Leo looked at Emily after hearing her words.
"Oh… I see," he said. "By the way, when did you come here?"
Emily smiled lightly.
"I arrived yesterday," she replied. "I came for my friend's wedding."
Leo nodded.
"Oh, so you just came yesterday… I see."
Emily continued, her tone soft.
"Yeah… and when I heard you were here, I thought I should come and see you."
Leo looked at her for a moment.
"…I see."
There was a brief pause before he asked,
"So, how are you? And how are your parents?"
Emily smiled.
"I'm doing fine. And my parents are good too. What about you, Leo?"
Leo nodded slightly.
"I'm fine as well."
They started walking slowly through the garden, continuing their conversation.
But as they walked—
Emily's eyes kept drifting toward Leo.
She observed him quietly.
The way he spoke.
The way he looked ahead, lost in thought.
If there's no one in his life… she thought,
then maybe… I still have a chance.
A soft smile formed on her lips.
From inside the house—
Werren stood near the window, watching them.
"I see…" he murmured to himself. "Emily is here too."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I wonder what's going on…"
Back in the garden—
Leo and Emily continued walking.
Then suddenly—
Leo's phone rang.
He checked the screen.
Clair.
Leo's expression softened slightly.
"Excuse me for a moment," he said to Emily.
Emily nodded.
"Sure."
Leo stepped aside and answered the call.
"Hey, Clair."
On the other end, Clair's voice sounded a little worried.
"Hey… is everything okay? Did you reach home safely? I just wanted to check."
Leo smiled faintly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I reached home safely."
Clair let out a small breath of relief.
"Oh… okay. I was just worried."
Leo's voice softened.
"Hey, don't worry about me. I'm really fine."
Hearing that, Clair felt reassured.
"Alright… I have to go now," she said. "See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Leo replied. "See you tomorrow."
The call ended.
Leo stood there for a moment, looking at his phone.
Then he went back to Emily.
Emily looked at him and asked casually,
"By the way, I heard your father—Mr. Miles—is here too. My father actually wanted to meet him. Is he around? Can I meet him?"
Leo hesitated slightly.
"…Ah, well… he's not here right now," Leo said. "He left for a meeting a few minutes ago."
Emily nodded.
"Oh, I see. He must be really busy."
Leo didn't respond.
They continued walking together.
But this time—
Emily noticed something.
Leo hadn't looked at her even once.
His eyes were distant.
His thoughts somewhere else.
But Emily didn't let it show.
Instead, she smiled softly to herself.
Maybe he just hasn't noticed… she thought.
But it's okay… as long as I'm with him… I feel happy.
After talking for a while, they finally stopped.
"I should go now," Emily said.
"Yeah," Leo replied.
They exchanged a small smile.
"Take care," Emily said.
"You too."
And then—
They went their separate ways.
That night—
It was late.
Very late.
Leo sat in the living room with Werren.
The house was quiet.
Werren glanced at the clock.
"It's really late," he said. "Does dad come home this late every day?"
Leo nodded.
"…Yeah."
Werren sighed slightly.
"He must be really tired then," he said. "Handling so much work every day…"
Leo didn't respond.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
Just then—
The door opened.
Mr. Miles walked in.
He looked exhausted.
More than usual.
Werren noticed immediately.
He looks really tired… Werren thought.
I shouldn't ask him anything right now… I'll talk to him tomorrow.
But before Werren could say anything—
Mr. Miles walked toward them.
"Werren," he said, "you wanted to ask me something about the company, right?"
Both Leo and Werren froze slightly.
The moment had come.
Leo stood there silently, his heart beating a little faster.
What is Werren going to say…?
But then—
Werren spoke.
"Dad… let's talk about it tomorrow," he said calmly. "You look really tired. You should get some rest."
Mr. Miles looked at him for a moment.
Then gave a small nod.
"…Alright."
Werren turned and walked away.
Leo watched him, slightly surprised.
That's good… Leo thought.
It's better this way.
Even though it was just about the company—
He still felt uneasy.
Leo glanced at Mr. Miles.
For a moment—
Their eyes almost met.
But Leo looked away.
Without saying anything—
He turned and walked to his room.
Mr. Miles stood there quietly.
Then slowly—
He walked to his own room.
And once again—
The house fell into silence.
But beneath that silence—
Questions.
Secrets.
And tension—
Continued to grow.