Leo had a smile on his 510Please respect copyright.PENANAtGWBDSeToK
face when he brought himself to a comfortable position. He never had 510Please respect copyright.PENANAYUDTHmLQt9
this excited yet happy feeling within himself just by staring at the 510Please respect copyright.PENANApGT992wQjX
face right in front of him.510Please respect copyright.PENANAGUeN9ftLDi
It was morning and the 510Please respect copyright.PENANAWK9M2EgWHx
sun rays managed to seep into his room giving it a wonderful golden 510Please respect copyright.PENANAR20WS0NDyo
glow. But nothing in his room shined brighter than the woman sleeping 510Please respect copyright.PENANAZiq9watCwQ
next to him who had the lovely skin colour of bronze that shined 510Please respect copyright.PENANARMRHSXTZ5F
brilliantly in the morning sun.510Please respect copyright.PENANA2L9GJ2BrxQ
Carly had joined him 510Please respect copyright.PENANACJXsuuOeXD
last night after she had watched a movie with Angel, Eric and Oliver. By510Please respect copyright.PENANAKWiyNbwkVV
then, it was already late, Kim had left a good two hours ago and almost510Please respect copyright.PENANAjXMNCu0ALL
everyone in the house had gone to sleep, except from the two love 510Please respect copyright.PENANA7zmaMIQIvu
birds, of course.510Please respect copyright.PENANAGSR1bDSiuI
It was good she came, 510Please respect copyright.PENANAkk9nI1tObZ
Leo thought to himself as he continued to stare at her. She was still 510Please respect copyright.PENANAKswJGa982e
sleeping and she looked beautiful, no doubt in his mind that she was. He510Please respect copyright.PENANA0Jm43oO1Mk
wished time could slow down so that he could look at her for just a 510Please respect copyright.PENANAjZygNtjCk7
little while longer. Sooner than later, he would have to wake her up.510Please respect copyright.PENANAoMc5NUP6m7
He stretched his hand 510Please respect copyright.PENANARIADAVNfxB
and ran it through her lovely silky black hair. For an African American,510Please respect copyright.PENANAqrs9fsbFDs
her hair was gorgeous. He tucked away a strand of her hair that was on 510Please respect copyright.PENANAoDJBJIazCS
her cheek. When his hand brushed over her cheek, ever so gently upon 510Please respect copyright.PENANAqbE9MOGAfb
pulling it away, her eyes slowly flew open.510Please respect copyright.PENANAkHGkH4jhb0
"Morning, sleepy head," said Leo with a smile.510Please respect copyright.PENANA6LgxY28LJY
She didn't respond as 510Please respect copyright.PENANAXEWk0CemKz
she smiled through her sleepy eyes and closed them again. She still 510Please respect copyright.PENANANTNwLR6tsP
looked so beautiful with that goofy smile on her face, he thought to 510Please respect copyright.PENANA9m2QNUDc5t
himself. Leo chuckled.510Please respect copyright.PENANAb7Tk11F67f
"It's already morning?" she asked as she opened her eyes again and looked at him.510Please respect copyright.PENANAIIM8ohh7M5
"Sadly, yes," he replied. "You know what that means."510Please respect copyright.PENANAcKMkCjPdOT
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.510Please respect copyright.PENANAJGv1qz1wU8
Leo continued to chuckle. "Come on, you know the drill." He sat up and uncovered the bed cover covering her head.510Please respect copyright.PENANA4Xc9WJgFM4
"Fine," she said as she gave up and sat up on the bed. "I really hoped that I could stay a little longer."510Please respect copyright.PENANA07lP1vF3MP
"You're right. But I 510Please respect copyright.PENANAzKzWSaneXh
better get you out of here before anyone wakes up. It might be a weekend510Please respect copyright.PENANATdwSfRWtFz
but there are still a lot of early birds around here."510Please respect copyright.PENANAgVeTvvVZIR
Carly smiled at him. "Like you?"510Please respect copyright.PENANA6j12QES5N4
"Like my dad. Come on, we better hurry."510Please respect copyright.PENANAX6Om7sW17h
