Chapter 4 Playing Up To Tim

Out of respect, the maid lowered her head before responding, "Mr. Mu just left a few moments ago. Miss Song, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to call for me."

"Oh, it's not a big deal. I just want to go out for a while," Leila casually replied. But deep inside, she felt trapped as the need to be wary of what she said was starting to overwhelm her.

"Mr. Mu told me that if you want to go out, you should ask the villa's driver escort you. Also, you have to come back before it gets dark," the maid politely responded.

With pursed lips, Leila calmly asked, "How long has it been since I arrived here?" Since she had no clue how long she had slept, she began to worry if there was anyone taking proper care of her mother.

"Mr. Mu brought you here yesterday afternoon," the maid meekly uttered.

"I see. Please call the driver for me. I'm leaving now," she replied with a hint of urgency in her voice. Without wasting another second, Leila went upstairs to get her phone.

At that moment, Leila was filled with guilt for leaving her mother all alone in the hospital. After spending the last few days there, she was sure there was no one massaging her mother's meridians, or even bothering to look after her.

The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. So as soon as she arrived in front of the hospital, she ran out of the car and went to the nearest elevator. When she got there, she happened to come across a familiar face.

This female acquaintance was startled to see here there, but managed to regain her composure quickly. With a sincere expression on her face, the woman took Leila's hand and apologetically said, "Leila, I'm sorry about what happened. I was forced to do it. I know Daisy looks innocent on the outside, but she's as vicious as a beast. If she didn't threaten me, I would've never done anything to harm or deceive you."

Leila withdrew her hand immediately and sneered in response, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? I've considered you as my sister for so long; I've even told you all of my secrets, but you still stab me behind my back just because that woman told you to do so!"

Leila was ready to go on a fit of rage in front of Astrid, the person she trusted most. She wasn't surprised that Daisy would do such a horrible thing to her, since they never got along in the first place. But the woman she saw as her own sister since childhood and the woman she trusted other than her own mother was the last person she expected to betray her. This horrible experience was like a slap of reality, leaving her to question herself if she really knew the people she considered as close friends. 'I can't believe how stupid I am!' Leila angrily thought to herself.

"Please Leila, you have to believe me. I only did that to you because she threatened me!" Astrid frantically uttered with teary eyes. But no matter how sincere she was with her apology, Leila was too disgusted with her to listen.

"You were threatened? Why didn't you tell me that earlier? I called you a few days ago when I was in this very hospital. Why didn't you mention it back then, huh? I bet that you're just mad that Max slept with me, right? If that's the case, I'm sorry to spoil your plans," Leila harshly sneered in response.

All those hurtful words would cause any woman to lash out, but Astrid managed to keep her head down, stand in silence, and clench her teeth, trying her best to not get upset.

"Ding!" The elevator finally arrived. Leila walked inside, leaving Astrid to just stand there. And before the elevator doors could close, Leila uttered her final goodbye to her old friend. "Ever since we first met, I've treated you with nothing but kindness. Because of that, I can't possibly understand why you would do such a horrible thing to me. I'm not a fool who will trust someone again after deceiving me. So from now on, it's better for everyone if we keep our distance from each other."

After that, the elevator doors closed. On the way up, Leila realized that she didn't see a single shred of anger on Astrid's face. But after everything that had happened, she knew she couldn't blindly trust what she saw.

Leila's mother was in a VIP ward on the sixth floor. Such a room would cost a lot of money, but Leila managed to pay all the hospital bills by herself using the pocket money she saved up for so many years. However, it would still not be enough if her mother was to stay there for much longer. But even so, Leila promised herself that she would never ask Johnson for any money!

When Leila got out of the elevator, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious. But when she opened the door to her mother's ward, she saw three uninvited guests inside, causing her anxiousness to turn into anger. With a fierce glare, she shouted from the top of her lungs, "What are you doing here?! Hasn't my mom suffered enough because of you? How dare you show your face here!"

The three other people in the room were a little surprised by Leila's roars. But all of a sudden, Johnson walked forward, coming across as a kind and gentle man, and said, "Leila, please calm down. It's saddening to see your mother in such poor health. I want to give her the best care possible, so I paid for the hospital bills for the whole year. Also, I hired a nurse to take care of her to ease your burden of coming here every day."

Hearing this, Leila couldn't help but roll her eyes at Johnson. Right after that, she walked forward, stood in front of him, and sneered in response, "My mother? Mr. Song, do I need to remind you that she is also your legally-wedded wife?! She's been here for so long. Why did you only visit now?"

As soon as Sophia heard the words "legally-wedded wife", her eyes flashed with ferocity. With a wry smile, she turned towards Leila and softly said, "Leila, as you know, your father is very busy with his work. He's the only man of the Song family, so it's natural that he has to shoulder a lot more responsibility than others. Please, try to understand. And if your problem is with me, just say it and I will move out of the Song family's residence immediately."

"That's kind of you. But I wish you told me that you were willing to move out earlier," Leila sarcastically replied. Right after that, she turned to Daisy, who was sitting in a corner with her head down in silence. "What's wrong with you, my dear sister? I'm not used to seeing you with your mouth closed. By the way, when is your wedding day? I'm sorry I forgot to congratulate you. I hope you still send me an invitation, so I can give you my big gift!"

Daisy's breathing started to get faster and faster, looking like her blood was getting closer to the boiling point. With the most resentful glare, she thought to herself, 'Why are you being so arrogant, Leila? I can't wait to see how cocky you can still be when Max finally dumps you!'

