The groans that emitted from Leonard's sister's ears clouded his mind. The pain walled up even more.
It's been a week since she was admitted to the hospital due to kidney failure but her condition has only grown worse.
The noise that was later heard was a slide from the door, revealing a man finely dressed in his scrub.
He was the head doctor with a spec firmly over his eyes. Leonard's reflexes jerked, making him rush toward the doctor.
"Doctor, my sister isn't getting any better even after the dialysis. I don't know what to do." His voice revealed no small amount of pain that had been hidden in it.
The doctor shook his head engulfed in pity and also wished that he could help. But this was no small problem.
"Mr. Leonard. Your sister's health isn't improving. The dialysis can barely help her now, we have to look for a permanent solution to this." He replied.
Leonard's mind jerked. Ringing sensations in his head. He knew what that meant even without being told.
There had to be a kidney transplant.
"And we have to do it as soon as possible." He said.
There was no other choice for him. This was the last resort so he was going to go with it, as long as his sister wasn't going to die, that was all that mattered to him...
"Then we will have to start right away." He was hell-bent on rescuing his sister from this out-of-world pain that was biting through her body.
But starting with it wasn't the problem. The problem was, would he be able to afford treatment?
Leonard was the popular live-son-in-law of the Ashley family business group. A well-known figure in the whole of the city.
"To start the treatment, we will need a deposit of nothing less than a million dollars." The doctor added.
A slight gasp escaped from the mouth of Leonard. That amount would be more than enough to feed him for a lifetime.
The doctor thought that he would never be able to afford such an amount of money but then, he turned around and said to the doctor.
"Just hold on, doctor, I am going to get the money as soon as possible." He said as soon as possible.
The doctor was not surprised though. He only shook his head thinking that he might be out of his mind sure of what had happened. There was certainly no way that he would be able to afford it.He pulled off from the point that he was standing with only one thought in mind. Over the years, he has been saving all his earnings so that they would be able to get a family business at least and his wife Matilda would not be ridiculed by the rest of the family.
Even though he could feel a sharp pain in his heart about what he was about to do, He knew that was his only hope.
He went home to get the card to make a withdrawal from the nearest POS but instead, the message read, insufficient funds.
Even Leonard was confused. The racing of his heart was enough to take him to places that his heart had not taken him to yet.
"What's wrong?" Where the thoughts clouded his mind.
Could it be that they had been scammed off the money? Multiple possibilities lined up in his mind.
Or maybe Matilda.
She was the only one who knew about the pin and the funds so apart from him, she was the only one who had such potential too.
The sound that came afterward was the cracking sound of the door, revealing a stunning lady who was blazing in the ray of light.
She was effortlessly flawless. She dropped her begs, and turned around to meet Leonard with a deadly snare.
"What are you doing there? Get me my meal already." She glared but that wasn't the thought on Leonard's mind at the moment.
Leonard scrolled towards her and said. "We have something really important to talk about." And she frowned.
"Do you want us to have beef again? What could be more important than me having my meal?" She was irradiated
"It's about my sister." Leonard forged ahead even though he was not given permission to and continued to say.
"The doctor said that she needs an immediate organ transplant and a deposit of about a million dollars too for them to begin the process."
"So what? What has that got to do with me?" Matilda replied without any trace of emotion in her voice.
"The money I had saved for the busy. I needed it but it seemed to be gone."
"So you thought that I was the one that stole the money?" Matilda quickly interjected with clenched teeth.
"No Mati, it's not so. I only wanted to inquire if you know anything about it." He inquired.
"Well, if you care to know, I decided to use the money for more important stuff." She replied picking her nails..
Leonard's knees grew numb. It was difficult to believe it. Could it be that she was only trying to pull a prank on him?
But from the serious looks on her face, it wasn't looking like a joke either way.
"Mati you have to tell me, what did you use the money for? Can you get it back? Please, I need it. My sister's life depends on it."
But instead of seeing reasons with him, Mati flared up with anger, swinging up from her seat and shooting a deadly glare at him.
"A refund?" She thundered. "If you care to know too much, I gave the money out to my parents." She added.
Feet grew numb, coupled with the confusion. Her parents were already on average and didn't need such a large amount of money.
Why would she do that without his consent?
But even so, Leonard didn't care as long as he could get the money back, the life of his sister was everything that mattered to him.
"But what do your parents need such a large amount of money for?" He Inquired further, his face still clouded with an obvious puzzle.
"What do you need to know? I gave them the money so that's all. There is no way that you are going to get it back." She responded
Without another word, he got off, wanting to go over to them since he had already sold off his phone but then, he met them at the door as he was trying to leave.
Their eyeballs intersected, their faces twisting into an obvious frown.
