"You already have an interview call?" asked Jerome with an investigating gaze. Leah showed an email on her cellphone, she does have an interview scheduled with a PR agency this afternoon.
"Okay then, Tom will take you there," Jerome said briefly. "I'm leaving with Amy," said Leah, which was quite a shock to Jerome. Yeah, he must have been surprised because Jerome knew, Leah wasn't that close to Amy."Amy?" Jerome asked in surprise. Leah nodded, "Yup! I want to have a spa treatment with Amy right after my interview!" Leah replied cheerfully, trying to look as natural as possible. Jerome shrugged his shoulders, "That's good! I'm glad you got close to Amy again," Jerome said with a little smile. Leah just grimaced.After Jerome left for work, Amy soon picked her up. "Leah, were you serious about our conversation last night?" asked Amy with a look of hope. Leah nodded, "All you have to do is lie to Jerome and say that we spend a lot of time together," Leah said, her hand holding out a shiny paper bag to Amy who couldn't wait to receive it.Leah bribed Amy with a famous designer bag that only ten of them in the world and Leah is one of the owners. Amy gladly accepted it, because Leah knew, financially, Jerome and Leah were much richer than Amy's husband, who turned out to be just a senior manager in the tax department.Leah jumped into Amy's car. "Where are we now?" asked Amy while driving her SUV. "Brooklyn," Leah replied curtly, her hands busy fiddling with her cell phone. Leah was right, her cellphone was hijacked to a spy app that connected directly to Jerome's cellphone."We're not close friends, are we?" Leah snapped suddenly. Amy grimaced like someone who was caught lying, "Actually I want to be your close friend, but you are too exclusive and arrogant!" told Amy. Judging from her character, Amy seems to be an innocent and naive person."If you're willing to keep working together until I get what I'm looking for, we can become close friends," Leah said casually. Amy's eyes were rounded, "Seriously? Then I will help as much as I can! I have lots of free time, especially if..." Amy's sentence hung, but Leah already understood. "Relax, I'll pay you with other good things," announced Leah which immediately made Amy's eyes widen."Put this in your bag, we'll meet again at 4 pm," Leah held out her cellphone to Amy, who received it with a confused face, "Okay, whatever you want," said Amy as she put Leah's cellphone into her bag.Leah jumped out of the car and headed for a modest apartment where Suzy, a former secretary who turned out to be her old friend lived. Yesterday Leah got Suzy's address after asking VICAR's receptionist.Leah knocked on the door of Suzy's apartment unit several times but there was no answer, maybe Suzy wasn't there? "People who live there haven't come home for almost a month," said a milkman who happened to meet Leah. Leah frowned, thoughtfully.Why did everyone closest to Leah seem to have disappeared from the earth? Leah limped, she took her spare cell phone and called Donna.*****
Donna wanted to hug Leah but felt hesitant so she just tapped Leah on the shoulder lightly. "How are you?" asked Donna cheerfully. "Fine, sorry I interrupted your work hours," replied Leah while played with the tissue in her hand.
"No problem, what do you want to know? I'll answer as best I can," Donna said, waving at a waiter and ordering a cup of Earl Gray."How long have we known each other?" Leah asked straight to the point. Donna smiled as she tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hmmm about the past three years. At first, we weren't that close, but after the domestic violence incident that I experienced, we became quite close, especially after you introduced me to Adrian. It's such a blessing!"Leah smiled faintly, Donna's words sounded honest and straightforward. "You and Adrian have helped me a lot. Leah, whatever help you need, I will help voluntarily..." said Donna, her face looked sincere."Wow, I don't even remember you, but hearing you say that makes me want to cry," Leah said, wiped the corners of her watery eyes."It's okay to cry Leah, this must be hard for you to go through," whispered Donna, feeling sorry to see Leah's condition now."About Adrian..." Leah a little embarrassed. "Do you know anything about us?" asked Leah, without daring to look Donna in the eye. If it was true that Leah and Adrian were having an affair, Leah would hate herself for being disloyal to her marriage.Donna smiled, understanding the direction of Leah's conversation. "I will tell you what I