Leo had a smile on his 793Please respect copyright.PENANAesOA7CPsxq
face when he brought himself to a comfortable position. He never had 793Please respect copyright.PENANAZKNfhFtCc7
this excited yet happy feeling within himself just by staring at the 793Please respect copyright.PENANAfeqboRhiC6
face right in front of him.793Please respect copyright.PENANA224sscDD2w
It was morning and the 793Please respect copyright.PENANAEv9clOBrkR
sun rays managed to seep into his room giving it a wonderful golden 793Please respect copyright.PENANAllJ2soQ71h
glow. But nothing in his room shined brighter than the woman sleeping 793Please respect copyright.PENANAA5kizZjQ3J
next to him who had the lovely skin colour of bronze that shined 793Please respect copyright.PENANALJkpVOSOUG
brilliantly in the morning sun.793Please respect copyright.PENANAIilJ0qaHQu
Carly had joined him 793Please respect copyright.PENANAWk1UEZjt30
last night after she had watched a movie with Angel, Eric and Oliver. By793Please respect copyright.PENANAB7xBnBG7b7
then, it was already late, Kim had left a good two hours ago and almost793Please respect copyright.PENANAOEoI0JQDHc
everyone in the house had gone to sleep, except from the two love 793Please respect copyright.PENANA16e1ZmqkhH
birds, of course.793Please respect copyright.PENANAu1nrDSwuQd
It was good she came, 793Please respect copyright.PENANAL70uk76cEb
Leo thought to himself as he continued to stare at her. She was still 793Please respect copyright.PENANAAyyD8B66Ad
sleeping and she looked beautiful, no doubt in his mind that she was. He793Please respect copyright.PENANASH9LPGHz6c
wished time could slow down so that he could look at her for just a 793Please respect copyright.PENANAFHUS463lW0
little while longer. Sooner than later, he would have to wake her up.793Please respect copyright.PENANATPt4pevX4n
He stretched his hand 793Please respect copyright.PENANAtEUoBWslIk
and ran it through her lovely silky black hair. For an African American,793Please respect copyright.PENANAUzVhNMTvve
her hair was gorgeous. He tucked away a strand of her hair that was on 793Please respect copyright.PENANANvxhNuhr0S
her cheek. When his hand brushed over her cheek, ever so gently upon 793Please respect copyright.PENANAqHsdl3O0SZ
pulling it away, her eyes slowly flew open.793Please respect copyright.PENANAy337ekHPtN
"Morning, sleepy head," said Leo with a smile.793Please respect copyright.PENANArM7TZc1HuJ
She didn't respond as 793Please respect copyright.PENANAsPJ9rWfRKq
she smiled through her sleepy eyes and closed them again. She still 793Please respect copyright.PENANApuAkTJsPBM
looked so beautiful with that goofy smile on her face, he thought to 793Please respect copyright.PENANA6N2BYcXxeh
himself. Leo chuckled.793Please respect copyright.PENANA0furlVlCRp
"It's already morning?" she asked as she opened her eyes again and looked at him.793Please respect copyright.PENANAZ3RddBlDHa
"Sadly, yes," he replied. "You know what that means."793Please respect copyright.PENANAIYlirWQh8o
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.793Please respect copyright.PENANAa7CTp3kRy3
Leo continued to chuckle. "Come on, you know the drill." He sat up and uncovered the bed cover covering her head.793Please respect copyright.PENANAvfRTsKIob3
"Fine," she said as she gave up and sat up on the bed. "I really hoped that I could stay a little longer."793Please respect copyright.PENANA8NN4VItcsA
"You're right. But I 793Please respect copyright.PENANAWuJqLNi7V5
better get you out of here before anyone wakes up. It might be a weekend793Please respect copyright.PENANA1m296Fzpsh
but there are still a lot of early birds around here."793Please respect copyright.PENANAYAZCIiiqPa
Carly smiled at him. "Like you?"793Please respect copyright.PENANAWN0kr3c1LT
"Like my dad. Come on, we better hurry."793Please respect copyright.PENANA9gg1f0AISc
