CHAPTER FORTY ONE

Leo got to the storage room and tried to open the door but it was locked.
"Lia" Leo called out and banged on the door but there wasn't any response.
"Lia are you in there?" Leo asked.
Lia tried to reply to Leo, but she couldn't find her voice. She took one of her heels and weakly threw it against the door.
Leo immediately understood the message.
"Please move away from the door, Lia," Leo said.
Lia managed to crawl to a safe distance away from the door.
Leo waited a bit before he began to kick the door ruthlessly until it broke down.
The cold air of the room hit Leo making him shiver. Leo saw Lia laying down on the floor.
He quickly went towards her and carried her bridal style. She was burning up from a fever. Lia could barely keep consciousness.
"Black call a..." Leo stopped mid-sentence after remembering that Mr. Black had not yet returned.
Leo carried her to the car and put her in the back seat to lay down. He sped home, not caring about breaking the traffic rules or bumping into another vehicle.
Again, Leo picked her up and carried her to their bedroom. He dropped her on the bed and went into the bathroom to fill the tub with cold water.
Leo began to help Lia out of her clothes slowly and carefully, not to hurt her, until he got rid of every form of fabric on her body.
He tried his best not to stare too much. He didn't want to get too enticed and do something that would make Lia hate him.
Leo put Lia into the cold water. The cold feeling made Lia wake up and caused her to jerk up a little.
Lia shivered profoundly from how cold the water was. Leo took the shower head from its stand and ran water on Lia's head.
He did that until Lia's temperature had dropped. He then grabbed a big towel and engulfed Lia's body in it. He made sure to dry every drop of water on her skin and wrapped her hair in a smaller towel.
He got some warm clothes and put them on her. He tuckened her under the bed covers.
"I'm hungry" Lia mumbled barely conscious.
"Wait here. I will go and prepare you something to eat" Leo said and pecked her beside her lips.
Leo went down to the kitchen and began to cook. He prepared Lia, a special soup that his biological mother used to make him anytime he fell sick, before she died.
Leo grabbed medicine from one of the kitchen cabinets. He rushed back to Lia with the bowl of soup and medicine.
He helped Lia sit up a bit, so she can take the medicine and eat.
Leo put the medicine in her mouth but she spat it out.
"It's bitter," Lia said and turned her head the other way.
Leo grabbed a napkin and used it to wipe off the wasted medicine from Lia's chin.
"You have to take the medicine so that you can get better," Leo told her.
"No, I don't want it. It's too bitter" Lia said and shook her head.
"Ok, I wouldn't give it to you," Leo told her.
He put some of the medicine into the soup and mixed it.
"It's time to eat," Leo said and brought the bowl closer to her face.
Her nose instantly captured the scent and her tummy grumbled.
"It smells delicious," Lia said and smiled at Leo.
Leo took a spoon full of soup and put it in Lia's mouth.
"It's a little bitter" Lia frowned.
"But I will manage it because my handsome husband prepared it specially for me" Lia added.
Leo fed her the soup until she claimed that she was stuffed.
"Thank you, Leo," Lia said.
Leo lifted the tray and was about to leave, but Lia stopped him from doing so. She held unto the hem of his shirt.
"Don't go. please don't leave me alone" Lia begged Leo.
Leo put the tray aside.
He got rid of his work clothes and changed into something comfier.
He got in bed with Lia, and as if there was a magnetic pull. Lia attached herself to his body.
Leo stared intensely at Lia as he wondered who could have locked her in that room and why?.
He was going to make sure whoever it was that did that would pay dearly.

***

***"Who are you? How do you know me? What do you want from me?" Diana asked these questions without giving Mr. Black a chance to reply to her.
" We haven't ordered anything yet, my throat feels dry" Mr. Black complained as he touched his throat.
A waiter came by to ask them what they wanted to order.
" Black coffee, no sugar. Anything for the lady?" Diana shook her head.
" Very well then, you may go" Mr. Black dismissed the waiter.
" Who are you?" Diana asked Mr. Black again.
" My name is Gideon Black, call me Mr. Black"
" How did you find me?"
" I must say, You are really good at hiding. It took me a lot of time before I could finally find you"
The waiter came back and dropped Mr. Black's coffee on the table.
Mr. Black muttered a quick thanks and refocused his attention on Diana.
" What do you want from me?" Diana asked.
Mr. Black took a sip of the coffee and then licked his lips.
" Answers" He replied to her question.
Diana frowned.
"To what?" She asked.
"Why did you leave your home twenty years ago?" Mr. Black asked.
"I have to go," Diana said and stood up.
"She is alive" Mr. Black stated catching Diana's attention.
She gave him a questioning look, asking him who he was talking about.
"Your daughter," Mr. Black said and Diana sat down again.
"No, my daughter is dead. She died along with my husband twenty years ago"
"No, you are wrong. Ameliana is alive"
"But how?"
"She was saved the night of the accident by my parents"
Tears ran down Diana's eyes as she heard the news.
"How is she?" Diana asked.
"She is doing fine, the accident only caused a little damage to her mental health. She doesn't remember anything from before the accident though"
"My poor daughter" Diana cried out.
"Where is she now?" Diana asked.
"In good hands"
"Tell me something, why look for me now? I mean, I have already missed too many years of her life, for me to just appear out of nowhere claiming that I'm her mother" Diana said.
" Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to reunite the both of you. I came for something else. Now answer my question, why did you leave back then?"
" I fought with my husband so we decided to take a break from each other. Then I heard about the accident. That's why I never came back." Diana said with a straight face.
" On the same day, you went missing your husband searched everywhere for you like a mad dog. That wouldn't have been the case if you two really fought. Why don't you stop lying and tell me the truth"
" I..."***