know, you can filter out what you want to believe and what you don't, what is clear is that I will tell the truth without anything I remove or add," Donna opened earnestly.Leah felt a little tense so she hurriedly took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Go ahead, I'm listening ..." said Leah as she straightened her seat."You rarely talk about personal problems, but you once said that Adrian was like an angel sent by God to save your life," Donna smiled, recalled her conversation with Leah."Angel? Why did I say that?" asked Leah who thought the word 'angel' was too much.Donna shrugged her shoulders, "You never tell specifics and I'm not the type of person who likes to pry stories from other people, so only you and Adrian who know the meaning of that sentence..." Donna replied as is.Leah bit her lip, imagining herself who might regret marrying Jerome, and then started looking for another ideal man in her life, Leah suddenly felt disgusted with herself."Don't feel bad about yourself Leah, your relationship with Jerome has ended since the first three months of your marriage, whether you and Jerome have an agreement but your divorce process is really tough," said Donna, shaking her head.Leah sighed, "Yeah I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out..." Leah said and then glanced out the cafe window."Did I ever say something about my feelings to Adrian?" Leah asked, slightly embarrassed. Donna smiled and then shook her head, "The divorce process between you and Jerome, which has never been completed, even after almost two years, makes you feel insecure to be open about your relationship with Adrian," Donna replied softly.Leah was shocked, what agreement was there between her and Jerome that made their divorce so tough? And why did Leah send Adrian a farewell message on the very day the accident happened?"Oh yeah, maybe you can try to start digging up something about investment funds in Jerome's company, I don't know what exactly because you are always happy to keep your problems to yourself, but I accidentally saw documents about King's investors in your hands while we were having lunch together. At that time you said you needed to take care of something while your hand was pointing at the document," said Donna, her face wrinkled as she tried to remember her conversation with Leah."Kings investor documents..." Leah muttered, fiddling with the tissue in her hand. "Okay Donna, your information is really helpful, thank you very much," said Leah sincerely. Donna was right, maybe Leah could start her investigation from there.*****
"Leah!" a car stopped in front of Leah while Leah was waiting for a taxi. Donna chose to stay at the Cafe because she was enjoying her lunch. Leah frowned, feeling that she had never seen a car in front of her.
"This is me!" The glass of the car is fully open, Adrian's handsome face appears with a smile that can charm anyone.Leah remained where she stood, looking at Adrian questioningly. Did Donna tell Adrian that she was going to meet Leah this afternoon?"Get in! We need to talk!" exclaimed Adrian with a slightly begging face. Leah bit her lip, confused. If she got into Adrian's car, maybe things would never be the same again.Leah didn't know what kind of demon-possessed her mind, but she felt her feet stepped into Adrian's car. The next thing she knew, the car was already driving through Brooklyn traffic with her sitting next to Adrian who occasionally turned to check on her."Where are we going?" Leah asked stiffly. "My apartment, I have something to show you," Leah gasped, What? Adrian's apartment?*****
"Why did you bring me here?" Leah asked suspiciously, by then they had arrived at Adrian's apartment. Adrian took a deep breath, he stared at Leah for a long time, making Leah feel a little embarrassed."Adrian! Answer my question!" Leah demanded, her hand tightly gripping the cellphone in her hand. "This is your place, we lived together here for more than a year," answered Adrian in a choked voice.Leah was dumbfounded, her face completely pale, she looked like someone who's looking at a ghost. "You are lying!" Leah exclaimed, shaking her head. How could Leah end up live with Adrian?Adrian looked down, arranging the right words so that Leah wouldn't be too shocked. "After your relationship with Jerome finished, you had time to live with your sister Jessica. Because our relationship was getting better and better, you finally decided to move here," said Adrian cautiously.Hearing the mention of Jessica's name, Leah became even more surprised.
