Leo had a smile on his 567Please respect copyright.PENANAQ7C00l2CAl
face when he brought himself to a comfortable position. He never had 567Please respect copyright.PENANAorJfxdI3au
this excited yet happy feeling within himself just by staring at the 567Please respect copyright.PENANAjeCz68oDeU
face right in front of him.567Please respect copyright.PENANAWJmrhFg8Wu
It was morning and the 567Please respect copyright.PENANAoO7EURiFeG
sun rays managed to seep into his room giving it a wonderful golden 567Please respect copyright.PENANARQdr29FQqp
glow. But nothing in his room shined brighter than the woman sleeping 567Please respect copyright.PENANALFJDVqKN4g
next to him who had the lovely skin colour of bronze that shined 567Please respect copyright.PENANAGbhS9yMncE
brilliantly in the morning sun.567Please respect copyright.PENANAK8uykpffyw
Carly had joined him 567Please respect copyright.PENANAkRyoT5UsdR
last night after she had watched a movie with Angel, Eric and Oliver. By567Please respect copyright.PENANAoldus0ObpL
then, it was already late, Kim had left a good two hours ago and almost567Please respect copyright.PENANAgW7dvfqa6D
everyone in the house had gone to sleep, except from the two love 567Please respect copyright.PENANAZRUclO4UOh
birds, of course.567Please respect copyright.PENANAHTqrYXO6El
It was good she came, 567Please respect copyright.PENANAMO5IjSqHci
Leo thought to himself as he continued to stare at her. She was still 567Please respect copyright.PENANAxYsGvj39A2
sleeping and she looked beautiful, no doubt in his mind that she was. He567Please respect copyright.PENANACyxIFDCSpB
wished time could slow down so that he could look at her for just a 567Please respect copyright.PENANA0kMka3SESt
little while longer. Sooner than later, he would have to wake her up.567Please respect copyright.PENANALkhH1ONKTS
He stretched his hand 567Please respect copyright.PENANA6SVL28FfyF
and ran it through her lovely silky black hair. For an African American,567Please respect copyright.PENANAV8TRB5mdwd
her hair was gorgeous. He tucked away a strand of her hair that was on 567Please respect copyright.PENANATleQrjL7hp
her cheek. When his hand brushed over her cheek, ever so gently upon 567Please respect copyright.PENANAIrn8hUbeTO
pulling it away, her eyes slowly flew open.567Please respect copyright.PENANAO3LrxjQeSF
"Morning, sleepy head," said Leo with a smile.567Please respect copyright.PENANArDVzZoifhq
She didn't respond as 567Please respect copyright.PENANAhXh4yVQmOP
she smiled through her sleepy eyes and closed them again. She still 567Please respect copyright.PENANA7A3cKfixof
looked so beautiful with that goofy smile on her face, he thought to 567Please respect copyright.PENANA131n42yMlM
himself. Leo chuckled.567Please respect copyright.PENANAbRmdOLNEB1
"It's already morning?" she asked as she opened her eyes again and looked at him.567Please respect copyright.PENANARKL28EivpX
"Sadly, yes," he replied. "You know what that means."567Please respect copyright.PENANAfL5uxYM4oK
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.567Please respect copyright.PENANAbHrNvf0yh1
Leo continued to chuckle. "Come on, you know the drill." He sat up and uncovered the bed cover covering her head.567Please respect copyright.PENANATvGBXUn3wV
"Fine," she said as she gave up and sat up on the bed. "I really hoped that I could stay a little longer."567Please respect copyright.PENANA99EdQE6vlv
"You're right. But I 567Please respect copyright.PENANASYV6WEL7P6
better get you out of here before anyone wakes up. It might be a weekend567Please respect copyright.PENANAcT8tSCCyW0
but there are still a lot of early birds around here."567Please respect copyright.PENANArYB2AFjfRl
Carly smiled at him. "Like you?"567Please respect copyright.PENANAj1dCjamej5
"Like my dad. Come on, we better hurry."567Please respect copyright.PENANAmHhgwmeRAp
