Chapter 63- SHADOW

'You liar, you told me that Leonardo would be mine so what happened?" Rhea spoke to the person in the dark.

Rhea paced the floors of her new home and once again, things were not going her way. Frustrated that that things were not gong as well as she would have hoped for it to go, she turned her attention to her partner in crime. Not impressed by his anger, her partner in crime stood firm and avoided her Rhea's tantrums and rolled their eyes.

'If I knew you would react like this, I would never have chosen you" Rhea continued to rant but it seemed as though the more she ranted the less her partner payed attention to her.

'You fail to understand that everything takes time. As I told you before, I am working on it" Rhea stood still as her partner in crime explained. But the last things she wanted was to listen to tall tales.

'That's not enough!" Rhea yelled aloud, picking up a glass lamp besides the cupboard and throwing it onto the floor, she watched as the lamp broke into a million pieces, she felt mildly satisfied.

Smiling at herself like a cool villain, knowing that she destroyed something as much as she had wanted to destroy Leonardo and his wife. Turning her attention back to her partner in crime, her soft and venomous smile revealing nothing more than what a villain she was truly was and that brought her satisfaction but she was still annoyed that she could not get what she wanted right there and then.

'I do not care what you have to do to get my Leonardo back, but what I do know is that, I want him now!" Rhea yelled, slamming her foot onto the floor like a little child would when he or she could not get his or her way.

'Rhea, this is not a fairytale. This is reality and everything we do has to be planned to the ‘T'" her partner in crime warned her. She more or less understood what her partner in crime had explained to her but waiting for the right time to strike was what irritated her.

'But it's taking too long, I just want that homeless woman to leave my Leonardo for me. I have done all that you wanted me to do, I have moved out of my good-looking apartment and moved opposite them in this run down town" Rhea explained, frustrated that she had sacrificed so much and yet she had gained nothing in return for her efforts.

'Be patient Rhea, I will not repeat myself" her partner repeated but once more, calming Rhea down but only to fall short.

'Well, my patience is running thin. I have always wanted Leonardo and I will have him even if you will not provide me with him" Rhea told her partner in crime, her tone of voice coming out as a warning.

'Or you will do what?" her partner in crime questioned Rhea, looking real deep into the eyes, wanting to see what her next move would be. Her partner in crime had enough of Rhea's constant childish tantrums.

'I will get Leonardo all to myself and I will do that without you" Rhea threatened. Walking towards a partner in crime, looking at her partner in the eyes as though she had nothing but murder on her mind

'Without me you would never have Leonardo to yourselves. If I were you, it will be best you listen" Rhea listened to her partner in crimes threat but she still had doubts.

'I can take Leonardo if I wanted to" Rhea responded, choosing to be stubborn.

'Then why haven't you taken him all this time, why did you need me to help you make your plan a reality?"

'That is because—"

'Shush!" Her partner in crime tried shutting Rhea up but that simple action had only thrown Rhea in a deeper hole of anger.

'You cannot tell me to keep quiet, remember I am your boss!" She raised her voice.

'I said keep quiet, someone is at the door and let's not forget, no one should know that I am here. If anyone finds out who I am and that I am helping you then you will never have Leonardo to yourself. I am sure you do you want that?" Her partner in crime set a challenge for Rhea, who kept her mouth shut, knowing that if anyone were to find out the real truth, she would surely lose Leonardo for good.

'I have to go, as soon as I get more information, I will be back before you know it. Go ahead and act as though everything is alright"

'But who is at the door? I just moved in here" Rhea whispered as panic set in. Her partner in crime rolled her eyes in sheer frustration at how incapable Rhea was at handling unexpected situations.

'How would I know, it's your house isn't it?" her partner in crime responded and stepped out the back door. Rhea quickly turned around and she heard someone knock at her door once more. She gathered the last of a confidence and walked towards the door, her heels clicking onto the white tiled floors.

'Breathe in and out" She told herself as she paused in front of the door, calming herself down before she could open the door. She unlocked the door, plastering a pretentious smile on her face.

'Hello Rhea" Rhea could not contain her smile as she saw who it was standing in front of her door.

'Oh hi Leonardo, I didn't think I'll see you here. So what brings you to my house?" She asked Leonardo, who did not seem interested in responding to her questions, rather he looked upset about something.

Even without saying a word to her, Rhea could tell that Leonardo was indeed upset with her. His jaw clenched as he looked at Rhea up and down in an unpleasing manner.

'I bet you think that this is a game" Leonardo told her, looking at her dead in the eyes and not cracking a smile.