They both got out of bed510Please respect copyright.PENANALbopw2bv3l
and got dressed into their nightwear covering themselves with their 510Please respect copyright.PENANAWYdA8SAH1G
sleeping gowns. They sneaked out of Leo's room and they tiptoed all the 510Please respect copyright.PENANAIBEtp6bNVy
way to Carly's.510Please respect copyright.PENANApavlEd17Sf
"Thanks," said Carly in a low voice when they got to the door. "I'll continue sleeping and we will meet later on."510Please respect copyright.PENANABfvLX9HVKp
"Great, I'll see you soon," said Leo as he smiled.510Please respect copyright.PENANAYxEhjkL4G0
Carly gave him a simple 510Please respect copyright.PENANA5Y91pHRN3K
peck on the cheek and quickly went in her room. For a moment, Leo 510Please respect copyright.PENANAudfcY0O8P7
couldn't help but stand there for a moment, lost in thought, until he 510Please respect copyright.PENANAR41e26CXQS
realised that he had been standing there looking at the door. He smiled 510Please respect copyright.PENANAQ4SYkdLep3
at his stupidity as he made his way back to his room.510Please respect copyright.PENANAIH6iBrw3fF
Just when he got there, he changed his mind and thought he really needed a cup of coffee.510Please respect copyright.PENANAh6idSzbRKE
He made his way 510Please respect copyright.PENANAMjjvPKHIkw
downstairs and before he could make his way to the kitchen when he 510Please respect copyright.PENANAgCqxZflCJT
reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a noise coming from the 510Please respect copyright.PENANA6Wd8uhvc0o
kitchen.510Please respect copyright.PENANAygwyX8YHjk
He wondered who could be510Please respect copyright.PENANAKtE9GbmRnK
up at this early hour. He knew his dad was always an early bird, but 510Please respect copyright.PENANAu4y40036qA
when it came to the weekend, Leo knew he wouldn't be awake for another 510Please respect copyright.PENANAbgfNXdEkO8
hour. He made his way to the kitchen and what he saw, shook him a 510Please respect copyright.PENANAxv6FC3vTSg
little.510Please respect copyright.PENANAuDac8U7phn
Angel was standing by 510Please respect copyright.PENANAEu8ngb7pcu
the kitchen counter where she had put up the coffee maker to make some 510Please respect copyright.PENANA5HICstc23R
coffee. Her presence somehow didn't matter to him, but there was some 510Please respect copyright.PENANABfdi9dVGG5
thing that shook him the moment he got there.510Please respect copyright.PENANAWO4sJlyIlU
Angel was standing, and not on a wheelchair.510Please respect copyright.PENANA2nNwpQeWE1
Sensing someone's presence, Angel turned to the door. When she saw Leo, she neither gave an angry look nor a smile.510Please respect copyright.PENANAASSK2fQ9BJ
"Morning," she greeted as she turned back to the machine on the counter.510Please respect copyright.PENANA3vSH61yuQK
"Morning," Leo somehow managed to say. "You're up early."510Please respect copyright.PENANAU8fcPqslG7
"I just had to."510Please respect copyright.PENANA8lb9dstPgf
"Ummm," Leo still 510Please respect copyright.PENANAJnSeqalrqs
couldn't believe that Angel was standing in front of him. He expected 510Please respect copyright.PENANAxquVyQeW0z
her to be still on her wheelchair. "Are you going somewhere?"510Please respect copyright.PENANACNYGmRZvaZ
"Thought of taking a walk to strengthen my legs a little."510Please respect copyright.PENANAlGYems25Jx
The coffee maker soon 510Please respect copyright.PENANAMhh1QCq3SR
finished making her coffee and the room became slient. Angel went over 510Please respect copyright.PENANArDIlum2HmF
to the cupboard next to the sink to get a mug. There was a slight limp 510Please respect copyright.PENANAE1ByCLTuED
in her walk, but all in all, she seemed okay and not in much pain.510Please respect copyright.PENANAO73GhEjMja