"Mom Dad, I was just trying to come see you." He said, praying in his heart that they still had the money with them.
"Haven't I warned you to stop calling me that already?" She thundered, giving him a thick slap across the face, imprinting her finger marks across the line.
But even though his face ached with pain and his hands were clenched with anger, He was able to keep his anger down.
"Mom, Mati told me that he offered you the sum of a million dollars? I need the money back. My." Before he could finish his statement, she quickly interrupted.
"What!! Have you gone mad? You want us to refund a gift that was given to us by our daughter?"
"Mom, I wouldn't have cared but this is the life of my only blood relation that we are talking about here." He replied but that didn't seem to change anything.
"Then you should start looking at some other places already."
"I placed an order for the rejuvenating gel the other day which I want to use as a gift for the forthcoming birthday party of Fredrick's." She added.
"There is no way that I am going to cancel my order after it's been placed." He responded.
Leonard's eyes bulged out from his sockets. His overwhelming anger in his neck region. He never expected that they were going to be so adamant.But he tried to keep his calm, talking to them calmly. They were still his in-laws after all."Mom. This is my sister that I am talking about here. I'm sure Sir. Fredrick wouldn't mind coming to his party without a gift." He responded.But Mrs. Ruth only frowned."Going over to Fredrick's party without a gift? Have you suddenly run out of your senses?" She glared."Soon, the Fredricks are going to open the room for cooperation. Through this, we will be able to get on their good side. And you want me to allow this great opportunity that has been presented before me to slide? In your dreams." He responded.He could no longer stand it anymore. All his attempts to make them see reasons with him were only falling on deaf ears."Are you going to be happy if my sister ends up dying? You barely know this person. Is the life of my sister worth the ex
Even Doctor Sam's legs livered. He was already grateful that he had not treated Leonard badly. Cause for someone like President Raymond to be kneeling before him meant that he was a powerful force to be reversed.President Raymond was a presidential candidate, going against him could only mean that you were going against the presidency.Coupled with the fact that he has a 50 percent acceptance rate already. Cold sweat broke out from the doctor's face. Counting from tens to a million drops.But the only thing that Leonard could see was another political force and nothing more. He had never seen that face before.Seeing the looks that he had aboard, Raymond waved his hands, sending the doctor out of the room."Young master, we have searched for you all over the city and we never thought that we were going to find you." He said.His words welling up to Leonard like a strange language. "Young master? He was nothing other than a nobody." He blotted in between his gap teeth."President Ray
The crowd turned around. The manager was also a well-known figure in the city not only because of his wealth and being surrounded by influential friends, but he was also a prominent figure in the underworld.And especially in the case where a lady crosses his path, he always makes sure that he gets after them in one way or the other.And nobody would ever dare to challenge him before. Especially for someone like Leonard that was looking like mere trash.The manager pulled his hands off the lady. For the first time, he noticed how stunning she was.Her cleavage popped through every opportunity they had. And not only for her beauty but her classic nature and air of calmness even the fear of such a situation was something to reckon with.Now you would be wondering, how a lady got herself into such a mess.Sofia was one of the most beautiful ladies in the city. Her father was known for his fame and wealth.Manager Wile had always had his eyes on his right from the first time that he laid
Manager Wiles stared at him, wanting to teach this young man a good lesson that he was not going to forget in a hurry.But he was going to take it slowly. For the fear of death was more revered than death itself."And what makes you think that I should even give you a chance when every one of us already knows that you are going to waste my time?" Wiles said.His words were very stiff like a piercing sword going right through the heart and slicing it into two halves.But that was for every other person because as for Leonard, he wasn't worried, even for a single moment.With thoughts running into thoughts, Leonard leaned forward and went ahead to say. "Because I can't afford it." He replied.Everyone laughed at him and the rest of the workers could not help but gossip right to his face."I have never seen anyone as stupid as that before.""I am sure that he is just one of those psychiatric escapees." Another one of them said."He is so dumb. Who does he think is going to fall for such
It wasn't possible. Hearts were frozen. Feets paralyzed, jaws lifted far apart with shock. The only person that didn't bulge was Leonard.Even Sofia was surprised and confused at the same time. Thinking that he was only putting on an act, she never thought that he would be able to afford it.Then why was he looking at all the rags? Could it be that he was a member of one of those high class families in the city. Her heart ran and her mind processed a large amount of thoughts.But none of these could place a definite finger as to what was really going on.Wiles was stunned beyond this world. Even though he had the perfect funding in his account, the transaction wasn't supposed to go through.At the moment, Leonard now looked different in the eyes of the people that were mocked and looked down on him.But knowing that he had a lot to do, Leonard didn't have much time to spend there. The leaned Forward towards manager Wiles and stole a glance into his eyes."Whether you accept defeat o