They both got out of bed567Please respect copyright.PENANAo0W6gD5GVk
and got dressed into their nightwear covering themselves with their 567Please respect copyright.PENANA46gTxVWS0g
sleeping gowns. They sneaked out of Leo's room and they tiptoed all the 567Please respect copyright.PENANA51VVHyJsPU
way to Carly's.567Please respect copyright.PENANAqM3QZFqxnO
"Thanks," said Carly in a low voice when they got to the door. "I'll continue sleeping and we will meet later on."567Please respect copyright.PENANAwyCW0IHzXH
"Great, I'll see you soon," said Leo as he smiled.567Please respect copyright.PENANAqUKoTXZgmn
Carly gave him a simple 567Please respect copyright.PENANAJ2joRiJfeb
peck on the cheek and quickly went in her room. For a moment, Leo 567Please respect copyright.PENANAdItyHQe3M0
couldn't help but stand there for a moment, lost in thought, until he 567Please respect copyright.PENANAROZX8bpkaI
realised that he had been standing there looking at the door. He smiled 567Please respect copyright.PENANAq0SXDBvrRv
at his stupidity as he made his way back to his room.567Please respect copyright.PENANAVI1UVJAHDp
Just when he got there, he changed his mind and thought he really needed a cup of coffee.567Please respect copyright.PENANAExH2AqNC7Y
He made his way 567Please respect copyright.PENANA0rhrQIyMEl
downstairs and before he could make his way to the kitchen when he 567Please respect copyright.PENANAjNCITDXxru
reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a noise coming from the 567Please respect copyright.PENANAaVFC2g1aHv
kitchen.567Please respect copyright.PENANAXafgpk1rm4
He wondered who could be567Please respect copyright.PENANAMnI7f9Sk1I
up at this early hour. He knew his dad was always an early bird, but 567Please respect copyright.PENANAqBub5Z2E6j
when it came to the weekend, Leo knew he wouldn't be awake for another 567Please respect copyright.PENANAiATPmXweri
hour. He made his way to the kitchen and what he saw, shook him a 567Please respect copyright.PENANApJfZY3xKrn
little.567Please respect copyright.PENANAQv5MSxS8ld
Angel was standing by 567Please respect copyright.PENANAOh1husEbKQ
the kitchen counter where she had put up the coffee maker to make some 567Please respect copyright.PENANA5v5aI4UHwS
coffee. Her presence somehow didn't matter to him, but there was some 567Please respect copyright.PENANAAJiGBSBfgQ
thing that shook him the moment he got there.567Please respect copyright.PENANAUojo3CI9Ai
Angel was standing, and not on a wheelchair.567Please respect copyright.PENANAKVf2IBlTIB
Sensing someone's presence, Angel turned to the door. When she saw Leo, she neither gave an angry look nor a smile.567Please respect copyright.PENANA3KhbZYoqbj
"Morning," she greeted as she turned back to the machine on the counter.567Please respect copyright.PENANAp7I2rBnRGd
"Morning," Leo somehow managed to say. "You're up early."567Please respect copyright.PENANAOpgiILUguU
"I just had to."567Please respect copyright.PENANAAQQEIZLZ4G
"Ummm," Leo still 567Please respect copyright.PENANAmQg8Mq1BgM
couldn't believe that Angel was standing in front of him. He expected 567Please respect copyright.PENANAz2sIO9wwkv
her to be still on her wheelchair. "Are you going somewhere?"567Please respect copyright.PENANASmIUj341sa
"Thought of taking a walk to strengthen my legs a little."567Please respect copyright.PENANAPAQavHJWQI
The coffee maker soon 567Please respect copyright.PENANAXNMiUXVaTK
finished making her coffee and the room became slient. Angel went over 567Please respect copyright.PENANASGDYJYThse
to the cupboard next to the sink to get a mug. There was a slight limp 567Please respect copyright.PENANA4zSBHJmtYE
in her walk, but all in all, she seemed okay and not in much pain.567Please respect copyright.PENANA6mMEyyAzy9
Just as Angel was heading back to the coffee maker, she noticed Leo's eyes on her. She turned to look at him.567Please respect copyright.PENANAjsQno4HEbq