Just as Angel was heading back to the coffee maker, she noticed Leo's eyes on her. She turned to look at him.510Please respect copyright.PENANAaHcT46F49T
"Why are you looking at me like you've just seen a ghost?" she asked.510Please respect copyright.PENANAIiddVXs2Rr
"Uh..." Leo hesitated. "I'm just surprised that you're walking."510Please respect copyright.PENANAM8lzW8HvSn
"Why? You wanted me 510Please respect copyright.PENANAka1Y1sKnbZ
confined to a wheelchair forever?" Angel raised an eyebrow at him before510Please respect copyright.PENANAOO1iQOrwu5
she turned towards the coffee maker and went over to it to pour herself510Please respect copyright.PENANA39SaTfvchG
a cup.510Please respect copyright.PENANAAW4HKpjOEO
"Umm, no. I'm just surprised, that's all."510Please respect copyright.PENANAWcZ8GguDmE
"The doctor said I should start walking around to strengthen my legs."510Please respect copyright.PENANA42twOo0k84
Leo just nodded his head but he was still in shock. He expected her to be confined to her wheelchair a little while longer.510Please respect copyright.PENANA9jCAAgrfQy
"You still don't seem 510Please respect copyright.PENANAeWhngryoXA
happy that I'm walking again," said Angel, bringing Leo back from his 510Please respect copyright.PENANA3iKaQW2wZw
thoughts. "I hope you don't think that this will get in your way of 510Please respect copyright.PENANAXMKFg5DxNE
things."510Please respect copyright.PENANA6r2gCQhuq7
Leo was the one to raise his eyebrows this time around. "What do you mean?"510Please respect copyright.PENANAB668QKbI0c
Angel took a sip of her 510Please respect copyright.PENANAzFgpXQIAsI
coffee as she leaned on the counter and placed her hand on it. "You know510Please respect copyright.PENANAoRRlvT9Hv4
what I mean. I know Carly didn't sleep in her room last night. She 510Please respect copyright.PENANABvoWBOdQXg
spent her night with you."510Please respect copyright.PENANAU6c4gGekMC
Leo retaliated, "that's not true."510Please respect copyright.PENANAPpgHszxUF3
Angel smirked and Leo 510Please respect copyright.PENANAfBgpFgGi12
felt his cheeks heat up suddenly. He cursed himself from the inside 510Please respect copyright.PENANAR4cH6PTynh
still not understanding why he was feeling like this.510Please respect copyright.PENANAfv3xzwlITT
"Tell it to the person who is now able to walk up the stairs," she said.510Please respect copyright.PENANA3NIGPkcen9
"Does that matter? Carly is a grown woman, you know?"510Please respect copyright.PENANAbu0A8np6x3
"Carly is a grown woman, yes, but that doesn't mean she knows that what she's doing might lead her into trouble."510Please respect copyright.PENANAjynm3rEySi
Leo shook his head. "I don't think I want to talk about this with you."510Please respect copyright.PENANAvA292RlEnp
"You're right, Leo. It's510Please respect copyright.PENANA0tnNAuDZrv
early in the morning and I would rather walk around the garden to 510Please respect copyright.PENANA6OQrHt3oZP
exercise my legs rather than talk about something that I know I don't 510Please respect copyright.PENANAbmN9SlkGb2
have any control over."510Please respect copyright.PENANA0yUwQnRxgB
Leo was a little shocked510Please respect copyright.PENANAnhOLsQvTcT
to hear Angel talk like this. Was she finally giving up, allowing Leo 510Please respect copyright.PENANAUrpjkUYEqc
and Carly the chance to be happy? Or was she playing some kind of mind 510Please respect copyright.PENANAT445Ftkyhc
game?510Please respect copyright.PENANAV7slDl34Om
She slowly made her way 510Please respect copyright.PENANADE1kqdaYuY
to the backdoor of the house still with her coffee mug. Leo continued to510Please respect copyright.PENANAo4o4MePXq0
look at her and something came up in his mind.510Please respect copyright.PENANA8bfv6wFqUo
"How do you know, Carly's room?" Leo asked suddenly.510Please respect copyright.PENANAcoVBgkENH4
Angel stopped upon reaching the door and slowly turned to look at him.510Please respect copyright.PENANARof6NRk2XO