The men all shot deadly glares at him, advancing slowly toward him while everyone was scared for him.But someone, he was able to maintain a strange calm that no one in the room could explain and this got even more angry than he was already.Steams could not describe his flaming anger this time. More popcorn popped into his mouth at such a high speed that a normal man would have choked.He could not wait already to hear the cracking of Leonard's bones that were going to be pure music in his ears.But before the men could get to do anything, the door slid open. The aura that proceeded from the sliding of the door made everyone pause because it seemed familiar to the place.The first person that turned his head around towards the direction of the sound was Wiles with a deadly frown on his face."Who dares to interrupt my party." Where the words in his mouth were as he spun.But the person that his eyes met with brought his motion to a second pause. Seeing the shocking expression on the
The thunderstorm of shocks that ran through the hall was one that words were not found to describe.Jaws were far apart and feet were numb. Even Wiles thought that the kid was going to accept his apologies as soon as he offered them to end things as soon as possible but it turned out that this young man was even more arrogant than he was.He stared at everyone. His face was already flushed with so much embarrassment while the workers gossiped amongst themselves."There is no one that manager Wiles us going to kneel before him." They were assured of that.But if only they knew what was at stake. Not only was he going to jail but all his properties were going to be confiscated which was something that he could not afford, at least not at the moment.It took him quite a while but eventually, to the extreme shock of everyone present, he fell to his knees.Even Ben could not help but smile this time. Seeing the almighty Wiles down to his knees. Even though they were friends didn't mean tha
Leonard was finally able to pull away from her. Staring stares interlocking into each other. "You wanted to say something right?" He inquired.Unlike other men who had always approached her. Leonard was unyielding, even though she was being so natural, unlike her usual self."Yes, I want to thank you for saving my skin back then." She said with a strange look on her face."It's nothing to appreciate me about. I still would have done it even though it was someone else." "I would not let anyone go oppressed under my watch." He replied coldly.Even though he was being cold, Sofia couldn't help but liked him even more. It could only mean that he was a member of some powerful family.She was slowly dying out of her curiosity, wanting to know more about him. But one thing that she knew was the fact that she could not chuck up information at him, she had to take it slowly."I still have to thank you.""And about?"Even though he wasn't being told, he could already tell where he was forging
The tension in the air was palpable as Matilda prepared herself for what Leonard had in store for her. Richard 's eyes shone with a dangerous intensity, his intentions unclear but menacing. Matilda's mind raced with horrible possibilities, each more horrible than the last. She felt a shiver run down her spine as Richard 's laughter echoed in the dimly lit room. Despite her fears, Matilda remains defiant, refusing to show any sign of weakness in the face of Richard 's twisted desires. "I can do more than you imagine and make you hot!" Leonard smiled as he read the expression on Matilda's face. It's really fun teasing Matilda at the moment. Her lips trembled, hoping she wasn't thinking anything. "Are you making me hot?" Would it really roast me alive or burn a part of me? Matilda asked stupidly Although she is a stripper who must know a lot about the tactics of men, unfortunately she is a l
"How dare you?" Leonard roared like a lion as the champagne spilled over his dress and poured freely into his trousers. Matilda was shaking terribly as she searched for towels to clean Leonard clothes and shoes. He had just poured himself a glass of champagne. "I'm so terribly sorry! I was---sss" stammered Matilda , trying to finish her words when Leonard pulled her hair and picked her up. "You are here to pay your brother's debt, but you are clearly unable to do so! Leonard said in a very intimidating voice, letting the lumps fall on Maris's neck. "Please, I feel weak!" He had never felt this way in his entire life as he searched for ways to survive. He felt his strength leave him and let his body fall into Richard 's grip. Everyone's eyes in the VIP room widened. "This girl is really doomed," commented one of them and motioned for Leo
They'd been able to not only beat Broadway Enterprise's weakness but also strengthen theirs. "To say the least, I'm quite impressed with this proposal, and so is everyone here today, as such, we wouldn't have any other company partnering with us other than F and A. Congratulations, Richard and Matilda , your intelligence is meritorious. I see why you're a couple now," he added with a smile. "I'll have my lawyer get the agreement ready for you for your signature in the next 48 hours. Congratulations again."With that, Leonard left, and a few others commented about Matilda 's intelligence, and how lucky Richard was to have her by his side, one of whom was Ryan Porter."From the day I saw you at the party, I knew you were one intelligent woman. Congratulations, Matilda . Richard also, you got yourself a gem. If she weren't hooked with you, I might have stolen her away. Good luck with the project." Richard 's jaw hardened at Ryan's words. His heart sank also. R
