After diving for around fifteen minutes, her stepdad turned into a house in a nice residential area. By the looks of it, he was well off. Leah should have noticed it from the Lexus she sat in, but she rarely paid attention to cars. She however could no longer ignore it when she saw the two- story villa they lived in. It was by no means a great mansion, but it was in a very good area and had an extremely pretty garden.
She trailed behind the family as they walked towards the front door. Alexis was in front of her. Right after the couple entered, she stopped and turned around. Leah could not read her expression.
"We need to talk. Let's go to your room."
Leah was a bit surprised by the suddenness of her request but nodded. But there was a problem. She did not know which room was hers!
She plastered a smile on her face. "After you, Alexis."
All she could do now was let Alexis lead her into Hazel's room. That had unexpectedly solved a small problem for her.
Alexis nodded as well, then entered the house. Leah followed soon after. Curious as she was, she did not want to look around too much at a place Hazel must have spent a lot of time at, as it would look strange. In spite of that, she could not help but notice how much it felt like a home. It reminded her a little of Gu Feng's home, where she had spent a lot of holidays with his family. A wistful smile formed on her lips.
Alexis went up the stairs and opened one of the doors in the hallway. Leah took note of it and followed Alexis into the room. Alexis was already sitting on the bed when she closed the door. Leah leaned against the door and sighed.
"What did you want to talk about?"
Alexis sighed.
"You know, it would have been better if you confronted me and yelled at me, because I know for sure that you are angry. You behaving like you are not is very terrifying. It's like you are plotting to do something really bad to get back at me."
So it still had to do with Hazel stubbornly trying to find their father. She mustered her most sincere expression.
"I know it might be hard to believe this coming from me, but I really am not. You were pushed into a corner, and you could not do anything. It was also selfish of me to put everyone in danger like that. I have genuinely decided to let this go."
Alexis looked at her strangely.
"Are you sure it's not because mom warned you not to say anything to me?"
Leah shook her head slowly.
"I guess the only thing that would make you believe me is time. I find all that pointless now, and I want to move on."
"You want to move on? After all your arguments with mom that dad was innocent, you refusing to accept Uncle Huo because he was not your father? Are you the same person?"
Technically, she wasn't, but she could not say that, could she?
Leah laughed.
"Of course, it's me, Alexis. I just changed a little because I really almost died."
"Oh, so you seeing your life flash before your eyes was the only thing that could open your eyes? This feels so so wrong to say, but I am now wondering whether I should thank your bitchy course mates for doing that to you."
Leah frowned. "What happened?"
"You don't remember? Figures. They were sent to the police station after you were brought to the hospital. Can you imagine that your friends went to the hot springs while you were stuck in your hotel room for days? Well, Izzy broke down and said that she accidentally gave you an egg sandwich that had been left overnight. She just did not expect it to almost kill you. She claimed it was to keep you away from her boyfriend"
Leah was shocked and a little confused. Why would they do that to Hazel? Was she such a detestable person? From what Alexis just said about her, she seemed hardheaded and obstinate, but was it so bad that she had to be fed salmonella? Also, was Hazel really a flirt, or was this Izzy girl just insecure?
She had to learn a little more about Hazel, if she was going to be in her body. She pulled the chair that was paired with a study desk and sat down.
"I also did not expect them to try to harm me like that. I guess what this means is that I should be careful around people who appear nice to me. However,I don't want to dwell on it anymore; I have a request to ask of you."
"Fire away."
"I haven't seen my phone in a while, do you know where it is?"
"No, not really. It probably got left behind or stolen, since it did not come with your stuff. We could call to ask about it, or you could just ask mom for a new phone."
Leah only wanted Hazel's phone so she could learn more about her and who she was acquainted with. The only roadblock she would have faced was if her password was not written anywhere. In fact, it might have become troublesome if she could not figure out Hazel's passwords. She would have to create new accounts for everything, and all the precious data on Hazel will be gone. She would have to look for book or anything where that information could be stored.
"I think I should ask for a new phone. Alexis, do you think you could help me retrieve my old files?"
Alexis beamed. "Sure sis, that will be no problem, as long as you backed everything up properly."
"Even if I have forgotten my passwords?"
"That might cause problems, but it will be fine when we retrieve your number."
That gave Leah some relief. Even if not all, she could still find out a little about Hazel.
It became silent between them for a few moments, then Alexis lowered her head.
"It would make me very happy if what you said about letting go of dad is true. You know, Uncle Huo is a great guy, I hope you give him a chance to show you that."
Leah stared at her for a while, then got up and sat next to her on the bed. "You know, Alexis, I think you are right. I just hope it's not too late to make things right."
"It is not, and I believe you have changed. You did not even get mad when I mentioned him. Before, you would have bitten my head off for saying that." Alexis said with a sideways glance.
Leah smiled fondly. Hazel's little sister was a keeper. She was a little jealous of Hazel. She spoke again.
"Alexis, I am sorry if I ever put pressure on you to help me find our father. I have been very selfish."
Alexis looked stunned. She turned up at her with a bewildered expression. Her eyes were a bit watery. She looked down.
"I did not expect you to say it, and I did not know I needed to hear it. Thank you for that."
Leah smiled too. It was not in her place to do what she did, but it felt right, and her guess turned out to be right in the end.
After that, neither of them knew what to say. Alexis gave an awkward excuse and dashed out of her room. Leah then leaned back and slumped onto her bed with a smile. A nap would do her some good.