Love My Friends with Benefits

I was taken aback as I held on to my phone.

I'd just unblocked Leonard's number when the phone rang again.

I rejected the call at the thought of my takeaway that was almost here.

Based on my understanding of Leonard, he wasn't calling to talk about anything serious.

To my surprise, my phone started ringing again ten seconds later.

What on earth was he up to?

Helplessly, I answered the phone. "Hello?"

Leonard sounded furious. "How dare you hang up on me, Queena!"

Why wouldn't I?

I could only think that to myself. After all, Leonard was currently my only way to see Grandma. I didn't want to get myself into a mess by pissing him off.

I explained, "I'm hungry."

He didn't believe me. "There's food in the kitchen."

"Is that even edible..." I couldn't help muttering at the thought of the salty bacon.

Leonard didn't say anything. All I could hear was his ragged yet suppressed breathing. It sounded especially scary in the quiet of the night.

What was he angry about? Could it be...

Something dawned on me.

Could it be that Leonard had really cooked that terrible dish?

My heart leapt to my throat and I asked apprehensively, "Leonard, did you cook for me?"

I felt a little regretful. If I'd known about this earlier, I wouldn't have criticised the food so thoroughly. If Leonard got angry because of this, I'd be in trouble. Fortunately, Leonard merely let out a sneer. "You wish."

This was great news.

I could rest assured. "You ordered takeaway for me? Thanks, then."

He snorted.

After that, he hung up with a loud bang.

It was probably from him slamming the phone onto its cradle.

I pouted and thought to myself how spoiled Leonard was. He'd ordered such disgusting food for me, yet he was also the one throwing a tantrum.

The fried chicken that I'd ordered soon arrived. I felt like I'd been resurrected from the dead as I gobbled down my food.

When I was done, I stood up, feeling satisfied. I wanted to throw the rubbish away.

When my eyes fell on the rubbish bin, I was stunned.

There were eggshells and the remnants of some plastic packaging in there. It matched up with the salty eggs and bacon that I'd had earlier.

I didn't know what to think as I clutched the rubbish in my hand.

It turned out that Leonard really had cooked that horrible dish.

Not only had I been unappreciative, but I'd also even criticised the food... Knowing Leonard, he was probably boiling with fury.

I wanted to call him to apologise. However, after dialling his number, all I got was a robotic recording.

"Sorry, the number you're calling is busy..."

Had he blocked me?

I felt a little dazed.

He'd told me to unblock him, yet here he was, blocking my number?

There was a saying that all men were children. I felt like Leonard was acting exactly like a child. Was he like this with Phoebe as well...

At the thought of Phoebe, my stomach roiled with disgust. I shook my head and dispelled all thoughts of her.

I told myself to just go to bed.

Since Leonard hadn't fallen out with me on the spot, perhaps there was some room for salvation. If he continued to reject my calls the next day, I'd go over to his villa to talk things out with him. Even if I had to forgo my dignity to beg him, I'd do it.

After making up my mind, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Leonard called me and told me to go see Grandma at three o'clock.

When he called, I was still in bed. I answered him groggily.

Leonard said a few more things, but I didn't catch them because I was yawning.

"The doctor said that she's doing well," Leonard suddenly said. "Queena, you'll be in for a surprise if you go see her today."

After that, he hung up abruptly.

It woke me up completely. For some reason, I felt like he'd placed an odd emphasis on the word "surprise". Something sounded wrong.

Moreover, I'd been half-asleep and had forgotten about the most important thing. I had yet to apologise for the food.

There was nothing I could do about it at the moment. I guessed it wouldn't be too late to apologise to him that night.

I shook my head and shooed away thoughts of calling Leonard back.

I lay down in bed again and fell asleep.

In my dream, Leonard's face suddenly appeared and smiled at me menacingly. "How dare you be so disdainful of food that I cooked, Queena? You're going to die a terrible death..."

I didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, he spurted fire from his mouth. "I'm going to kill you!"

He looked so savage and ruthless that I let out a terrified scream and was jolted awake.

I sat up, trying to catch my breath. After a while, I came back to my senses and realised that I'd been dreaming.

It was obvious that Leonard had caused me so much trauma.

After having that nightmare, I didn't want to go back to sleep anymore. I spent the rest of the day feeling nervous. When it was finally two o'clock, I grabbed my bag, put on a hat and left the house.

When I got to the hospital entrance, I pulled my hat down low to hide my face, afraid that the Jones family would see me. I was just about to head over to the cafe to wait when Gail's shrill voice suddenly rang out from behind me.

"It's all that little b*tch's fault!"

Were they talking about me?

I couldn't help but rejoice that I put on my hat. I turned around shiftily, still feeling worried. I even flipped my collar up to cover more of my face so that they wouldn't recognise me. Phoebe and Gail were walking out of the hospital together.

Phoebe was comforting Gail gently, but there was a certain ruthlessness to her tone. "Mum, don't be mad. I've got it all planned out. No matter what, I have to marry Leonard." "That's my girl!" Gail praised her with delight.

"I have to find a way to win Leonard's heart back over this time." After some thought, Phoebe said, "I'm afraid that Queena's going to cause trouble again, though. Do you have any way to make sure she shuts up, Mum?"

I couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat when I heard that.

As far as I knew, the best way to get someone to keep their mouth shut was... to kill them.

Was Phoebe thinking of murdering me?

Gail pulled Phoebe over to the pillar, looking surprised.

I sneaked over to them and acted like I was waiting for someone. I heard Gail say, "Are you thinking of..."

"Mum, you're getting ahead of yourself!" Phoebe laughed. "I just want her to stay away and leave me and Leonard alone. There are plenty of ways to shut someone up, and we don't necessarily have to use the most extreme one."

Gail was still doubtful. "Are you sure that you can win Mr. Nell over? Your wedding was just too..."

It looked like the wedding had traumatised Gail.

I couldn't help feeling a little pleased.

Phoebe shook her head, looking rather shy. "Everything's fine between us. Leonard's been constantly asking me out over these few days, hasn't he?"

Gail was reassured. "Then what do you mean?"☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