"What are you doing, Richard ?" She asked the moment one hand cupped her face, while the other slid down the curve of her waist. Her question came out as a whisper, which surprised her. "Helping you relax around me. We can't go to the meeting with you looking like this.""Like how?"Richard leaned closer to her, bringing his lips to her ear and her body jolted as his hot breath fanned her skin. "Like a simple touch from me will send a wave of electricity through you. One simple touch, like this." The hand that was on her waist found her fingers and he intertwined his with hers, which were already clammy. Matilda shut her eyes in pleasure and pressed her lips in a firm line to prevent herself from making even the slightest sound. He buried his face in her neck, inhaling her inviting flowery scent. The impulse to trail his lips up her neck tugged at his heart, but he acted against it. Instead, he just stood there, registering her scent in his mind and trying to decipher w
Four months went by since that fateful evening, and Richard 's iciness had become even more noticeable. The unbearable emotional gap between us led me to detach from our dying relationship's toxic hold gradually. I kept track of the days until the contract would end. He already possessed the inheritance and the agreements. Our partnership was supposed to be over by now, but it isn't able to.In the meantime, Leonard and I had become even closer, reigniting the strong connection we had maintained since we were kids. We dedicated numerous hours to each other, reflecting on past memories and creating new ones.Melissa came back from her journey overseas, infusing our group of friends with a sense of excitement and joy.In celebration of Melissa 's hard-earned diploma, we opted to meet at a quaint bar located on the edge of the city. I quickly freshened up and then hurried to the bar. I was running behind because I was assisting Richard with organizing his documents."Melissa !" she
When my time with Leonard was up that evening, I chose to make a decision that could alter my future significantly. I summoned up my bravery and met his gaze, speaking with conviction.Leonard , I appreciate all that you've done. Would you mind giving me a lift?Fear was evident on Leonard 's face as he considered my request. "Are you certain, keeping in mind his possible reaction?" he inquired, worried about how his words may come across.I let out a slow breath, calling upon my inner power. I am able to deal with Richard by myself. "It will all be okay."He nodded in agreement as his eyes softened with comprehension. "Okay, if you're certain." "I will transport you to your residence."While starting the car journey, Leonard grabbed the radio and switched it to a station he knew. The gentle tune of my preferred song enveloped the car, creating a mix of emotions that matched my inner turmoil.While the music played, a query escaped from my mouth. Leonard , when are we able to
I was frozen in shock, speechless, as Richard 's words lingered in the air like a thick mist. For years, we have been close friends, sharing jokes, secrets, and even playful flirting. However, his unexpected question left me speechless and confused. Is it impossible for him to ever have me? His question's consequences made me shudder.I felt a swirl of confusion in my head while attempting to understand his abrupt question. Before I had a chance to collect my thoughts and reply, Richard appeared to dismiss it, as though he hadn't just posed such a deep question to me. He proposed finishing the day by having ice cream at his house, trying to shift the conversation to a more cheerful subject.Declining his offer politely, I managed to force a faint smile and replied, "Thank you, Richard , but I believe I should leave."He nodded, a brief flicker of disappointment appearing on his face. Noticing the discomfort between us, he proposed to accompany me to the entrance of the amusement park
With a slightly trembling voice, she spoke up, my words now carrying a hint of confidence. "Leonard , I put on the lingerie like you requested." "Now, please enlighten me, what exactly do you desire from me?"While we glared at each other intensely, I silently vowed to control the situation according to my wants and limits. I had learned that real power comes from accepting my own vulnerability, even when things are uncertain.Leonard continued to hold on to his unfeeling attitude, remaining adamant in his penchant for mocking others.I felt a shiver down my back as his face became stern, his eyes narrowing with a touch of contempt. He clutched my hand tighter, his voice filled with scorn.Leonard mocked, saying, "I warned you it wouldn't look good on you," in a tone filled with bitterness. "You believed that wearing just a lingerie set could make me interested in you... turns out, it didn't work."I felt a wave of disappointment and hurt as my heart dropped, replacing the warmth I
She tried on the dresses one at a time, with each one more captivating than the previous one. The gentle materials hugged my body's natural contours, as intricate elements shimmered in the light, producing a stunning exhibition. I spun around and looked at myself in the mirror, wishing to see a hint of love in Leonard 's gaze. However, his calm facial expression stayed unchanged as he stood just outside the fitting room, serving as a constant indication of his emotional disconnection.I put on a different dress and gazed at myself in the mirror once more. While fixing my appearance, I noticed Leonard 's gaze in the mirror. His eyes held a gentleness, showing a hint of kindness that was previously absent. The teasing and coldness had become gentler, giving way to a more tender emotion.Leonard spoke at last, his voice lacking any enthusiasm as he commented, "You appear pleasant." "Perhaps this one is overly glittery," he said, pointing to a dress decorated with detailed beadwork