"Why are you looking at me like you've just seen a ghost?" she asked.567Please respect copyright.PENANAPVAmklYEup
"Uh..." Leo hesitated. "I'm just surprised that you're walking."567Please respect copyright.PENANAk2ScAaTun7
"Why? You wanted me 567Please respect copyright.PENANAqrRioVK9sq
confined to a wheelchair forever?" Angel raised an eyebrow at him before567Please respect copyright.PENANAwltXJG4VfR
she turned towards the coffee maker and went over to it to pour herself567Please respect copyright.PENANAdouOLnTzlr
a cup.567Please respect copyright.PENANAKUkQ7SibYd
"Umm, no. I'm just surprised, that's all."567Please respect copyright.PENANAw2ajPAz1qu
"The doctor said I should start walking around to strengthen my legs."567Please respect copyright.PENANABVxP89GKqj
Leo just nodded his head but he was still in shock. He expected her to be confined to her wheelchair a little while longer.567Please respect copyright.PENANASzmSTAGK4w
"You still don't seem 567Please respect copyright.PENANAl1w14fJaBY
happy that I'm walking again," said Angel, bringing Leo back from his 567Please respect copyright.PENANA06ZiDoFlL7
thoughts. "I hope you don't think that this will get in your way of 567Please respect copyright.PENANAAXmZp0fgMU
things."567Please respect copyright.PENANA8wgnKsoGLz
Leo was the one to raise his eyebrows this time around. "What do you mean?"567Please respect copyright.PENANAfiFzIdo9E9
Angel took a sip of her 567Please respect copyright.PENANAwZ5Uf0o4EQ
coffee as she leaned on the counter and placed her hand on it. "You know567Please respect copyright.PENANAPR7KI9eEnR
what I mean. I know Carly didn't sleep in her room last night. She 567Please respect copyright.PENANAm9qescu0Z7
spent her night with you."567Please respect copyright.PENANAXUHQ83kWt2
Leo retaliated, "that's not true."567Please respect copyright.PENANAymoV5uAzyw
Angel smirked and Leo 567Please respect copyright.PENANAcx6W8NAaDy
felt his cheeks heat up suddenly. He cursed himself from the inside 567Please respect copyright.PENANAXzIdK742dC
still not understanding why he was feeling like this.567Please respect copyright.PENANAAyIcgPsthQ
"Tell it to the person who is now able to walk up the stairs," she said.567Please respect copyright.PENANAPejFp9E4Ae
"Does that matter? Carly is a grown woman, you know?"567Please respect copyright.PENANAdUFA1rpXZ9
"Carly is a grown woman, yes, but that doesn't mean she knows that what she's doing might lead her into trouble."567Please respect copyright.PENANALKsuRwdzqS
Leo shook his head. "I don't think I want to talk about this with you."567Please respect copyright.PENANA5GFnHBR2hf
"You're right, Leo. It's567Please respect copyright.PENANAaKgcxZUhZH
early in the morning and I would rather walk around the garden to 567Please respect copyright.PENANAN8yg7EUyx3
exercise my legs rather than talk about something that I know I don't 567Please respect copyright.PENANA1AAN6cpRcb
have any control over."567Please respect copyright.PENANAogdMlLatdY
Leo was a little shocked567Please respect copyright.PENANAMiecW7wiI8
to hear Angel talk like this. Was she finally giving up, allowing Leo 567Please respect copyright.PENANAffQDC0sAJB
and Carly the chance to be happy? Or was she playing some kind of mind 567Please respect copyright.PENANAqKPXBjS8EV
game?567Please respect copyright.PENANAuQxwaalKx2
She slowly made her way 567Please respect copyright.PENANAdFZ2jJvIJg
to the backdoor of the house still with her coffee mug. Leo continued to567Please respect copyright.PENANAqzeHWqoBFn
look at her and something came up in his mind.567Please respect copyright.PENANAWkmPK1kbs5
"How do you know, Carly's room?" Leo asked suddenly.567Please respect copyright.PENANAl6RUxDlX6T
Angel stopped upon reaching the door and slowly turned to look at him.567Please respect copyright.PENANAB8nM9TD1hT
