As Leena entered the prepared guest room and shut the door behind her, she jumped into the soft king-sized bed, and collapsed. She felt like a machine that had been working too hard and was now falling apart, and her phone kept ringing and buzzing, piling more stress onto her frazzled nerves. She didn't feel like answering Kevin's calls, but she didn't want to just decline the call either. The notifications and ringing were a reminder to her, telling her she was special to Kevin after all, that he was worried about her. As she thought about this, her heartbeat slowed and normalized, and a feeling of warmth enveloped her like a blanket.

  Calmer now, she started thinking about everything. She ran out of her home without even thinking of what would happen next. Call it childish, if you must. But this was really the moment of truth, the point of no return. For a moment, Leena was worried. She feared her father-in-law might scold her for behaving inappropriately. But then a sense of relief settled over her. Nothing mattered anymore. She had never been loved nor welcomed by Kevin's family. Why should she care about how they treated her? Or what they thought of her?

  On the other end of the line, Kevin's patience was wearing thin. When he listened to the robotic voicemail message, he was so infuriated that the blue veins on his forehead were visible. He had searched everywhere nearby, but couldn't find any trace of her. And when he dialed Leena's number, she simply ignored his calls. He knew she was intentionally ignoring him, because just a few minutes ago, one call brought him something new: "The subscriber you dialed is busy now, please try again later……" That meant she only ignored him! Was she talking to someone else while ignoring his calls?

  With each moment ticking by, he grew more worried for her than angry. His concern was not that she would call her family and complain tearfully how bad he

  d once he reached his father's den, he didn't even bother to knock. He simply pushed the door open, and entered.

  "What's up?" Nathan asked in a calm tone, despite seeing the fury in Kevin's eyes. He heard Kevin's footsteps as his son made his way here. He could tell he was mad, but why?

  "What did you say to her?" Kevin leaned on the table, trying to restrain his anger.

  Nathan slammed the documents onto the table. Rage flashed in his gaze. "What are you talking about? I am Leena's father-in-law. I can say anything I want to her. And what's this all about? Why are you like this?" Nathan knew exactly who Kevin was talking about. He pulled open a drawer and placed the documents inside. Work could wait. He leaned back casually, and looked into Kevin's eyes.

  "Why am I like this? How can you ask that? Leena is gone! I've searched every corner in the city and didn't find a thing. And everything leads right back to you. What did you say to her, Father?" If Nathan were not his father, Kevin would have already punched him in the face.

  "What? Are you saying that she's run away? What a cow! She has no manners at all! She's not good for you, Kevin!" But Nathan was agitated by the news, as he took it as a signal from Leena, who was openly challenging his authority.