Leo had a smile on his 821Please respect copyright.PENANA5oruytVrQv
face when he brought himself to a comfortable position. He never had 821Please respect copyright.PENANA6pgL1QdrdS
this excited yet happy feeling within himself just by staring at the 821Please respect copyright.PENANAKS2BlDHUyy
face right in front of him.821Please respect copyright.PENANAACZJdOR6kZ
It was morning and the 821Please respect copyright.PENANArWSQGoHaIk
sun rays managed to seep into his room giving it a wonderful golden 821Please respect copyright.PENANAbNBqc4sb0W
glow. But nothing in his room shined brighter than the woman sleeping 821Please respect copyright.PENANAliXnQWS9ky
next to him who had the lovely skin colour of bronze that shined 821Please respect copyright.PENANARqzrZSyv6J
brilliantly in the morning sun.821Please respect copyright.PENANAChiWtTJ9js
Carly had joined him 821Please respect copyright.PENANA4J4BNyBNmM
last night after she had watched a movie with Angel, Eric and Oliver. By821Please respect copyright.PENANALZZ5iLtZsx
then, it was already late, Kim had left a good two hours ago and almost821Please respect copyright.PENANAWgu5nLGuYU
everyone in the house had gone to sleep, except from the two love 821Please respect copyright.PENANAsMg6QEknoN
birds, of course.821Please respect copyright.PENANAH307PO5w4d
It was good she came, 821Please respect copyright.PENANAnrYUQE2g8U
Leo thought to himself as he continued to stare at her. She was still 821Please respect copyright.PENANA5isqiyURks
sleeping and she looked beautiful, no doubt in his mind that she was. He821Please respect copyright.PENANAXdlNYs3Pic
wished time could slow down so that he could look at her for just a 821Please respect copyright.PENANAJoKUebwF0L
little while longer. Sooner than later, he would have to wake her up.821Please respect copyright.PENANAjI2tTztFvO
He stretched his hand 821Please respect copyright.PENANAq1N7SItgIy
and ran it through her lovely silky black hair. For an African American,821Please respect copyright.PENANAoDIYoxmrgu
her hair was gorgeous. He tucked away a strand of her hair that was on 821Please respect copyright.PENANAMeB2Wmd0rZ
her cheek. When his hand brushed over her cheek, ever so gently upon 821Please respect copyright.PENANA4qhCFw53w2
pulling it away, her eyes slowly flew open.821Please respect copyright.PENANAzkVpF9LDvj
"Morning, sleepy head," said Leo with a smile.821Please respect copyright.PENANANmxQ4l0ILe
She didn't respond as 821Please respect copyright.PENANAKy3FT6e42j
she smiled through her sleepy eyes and closed them again. She still 821Please respect copyright.PENANAhvvZODXYni
looked so beautiful with that goofy smile on her face, he thought to 821Please respect copyright.PENANAJTmNAKBcqZ
himself. Leo chuckled.821Please respect copyright.PENANA46Q1JwAP9u
"It's already morning?" she asked as she opened her eyes again and looked at him.821Please respect copyright.PENANAOoZ7ttM7fx
"Sadly, yes," he replied. "You know what that means."821Please respect copyright.PENANARe3wDxuzmS
Carly groaned like a little girl who didn't want to wake up to go to school as she covered her head with the bed covers.821Please respect copyright.PENANAPXoMhGkyOC
Leo continued to chuckle. "Come on, you know the drill." He sat up and uncovered the bed cover covering her head.821Please respect copyright.PENANAMjdjOYlW3u
"Fine," she said as she gave up and sat up on the bed. "I really hoped that I could stay a little longer."821Please respect copyright.PENANAnqmF26POA8
"You're right. But I 821Please respect copyright.PENANA52wNUewtLU
better get you out of here before anyone wakes up. It might be a weekend821Please respect copyright.PENANAQFEQIn7K4i
but there are still a lot of early birds around here."821Please respect copyright.PENANAxtIWzMN8yx
Carly smiled at him. "Like you?"821Please respect copyright.PENANAnL8ZONqmfB
"Like my dad. Come on, we better hurry."821Please respect copyright.PENANAQBuOgOqlhn