"I beg your pardon?" she asked politely. Leo wasn't buying it.567Please respect copyright.PENANAnh91JlX1LN
"The time you came into 567Please respect copyright.PENANAya3Hh1cRjz
this house, you were still in your wheelchair and you never made it up 567Please respect copyright.PENANAzmYctgJCUd
the stairs. So how do you know where Carly's room is?"567Please respect copyright.PENANAKd22Pwy0Ik
Angel smiled at Leo. 567Please respect copyright.PENANAXK8irjBPGm
"Yesterday when Carly came home and after we argued in the study, she 567Please respect copyright.PENANAYqU2Lvb6FR
invited me to come over to her room since she wanted to show me what she567Please respect copyright.PENANA8w2XNsCXM8
bought from the mall. With the help of two of the house helps, they got567Please respect copyright.PENANA1VNMnJmwmb
me up the stairs and when they helped me back down afterwards."567Please respect copyright.PENANABUBA6JrkzC
"I don't believe you."567Please respect copyright.PENANA58TlGzaE1y
"You don't have to, Mr 567Please respect copyright.PENANASn0QQnH8QZ
Detective," Angel gave him a fake smile. "I don't have to prove myself 567Please respect copyright.PENANAnEicxtK6r3
that I'm telling the truth because you would never believe me and it 567Please respect copyright.PENANAW7Hp61ULQ7
will clearly be a waste of my precious time."567Please respect copyright.PENANAiejOfM7xUF
Angel turned back to face the door and unlocked it. When she swung the door open, she turned to look at Leo.567Please respect copyright.PENANAvy1iM7VWuU
"I'll be heading out for567Please respect copyright.PENANA87BdtEFrXG
a stroll in the garden. I would have liked if you would accompany me, 567Please respect copyright.PENANAAUHxmlSHIz
but, as usual, things wouldn't end so well, would it?"567Please respect copyright.PENANA7GQM4AaVUc
Leo didn't have to 567Please respect copyright.PENANAMWIgm32Qbo
answer that question and Angel didn't expect him to. She slowly walked 567Please respect copyright.PENANA6stgEzqxu2
out of the kitchen as silently as she could and closed the door behind 567Please respect copyright.PENANA55N7KqIPCo
her.567Please respect copyright.PENANABggeoynHvE
Leo stared at the closed567Please respect copyright.PENANAFIDSC6lrH5
door and he couldn't tell if he was angry at Angel like he always has 567Please respect copyright.PENANAdDgPWma8hG
or he was just surprised that she was able to walk around again. Either 567Please respect copyright.PENANA2EKmZ2g0PW
way, he forgot about making coffee and went back to his room, feeling 567Please respect copyright.PENANAgZi9XG6lMb
utterly disturbed.567Please respect copyright.PENANASCerN3zm8V
***567Please respect copyright.PENANAKpTGkBiRFl
In567Please respect copyright.PENANAFAzu6a3UwP
an hour's time, almost everyone in the McDonell mansion was awake. At 567Please respect copyright.PENANAc5lbxen6I0
the breakfast table, Mr McDonell and Amanda were having their breakfast.567Please respect copyright.PENANA6Wxaxpk79T
Leo and Eric soon came to join them.567Please respect copyright.PENANAT7FJRy8Abw
"Morning grandma, morning dad," said Leo as he sat beside his grandmother.567Please respect copyright.PENANAodQypE4fjk
"Morning," said Amanda.567Please respect copyright.PENANAZXkCJW4Vlh
"Morning," said Mr McDonell who was looking at his daily newspaper.567Please respect copyright.PENANAkBDmzyYjgp
"Hope you all slept well," said Eric as he sat opposite Leo and Amanda.567Please respect copyright.PENANAHIkNFYDHCd
"We did," said Amanda with a smile. "And I can see you two boys slept well too."567Please respect copyright.PENANAHa8nRodmHz
"I sure as hell did," said Eric.567Please respect copyright.PENANA36uqv8qTD0
"And567Please respect copyright.PENANAE1LEutCHIi
Leo has this smile on his face," said Mr McDonell. He might have been 567Please respect copyright.PENANAnN1f1Kw7Y8