"I beg your pardon?" she asked politely. Leo wasn't buying it.510Please respect copyright.PENANAmUTU38WAgo
"The time you came into 510Please respect copyright.PENANAUS3nyFRgMU
this house, you were still in your wheelchair and you never made it up 510Please respect copyright.PENANARLwTyVW13i
the stairs. So how do you know where Carly's room is?"510Please respect copyright.PENANAcKLPycjMWO
Angel smiled at Leo. 510Please respect copyright.PENANAq9fGAxTQa2
"Yesterday when Carly came home and after we argued in the study, she 510Please respect copyright.PENANApJn5dihpVW
invited me to come over to her room since she wanted to show me what she510Please respect copyright.PENANAc8iltUbSxl
bought from the mall. With the help of two of the house helps, they got510Please respect copyright.PENANAr604kyyYiI
me up the stairs and when they helped me back down afterwards."510Please respect copyright.PENANAdpnQCsUbAa
"I don't believe you."510Please respect copyright.PENANAmayjvwafTr
"You don't have to, Mr 510Please respect copyright.PENANAVMgMkuUX8k
Detective," Angel gave him a fake smile. "I don't have to prove myself 510Please respect copyright.PENANAW2CpYTdJOm
that I'm telling the truth because you would never believe me and it 510Please respect copyright.PENANAjuREdSPts9
will clearly be a waste of my precious time."510Please respect copyright.PENANAoVenjePVHf
Angel turned back to face the door and unlocked it. When she swung the door open, she turned to look at Leo.510Please respect copyright.PENANAALtkM5pSSJ
"I'll be heading out for510Please respect copyright.PENANABEwqucLtC4
a stroll in the garden. I would have liked if you would accompany me, 510Please respect copyright.PENANAj49fKtFVht
but, as usual, things wouldn't end so well, would it?"510Please respect copyright.PENANATgy1yonSzF
Leo didn't have to 510Please respect copyright.PENANAUUnn6nSgYn
answer that question and Angel didn't expect him to. She slowly walked 510Please respect copyright.PENANA7Yy63xkbsz
out of the kitchen as silently as she could and closed the door behind 510Please respect copyright.PENANAjb3pZk2J1J
her.510Please respect copyright.PENANAeirO3kLmyC
Leo stared at the closed510Please respect copyright.PENANANE5SBslIVi
door and he couldn't tell if he was angry at Angel like he always has 510Please respect copyright.PENANAdkQbqJdD92
or he was just surprised that she was able to walk around again. Either 510Please respect copyright.PENANAZUp3vbVCgJ
way, he forgot about making coffee and went back to his room, feeling 510Please respect copyright.PENANAEivv7N9xqB
utterly disturbed.510Please respect copyright.PENANA5d2nSussFE
***510Please respect copyright.PENANAfdZH5Kwt89
In510Please respect copyright.PENANAjSNJpG9GXi
an hour's time, almost everyone in the McDonell mansion was awake. At 510Please respect copyright.PENANA6ohQtahAEI
the breakfast table, Mr McDonell and Amanda were having their breakfast.510Please respect copyright.PENANAQI2Z0e3vPP
Leo and Eric soon came to join them.510Please respect copyright.PENANAc4b8potgNt
"Morning grandma, morning dad," said Leo as he sat beside his grandmother.510Please respect copyright.PENANA416wjRu88A
"Morning," said Amanda.510Please respect copyright.PENANA78MC3hZe73
"Morning," said Mr McDonell who was looking at his daily newspaper.510Please respect copyright.PENANAXAwL6ST4Bk
"Hope you all slept well," said Eric as he sat opposite Leo and Amanda.510Please respect copyright.PENANAsXp7e07cYf
"We did," said Amanda with a smile. "And I can see you two boys slept well too."510Please respect copyright.PENANAXjtb6Zr14W
"I sure as hell did," said Eric.510Please respect copyright.PENANAHxYihEZBGx
"And510Please respect copyright.PENANATLBKbHztXM
Leo has this smile on his face," said Mr McDonell. He might have been 510Please respect copyright.PENANAQR1ZQewAlt
