Chapter 2.02: Meeting the Country Love

Leila had developed a lovely relationship with most of the servants and felt they had her back. Sure, the same bitter bunch hated her, but she paid them no mind. Instead, she decided to focus on keeping the ones that already liked her happy. This meant she had a discussion with them about the wedding. The heiress decided to spin it as the fiancee was a little country bumpkin. That they should treat her with patience, as she is most likely unaware of the proper manners an influential society woman should have. Spend time teaching her how to behave if she acts ignorant. Don't scold her, as she will be staying with them for quite a while and needs to feel welcomed. Leila spent hours working on painting the fiance as someone who needed help and protection.

This led to Yeonhee asking if the young girl should be given a companion. A maid could temporarily stay by her side and keep her company. This was music to Leila’s ears, making her smile. She would get information while playing with the nice sister-in-law. There wouldn't be any blood on her hands doing this so obviously, the dark-haired heiress agreed. Leila chose Elisa, her personal maid besides Jisu, for the job. She was sweet at her core with a bubbly energy that would help the girl stay calm. Because the heiress knew being with her brother was misery. It seriously made her sick to her stomach, knowing an abusive price would be her child's father. Scum like that. She shouldn't have sperm to impregnate a woman in her eyes. It was just making her bitter.

This left her struggling to put on a grin as the man pulled up. Her brother's bride came in a beautiful but simple carriage led by white horses. By her side stood Alek who gripped her. They had talked about the wedding and he was mixed with his feelings. Part of him wanted to warn the girl and suggest she go home. But once the pregnancy came to his attention this became impossible. It annoyed Leila that he saw marriage as the only option when a child was involved. This was one of the many scenarios that showed her this world was all types of backward. His grip tightened as she gave him a glance that was awfully sour. The curly-haired woman wanted to be far, far away.

"Please," Alek leaned down to whisper into her ear. He pulled her close into a fake embrace to avoid drawing their attention. "Just play nice with him for her sake. I'm pretty sure he's going to take out his anger on her instead of you."

This comment made Leila roll her eyes with a little giggle. It gave no comfort knowing that her woman beating brother's temper tantrums was her issue. If she had things her way, she would march right over to him and sock him in the mouth. It wasn't fair that she, a tiny ass woman, had to defend herself against such a burly beast of a man. Seriously. But since he had the twins and numerous other bastards on his side, she had to be quiet. Leila would have her lie at risk if she showed too many of her cards. She rolled her shoulders to get rid of some of her anxiety. There were butterflies in her stomach that refused to settle down. It wasn't like she was afraid of the older man. It was more, so she was afraid of what he would do to those close to her. The servants would be in his line of sight for any of his rages.

"Cleo. I'm being serious right now." The two watched as the carriage came to a stop. The door started to open, making his embrace tightened.

The curly-haired heiress nodded and whispered back. She broke free of his hold with a sigh. "I'm listening to you, big brother. Now that's play our parts and get this over with." Leila put that fake grin back on her face as the door swung fully open.

The siblings watched as a dark-skinned leg poked out and a bare foot hit the ground. Soon it was followed by another as their owner slowly got out of the carriage. Leila was impressed by how beautiful the younger girl was. She looked hesitant to step out with a timid look painting her face. Long, loose curls spilled forward, covering her entire upper body. Her curly hair fit perfectly with the freckles that covered the majority of her skin that was visible. A guard came over, grabbing her hand to help guide her to the entrance. Where the two stood watching with avid interest. From the expression on Alek's face, she could tell he was curious. She had to admit that she wanted to know more about her, too. The fact that someone so small and fragile caught their brother's eyes was something.

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But that curiosity soon turned sour as the girl looked directly at her. Leila watched as she squirmed to hide behind the guard, trembling. Just the sight of the assassin sent her into a panic. The dark-haired woman sighed and resisted the urge to face-palm. It made perfect sense that she was scaring her. No one was unaware of her reputation these days. Everyone knew what she was accused of and what she boasted about actually doing. It would have been hurtful back in the day, but now she just accepted it. Soon enough, the girl would see that the accused baby killer was her only protection. Alek might step in, but she planned on telling him not to. His recovery was still underway and getting into a scuffle with his intimidating big brother would sniffle it. That was the last thing she needed. So, the assassin put on a large grin and extended her hand.

She leaned forward, her long hair falling forward while she grabbed the girl's hand. It felt soft despite the scarring on her skin. "Hi, I'm the youngest, Cleo. It's nice to finally meet my future sister-in-law."

The girl's reaction wasn't surprising, but still stung a bit. With a panicked gasp, she ripped it out of Leila’s gasp and held it to her chest. She continued to hide behind the guard, who looked stressed. The expression in her eyes was full of stress. The two siblings looked at each other with the same mindset. Clearly, she was fearful due to the rumors and truth spinning around about the assassin. Leila had no interest in scaring the teenager further, but she wanted to talk to her some more. Even if her sister-in-law stayed silent the entire time, she would continue greeting her. Putting on a loving front was an important part of her plan. This led her to step back to give the younger woman space. With her arms crossed over her chest, she smiled.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have touched you without your permission." She gave a brief but meaningful bow in a show of apology. A faint blush spread on her face in her fake show of embarrassment. "Please accept my apology. I honestly just wanted to make you feel comfortable with me. Since we'll be sisters."

Alek nodded his head and gave the girl a soft look. That was meant to help her feel more comfortable. "Cleo's just very touchy. But I have to apologize for the ambush. We were just so excited to meet you."

With a timid mumble, the girl looked down at her bare feet and played with her hair. Her lip was twitching as she debated speaking. It was obvious the killer's preference was making her feel unsafe. Leila couldn't blame her feelings that way. It earned her some respect in the dark-haired viper's eyes. It showed her that the girl while lacking backbone, knew better than to give in. She shouldn't trust so easily, especially while being on the estate. There were ears everywhere and no one would be on her side until she spent years married. And even then, Leila would recommend only trusting her children. Still, Leila felt a sting knowing that someone so innocent feared her. Having a stranger that was harmless be afraid of you wasn't fulfilling.

It was really sour. She directed her attention toward the poor guard, who was sweating a lot. "Please show her to her room and have one maid bring her a meal. My pig-headed brother probably forgot to feed her." The extra comment made the girl's mouth drop, but she paid no mind.

The guard nodded with his long, thick locks shaking atop his head. With a hesitant look, he offered a hand to the fragile woman. "Ma'am, would you like to go to your room?"

A panicked look was directed at Leila, who tried her hardest to look kind. If the girl came to her brother terrified, all hell would break loose. She gestured for the girl to say yes and felt pleased to see her warm up a bit. With bated breath, she accepted the man's offer and hurried off with him. Her bare feet slapped against the house's wooden floor. The footsteps echoed in Leila’s mind as she thought about what had just happened.