Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
As the visit time was about to end, Leila posed the question she had come to ask.
“Why didn’t you turn Florrie and Calvert in? They helped you in many ways but also sought to exploit you. Aren’t they despicable?”
Gracelyn laughed.
“Why should I turn them in? I’ve done plenty of wrong myself, and I’m old now. I won’t ever leave this prison in my lifetime. But that doesn’t matter. They’re at large. They know who is responsible for their current predicament, and they’ll despise you forever because of it. Leila, you betrayed me, so I can’t just let you have an easy life, can I?”
Leila was stunned and couldn’t help but gasp, “That’s why you chose to withhold the truth from the police and shoulder all the blame alone? You’ve lost your mind!”
Gracelyn erupted into laughter.
“Yes, I’m mad. I lost my sanity the day my grandson died. I wish I could pull you all down to hell with me!”
Leila shook her head and chose to turn away, leaving without looking back at Gracelyn.
Aside from having her people track down Calvert and Florrie, Leila had already informed the police about their involvement.
Leila was certain that Florrie and Calvert couldn’t live carefree lives as they sought. They would have to spend their lives in hiding just to avoid capture, unable to earn a living. For people like them, such a punishment was fitting..
As Leila drove toward home, she didn’t expect someone to abruptly cut in front of her car. It happened not just once, but repeatedly.
Fresh from her ordeal, Leila didn’t feel like engaging with such drivers and intended to overlook it.
However, the other driver continued to cut her off, and Leila was unable to stop in time, resulting in a collision.
Now genuinely frustrated, Leila contacted her insurance company and sent Landon a message.
The car she collided with was a Maybach, and the owners were a couple who looked haughty.
Both the man and the woman got out of their car, and the moment they spotted Leila’s car, they couldn’t help but scoff.
The man said to the woman beside him, “I thought she was something out of the ordinary, but she’s just driving a BMW, which isn’t even a luxury car. I can’t figure out why she keeps trying to weave through traffic and not let us pass.” Leila got out of the car.
Unexpectedly, the man’s expression changed to one of admiration as he caught sight of Leila’s beauty, and his smile turned somewhat sleazy.
“Not too shabby. A lady driving a BMW, huh?”
The woman scoffed, her voice dripping with envy.
“What are you thinking? Clearly, some guy must have bought it for her. Given her appearance, she likely doesn’t hold a decent job. And that bag she’s carrying-if it’s a real brand, it would cost a fortune. Do you really think someone with such a pricey bag would drive a car worth only a hundred thousand dollars? My guess is her bag is a knockoff. And her outfit isn’t from any high-end labels. She probably doesn’t own much and just lives off what she gets from men.”
In just a few moments, Leila was labeled someone with a questionable profession and a penchant for materialism.
Leila couldn’t help but look down at her outfit. She hadn’t seen the need to get all dressed up for visiting Gracelyn in prison and had opted for a more low-key car. Surprisingly, her choice of clothes and transportation turned into an opportunity for these people to mistreat her.
Leila chose not to defend herself with anger. Instead, she simply smiled. As she did, she tossed her bag and bracelets into her car.
The man began to inspect his car.
“Wow, look at this mess. You owe me at least five hundred thousand dollars for this,” he declared.
The sharp-tongued woman next to him burst into laughter.
“Five hundred thousand? You’re practically asking for her life! Does she look like she has that sum of money?”
“Can’t pay?” The man raised his voice, then changed his approach.
“If you can’t pay the money, you’ll have to make up for it some other way.” The man’s implication was clear.
By then, Leila had finished removing her bracelets and casually rubbed her wrist. She approached the man and said in a cold tone, “You claim I damaged your car and owe you, but you fail to mention how you intentionally cut me off.”
The man quickly adopted an unapologetic demeanor.
“Intentional? How can you prove I did it on purpose? This is obviously because of your poor driving skills. To me, women like you shouldn’t even be behind the wheel. You’re just a hazard.”
The disturbance quickly drew a crowd of onlookers. Most were unclear about the details of the incident. However, upon hearing the man’s accusations, some began to blame Leila.
“She may look nice, but she won’t own up to crashing into someone’s car.”
“I agree with the guy. Women like her really shouldn’t be driving.”
“You’re so old-fashioned! Why shouldn’t women drive? Moreover, we don’t even know what truly happened.”
Although a few defended Leila, their voices were soon drowned out by the criticism.
The sharp-tongued woman strutted toward Leila in her high heels.
“Pay up. You’re not leaving until you do. If you’re short on cash, just call one of those men you hang around with. You seem like the type who could easily seduce them and make them open their wallets.”
Leila responded with a cold smile before suddenly striking the woman with a hard slap.
The slap was powerful and unexpected. The woman staggered a few steps back and fell to the ground. She looked up at Leila with a mix of shock and anger.
The man began to swear and moved toward Leila.
Undeterred, Leila raised her hand and delivered a slap to the man’s face. She felt one slap wasn’t enough, so she gave him another. This left both the man and woman in shock.
Leila rubbed her wrist and said coldly, “Trying to frame me and extort money? Keep dreaming. There are surveillance cameras here. I’ll own up to the accident and pay for the damage, but we’re also going to look into why you intentionally cut me off!”
The man, humiliated and furious, yelled back at her, his face red with anger, “So, what if I cut you off intentionally? What are you going to do about it? Now, you owe me more than just five hundred thousand. You’re going to pay for assaulting me too!”
The woman quickly agreed.
“Exactly, you’ll pay for assaulting us.”
Seeing their blatant greed, Leila suddenly sensed something was off. She found the license plate somewhat familiar. Then, it clicked. This car didn’t belong to this couple.
She remembered seeing this car featured in a wealthy young man’s social media post, where he had flaunted his new purchase. People in their circle wouldn’t fake such things. It seemed likely that this couple was either related to that wealthy young man or had borrowed the car from him.
Regardless, Leila was unfazed. After all, that wealthy young man was the son of one of her company’s senior executives.
At this point, the man and woman began to wail, “How could you be so shameless? You hit our car and refuse to pay. Everyone, help us get justice! She hit our car and yet acts so self-righteous.”
The crowd erupted in discussions, hurling insults at Leila. Just then, Leila’s phone chimed. It was a message from Landon, just a few simple words: “Don’t worry. I’m on my way.” The short message brought Leila a sense of calm.
Amidst the crowd’s insults, Leila kept her composure and smiled calmly. Then, she said directly, “I’m willing to pay for this, but first, I want to talk to the actual owner of the car. This car doesn’t belong to you. Why should I compensate you?”
Irate, the man pointed aggressively at Leila and shouted, “You’re just spouting nonsense!”
The woman shot him a look.
Leila, unruffled, said casually, “Oh, you claim this is your car? Do you really think I can’t bring forth evidence to the contrary?”.
The realization that Leila might actually know the real owner sent a wave of panic through the man. He suspected she was more than just an ordinary person.
The woman also sensed that something wasn’t right, but having been humiliated, she wasn’t ready to blame the man outright. She just wanted to resolve the situation and make Leila pay up.
The woman leaned in and whispered to the man, “What are you worried about? She’s just trying to intimidate us. If she really were someone influential, she wouldn’t be here arguing with us. She would have called someone to handle it by now. Besides, don’t wealthy people usually have bodyguards? Anyway, whose car did you borrow again?”
Feeling cornered, the man coughed softly and murmured, “That rich guy we met the other day.”
The woman shot him a fierce look.
“I’ll have words with you later. For now, don’t show any fear. Maybe she once got laid with that rich guy.”