Chapter 4 – A Small Victory

At first, Clare thought she was imagining it or that it was a misunderstanding, but as she continued working in the garden alongside him...

Standing up once she finished trimming the bush, Clare stretched her back while Leo imitated her.

Clare stared intently at Leo, but he acted as if nothing was happening while waiting for her next move.

'Is he playing with me?' Clare thought, as she didn't expect this situation at all.

It was... surreal.

Part of Clare wanted to ask him if he had a problem, but another large part of her was curious about...

How far would he go imitating her?

Clare took a step back, and he did the same. Then she took another step forward, and he did as well.

Focusing for a moment on her hand, Clare began playing with the scissors, making them spin while passing them from one finger to another with considerable precision.

This was a trick she had been developing for years in her spare time because she was allowed to use the scissors outside of work for maintenance.

Out of the corner of her eye, Clare watched Leo, and to her surprise...

He was doing it too!

This hurt Clare's ego a bit, so she decided to step up the level.

She couldn't lose at this!

Focusing even more, Clare tossed the scissors to her other hand while spinning to catch them and keep the spin going.

'Try this!' Clare screamed in her mind while looking at Leo and...

He dropped them.

When Leo tried that part of the trick, the scissors flew in another direction and fell to the ground.

"What the heck are you doing?"

The moment Clare heard Marta's voice, she abruptly stopped the spin of the scissors, making a small cut on herself.

"I was seeing how the work was coming along. I'm almost done..." Clare said as she turned to greet Marta.

For a few seconds, Marta observed her with disdain, but her attention shifted to Leo.

"Leo, what are you doing here?" Marta asked in a much kinder tone as she approached him.

"I came to help Clare," Leo immediately responded while looking at the state of the scissors.

Apparently, the fall had damaged them.

"I have a more important task for you, leave this to her," Marta said as she took the scissors from Leo's hands and tossed them to Clare.

Clare caught the scissors by reflex, closing two of her fingers. Leo frowned slightly at this.

"Fix it," Marta expressed with disdain.

Clare nodded, and Marta left the garden with Leo while talking to him energetically.

Silence.

Now, only the sound of the leaves moving accompanied by the singing of the birds perched on the tree branches could be heard.

Although Clare did not expect Marta's appearance in the garden, since she hated anything that could dirty her due to her obsession with cleanliness, a part of her remained just as happy despite her scolding, because...

She had beaten the damn perfect boy!