They both got out of bed793Please respect copyright.PENANAY4LGi9fv0d
and got dressed into their nightwear covering themselves with their 793Please respect copyright.PENANAP39tCOphj1
sleeping gowns. They sneaked out of Leo's room and they tiptoed all the 793Please respect copyright.PENANAINT5V6rSc5
way to Carly's.793Please respect copyright.PENANA38ww79sjW1
"Thanks," said Carly in a low voice when they got to the door. "I'll continue sleeping and we will meet later on."793Please respect copyright.PENANA5sHDkJbeY1
"Great, I'll see you soon," said Leo as he smiled.793Please respect copyright.PENANAKSRL0VWg6z
Carly gave him a simple 793Please respect copyright.PENANAeQXqgJyfpQ
peck on the cheek and quickly went in her room. For a moment, Leo 793Please respect copyright.PENANA2mqUdV6BhP
couldn't help but stand there for a moment, lost in thought, until he 793Please respect copyright.PENANAe6jwY8Clq6
realised that he had been standing there looking at the door. He smiled 793Please respect copyright.PENANA8sE3TEZtMP
at his stupidity as he made his way back to his room.793Please respect copyright.PENANAQS8WUgaf9y
Just when he got there, he changed his mind and thought he really needed a cup of coffee.793Please respect copyright.PENANA70JXGwtEOZ
He made his way 793Please respect copyright.PENANAR8hEvm3lVg
downstairs and before he could make his way to the kitchen when he 793Please respect copyright.PENANA3Av5Orm93M
reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a noise coming from the 793Please respect copyright.PENANAkDiLGD2T6L
kitchen.793Please respect copyright.PENANAzcGitvm7B3
He wondered who could be793Please respect copyright.PENANArec0NlLOpl
up at this early hour. He knew his dad was always an early bird, but 793Please respect copyright.PENANATw6PHsAjXm
when it came to the weekend, Leo knew he wouldn't be awake for another 793Please respect copyright.PENANAgIWsmkKme8
hour. He made his way to the kitchen and what he saw, shook him a 793Please respect copyright.PENANAnVRWWi2uqh
little.793Please respect copyright.PENANAwFjlMnaiy2
Angel was standing by 793Please respect copyright.PENANAr0Pmd7XtU5
the kitchen counter where she had put up the coffee maker to make some 793Please respect copyright.PENANAJDWrB80QOa
coffee. Her presence somehow didn't matter to him, but there was some 793Please respect copyright.PENANAIhW2cFOAv2
thing that shook him the moment he got there.793Please respect copyright.PENANAkndNWFtLDI
Angel was standing, and not on a wheelchair.793Please respect copyright.PENANA7COznNSLzu
Sensing someone's presence, Angel turned to the door. When she saw Leo, she neither gave an angry look nor a smile.793Please respect copyright.PENANAPRq6oJa1tL
"Morning," she greeted as she turned back to the machine on the counter.793Please respect copyright.PENANARPQfwqOa6C
"Morning," Leo somehow managed to say. "You're up early."793Please respect copyright.PENANAcf3KeB0Huy
"I just had to."793Please respect copyright.PENANAHCBdiNYtrx
"Ummm," Leo still 793Please respect copyright.PENANARScPgTGiTK
couldn't believe that Angel was standing in front of him. He expected 793Please respect copyright.PENANAybh1MHlxz0
her to be still on her wheelchair. "Are you going somewhere?"793Please respect copyright.PENANAcvgyrW2t37
"Thought of taking a walk to strengthen my legs a little."793Please respect copyright.PENANAnNlqe21x3d
The coffee maker soon 793Please respect copyright.PENANAGCxoGIXzYq
finished making her coffee and the room became slient. Angel went over 793Please respect copyright.PENANAy6KgLB20kV
to the cupboard next to the sink to get a mug. There was a slight limp 793Please respect copyright.PENANAZq0iOjwaxw
in her walk, but all in all, she seemed okay and not in much pain.793Please respect copyright.PENANAzZkG1T0mTB