They both got out of bed821Please respect copyright.PENANAciPc0g6wpl
and got dressed into their nightwear covering themselves with their 821Please respect copyright.PENANAeg6tNga7c1
sleeping gowns. They sneaked out of Leo's room and they tiptoed all the 821Please respect copyright.PENANAPrTCf54l3M
way to Carly's.821Please respect copyright.PENANAHNoQaZWUxo
"Thanks," said Carly in a low voice when they got to the door. "I'll continue sleeping and we will meet later on."821Please respect copyright.PENANAC7LeQbWcV7
"Great, I'll see you soon," said Leo as he smiled.821Please respect copyright.PENANAJZvjDtDu7z
Carly gave him a simple 821Please respect copyright.PENANA3fMhh7zz63
peck on the cheek and quickly went in her room. For a moment, Leo 821Please respect copyright.PENANAW6sV0gnFxu
couldn't help but stand there for a moment, lost in thought, until he 821Please respect copyright.PENANAfr2zyHs2uk
realised that he had been standing there looking at the door. He smiled 821Please respect copyright.PENANAvMJnKUlspS
at his stupidity as he made his way back to his room.821Please respect copyright.PENANArcMCL8bRQw
Just when he got there, he changed his mind and thought he really needed a cup of coffee.821Please respect copyright.PENANAUfhJ9SfVeI
He made his way 821Please respect copyright.PENANAIVG7c2Nqu6
downstairs and before he could make his way to the kitchen when he 821Please respect copyright.PENANAvG7yLhICbx
reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a noise coming from the 821Please respect copyright.PENANA5lf9yimT71
kitchen.821Please respect copyright.PENANAN92hSsLrtL
He wondered who could be821Please respect copyright.PENANATuwmBpfDFW
up at this early hour. He knew his dad was always an early bird, but 821Please respect copyright.PENANAlp4JFIsjtO
when it came to the weekend, Leo knew he wouldn't be awake for another 821Please respect copyright.PENANAAb8XpJVDXr
hour. He made his way to the kitchen and what he saw, shook him a 821Please respect copyright.PENANAxuHsz4Ev1E
little.821Please respect copyright.PENANAygWucHwPku
Angel was standing by 821Please respect copyright.PENANAVue2JjDoHH
the kitchen counter where she had put up the coffee maker to make some 821Please respect copyright.PENANAELOFBSaOzz
coffee. Her presence somehow didn't matter to him, but there was some 821Please respect copyright.PENANAL272xkIORT
thing that shook him the moment he got there.821Please respect copyright.PENANAW88ANI6y3b
Angel was standing, and not on a wheelchair.821Please respect copyright.PENANAeEnL32pCKL
Sensing someone's presence, Angel turned to the door. When she saw Leo, she neither gave an angry look nor a smile.821Please respect copyright.PENANAEVx3dbGwfg
"Morning," she greeted as she turned back to the machine on the counter.821Please respect copyright.PENANAgU4jARtxUI
"Morning," Leo somehow managed to say. "You're up early."821Please respect copyright.PENANAoSA4noitMG
"I just had to."821Please respect copyright.PENANAfE5fXt5FLc
"Ummm," Leo still 821Please respect copyright.PENANA65r6ozQ702
couldn't believe that Angel was standing in front of him. He expected 821Please respect copyright.PENANAxeEUcqgZ3d
her to be still on her wheelchair. "Are you going somewhere?"821Please respect copyright.PENANAm11bXUngye
"Thought of taking a walk to strengthen my legs a little."821Please respect copyright.PENANA0vacNSZILw
The coffee maker soon 821Please respect copyright.PENANAofdav3h1Qe
finished making her coffee and the room became slient. Angel went over 821Please respect copyright.PENANATjGPlozGtc
to the cupboard next to the sink to get a mug. There was a slight limp 821Please respect copyright.PENANAFYC52tZ2w2
in her walk, but all in all, she seemed okay and not in much pain.821Please respect copyright.PENANAkKk0MNDzWz
Just as Angel was heading back to the coffee maker, she noticed Leo's eyes on her. She turned to look at him.821Please respect copyright.PENANAqncSqWvstk