"Leila, I know you used to love Veron, but the Lian family is, unfortunately, no match for the Mu family. Please don't blame your sister for it. Besides, you have Max Mu now and you should just focus on him." Johnson intervened, causing the awkward atmosphere to disappear instantly.

With pursed lips, Leila thought to herself, 'This is good. He might finally reveal his true intentions. I'm sure he's using me to build his connection with Max!'

"I know. I won't blame Sophia and her daughter," Leila replied with a seemingly sincere smile on her face, startling the visitors in the room. The three of them couldn't help but ask themselves if they heard it right, or if it was just an illusion.

"Leila, are you serious?" Johnson asked in disbelief. His shock was written all over his face.

"Yes, I'm dead serious. I'll admit that I was a bit immature in the past. But now, if I offended Sophia, I won't hesitate to apologize anymore."

Leila replied while bowing her head down in respect. Johnson was caught off guard by this, causing him to place his hand on her shoulder and ask her with a surprised look on his face. "Leila, you're welcome to come back. Wouldn't it be better for us to be together as a family?"

At that moment, Leila was trying her best to suppress the rage and disgust she was feeling in her heart. With a smile, she politely declined. "I'm sorry, but I can't move back home. Max asked me to live with him and I already agreed."

"Good, good. You stay with Max then!" Johnson mumbled. He almost burst into laughter since everything went so great. Leila then softly uttered,

"But I would like to work for our company if that's okay."

"Why?" Johnson warily asked with a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

Casually, Leila answered, "No particular reason. It's just that Max wants me to get familiarized with our company's business. He said that when I'm good enough, we can help you out with the company." After that, she meekly lowered her head again as a sign of respect.

Seeing this, all of Johnson's doubts quickly disappeared. After all, the company was under his control. Even if Leila decided to do anything wrong, it wouldn't have any impact on the company with him around. She would just become another employee with no power to make big decisions. Thus, he agreed with conviction. "Alright. Is the position of deputy director of the logistics department okay with you?"

From the very start, Leila knew she would get a position with no real power. However, she was not in a hurry to exact revenge. All she needed was to get in so that she could slowly take back everything that belonged to her grandfather and put the murderer, Sophia, into prison!

"Johnson, are you sure about this? Leila has no working experience. If she makes a mistake, I'm afraid that people will start looking down on her and think that she only got the job because she's part of the family,"

Sophia worriedly said with a frown on her face. She wasn't familiar with the position Johnson promised to give Leila. And the thought that such a little bitch could gain a foothold in the company terrified her. There was no way she was letting someone like Leila take care of the Song family's daily affairs.

But how could an employee with no real power cause any trouble? "It's fine. I'm sure she can handle the work," Johnson replied while shrugging her off with his hand.

After hearing their back-and-forth banter, Leila couldn't help but sneer in her heart. She couldn't wait for the day that she could finally make this hypocrite of a woman pay the price for her actions!

Because of Johnson's confident reply, Sophia's frown grew worse. She tried to say something to change his mind, but before she could do so, the silent Daisy finally spoke out loud. "Dad, if you're going to let her work, please let me join her. I also want to learn about the company's business."

Hearing this, Sophia quickly turned towards Daisy and looked at her in admiration. At that moment, she couldn't be more proud of her daughter. Sophia was excited to see Leila's plans burn to the ground now that Daisy was keeping an eye on her.

"What?" Johnson asked in disbelief. But after pondering for a while, he gave in to her request. "Well, you will have to start from the bottom of the company. It might seem unfair but, your sister majored in financial management which makes her qualified to start at a higher position."

Sophia was immediately displeased with Johnson's reasoning. Her daughter, Daisy, graduated from a prestigious university as well. It didn't make sense to her that Daisy would be starting from the bottom while the little bitch got a high position. "That's fine with me.

Don't worry. I will study hard to make you proud," Daisy cheerfully responded. She didn't mind if she was behind. Especially since her idea was completely different from Sophia's. It was easier to make a sneaky move at the bottom!

A few moments later, Sophia, Johnson, and Daisy finally left the ward. Leila stood by the window with clenched fists to watch the family drive away in high spirits.

After a few minutes, Leila sat on the edge of the bed and silently watched her mother. Lillian's skin was as pale as snow, causing Leila to shed a few tears of sorrow. While holding Lillian's hands, Leila swore to her mother, "Mom, I promise you that I will get you the justice you deserve! I will definitely make that woman pay for hurting you! I won't rest until I see her behind bars! And for that man, even after you've done so much for him, he still treats you so poorly. I won't let his dirty hands ever touch your shares."

Seeing the sunlight fade away, Leila realized that she needed to go back that instant. She kindly asked the nurse Johnson hired to take care of her mother, then headed back to the villa. When she arrived, Max was still nowhere to be seen.

Late at night, the moonlight peered through her window, making the simple room look magical with all the reflections.

Leila was in deep sleep. She didn't wake up until a pair of cold hands touched her waist.

"Hey, it's me," Max softly whispered.

At that moment, the moonlight shone straight on Leila's face, allowing Max to see the trace of fear on her confused face. With a grin, he lowered his head and kissed the rosy lips in front of him.

"Wait," Leila mumbled while her body stiffened up in shock. Even though she had been mentally prepared, her heart was still in too much pain and suffering for such a moment.