looking at the newspaper, but he was pretty observant.510Please respect copyright.PENANAazHjGJthlg
"Do I?" Leo asked.510Please respect copyright.PENANA4pC6PfoNSZ
"Of course, dear," said Amanda. "That smile is even making you look more handsome."510Please respect copyright.PENANAPZhfk4xomK
Leo510Please respect copyright.PENANAjr7OqloCI8
continued to smile. And he knew the reason why. He noticed his cousin 510Please respect copyright.PENANAbdgspTmL3d
looking at him across the table. Leo couldn't help but feel that Eric 510Please respect copyright.PENANA5aQYBeslDD
knew the reason too.510Please respect copyright.PENANA1ALHjfqEvW
"Do you have any plans today, boys?" Amanda asked as she drank her tea.510Please respect copyright.PENANA1yV8JlDyy5
"No, granny," Eric replied as he got two slices of toast. "It's a weekend after all."510Please respect copyright.PENANAT3bOhT8JPV
"I just wanted to know. It would be nice to spend some quality time with you two handsome grandsons of mine."510Please respect copyright.PENANA0UhWIDJdhA
"You would," said Leo. "We aren't going anywhere."510Please respect copyright.PENANAjX3xSchie6
"Lovely."510Please respect copyright.PENANAjBqHqd9vax
A few seconds later, just as Leo was pouring tea from the teapot into his cup, Angel walked in.510Please respect copyright.PENANAftmdMDFEEP
"Morning, everyone," she greeted.510Please respect copyright.PENANAhorjgi8NsL
Upon510Please respect copyright.PENANArwrGdUYMbS
hearing her voice and seeing her face, Leo spelt some tea on the table.510Please respect copyright.PENANABH2Jzuwipa
Some almost poured on his trousers, but he was very lucky.510Please respect copyright.PENANAbxhufU2Ehp
"Oh, my, careful, Leo," said Amanda. "You would have got burnt."510Please respect copyright.PENANAfslwwRVXu9
"I'm fine," said Leo as he cleaned up the spelt tea with a napkin.510Please respect copyright.PENANANwm0IPggUr
"Oh, morning, Angel," said Amanda, then she gasped. "I didn't realise that you're walking and not on your wheelchair."510Please respect copyright.PENANAUL84652FXz
Eric510Please respect copyright.PENANA1m6JtnBDG1
quickly turned to look at Angel and he also looked surprised. Mr 510Please respect copyright.PENANALHvHQ93w2U
McDonell smiled at Angel. Leo groaned as he realised that all that he 510Please respect copyright.PENANArC1ZuKNWS8
had seen earlier wasn't a dream.510Please respect copyright.PENANA3vWq2FVz6d
"Yes, the doctor told me that I should start walking to strengthen my legs a little," said Angel.510Please respect copyright.PENANA8x9ulpoHnP
"Well, that's good," said Mr McDonell.510Please respect copyright.PENANAdw3sQgCGlX
Eric stood up from his seat and drew out a chair next to him for Angel.510Please respect copyright.PENANAKLF5GyFHGl
"You can take a seat here," said Eric.510Please respect copyright.PENANAZUbQYqTOqB
"Thank you, Eric," said Angel as she slowly but gradually made her way to the table and sat down.510Please respect copyright.PENANAqurWfOS3KX
"It's good to see you walking again, dear," said Amanda.510Please respect copyright.PENANAf1UnaVjdEl
"It does feel good, Amanda," Angel smiled.510Please respect copyright.PENANAYD0m5QmxQZ
"So does that mean you will be going back to work anytime soon?" Mr McDonell asked.510Please respect copyright.PENANAq6399vFUMv
"I've been given more time from work to recuperate before I go back."510Please respect copyright.PENANAjf0gUWp4lr
"Okay, then. If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you about something. And Carly too. After breakfast, that is."510Please respect copyright.PENANAtEO4C9UiSP
Angel nodded her head. "Of course."510Please respect copyright.PENANAidbGoY0TS3
Leo510Please respect copyright.PENANAyIaJy20YM6
couldn't help but feel that something was up. Could it be that his 510Please respect copyright.PENANAlRIbnDSVjM