'I beg your pardon but I don't think I understand what you're trying to say?" Rhea responded, acting as though she was unaware of what Leonardo was speaking about. Leonardo however not impressed by her acting skills, he placed his hand firmly on the frame of her door.

'Rhea, I know you too well and I am very well aware that you moving opposite to my house is not simply a coincidence. Now I ask, what is it that you want?" He asked, his tone of voice indicating that he was clearly upset her.

Plastering a smile on her face, Rhea leaned closer to Leonardo's face as though she were about to kiss his lips.

'Well, I do not know what you're talking about, I simply saw an opening for house and I brought it" Rhea informed him, smiling as her lies left her lips.

'Lies!" Leonardo yelled at her, slamming his hand against the frame of the door. He quickly stopped himself from doing any more damage, turning around to see if any of his neighbors had seen his actions and he then turned his attention back to Rhea. Leonardo was angry to see the reaction on her face as she found it funny that he had reacted in such a manner.

'Well I must say, even though I hate your wife, she did turn you into a man's man and for that I must commend her for that" She responded, poking fun at Leonardo's ego which he did not find. However Rhea's worst mistake was mentioning his wife's name in an inappropriate manner.

'My wife is not a manipulating freak such as yourself, she is a good woman and I will always say that to you" Leonardo pointed his index finger at Rhea, willing to defend his wife's honor at any cost.

'Oh! Is that so? We'll just have to find out don't we"

'Is that a threat?"
'Like I told you Leonardo, I do not make threats. I simply make promises" Rhea replied, the smile on her face now gone as she stared at Leonardo with a serious expression on her face. Yet inwardly she was in disbelief that a man such as Leonardo would blindly trust his wife with everything he has.

'Well if you are going to make a promise then I suggest you keep my wife's name out of your mouth, your issue is with me and not with her" Leonardo explain only for Rhea's facial expression to go dark.

'You think so highly of your wife, don't you?"

'Yes I do, because she is my wife. I love her and I trust her and that is a feeling that I will never have for you. I think it is best that you get that through your thick skull" he informed her, pointing his own finger at her skull to better demonstrate how serious he was. Swallowing the lump in her throat that was built up of sheer frustration. Rhea put up a fake smile once more.

'Ok, if you say so. I will leave you and your wife alone"

'Is that a promise?" Leonardo questioned Rhea, knowing deep down not to expect anything but the worst from her.

'Leonardo, you know me by now. I do not make promises"

'Well then, I suggest you get moving out of this neighborhood before I decide to do something about" Leonardo told her. Rhea was taken aback by his threat. The Leonardo she had now when they were younger as far from the man standing in front of her. The man in front of her was not the scared and angry little boy that she had known in their childhood days, this Leonardo was a protector.

Taking her finger and crossing an invincible cross over her chest and stepping back from Leonardo, she smiled, her smile brighter than before.

'Well sorry Leonardo but I am here to stay and I am not going anywhere" She said, choosing to stand firm.

'You can stay if you want to, I mean I can't dictate where you live but what I will tell you is that, you should stay away from anything that has to do with me or my family" Leonardo warned her one last time before turning on his heel and walking over the road and back to his house. Rhea watched as he walked back to his house and smiled, knowing that her plan was coming together he had no idea what was about to hit him.

***

Leonardo walked into his house and shut the door behind him. Out of breath filled with anger as he had just spoken to Rhea. This morning he had opted not to go to work. For the past two days he had avoided going over to Rhea's house and telling her exactly what he thought of her due to Aurora being home.

Once his wife had gone to school, he had taken the chance and to go over to Rhea's house as he simply wanted nothing other than to find out why it was that she had moved across the road from their house.

Leonardo dug his hand into his trouser pockets and pulled out a folded note from his pocket, the very same note that had been bothering him and sending chills running down his spine.

He had no doubt that it was Rhea who could possibly have sent it. Someone had found out about his secret and the only person who could use that weakness to their advantage was Rhea.

Leonardo place the interior of his home as Eve had tried to figure out what to do to make things better the last thing he had wanted was for over to find out what a man he was back in his younger years and he did not want that reality to be revealed to anyone especially his wife.

Leonardo picked up his phone and dial the number as he waited for the person on the other end to pick up the call.

'Come on answer your phone" Leonardo spoke to himself as he paced the interior of his living areas like a mad man.

"Hello" Ricardo's voice rang through the phone. Having his friend answer the phone had settled him a bit, knowing that he was halfway to solving his problem.