An Insignificant Person
1325 Words
The next day.
As the most distinguished socialite in Los Angeles, Leah maintained a strict daily routine. She woke up at 6:30 AM sharp every morning. Before marriage, while living in *The Evans Family* estate, she took care of her parents. After marriage, at *Orchard View Villa*, if Frederick was home, she would thoughtfully tend to his needs.
He had a habit of morning runs.
She would wait by the door for him, handing him a clean towel. While he washed up, she would personally prepare breakfast.
Today was different.
After his workout, Frederick didn’t see her waiting beneath the pear blossom tree. He entered the villa, changed his clothes, and went downstairs—still no sign of her.
He stopped Holly, who was passing by, and asked, “Where is she?”
“The madam is still asleep.”
It was already 7:30 AM.
That was certainly unlike her.
At this hour, if Frederick was home, Leah would usually be in the kitchen making breakfast. Even if he wasn’t, she would be sitting on the chaise lounge by the window, reading various books.
Holly hesitated before asking, “Sir, would you like me to wake her?”
Frederick replied, “No need.”
He walked over to the sofa, picked up the financial newspaper he hadn’t finished reading.
At 8:00 AM, Holly brought him morning tea. The second floor remained quiet. Leah was still asleep.
At 8:30 AM, Holly delivered pre-breakfast fruit. Upstairs, still no movement.
By 9:00 AM, a car drove into the tree-lined driveway.
The man who entered was dressed in a black tactical jacket. He took off his sunglasses and strode towards Frederick. “I heard from your assistant that you returned from your business trip, so I came right away! That cross-border deal you handled was brilliant—those old board members who used to question you don’t even dare to make a sound now!”
Harrison Carter glanced around and asked, “Where’s Leah?”
As soon as he spoke, he noticed the slight chill in Frederick’s gaze and quickly corrected himself. “Sorry, that slipped out. Just asking.”
Everyone knew that Frederick and Leah didn’t have a good relationship.
Their marriage was an arrangement by their elders—polite and respectful, but distant. However, no one dared to openly slight Leah.
Frederick was a man who protected his own. Even if the marriage was arranged and lacked an emotional foundation, he still ensured she received due respect.
Harrison disliked Leah but followed Frederick’s orders to address her as *sister-in-law*.
Because Frederick had once taught him: *A person should have manners.*
Still, when it came to Leah, Harrison had to force himself to act civil. He grumbled, “Leah was picked by Quinlan for you. She’s Quinlan’s informant, planted to keep an eye on you. She’s good at it, too—two years, and she hasn’t slipped up even once.”
Quinlan was the matriarch of *The Carter Family*—Frederick’s nominal mother.
Over two decades ago, Alexander Carter went abroad for work and used his British citizenship to marry Frederick’s biological mother. It wasn’t until Frederick was four or five that his mother discovered Alexander already had a wife in Los Angeles.
Heartbroken by her poor judgment and sympathizing with Quinlan, who had suffered the same deception, she decided to take Frederick and leave. However, Quinlan hired an assassin, and his mother died on a cold, rainy night.
For years, Frederick had been dodging Quinlan’s attempts to have him killed. It wasn’t until five years ago, when he made a name for himself in securities investment, that he was able to return safely.
He was highly talented.
A sharp businessman, a formidable leader—he managed the company with precision. Over the years, he climbed the ranks from the bottom, eventually securing his position as CEO of *Carter Enterprises Group*.
Quinlan feared him.
She regretted not having him eliminated back then, as she had done to his mother.
Now that he had returned, it was even harder for her to act against him.
So, to keep him in check, she planted a spy by his side. Under the pretense of choosing a wife for him, she had essentially assigned him a walking surveillance device.
Yet, whether this *monitor* was too incompetent or too good at pretending, they had found no evidence of Leah ever secretly contacting Quinlan in these two years.
Just then, footsteps echoed from upstairs.
Leah appeared, wearing a blush-pink, waist-cinching slip dress, paired with a white knitted cardigan. The early spring breeze carried the scent of flowers through the open window, lifting the hem of her dress, which lightly brushed against her fair and slender ankles. She exuded a softness reminiscent of a young girl, yet with a woman’s allure.
She wasn’t wearing makeup.
Her petite face was smooth and fair, her lips untouched by gloss. A loosely braided fishtail plait rested lazily on her left shoulder. As she descended the stairs, she lowered her eyes, watching her steps while gently lifting her skirt.
For a fleeting moment—
She seemed even more captivating than the spring scenery outside.
Harrison’s eyes widened like saucers. He stared in stunned silence for several seconds.
His impression of Leah had always been dull—her clothing conservative, her presence lifeless, like the withered twilight of late autumn. She had never radiated such vibrancy.
But today, she seemed like a different person.
This wasn’t Leah.
The first to greet her was Holly. The housekeeper’s eyes gleamed. “Madam, are you heading out? You look absolutely gorgeous today—truly breathtaking.”
She looked *alive*.
This was how a woman her age was supposed to be—radiant and free-spirited.
Leah responded with a soft *“Mm, I have something to do.”*
As soon as she spoke, she sensed an intense gaze from within the living room.
Turning her head, she met Frederick’s eyes directly.
He was a man of cold and solitary nature, inherently unreadable. The gold-rimmed glasses on his face only deepened the mystery around him. His emotions were buried so deep that Leah couldn’t discern anything beyond his dark, piercing gaze.
She looked away.
Then she noticed Harrison’s untamed, rebellious face.
Harrison wasn’t related to Frederick by blood, yet they were closer than real brothers. Their bond ran deep.
Two years ago, at *The Carter Family* and *The Evans Family*’s engagement ceremony, the room had been filled with esteemed elders. No one dared to speak out—except for seventeen-year-old Harrison, who stormed forward and objected.
“Why should Frederick marry her?”
“My brother should choose his own wife.”
“What makes you think you can decide his future in just a few words? Just because you’re old and at death’s door?”
His protest was useless.
Leah and Frederick still got married.
Afterward, she and Harrison would cross paths—at *Orchard View Villa*, at *The Carter Family’s* main estate.
His gaze was always sharp and unyielding, his attitude arrogant and defiant. But he still greeted her.
Harrison *hated* her.
The only respect he showed came from Frederick’s orders.
Leah didn’t speak to either of them. She retracted her gaze and turned toward the dining room, asking as she walked, “Holly, what’s for breakfast?”
Holly replied, “Madam, I made your favorite—salmon pasta.”
The two walked away, their voices fading.
Harrison stared at Leah’s departing figure for a long time. Then he turned to Frederick, his jaw still slack.
“You saw that too, right? She’s acting weird. Did she take the wrong medicine? Why is she so different from before? She, she, she—”
She *was* different.
Frederick had already noticed it last night.
This morning only confirmed it.
Unlike Harrison’s shock and disbelief, Frederick remained expressionless. He set down his financial newspaper and merely said—
“Adjust your attitude.”
- Writer