"Why are you looking at me like you've just seen a ghost?" she asked.821Please respect copyright.PENANA37jvkGvO61
"Uh..." Leo hesitated. "I'm just surprised that you're walking."821Please respect copyright.PENANA5am8OnduOk
"Why? You wanted me 821Please respect copyright.PENANAUtFPxqL7nI
confined to a wheelchair forever?" Angel raised an eyebrow at him before821Please respect copyright.PENANAQYNNE4WzAT
she turned towards the coffee maker and went over to it to pour herself821Please respect copyright.PENANAC6wOgEJdwO
a cup.821Please respect copyright.PENANAgpLO7M6wVG
"Umm, no. I'm just surprised, that's all."821Please respect copyright.PENANAjlIWo0QqKb
"The doctor said I should start walking around to strengthen my legs."821Please respect copyright.PENANAsWsuvHU32R
Leo just nodded his head but he was still in shock. He expected her to be confined to her wheelchair a little while longer.821Please respect copyright.PENANABeG0gYbOpg
"You still don't seem 821Please respect copyright.PENANADC2caPSLAO
happy that I'm walking again," said Angel, bringing Leo back from his 821Please respect copyright.PENANA1TDHq8HZEq
thoughts. "I hope you don't think that this will get in your way of 821Please respect copyright.PENANA4XCQkS2iig
things."821Please respect copyright.PENANARNno7ujvYP
Leo was the one to raise his eyebrows this time around. "What do you mean?"821Please respect copyright.PENANAMdDLTz2L2Z
Angel took a sip of her 821Please respect copyright.PENANA866NxzA0ky
coffee as she leaned on the counter and placed her hand on it. "You know821Please respect copyright.PENANAIANyDcrYVl
what I mean. I know Carly didn't sleep in her room last night. She 821Please respect copyright.PENANAMuFtKZL6ut
spent her night with you."821Please respect copyright.PENANA9tVP5N2bmK
Leo retaliated, "that's not true."821Please respect copyright.PENANAlP4qngFR3e
Angel smirked and Leo 821Please respect copyright.PENANA6K16UDwhJC
felt his cheeks heat up suddenly. He cursed himself from the inside 821Please respect copyright.PENANAB8lm591R8Y
still not understanding why he was feeling like this.821Please respect copyright.PENANAvMBciLeSHN
"Tell it to the person who is now able to walk up the stairs," she said.821Please respect copyright.PENANARasX23kVx6
"Does that matter? Carly is a grown woman, you know?"821Please respect copyright.PENANA5DRZ9Jjpnh
"Carly is a grown woman, yes, but that doesn't mean she knows that what she's doing might lead her into trouble."821Please respect copyright.PENANAi1bGlI7N51
Leo shook his head. "I don't think I want to talk about this with you."821Please respect copyright.PENANA3ygCk7nhPu
"You're right, Leo. It's821Please respect copyright.PENANApWMrVNsxN3
early in the morning and I would rather walk around the garden to 821Please respect copyright.PENANAI3tGyZdMCG
exercise my legs rather than talk about something that I know I don't 821Please respect copyright.PENANAPg13jmt4Os
have any control over."821Please respect copyright.PENANAM6Iday2NUr
Leo was a little shocked821Please respect copyright.PENANAuUnNCdpryC
to hear Angel talk like this. Was she finally giving up, allowing Leo 821Please respect copyright.PENANA5RiS6otE8Q
and Carly the chance to be happy? Or was she playing some kind of mind 821Please respect copyright.PENANAlecCh7bD5B
game?821Please respect copyright.PENANAEtC6XxvU54
She slowly made her way 821Please respect copyright.PENANA4uMvoze3Ue
to the backdoor of the house still with her coffee mug. Leo continued to821Please respect copyright.PENANAaGS1K9qufd
look at her and something came up in his mind.821Please respect copyright.PENANADlPcLOVYdq
"How do you know, Carly's room?" Leo asked suddenly.821Please respect copyright.PENANAWXPrDH7TeW
Angel stopped upon reaching the door and slowly turned to look at him.821Please respect copyright.PENANAFXR5gYnApb