Just as Angel was heading back to the coffee maker, she noticed Leo's eyes on her. She turned to look at him.793Please respect copyright.PENANAS57RASR2q9
"Why are you looking at me like you've just seen a ghost?" she asked.793Please respect copyright.PENANA7xHqgZLP9X
"Uh..." Leo hesitated. "I'm just surprised that you're walking."793Please respect copyright.PENANAZSuawip8bE
"Why? You wanted me 793Please respect copyright.PENANAk6E4HMPwSK
confined to a wheelchair forever?" Angel raised an eyebrow at him before793Please respect copyright.PENANABJgli2BvJN
she turned towards the coffee maker and went over to it to pour herself793Please respect copyright.PENANA3uZyVaFCxc
a cup.793Please respect copyright.PENANAnbbvjHGhnM
"Umm, no. I'm just surprised, that's all."793Please respect copyright.PENANALxdC5Ag2Hn
"The doctor said I should start walking around to strengthen my legs."793Please respect copyright.PENANAlffuv4E7pf
Leo just nodded his head but he was still in shock. He expected her to be confined to her wheelchair a little while longer.793Please respect copyright.PENANAeNhEYgwXy8
"You still don't seem 793Please respect copyright.PENANA8Z7RTTDFvw
happy that I'm walking again," said Angel, bringing Leo back from his 793Please respect copyright.PENANAQow8st7iAE
thoughts. "I hope you don't think that this will get in your way of 793Please respect copyright.PENANAxXgl6Dzted
things."793Please respect copyright.PENANA8JQZJyTc5h
Leo was the one to raise his eyebrows this time around. "What do you mean?"793Please respect copyright.PENANAeDBl2hhKtn
Angel took a sip of her 793Please respect copyright.PENANAuArCbKc92n
coffee as she leaned on the counter and placed her hand on it. "You know793Please respect copyright.PENANAMX0SjjDuA4
what I mean. I know Carly didn't sleep in her room last night. She 793Please respect copyright.PENANA44Hrodc7vl
spent her night with you."793Please respect copyright.PENANA4idD3JBmci
Leo retaliated, "that's not true."793Please respect copyright.PENANAWKnLrvwiUz
Angel smirked and Leo 793Please respect copyright.PENANAjPuj7JW5VY
felt his cheeks heat up suddenly. He cursed himself from the inside 793Please respect copyright.PENANAmhwAESa0Nw
still not understanding why he was feeling like this.793Please respect copyright.PENANAcG7IWcVRan
"Tell it to the person who is now able to walk up the stairs," she said.793Please respect copyright.PENANAs3Yz5mrlAK
"Does that matter? Carly is a grown woman, you know?"793Please respect copyright.PENANAIwtv5ZCEYy
"Carly is a grown woman, yes, but that doesn't mean she knows that what she's doing might lead her into trouble."793Please respect copyright.PENANAf9Zxxry2Lj
Leo shook his head. "I don't think I want to talk about this with you."793Please respect copyright.PENANAIyvEQjDJM7
"You're right, Leo. It's793Please respect copyright.PENANApSHeOskzyK
early in the morning and I would rather walk around the garden to 793Please respect copyright.PENANAN4eXoOkhQY
exercise my legs rather than talk about something that I know I don't 793Please respect copyright.PENANAtWkkIvf57z
have any control over."793Please respect copyright.PENANAebRF7dzfIp
Leo was a little shocked793Please respect copyright.PENANARerRRl9GyH
to hear Angel talk like this. Was she finally giving up, allowing Leo 793Please respect copyright.PENANAC2pEBOa7YL
and Carly the chance to be happy? Or was she playing some kind of mind 793Please respect copyright.PENANASqOGmTpB3T
game?793Please respect copyright.PENANAfFHITRrxyK
She slowly made her way 793Please respect copyright.PENANAmSUSp6cA4i
to the backdoor of the house still with her coffee mug. Leo continued to793Please respect copyright.PENANA7wBRmZFzI2
look at her and something came up in his mind.793Please respect copyright.PENANALGeyWlFyNK
"How do you know, Carly's room?" Leo asked suddenly.793Please respect copyright.PENANArRdwhrE8VE
