Leila woke up with her head hurting like hell. Her eyes had trouble focusing. She closed and reopened her eyes, trying to see where she was. She suddenly looked around at her surroundings.
Woah...wait ..wait...where am I ? she thought to herself, not recognizing the place. It was hard to describe, but she would take a guess and say she is at a hotel. Her bed was massive..she could roll over four times and still be on the bed. There was plush velvety looking carpet on the floor.
The curtains were the most beautiful draped curtains she had ever seen...everything about the room spelt opulence...which meant she was in a very wrong place. She got off from the bed, looking down at herself, she was dressed in a sexy white silky night gown..-what the-......... ? She doesn't own anything like this.
She tried racking her brain, she last remembered not feeling so well, after class with Mr. Tomas, something about being in a pool.....although Leila couldn't swim...so that wouldn't make any sense....
She looked at herself in the larger than life beautiful mirror standing in front of her bed. In spite of herself, she had to say...she really looked like this lifestyle suited her... there was a sharp knock on the door. She turned around looking scared, the knocker didn't wait, and knocked rudely again on the door.
"I'm coming in!" a voice she recognized said aggressively. To her great horror, the door opened and Zach Williams entered the room, with a mischievous grin on his face.
Leila stared at him in horror, moving back a little bit, "w-w-wh-what are you doing here !" she replied panicking, strangely aware, that she was in a closed hotel room with the young man she very much disliked in nothing but a flimsy nightgown.
"And What's so odd about me being in my own hotel?" Zach replied sarcastically, staring at her ..his eyes almost popping out. Leila blushed, folding her arms over her chest.
"yo-you-your hotel?...okay...well than what am I doing here?" she asked him ...almost scared of hearing how she got here
"You..better tell me now ! I have people looking for me Zach ! You better not have kidnapped me...or something..." she said trying to make a threat to sound dangerous, realizing by the second how feeble her attempts were.
Zach laughed "No you don't" he said in almost a whisper, edging closer to her, Leila started moving backwards a little bit
"I...You...d-d-do-don't come closer to –me..im warning y-y-you.." she said, realizing she was stuck between the bed and Zach.
He laughed, "as if you could stop me IF I was going to do something to you Leila Adams....and trust me...IF I wanted to do something to you..I would have done it a long time ago...you've been sleeping in my hotel since yesterday...and I could've easily switched off all the cameras and emptied the whole hotel ....IF I wanted to.." he finished darkly. She stared at him in shock
"Since yesterday? Wh-what ! I've been here since yesterday ? Listen I've really got to go..you don't understand ...My aunt will be really worried about me..." Leila said..trying to find a way to escape from Zach's close proximity. However Zach didn't move an inch.
"The Lies of Leila Adams.." Zach said sarcastically
"what does that mean?"
"It means..you and I both know that there is no one whose missing you...there's no one whose even bothered to look for you....now...is there Leila?" Zach replied still edging closer to Leila ...there was literally no more room for Leila to edge backwards.
"Let's just say...right now as it stands ..there is nothing that I really don't know about you.." Zach said dangerously.
"wh-what do you mean?" Leila asked again getting scared. Zach looked down at his hands, Leila's eyes followed suit and saw that he was having a brown folder in his hands. He roughly threw the folder onto the bed, spreading its contents onto the mattress. Leila stared at it in shock.
There were hundreds of photos upon photos of Leila...at her home. There were photos of her in her Pajamas, photos of her in the kitchen , there was photos of her sleeping in her shanty bedroom. Then there were photos of her aunt, standing over Leila in the kitchen and Leila looking down on the floor visibly shaken. There was a photo of Leila, eating alone in the kitchen floor while her aunt, uncle and their daughter were eating in the lounge. There were photos of Leila carrying all the shopping bags, while the family walked in front eating ice cream.
Leila stared with embarrassment and humiliation etched upon her face. There were dozen more so photos and Leila didn't have the will to go and look over them. Zach pulled out a paper from under the photos and started reading it out aloud.
"Leila Marie Adams, aged 17, born in a small town, to a young mother and father. Mother and father both teachers...one brother by the name of Dylan Adams..7 years younger..parents deceased in a car accident when Leila was 11 years old, who then proceeded to live with her biological aunt (Margot Roberts), her husband –Henry Roberts and her only daughter by the name of Lydia Roberts....".