"I beg your pardon?" she asked politely. Leo wasn't buying it.821Please respect copyright.PENANAPfELlkFJ59
"The time you came into 821Please respect copyright.PENANAWJ0w6u1ffJ
this house, you were still in your wheelchair and you never made it up 821Please respect copyright.PENANA8TgWcGgT5K
the stairs. So how do you know where Carly's room is?"821Please respect copyright.PENANAjlowvtzf5I
Angel smiled at Leo. 821Please respect copyright.PENANAoUcdBIKHSx
"Yesterday when Carly came home and after we argued in the study, she 821Please respect copyright.PENANAi0hsAlmjwi
invited me to come over to her room since she wanted to show me what she821Please respect copyright.PENANACSSypuLMIl
bought from the mall. With the help of two of the house helps, they got821Please respect copyright.PENANAEVm0b1k5Ag
me up the stairs and when they helped me back down afterwards."821Please respect copyright.PENANAb73E22rERt
"I don't believe you."821Please respect copyright.PENANAIqdt3IZRY2
"You don't have to, Mr 821Please respect copyright.PENANAcyAvVFvJrS
Detective," Angel gave him a fake smile. "I don't have to prove myself 821Please respect copyright.PENANAukJIqE7mLO
that I'm telling the truth because you would never believe me and it 821Please respect copyright.PENANAjPW2MatnPf
will clearly be a waste of my precious time."821Please respect copyright.PENANAaQVJylg0rH
Angel turned back to face the door and unlocked it. When she swung the door open, she turned to look at Leo.821Please respect copyright.PENANAG6JnBTuhzC
"I'll be heading out for821Please respect copyright.PENANAYiEEoIz2uQ
a stroll in the garden. I would have liked if you would accompany me, 821Please respect copyright.PENANAVs55PbtLtI
but, as usual, things wouldn't end so well, would it?"821Please respect copyright.PENANAtjHz26i6bH
Leo didn't have to 821Please respect copyright.PENANAZ2ACBRzHbV
answer that question and Angel didn't expect him to. She slowly walked 821Please respect copyright.PENANACzVKy27XbK
out of the kitchen as silently as she could and closed the door behind 821Please respect copyright.PENANA0ipxCyUhnk
her.821Please respect copyright.PENANAbpFw8J9XYf
Leo stared at the closed821Please respect copyright.PENANAJLMtRFQQ4y
door and he couldn't tell if he was angry at Angel like he always has 821Please respect copyright.PENANAd5rsC5Fbiz
or he was just surprised that she was able to walk around again. Either 821Please respect copyright.PENANANq5mxcj3sm
way, he forgot about making coffee and went back to his room, feeling 821Please respect copyright.PENANA73wFixPUEG
utterly disturbed.821Please respect copyright.PENANAUjwnBct4cX
***821Please respect copyright.PENANAdURqIoyiNx
In821Please respect copyright.PENANAJX0LcCCI9B
an hour's time, almost everyone in the McDonell mansion was awake. At 821Please respect copyright.PENANAof9NcqkGlS
the breakfast table, Mr McDonell and Amanda were having their breakfast.821Please respect copyright.PENANAzaxBfP6lA2
Leo and Eric soon came to join them.821Please respect copyright.PENANA2KCdiUCd0a
"Morning grandma, morning dad," said Leo as he sat beside his grandmother.821Please respect copyright.PENANA8YEaVyZyke
"Morning," said Amanda.821Please respect copyright.PENANAaGAZxourfb
"Morning," said Mr McDonell who was looking at his daily newspaper.821Please respect copyright.PENANA0RrorTteJ6
"Hope you all slept well," said Eric as he sat opposite Leo and Amanda.821Please respect copyright.PENANAHVAwUE4PVW
"We did," said Amanda with a smile. "And I can see you two boys slept well too."821Please respect copyright.PENANAB6CO6DVdkm
"I sure as hell did," said Eric.821Please respect copyright.PENANAQzgiDSiJqm
"And821Please respect copyright.PENANApNHh4BtFhX
Leo has this smile on his face," said Mr McDonell. He might have been 821Please respect copyright.PENANAipyafrZGel
looking at the newspaper, but he was pretty observant.821Please respect copyright.PENANAYTSYPdD7qA