"You didn't go to the interview, didn't you?" Jerome grumbled suddenly as they were enjoying their dinner. Leah almost choked on the beef stroganoff she was chewing, but she quickly got the hang of it."I suddenly changed my mind, I think I just want to start my own business," said Leah thinking tactically. How careless was Leah, she should have known that Jerome might find out everything she was doing.Jerome was quite surprised by Leah's answer, he thought Leah was going to dodge it or something. "So yesterday you were really with Amy all day?" Jerome asked, her eyes seemingly penetrating Leah's head, trying his best to find out what Leah was up to.Leah nodded with a smile, "Amy turns out to be very kind and fun, it does make sense that I was ever close to her," said Leah making it up. Right now she just had to look naive and innocent so that Jerome wouldn't suspect her.Jerome's lips pulled sideways into a stiff smile. "Really? Then you ca
Leah woke up to find Jerome holding his head in silence. "Are you awake?" said Leah in a slightly hoarse voice. "What happened exactly last night?" asked Jerome with a confused face.Leah chuckled, straightening her body. "We were making out but you suddenly fell asleep," Leah replied, holding the blanket that covered her naked body. She made her face looked like a disappointed person."Really? Why could I be sleepy all of a sudden? It has never happened to me before..." Jerome said, still suspicious of his memory last night. Leah shrugged, "I don't know, maybe you're tired," Leah murmured, her eyes watching the expression on Jerome's face.Jerome was looked at Leah's eyes for quite a long time and finally, he nodded and looked away, "Yeah, maybe I was really tired last night," muttered Jerome doubtfully. Leah smiled and breathed a sigh of relief."Then..." Jerome turned his head to look at Leah again, his h
Adrian stretched out his hand, gripping Leah's hand tightly. "Leah, can you stop investigating everything? Jerome is not an ordinary person, he's sick! I won't be able to see you get hurt for a second time!" Adrian's voice was trembling.Leah shook her head and then pulled her hand from Adrian's. "I won't stop until I can find where Jessica is. And even if Jerome was the cause of my accident, I'll make sure he's responsible for it..." Leah said, her face hardened.Adrian closed his eyes, finding it difficult to change Leah's mind. "Then involve me! Don't do it all yourself! You have done it all yourself and failed! Please learn from your past!" Adrian's voice sounded so desperate, he was really worried about Leah's safety.Leah didn't flinch, she saw the sincerity on Adrian's face. But honestly l Leah felt bad taking advantage of Adrian's feelings for her. Because Leah doesn't know whether the memory of her love for Adrian will come back or not.
Sunlight poured in through the blinds of the window, waking Leah who was fast asleep. She squinted, slowly opening her eyes.Her whole body ached. Leah frowned and tried to get out of bed. She looked around the room but Jerome was nowhere to be seen. With the remaining energy she had, Leah headed to the bathroom."Oh my Goodness..." Leah whispered as she stared at her reflection in the giant mirror. She looked very pale and messy. Leah took off her nightgown while biting her lip in pain.There were dark red wounds and bruises on several parts of her body. Leah's body suddenly trembled, she threw herself on the bathroom floor and hugged herself while sobbing.Leah wanted to leave the house right away, but deep inside her heart, she knew, if she chose to give up now, she would never get the answer to all the questions that filled her head."Honey, are you in there?" shouted Jerome through the bathroom
"Leah, is everything okay?" Adrian opened his apartment door for Leah, his face looked extremely worried. Leah smiled slightly then nodded, she would hide her pain from Adrian for a while, telling Adrian will only make matters worse. "I need your help," told Leah while she was walking into Adrian's apartment. She threw herself on the khaki-colored sofa facing the giant glass wall. "Sure!
"Have you found Jessica?" Leah asked, chewing the grilled salmon in her mouth. Jerome stopped his hand which was busy cutting the salmon on his plate, "She will contact you soon," Jerome replied coldly.Leah frowned, "What do you mean? So you talked to Jessica already?" Leah shouted impatiently. Was her bad thought about Jerome is a mistake?Jerome nodded, "I managed to find the number last night when you were busy hanging out with another man," Jerome responded. His face was flat.Leah's heartfelt as if it had slumped to her knees. She lowered her head, staring at her nearly empty plate. Her brain was deep in thought, thinking of the most appropriate answer."I don't understand what you're talking about," Leah reacted at last. She could imagine that after this Jerome might curse her violently.Jerome laughed out loud, the echo of his laughter filling the silence of the dining room. Leah shuddered in horror, she gripped her dress tig
"I'm so sorry, I think lost my mind because I was so worried about Jessica..." Leah's voice sounded soft, breaking the silence of the living room where she and Jerome were sitting opposite each other with two glasses of wine in front of them.Jerome smiled, his hand reached out to gently touch Leah's hair. "I see, let's forget everything that happened yesterday and start over,"For some reason, this time Leah heard the seriousness in Jerome's expression, but she quickly pinched her thigh, to remind herself of her original purpose."Yeah, I guess we should," said Leah, confused about what to say, her thoughts still on her sister, Jessica."What's bothering you this time? Didn't Jessica call you already?" asked Jerome, somewhat displeased with Leah's gloomy expression.Leah took a deep breath while shrugging her shoulders slowly, "I don't know, I feel like she's covering up something from me, I'm not sure if she's okay or not," Leah sa