Angel stopped upon reaching the door and slowly turned to look at him.793Please respect copyright.PENANA5B63ES7ll8
"I beg your pardon?" she asked politely. Leo wasn't buying it.793Please respect copyright.PENANASIQDd0WjNE
"The time you came into 793Please respect copyright.PENANAGeQCGZftlP
this house, you were still in your wheelchair and you never made it up 793Please respect copyright.PENANAW9JuPtODRA
the stairs. So how do you know where Carly's room is?"793Please respect copyright.PENANAW8ECsUmdad
Angel smiled at Leo. 793Please respect copyright.PENANASPo5srtH5D
"Yesterday when Carly came home and after we argued in the study, she 793Please respect copyright.PENANAMbYOGBDPRW
invited me to come over to her room since she wanted to show me what she793Please respect copyright.PENANASh4K3hJciS
bought from the mall. With the help of two of the house helps, they got793Please respect copyright.PENANAyAhxwx6602
me up the stairs and when they helped me back down afterwards."793Please respect copyright.PENANAeBkURH6w6W
"I don't believe you."793Please respect copyright.PENANADqP79QPyWB
"You don't have to, Mr 793Please respect copyright.PENANAaKlHXFg43h
Detective," Angel gave him a fake smile. "I don't have to prove myself 793Please respect copyright.PENANA0vp7ywd6lE
that I'm telling the truth because you would never believe me and it 793Please respect copyright.PENANAFAl9fBrxKL
will clearly be a waste of my precious time."793Please respect copyright.PENANA8Rk3rijCvH
Angel turned back to face the door and unlocked it. When she swung the door open, she turned to look at Leo.793Please respect copyright.PENANAE2fFvBzWtO
"I'll be heading out for793Please respect copyright.PENANAZgwnJCzCbb
a stroll in the garden. I would have liked if you would accompany me, 793Please respect copyright.PENANAwS4PrPsMxk
but, as usual, things wouldn't end so well, would it?"793Please respect copyright.PENANA9QYBiC32NC
Leo didn't have to 793Please respect copyright.PENANAy9XUp9TRwY
answer that question and Angel didn't expect him to. She slowly walked 793Please respect copyright.PENANANEPVvPA5xy
out of the kitchen as silently as she could and closed the door behind 793Please respect copyright.PENANATERNQqjY0g
her.793Please respect copyright.PENANAg3UqBIHKh1
Leo stared at the closed793Please respect copyright.PENANAw2b5qoYBLD
door and he couldn't tell if he was angry at Angel like he always has 793Please respect copyright.PENANAw1FAf8yRoN
or he was just surprised that she was able to walk around again. Either 793Please respect copyright.PENANAsAtxXOG7Sg
way, he forgot about making coffee and went back to his room, feeling 793Please respect copyright.PENANAZbgKY5DIzZ
utterly disturbed.793Please respect copyright.PENANAPiPN1NDefa
***793Please respect copyright.PENANAxZFVsm9tiR
In793Please respect copyright.PENANAtq7aYy34ys
an hour's time, almost everyone in the McDonell mansion was awake. At 793Please respect copyright.PENANA6TZmxFRyIm
the breakfast table, Mr McDonell and Amanda were having their breakfast.793Please respect copyright.PENANAbAYBYHRoxF
Leo and Eric soon came to join them.793Please respect copyright.PENANAfZFpIYByEj
"Morning grandma, morning dad," said Leo as he sat beside his grandmother.793Please respect copyright.PENANAGhopxANyAe
"Morning," said Amanda.793Please respect copyright.PENANAEEHX1syIww
"Morning," said Mr McDonell who was looking at his daily newspaper.793Please respect copyright.PENANAaW1yHOSOwP
"Hope you all slept well," said Eric as he sat opposite Leo and Amanda.793Please respect copyright.PENANA0KrQi7o1mU
"We did," said Amanda with a smile. "And I can see you two boys slept well too."793Please respect copyright.PENANAIJHTt5x2vl
"I sure as hell did," said Eric.793Please respect copyright.PENANAont9tts7g1
"And793Please respect copyright.PENANA3nCCY44OHR
Leo has this smile on his face," said Mr McDonell. He might have been 793Please respect copyright.PENANAjcTjsJapZV