"Do I?" Leo asked.821Please respect copyright.PENANAvGlfuYE12I
"Of course, dear," said Amanda. "That smile is even making you look more handsome."821Please respect copyright.PENANAtC3uOhgPUW
Leo821Please respect copyright.PENANAHug9xuI24o
continued to smile. And he knew the reason why. He noticed his cousin 821Please respect copyright.PENANA20Ij0QxLrG
looking at him across the table. Leo couldn't help but feel that Eric 821Please respect copyright.PENANAC5zYueswPM
knew the reason too.821Please respect copyright.PENANAjFOIEObQnn
"Do you have any plans today, boys?" Amanda asked as she drank her tea.821Please respect copyright.PENANAIOksA5t5Vi
"No, granny," Eric replied as he got two slices of toast. "It's a weekend after all."821Please respect copyright.PENANAh7gB5ubw38
"I just wanted to know. It would be nice to spend some quality time with you two handsome grandsons of mine."821Please respect copyright.PENANAM13AKWMaI7
"You would," said Leo. "We aren't going anywhere."821Please respect copyright.PENANAsrEaEGyd6j
"Lovely."821Please respect copyright.PENANAZAqpUcjisa
A few seconds later, just as Leo was pouring tea from the teapot into his cup, Angel walked in.821Please respect copyright.PENANATgIlI5sAK7
"Morning, everyone," she greeted.821Please respect copyright.PENANAWUnxcIXP91
Upon821Please respect copyright.PENANAkFWWYpkccc
hearing her voice and seeing her face, Leo spelt some tea on the table.821Please respect copyright.PENANAR329fECYcJ
Some almost poured on his trousers, but he was very lucky.821Please respect copyright.PENANAzQaalLjmfe
"Oh, my, careful, Leo," said Amanda. "You would have got burnt."821Please respect copyright.PENANAmDenfdiUoB
"I'm fine," said Leo as he cleaned up the spelt tea with a napkin.821Please respect copyright.PENANAAOfCY8T3NX
"Oh, morning, Angel," said Amanda, then she gasped. "I didn't realise that you're walking and not on your wheelchair."821Please respect copyright.PENANAzbuVFqoezF
Eric821Please respect copyright.PENANAt7m3htcNU4
quickly turned to look at Angel and he also looked surprised. Mr 821Please respect copyright.PENANAgvllcg3Gn1
McDonell smiled at Angel. Leo groaned as he realised that all that he 821Please respect copyright.PENANAkeWcTBHQPs
had seen earlier wasn't a dream.821Please respect copyright.PENANA5kGL2zODyk
"Yes, the doctor told me that I should start walking to strengthen my legs a little," said Angel.821Please respect copyright.PENANAuau1ylmcZ8
"Well, that's good," said Mr McDonell.821Please respect copyright.PENANAYtszgANLcj
Eric stood up from his seat and drew out a chair next to him for Angel.821Please respect copyright.PENANAHC1y9QDXXk
"You can take a seat here," said Eric.821Please respect copyright.PENANAaB2t8sLG18
"Thank you, Eric," said Angel as she slowly but gradually made her way to the table and sat down.821Please respect copyright.PENANA23v5luJg25
"It's good to see you walking again, dear," said Amanda.821Please respect copyright.PENANAq3LyvXvket
"It does feel good, Amanda," Angel smiled.821Please respect copyright.PENANAM0zUdJLoks
"So does that mean you will be going back to work anytime soon?" Mr McDonell asked.821Please respect copyright.PENANAskHssoZMoD
"I've been given more time from work to recuperate before I go back."821Please respect copyright.PENANACg7uPRqt1A
"Okay, then. If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you about something. And Carly too. After breakfast, that is."821Please respect copyright.PENANA3OmePkkg9t
Angel nodded her head. "Of course."821Please respect copyright.PENANAQLLB6W73aZ
Leo821Please respect copyright.PENANATcrv6b9QNZ
couldn't help but feel that something was up. Could it be that his 821Please respect copyright.PENANAECBhVKEmGd
grandmother had told his father about Angel working at the company? Leo 821Please respect copyright.PENANAEOG0kcuNuD
hoped she hadn't. And if she did, he hoped his father had disagreed with821Please respect copyright.PENANAj5IalApnB0