Zach paused, staring dangerously at her "..... If I said your aunt didn't give 2 shits about you..that would be an understatement...." He said, raising his eyebrows he continued to read. "... Frankly speaking the aunt seems to have taken Leila in mainly due to the fact that it would mean free labour. By labour here we are mainly dealing with domestic labour.., and free labour in the Roberts family business which at the moment is a Hair salon. However , it is to be noted that Margot Roberts seems to continuously change her nature of business ..the last 2 years it was snack shop, prior to that it was a photo booth and so on and so forth. Also to be noted that , although the subject of this investigation Leila Adams, has suffered severe neglect and abuse at the hands of the Roberts family ...she seems to be fairly mentally balanced ..and blah...blah...blah..." zach finished, throwing the document roughly onto the bed, leaving Leila feeling shocked. What the hell was that.
"wh-...who...wrote th..that.." she asked
"it was a joint venture so to speak..between my private investigator and our clinical psychologist.." zach finished.
"Why..?" she asked him feebly without looking up to him
"It's my money..and how I chose to spend it ..is entirely up to me.."
Leila got angry fuming she aggressively pushed Zach's chest trying to create space between the two of them. "I . Hate. You." She said. Leila gasped as Zach roughly grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him , he put his arms around her back and forced her face to look at him, with his other arm.
"so ..there it is...the real life Cinderella.." he said staring at her in awe. Leila could feel tears falling except these were tears of humiliation. It was enough to live through that life every day..it was even worse to have someone photograph it , document it and shove it in your face. She started crying ..."Just..p..ple..please ..let me go h-h-home..Zach" she said , she wanted to break free of his hold ..but she knew she would be no match for him.
"Home..which home?" he asked aggressively, shaking her "the one...where you are told to eat on the floor?! Or maybe ..the home where you have to work till 4 am cleaning that pathetic excuse of a salon? Or how about the home where you are only allowed to eat leftovers? Tell me WHICH HOME?!" Zach yelled at Leila Shaking her violently..and she shuddered.....
"And you think WE at royal high school don't know how to treat people ..?" Zach yelled at her, before she knew it, she started sobbing hard.
"wh..wha..what do you want from me..?" Leila asked him weakly
"I told you..didn't I Leila Adams? " Zach said still gripping onto Leila and pushing her body, till it was rubbing on him "that you would come to live with me?..." he said taunting her.
"You're crazy ! I'd rather stay with my aunt....then live with you ...you're a complete monster !" Leila shrieked trying to loosen his grasp..but he kept a firm grip on her.
"well then that should suit you fine then ! Since you're already used to living with monsters as it is !" Zach shrieked back. Leila pushed him with one big shove. She looked around the room frantically searching..she needed to get away from him...she opened all the built in cupboards she could see in her room ...turning around in a frenzy trying to look for her things...finally in one of the last cupboards she saw her uniform, cell phone and bag lying in the cupboard. She picked it up wanting to walk out, Zach immediately stood by the door, blocking her entrance
"Move.." she said
"Make me.." Zach replied
"Is everything a joke to you?" she asked him
"Do I look like im joking?" zach asked her staring her dead in the eyes.
"So..what? You're going to hold me here against my will...is that it?" Leila asked him angrily
"Let's just say Leila..this was me asking nicely...I won't be held responsible for my actions next time...and remember one thing...I don't have limits...."
"You're a psychopath..." Leila stared at him. "You can't simply go around forcing people to live with you!" she yelled.
"Force? Oh no...I won't be forcing anybody ..next time it will be YOU who will come running to me ..." Zach said staring at her viciously
"Right. You're not just a psychopath...you're completely delusional...!" Leila said "but in any event..till I come 'running to you' ...can I leave? " Leila finished staring at him angrily
Zach after staring at her for what felt like eternity, broke into a handsome smile, and bowed, and pointed to the door, as though saluting her "My lady..please.." he said ushering her to the door.
*****
Wow. Good bye Psycho ! Leila thought to herself, as she walked out. Zach Williams was definitely a huge new problem in her life, one she didn't need, but at the moment, the more pressing problem she had to deal with was facing the wrath of Aunt Margot...she had never left for even a day without informing her aunt.
This was not going to be good. How and why was she out for 2 days? Did that psycho nut job do something to her? Sighing to herself, she realized it doesn't even matter, she had bigger problems to face that namely being her aunt, how was she going to explain herself and her absence?