looking at the newspaper, but he was pretty observant.793Please respect copyright.PENANA0zFy6s1hgW
"Do I?" Leo asked.793Please respect copyright.PENANAJBqbMcS7gT
"Of course, dear," said Amanda. "That smile is even making you look more handsome."793Please respect copyright.PENANAZXI9lUskfS
Leo793Please respect copyright.PENANAzxqZdwnIgu
continued to smile. And he knew the reason why. He noticed his cousin 793Please respect copyright.PENANAEWlVpuDQAH
looking at him across the table. Leo couldn't help but feel that Eric 793Please respect copyright.PENANAqrSaW6rV89
knew the reason too.793Please respect copyright.PENANAwRGkW7Qiq4
"Do you have any plans today, boys?" Amanda asked as she drank her tea.793Please respect copyright.PENANAB1bV1KrZPv
"No, granny," Eric replied as he got two slices of toast. "It's a weekend after all."793Please respect copyright.PENANAJNeVIg9cU2
"I just wanted to know. It would be nice to spend some quality time with you two handsome grandsons of mine."793Please respect copyright.PENANAylJCzjwBI9
"You would," said Leo. "We aren't going anywhere."793Please respect copyright.PENANAfq1gm2IMNm
"Lovely."793Please respect copyright.PENANAo7o5qFDQND
A few seconds later, just as Leo was pouring tea from the teapot into his cup, Angel walked in.793Please respect copyright.PENANAmqHnYXwxS6
"Morning, everyone," she greeted.793Please respect copyright.PENANATK8elQd4Go
Upon793Please respect copyright.PENANA5tLqMqDAoG
hearing her voice and seeing her face, Leo spelt some tea on the table.793Please respect copyright.PENANAAG9Epb7hfG
Some almost poured on his trousers, but he was very lucky.793Please respect copyright.PENANAVxZ2O5vMNe
"Oh, my, careful, Leo," said Amanda. "You would have got burnt."793Please respect copyright.PENANA8GaIVv0WHL
"I'm fine," said Leo as he cleaned up the spelt tea with a napkin.793Please respect copyright.PENANAYZGGgSVGdQ
"Oh, morning, Angel," said Amanda, then she gasped. "I didn't realise that you're walking and not on your wheelchair."793Please respect copyright.PENANALkBahANpVk
Eric793Please respect copyright.PENANAfhzuX5YvLN
quickly turned to look at Angel and he also looked surprised. Mr 793Please respect copyright.PENANABorpd6vgFI
McDonell smiled at Angel. Leo groaned as he realised that all that he 793Please respect copyright.PENANAruXTMuKayo
had seen earlier wasn't a dream.793Please respect copyright.PENANAEOP1tKijJB
"Yes, the doctor told me that I should start walking to strengthen my legs a little," said Angel.793Please respect copyright.PENANAtHj5pr8UGZ
"Well, that's good," said Mr McDonell.793Please respect copyright.PENANAHDHzFEg1we
Eric stood up from his seat and drew out a chair next to him for Angel.793Please respect copyright.PENANAeBymeGSuBM
"You can take a seat here," said Eric.793Please respect copyright.PENANAj0WHb2jHsU
"Thank you, Eric," said Angel as she slowly but gradually made her way to the table and sat down.793Please respect copyright.PENANAb1hGwHRjVj
"It's good to see you walking again, dear," said Amanda.793Please respect copyright.PENANA22YqvsFwBr
"It does feel good, Amanda," Angel smiled.793Please respect copyright.PENANAG1Rw0fBXIS
"So does that mean you will be going back to work anytime soon?" Mr McDonell asked.793Please respect copyright.PENANAazA8mNhnys
"I've been given more time from work to recuperate before I go back."793Please respect copyright.PENANAmRVh6dUGLh
"Okay, then. If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you about something. And Carly too. After breakfast, that is."793Please respect copyright.PENANA9klD2nvqAB
Angel nodded her head. "Of course."793Please respect copyright.PENANAAVQHid3ha2
Leo793Please respect copyright.PENANAPWriUav8RO
couldn't help but feel that something was up. Could it be that his 793Please respect copyright.PENANArNgOppC0w1
