa’s expansive windows.
Leila had always been terrified of thunder. As a child, she would hide under the covers whenever it stormed. Now, she had been standing alone in the pouring rain for an hour.
Landon remained silent, his demeanor unyielding as he moved past the butler and descended the stairs. Peering through the rain-streaked windows, he assumed Leila had left.
However, upon opening the front door, Landon found Leila collapsed on the ground, her eyes tightly closed, oblivious to how long she had been there.
“Leila!” Landon’s voice was thick with concern as he rushed forward to pick her up, his instructions to the butler cutting through the air sharply. “Bring the doctor, immediately!”
Despite being clad in a raincoat, the relentless downpour had drenched Leila thoroughly.
Without hesitation, Landon peeled the soaked garments from Leila’s shivering form and grabbed a towel from the maid to swaddle her. It was only then that Landon truly noticed Leila’s frailty-her waist alarmingly slender, as if it could be encircled by his hands alone.
Just then, Landon’s friend’s voice broke through his concern, mocking yet filled with worry. “What’s this, Landon? Gone bankrupt? Sending your wife to labor to make ends meet? You’re wearing her out!”
As a doctor, Steven Hudson arrived shortly after being summoned, his long-standing friendship with Landon never softening his blunt commentary.
“Enough nonsense. Just tend to her!” Landon barked, a stern expression on his face as he stepped aside from Leila.
“If she had been exposed any longer, hypothermia might have claimed her, beyond any help. What are you playing at, Landon? Hoping for a tragic accident to cash in on her insurance?” Steven didn’t hold back, even as he checked Leila over, his sarcasm biting. “I’m not covering for you, not for less than ten billion!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Landon snapped, fury overtaking his worry. Steven, recognizing the limit, ceased his remarks with a gruff huff.
Leila’s ordeal in the storm had taken its toll. Her body temperature had plummeted dangerously, only to be followed by a sudden, severe fever.
Steven administered some fever-reducing medicine and reassured Landon that there was no cause for alarm.
Standing beside Leila, Landon observed her flushed face, his brow creased with concern. After a pause, he walked away with a firm command to the butler. “Ensure she’s well cared for. I’ll hold you responsible if anything goes wrong!”
Leila remained out of it until morning. As she made her way downstairs, she anticipated finding Landon gone. Surprisingly, he was still there, lounging in the living room.
“Feeling better?” Landon asked, catching sight of her descending the staircase.
Leila halted, her hands anxiously twining together. Was his refusal to open the door last night a sign that he intended to divorce her?
“Don’t bother going back to work. I can take care of us,” Landon said, surveying the room before fixing his eyes on Leila, his voice carrying a hint of impatience.
Leila felt a rush of anxiety and hurried down to confront him, gesturing frantically how much she adored her job.
“Do you really need to work at that bookstore?” Landon pressed on, his sharp gaze piercing her. “I’ll set up a bookstore for you. Stay away from that woman. I don’t like her.” He clearly disliked Linsey’s comments the previous day.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Leila raised her hand to clarify, but Landon had already turned to leave. In desperation, she reached out and clutched his sleeve.