"It’s... it’s not my fault! I didn’t an it!"
Humiliated to the core, a crying Gladys hurriedly ran away from the place. Her pitiful sobs echoed faintly in the empty hallway. Soon, her figure vanished at an intersection.
Exhaling a sigh, Leslie shook her head. She could feel the secondhand embarrassnt that was haunting Gladys now.
"What a stupid and delusional woman," murmured Leslie, her brows furrowing.
Creak...
Calix opened a slight gap in the door, peeking into the hallway. Once he made sure the troubleso Gladys was out of his sight, he widened the door opening.
"Leslie, what are you doing there? Co inside."
Calix softened his voice. There was no lingering mockery in his tone, unlike how he sounded when ridiculing Glayds just now. His eyes were locked on Leslie’s face.
"...yes."
Without saying much, Leslie returned inside the bedroom. Calix closed the door once again before locking it. He didn’t want to risk that crazy woman barging into the room when he was sleeping.
A stifling silence enveloped them. The previous rrint was ruined by Gladys’ uninvited appearance.
Calix quietly looked at Leslie who was sitting on the bed now. Her gaze lost its focus as if she was drowned in her pool of thoughts. Her complexion also lost so of its colors.
Frowning, Calix took off the body cara from his pajamas. He quickly connected it to his phone.
Calix stopped recording the mont he slamd the door. He didn’t want to accidentally record him talking to Leslie – to the air.
While tapping on the screen, Calix sat next to Leslie, briefly glancing at her.
"I want to make soone sleepless tonight," said Calix.
"...huh?" Leslie blinked, pulling herself back to reality. Turning to her left, she looked at Calix’s side profile, "What did you say? Making soone sleepless?"
Calix nodded. Once the video was transferred to his phone, he checked its quality. His and Gladys’ voices echoed from the speaker. The screen displayed her following the body cara’s angle.
"That video looks so clear," remarked Leslie. A faint smile hung on her lips, "Do you wanna send it to soone? To her?"
"Not her. Soone else. Let Edward handle it."
Calix grinned with a subtle hint of a smirk. He attached the video to a ssage before sending it to Edward.
In a few minutes, Calix’s private phone rang. The screen showed Edward’s Caller ID.
"Boss Xu, are you serious? You want to send it to him?"
Edward sounded so perplexed. He seed surprised to receive such a video from his boss.
"Do it now," Calix didn’t explain much. He knew Edward understood his intention, "You’re just playing with your dog anyway. Do what your boss tells you."
"...urgh, I know," Edward sighed out loud, expressing his dissatisfaction, "I’ll only do this one thing. Don’t disturb until tomorrow’s work hour."
"Yeah, yeah, bye."
Calix imdiately hung up, unwilling to hear Edward nagging at him. Leslie was stunned before faint laughter escaped her lips.
"It’s midnight. He hasn’t slept yet?"
Edward was always busy at work due to his position. Leslie couldn’t help but feel bad for the overworked salaryman.
Being a chief personal assistant to a CEO was not easy ah.
"Usually he brings his dog to a walk right now," Calix tossed the phone to the bed. The slim tal body bounced on the mattress, "That lunatic. I’m not surprised if one day he got mugged at midnight."
"..."
Both CEO Xu and his chief assistant seed to have loose screws. They were indeed a perfect pair of working partners.
Laughing at herself, Leslie quietly brought up sothing she had been thinking now.
"Why don’t you ask anything? You heard what she said about just now."
Calix paused. With a slight turn of his chin, his eyes collided with Leslie’s. Under her smiling facade lay pain.
Leslie tried not to show it but, Calix roughly guessed she was affected by Gladys’ wild accusations.
"Are you worried that I’ll blindly trust her words?"
Calix threw a question to Leslie instead of answering hers. He noticed how she flinched before she quickly assud her nonchalant attitude.
"W-well... yes, you can say so."
Leslie tore her gaze away from Calix. She didn’t dare to continue looking at him after saying sothing like that.
Even though it was not her intention, her words sounded as if she was doubting his conduct.
Calix refrained from sighing. He was not mad at Leslie for implying that. Instead, his sympathy for her was roused.
"She looks so untrustworthy," Calix huffed. He was still irritated by Gladys’ unruly behavior, "It’s clear she’s trying to badmouth you. Tsk, she’s as annoying as my relatives."
Leslie blinked. She didn’t want to smile but, her lips curled up on her own.
"Actually, there were so stories in my past," Leslie looked at the marble floor, she began looking through the mories, "About... what Gladys said just now."
Calix shook his head, "You don’t need to tell . Don’t force yourself."
"No, I want to," Leslie peeled her eyes away from the floor. Once again, she locked her gaze onto Calix’s, "I want to tell you myself."
Calix pursed his lips, sensing Leslie’s determination. He didn’t have the heart to discourage her when she took the first step.
"...okay. But, stop anyti you can’t go on, en?"
Leslie smiled, "CEO Xu, you’re so considerate."
"Of course, I am."
They shared so laughter, easing the remains of their tension. Not long after, Leslie began her story. Calix paid full attention to her.
"When I was in high school, Gladys spread rumors of ... sleeping with old n."
Devastation flooded Leslie’s heart as she recalled Charlene’s agonizing mories like her own. Even though one decade had passed since high school, the pain still remained.
"I was outcast and... so boys asked to sleep with them. When I rejected... they said I only went for old n."
No matter how hard it was, Charlene endured the bullying led by Gladys. She tried telling the Li family but, nothing changed.
Old Madam Li scolded Charlene for accusing her favorite granddaughter of committing such an act.
Geoffrey and Deena insisted that Gladys didn’t an that. It was just a harmless prank between cousins.
Rowan and Bianca were distressed yet, they told Charlene to be patient. All this would end once she graduated from high school.
Indeed. The bullying ceased.
However, it happened only because Gladys continued her studies abroad while Charlene enrolled in one of the national universities.
"...I never did that. Not even once. But... no one cared about what I felt. They... they trusted her. It’s her words... against mine. They... huh?"
Leslie was bewildered when she felt her cheeks damp. She randomly touched her face, only to find tears wetting her fingers.
Why did she cry?
Was this... her feelings?
No... this was Charlene’s.
"L-Leslie? Are you alright?"
"Sorry... sorry, I don’t an to cry..."
Perplexed by what was happening, Calix raised one arm before he awkwardly patted Leslie’s back.
"It’s none of your fault," Calix tried to sound as firm as he could, "Never. They ruined your reputation. You don’t have to forgive them."
"...en."
Leslie pursed her lips. She rubbed her eyes but, more tears rolled down her face.
Her heart hurt so much but, the warmth on her back dispelled so of the pain.
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