grandmother had told his father about Angel working at the company? Leo 793Please respect copyright.PENANAxri9eC4luj
hoped she hadn't. And if she did, he hoped his father had disagreed with793Please respect copyright.PENANAtGNc4PmBTv
her and that he wanted to talk to Angel about something else.793Please respect copyright.PENANA0mfoKj55aq
Angel793Please respect copyright.PENANACFbcuiOq3o
poured herself a glass of juice and looked up at Leo who had looked 793Please respect copyright.PENANAERm5uh09GM
away after he realised that he had been looking at her since she sat at 793Please respect copyright.PENANApwRCSAvHDb
the table. Angel ignored him as she got some toast.793Please respect copyright.PENANA0BK5RuFF7B
While the others continued to have breakfast, Oliver and his mother, Diana, joined them.793Please respect copyright.PENANAwI8Cpejb88
"I'll793Please respect copyright.PENANAxpdCAqsP9z
be in my study if you need me," said Mr McDonell as he drank the last 793Please respect copyright.PENANA37lUX53gFM
of his coffee. "Angel, you can join me in the study when you're done."793Please respect copyright.PENANA6meghlTXp2
"Yes, I would," said Angel.793Please respect copyright.PENANAc8jsK89thF
Mr McDonell soon left the dining room.793Please respect copyright.PENANA8hjqLBFHbG
"I see that you're not sitting on your wheelchair, Angel," said Diana.793Please respect copyright.PENANAKOulsasOKs
"Yes, I'm not."793Please respect copyright.PENANAyEYHPZv4Pu
"That's nice," said Oliver. "It would be so much easier now taking you around."793Please respect copyright.PENANAfcGkeJoVdU
"Why? You want to take me around the house? I never got that opportunity since I wasn't feeling too well."793Please respect copyright.PENANA7Il6qfPdNK
"Yes, I would."793Please respect copyright.PENANAaWrTsD8HSd
Angel smiled at Oliver, sitting next to her. "Charming."793Please respect copyright.PENANAhxU7ht1dbQ
"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."793Please respect copyright.PENANAzdq5tTrxjY
"Well, it doesn't work on me," said Amanda.793Please respect copyright.PENANAOavWGR1ykf
Almost everyone at the table laughed, except Leo.793Please respect copyright.PENANAParkP4uLvE
"You can take me around the house after I'm done talking with your uncle, okay?"793Please respect copyright.PENANAaEgPTpYXhi
"Yes."793Please respect copyright.PENANATm4loQfuYW
Leo793Please respect copyright.PENANAxktTuHOqzi
soon found himself standing up, ready to leave the table. He had had 793Please respect copyright.PENANAimjdz8ZmeA
enough of his breakfast and he certainly had had enough of everyone 793Please respect copyright.PENANAbxF8xPPend
talking about Angel.793Please respect copyright.PENANAY1sDe2VZ95
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.793Please respect copyright.PENANArs62p4s8DK
"I'll be going to see Mr McDonell in his office now," said Angel as she drew away from the table.793Please respect copyright.PENANA18RXqwP5pN
"You'll find us here," said Amanda.793Please respect copyright.PENANAjwdkhar7C6
Before Angel could find 793Please respect copyright.PENANATqY3kHzu38
her way out of the dining room, Carly soon came in. And she paused upon 793Please respect copyright.PENANA0v0Ewvmdo0
seeing her sister, standing on her own.793Please respect copyright.PENANAeJ58ZSRFFT
"Wow, Angel," said Carly with a surprised look on his face. "You're walking again."793Please respect copyright.PENANAK6dchZgs9F
Angel only smiled. "Yes," she said. "You should have your breakfast and come to the study."793Please respect copyright.PENANARkDRejMy3h
"To the study? Why?" The excited look Carly had on her face, soon disappeared.793Please respect copyright.PENANAAgqO55Cmmh
"Mr McDonell wants to have a word. You'll find me there."793Please respect copyright.PENANAafwpalNpXT
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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