Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
Without warning, Landon turned around.
Their gazes met.
Landon saw a glint of something unwavering in Lacey’s eyes, and his brow furrowed in confusion.
Lacey averted her gaze immediately.
‘I’m just surprised at how strongly you feel it,’ she said, her voice carefully neutral.
‘But as for finding her, I can’t help you.
Do what you think is best.
Just don’t cause trouble for Jeanette and me.’
Landon’s frown deepened.
He hoped he was reading too much into Lacey’s complicated look from moments before.
From the moment they’d met, Landon had thought of Lacey as someone who kept her emotions in check.
Now his main focus was to find a way to see Leila face to face.
He needed to find a way to gauge her true feelings for Clayton.
Landon didn’t think Leila was fickle in her affections, but Clayton’s persistent pursuit of her filled him with trepidation.
It wasn’t long before Landon found an opportunity.
Leila had founded a charity dedicated to helping children in need, and he made sure to attend her monthly events.
Reporters often asked Leila about her personal life, hoping for a juicy scoop.
Landon decided to find a way to blend in with the crowd and reach out to Leila.
With renewed determination, he returned to begin making his plans.
Once Landon was out of sight, Lacey stepped out, Jeanette’s hand firmly entwined in his.
Jeanette looked up at Lacey, her brow furrowed in worry.
‘Lacey, what if Landon finds out we were behind this, won’t he be mad? He’ll hate us, won’t he?’ she asked, her voice small.
Lacey let out a tired sigh.
‘It’s done, Jeanette.
There’s no use beating around the bush.
We haven’t done anything wrong anyway.
We’re simply opening her eyes to the truth about Leila.
We’re doing her a favour, don’t you see?’
Jeanette nodded slowly and then added hesitantly, ‘Lacey, I don’t want to see Landon at home.
I can’t look him in the eye, and I can’t seem to shake an uncomfortable feeling.’
Lacey’s eyes hardened.
‘We did the right thing.
There’s no reason for you to feel uncomfortable, and I don’t want to hear you say that again,’ she stated firmly.
Jeanette had never seen Lacey so stern before, and her eyes filled with tears.
She felt wronged.
But fearing Lacey’s wrath, she said no more.
Jeanette looked down, with mixed feelings.
Earlier, after giving Leila the glass of water that had been tampered with, Jeanette felt a little regretful.
But it was too late for regrets, because someone had already taken Clayton.
What puzzled Jeanette was that, as she hurriedly ran outside, she collided head-on with Clayton.
Clayton simply looked at her coldly and did not ask anyone to stop her.
Jeanette hesitated, but finally told Lacey what had happened.
Lacey found it strange, too.
‘Oddly enough, Clayton didn’t do anything at the time, and even now he hasn’t tried to find you. He must be up to something.’
Jeanette looked at Lacey curiously.
‘Lacey, what do you mean ‘up to something’?’
Lacey didn’t answer Jeanette’s question.
She just smiled and patted her head as if the storm had passed.
‘Jeanette, you really helped me a lot. Let’s get something to eat and play for a while before we head back.’
Jeanette, still a child, didn’t dwell too much on the previous events and spent a pleasant afternoon with Lacey.
Once home, they overheard Landon talking on the phone.
It sounded like he was trying to find someone who could get him access to Leila’s charity.
Suddenly, Lacey felt nervous and didn’t know exactly why.
What was Landon planning, was he still looking for the truth, was Leila so important to him that he would risk exposure just to talk to her? This had to stop.
If he didn’t act fast, everything he’d done would be exposed.
Leila would definitely reveal everything Jeanette had done.
A wave of dread swept over Lacey.
What would happen then? Her worry grew with each passing second.
She squeezed Jeanette’s hand tightly, her fear gripping her.
‘Lacey, you’re hurting me,’ Jeanette exclaimed, snapping Lacey out of her thoughts.
The noise of their altercation attracted the attention of Landon, who was still talking on the phone inside.
He opened the door to find the two sisters standing there.
Lacey quickly regained her composure, her face reflecting no emotion.