her and that he wanted to talk to Angel about something else.821Please respect copyright.PENANAPC5f1E3LWi
Angel821Please respect copyright.PENANAA03iaAPQ97
poured herself a glass of juice and looked up at Leo who had looked 821Please respect copyright.PENANA1JTywmWOY6
away after he realised that he had been looking at her since she sat at 821Please respect copyright.PENANAfiJ1dqHBkx
the table. Angel ignored him as she got some toast.821Please respect copyright.PENANA5EpZttOf0M
While the others continued to have breakfast, Oliver and his mother, Diana, joined them.821Please respect copyright.PENANAJMtK7z92Dv
"I'll821Please respect copyright.PENANADs6Lxt76ab
be in my study if you need me," said Mr McDonell as he drank the last 821Please respect copyright.PENANA8a8L1DXM4V
of his coffee. "Angel, you can join me in the study when you're done."821Please respect copyright.PENANAiQyWsYVPzs
"Yes, I would," said Angel.821Please respect copyright.PENANAY6YPKSM59A
Mr McDonell soon left the dining room.821Please respect copyright.PENANAdiTR5ocytE
"I see that you're not sitting on your wheelchair, Angel," said Diana.821Please respect copyright.PENANAD0YcrTPXO1
"Yes, I'm not."821Please respect copyright.PENANA0nWNsEeP6H
"That's nice," said Oliver. "It would be so much easier now taking you around."821Please respect copyright.PENANAEMbiEDiDky
"Why? You want to take me around the house? I never got that opportunity since I wasn't feeling too well."821Please respect copyright.PENANAW2ESnE119t
"Yes, I would."821Please respect copyright.PENANAlH7CvP2cuA
Angel smiled at Oliver, sitting next to her. "Charming."821Please respect copyright.PENANAfZ7H8INAUo
"I'm afraid that's the one thing all the boys have in this house, charm," said Diana. "And sadly, no one can say no to them."821Please respect copyright.PENANAU2U25vZmey
"Well, it doesn't work on me," said Amanda.821Please respect copyright.PENANAQRJm7o9PbH
Almost everyone at the table laughed, except Leo.821Please respect copyright.PENANAIk2C0F3EgN
"You can take me around the house after I'm done talking with your uncle, okay?"821Please respect copyright.PENANA6eRAdNkV6M
"Yes."821Please respect copyright.PENANAGf1z0pjg9i
Leo821Please respect copyright.PENANAfduRB7tUHA
soon found himself standing up, ready to leave the table. He had had 821Please respect copyright.PENANAhwZifQP9qN
enough of his breakfast and he certainly had had enough of everyone 821Please respect copyright.PENANAAsGiihsoTF
talking about Angel.821Please respect copyright.PENANAI5xrruw5pU
Surprisingly, Angel also stood up from her seat at the same time as he did. The two of them looked at each other for a moment.821Please respect copyright.PENANAacxq3iOTH1
"I'll be going to see Mr McDonell in his office now," said Angel as she drew away from the table.821Please respect copyright.PENANAUo68Sqw9ny
"You'll find us here," said Amanda.821Please respect copyright.PENANAxbvRB4Jf49
Before Angel could find 821Please respect copyright.PENANA6aXCHAqOLG
her way out of the dining room, Carly soon came in. And she paused upon 821Please respect copyright.PENANAnybpL2eE3k
seeing her sister, standing on her own.821Please respect copyright.PENANAZQzHlovuSr
"Wow, Angel," said Carly with a surprised look on his face. "You're walking again."821Please respect copyright.PENANAfEEM9E7BbO
Angel only smiled. "Yes," she said. "You should have your breakfast and come to the study."821Please respect copyright.PENANAaYJANsa2CN
"To the study? Why?" The excited look Carly had on her face, soon disappeared.821Please respect copyright.PENANA93QvLF5QL1
"Mr McDonell wants to have a word. You'll find me there."821Please respect copyright.PENANAPofrqCIyO1
Angel made her way out of the dining room while Carly stood there wondering what Mr McDonell wanted to talk about.
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