grandmother had told his father about Angel working at the company? Leo 510Please respect copyright.PENANAPpFdOdyXIW
hoped she hadn't. And if she did, he hoped his father had disagreed with510Please respect copyright.PENANAjpqmlJvFlh
her and that he wanted to talk to Angel about something else.510Please respect copyright.PENANAVghzzuv13u
Angel510Please respect copyright.PENANAkMiZk8ccn6
poured herself a glass of juice and looked up at Leo who had looked 510Please respect copyright.PENANASkuI1J5VNJ
away after he realised that he had been looking at her since she sat at 510Please respect copyright.PENANA255kTJ0Rma
the table. Angel ignored him as she got some toast.510Please respect copyright.PENANAJhaEyFLcke
While the others continued to have breakfast, Oliver and his mother, Diana, joined them.510Please respect copyright.PENANAGcZK8TxPkF
"I'll510Please respect copyright.PENANAM57mSANQlQ
be in my study if you need me," said Mr McDonell as he drank the last 510Please respect copyright.PENANA2V3uZc073Q
of his coffee. "Angel, you can join me in the study when you're done."510Please respect copyright.PENANAI6FU0Ao3ls
"Yes, I would," said Angel.510Please respect copyright.PENANAcLGo11J1Vd
Mr McDonell soon left the dining room.510Please respect copyright.PENANADnfiYYTIKU
"I see that you're not sitting on your wheelchair, Angel," said Diana.510Please respect copyright.PENANAZqZtMm9Pp4
"Yes, I'm not."510Please respect copyright.PENANAzKwGqhdB57
"That's nice," said Oliver. "It would be so much easier now taking you around."510Please respect copyright.PENANAZ9VQIf5etR
"Why? You want to take me around the house? I never got that opportunity since I wasn't feeling too well."510Please respect copyright.PENANAzeG51hKgfJ
"Yes, I would."510Please respect copyright.PENANAAoHbOdYX5q
Angel smiled at Oliver, sitting next to her. "Charming."510Please respect copyright.PENANA6xu5fNqnun
"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."510Please respect copyright.PENANAZaaMxDmDli
"Well, it doesn't work on me," said Amanda.510Please respect copyright.PENANAfLfl1wd52J
Almost everyone at the table laughed, except Leo.510Please respect copyright.PENANAvG4hx5udR3
"You can take me around the house after I'm done talking with your uncle, okay?"510Please respect copyright.PENANAKvpwXL14yS
"Yes."510Please respect copyright.PENANAgphQihQpsx
Leo510Please respect copyright.PENANAOIb83v7EQQ
soon found himself standing up, ready to leave the table. He had had 510Please respect copyright.PENANAdbWqikgWw1
enough of his breakfast and he certainly had had enough of everyone 510Please respect copyright.PENANAmmTPXF5DWz
talking about Angel.510Please respect copyright.PENANAfNRqBkCvNz
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.510Please respect copyright.PENANAlbKRH0Prnb
"I'll be going to see Mr McDonell in his office now," said Angel as she drew away from the table.510Please respect copyright.PENANAplDgDFIKPc
"You'll find us here," said Amanda.510Please respect copyright.PENANAWtGjcYm1QZ
Before Angel could find 510Please respect copyright.PENANAEa94eBaU0C
her way out of the dining room, Carly soon came in. And she paused upon 510Please respect copyright.PENANAuxdMTsAALF
seeing her sister, standing on her own.510Please respect copyright.PENANAuaVA6xHcJy
"Wow, Angel," said Carly with a surprised look on his face. "You're walking again."510Please respect copyright.PENANAAwn7IBiyO9
Angel only smiled. "Yes," she said. "You should have your breakfast and come to the study."510Please respect copyright.PENANAu7yd3VOMWq
"To the study? Why?" The excited look Carly had on her face, soon disappeared.510Please respect copyright.PENANA76DdHys9Ir
"Mr McDonell wants to have a word. You'll find me there."510Please respect copyright.PENANA8urMWbhcYe
Angel made her way out of the dining room while Carly stood there wondering what Mr McDonell wanted to talk about.
ns 172.69.58.142da2