****
Leila are you okay? Text message from Justin. Her phone was her only source of light. Leila was locked in the pantry. She had bruises all over her legs and back from the belt beating she got when she arrived home from Aunt Margot. Crap, her battery was at 10 percent, definitely wouldn't take her through the night.
"Hey im great Justin! How are you? Er...sorry to ask..I don't remember much..but what happened on Tuesday? I woke up this afternoon in Zach Williams hotel :-( .." Leila replied, trying to type as slow as possible to minimize any sounds.
Leila tried to block out her evening when she arrived home. Needless to say..she got the usual threats of how she is lucky Aunt Margot didn't leave her on the streets to be a street child, and she should be grateful that her aunt even bothered to open the door for her.
"Where were you? Busy whoring around I suppose ....I mean what else can you do for 2 whole days?" Aunt Margot asked fuming
"Check her Ma..I'm sure she got good whoring money at Royal High School !" her cousin Lydia laughed edging on the mother.
"You know what I think you're right..we need a cut of it.." Her aunt said
"A cut of what Ma?" Lydia asked confused
"A cut of her whoring money you dimwit!" Aunt Margot said roughly before turning to Leila
"Strip.." she said dangerously, Luckily uncle Henry wasn't in at that time..
Aunt Margot had the time of her life, asking Leila to strip so she could 'search' for her 'whoring money', and then she whipped out Uncle Henry's belt.....
Leila closed her eyes, she didn't want to think about it.
You mean you don't remember anything???!!! Justin's response.
Leila paused and thought hard...nothing really came to mind ...but now that she thought about it..it was so strange that she didn't remember what happened for 2 days of her life..
Err....no...what happened..? Leila asked curiously, hoping her battery didn't die down.
Holy crap Leila! You were totally drunk ! You initiated Zach and Xavier (just imagine ! YOU-actually-INITIATED-XAVIER-AND-ZACH !!) We later found out that it was Pearl, Alicia and Oliya who spiked your drink to get you drunk...
Xavier threw you in the pool (im still not too sure why..but Thomas said he was trying to get you back to your senses cause you had kinda collapsed onto Zach..) but then you almost drowned , he had to dive in to get you out of there..
Zach took you to his hotel (Xaiver and Zach had another massive fight about what would happen to you..it was kind of entertaining TBH) ..you were totally out of it..you got really really sick..Zach even had some specialist doctor flown in from Singapore to attend to you..we heard you had a rebound of pneumonia again...from what the rest of us beggars heard..it was really serious ?
Anyways..we all got a network message from our mobile service provider saying they will be monitoring the network for any illegal video sharing or posting on social media..I'd say that was Xavier's doing since most of the telecommunication service providers are all subsidiaries of Royal Conglomerate..let's just say...its been quite entertaining :-) ..
Leila stared at her phone screen..trying to take in all the information
W-T-F !!!!!!!!!!!!!! She started texting back. So Pearl, Alicia and Oliya had spiked her drink? She knew something was up with them, they kept smirking and whispering to each other all through that day.
Oh gosh, she buried her face in her knees, how will she face everyone at school tomorrow? She re-read all of Justin's texts, so she had pneumonia again? Really? Are we sure that's the whole truth? For all anyone knows Zach could have just made up the whole story of her catching pneumonia, so he could kidnap her..maybe he even poisoned her..sighing to herself, her mind was getting carried away..
Are you sure you believe Zach about the story of me "catching pneumonia" ..I mean it's not like his the most honest man out there. Leila texted Justin back
No..he sent a short video to school Management WhatsApp group it seems, and then it basically got shared with everyone..it looked pretty bad Leila, you were on an oxygen mask..very much unconscious..the doctor and Zach were there in your room 24/7 throughout the 2 nights.
In fact..if I think about it, I'd go as far as to say Zach Williams saved your life ???
Leila stared at her phone again in shock,
Can you send me the video please? Leila texted back.
Just wanted to Say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone if you've stuck with Leila so far on her journey....I really just had a few questions I DESPERATELY Need you guys to answer !
1. Who are you all leaning towards? Xavier or Zach?
2. Who do you all think Leila is most compatible with Xavier or Zach?
Currently busy with the next chapter, it should be up soon..and let me say.. its going to be a game changer for Zach, Leila, and Xavier .
Happy festive season ..and please drop your thoughts below !