looking at the newspaper, but he was pretty observant.567Please respect copyright.PENANAmO1Y9rtvzk
"Do I?" Leo asked.567Please respect copyright.PENANABmuNOJPu69
"Of course, dear," said Amanda. "That smile is even making you look more handsome."567Please respect copyright.PENANArdovv1xzWb
Leo567Please respect copyright.PENANArMeKQlhGg6
continued to smile. And he knew the reason why. He noticed his cousin 567Please respect copyright.PENANApmnBLhR6jJ
looking at him across the table. Leo couldn't help but feel that Eric 567Please respect copyright.PENANA2NS37505s2
knew the reason too.567Please respect copyright.PENANAf9A5dfXJ8m
"Do you have any plans today, boys?" Amanda asked as she drank her tea.567Please respect copyright.PENANAvbctAx9EsE
"No, granny," Eric replied as he got two slices of toast. "It's a weekend after all."567Please respect copyright.PENANAXEVuPUMsDv
"I just wanted to know. It would be nice to spend some quality time with you two handsome grandsons of mine."567Please respect copyright.PENANACPWv8eIyPH
"You would," said Leo. "We aren't going anywhere."567Please respect copyright.PENANAvejOelvNb5
"Lovely."567Please respect copyright.PENANA1MvLhFp0dz
A few seconds later, just as Leo was pouring tea from the teapot into his cup, Angel walked in.567Please respect copyright.PENANAhV6ZNa93uq
"Morning, everyone," she greeted.567Please respect copyright.PENANAziP22UfjqT
Upon567Please respect copyright.PENANA0w3m8SU12x
hearing her voice and seeing her face, Leo spelt some tea on the table.567Please respect copyright.PENANAFTiwQGrBUR
Some almost poured on his trousers, but he was very lucky.567Please respect copyright.PENANAwAMn2uwYnx
"Oh, my, careful, Leo," said Amanda. "You would have got burnt."567Please respect copyright.PENANALe4xv1ZIiy
"I'm fine," said Leo as he cleaned up the spelt tea with a napkin.567Please respect copyright.PENANAElSCXjRZTH
"Oh, morning, Angel," said Amanda, then she gasped. "I didn't realise that you're walking and not on your wheelchair."567Please respect copyright.PENANAtkdYv0bguc
Eric567Please respect copyright.PENANAxfiZtSM1co
quickly turned to look at Angel and he also looked surprised. Mr 567Please respect copyright.PENANA2ZkgDID9Ns
McDonell smiled at Angel. Leo groaned as he realised that all that he 567Please respect copyright.PENANAlD3NLWvWDb
had seen earlier wasn't a dream.567Please respect copyright.PENANAweyssA7AoD
"Yes, the doctor told me that I should start walking to strengthen my legs a little," said Angel.567Please respect copyright.PENANArqH2qxaJUO
"Well, that's good," said Mr McDonell.567Please respect copyright.PENANAvZQvzn2NaR
Eric stood up from his seat and drew out a chair next to him for Angel.567Please respect copyright.PENANAABMTb2F1al
"You can take a seat here," said Eric.567Please respect copyright.PENANApfsnGKporI
"Thank you, Eric," said Angel as she slowly but gradually made her way to the table and sat down.567Please respect copyright.PENANARt0EFnNFvX
"It's good to see you walking again, dear," said Amanda.567Please respect copyright.PENANANtOxTzElFW
"It does feel good, Amanda," Angel smiled.567Please respect copyright.PENANAHT6VqDTkZJ
"So does that mean you will be going back to work anytime soon?" Mr McDonell asked.567Please respect copyright.PENANAjdCjjmXRdT
"I've been given more time from work to recuperate before I go back."567Please respect copyright.PENANAPwCwajOcSC
"Okay, then. If you don't mind, I would like to talk to you about something. And Carly too. After breakfast, that is."567Please respect copyright.PENANAorzamg6m5L
Angel nodded her head. "Of course."567Please respect copyright.PENANA9MOA6rXXJL
Leo567Please respect copyright.PENANAOzSlNZoUas
couldn't help but feel that something was up. Could it be that his 567Please respect copyright.PENANAHA8lawyB7f
grandmother had told his father about Angel working at the company? Leo 567Please respect copyright.PENANAXp8npRB0Qb
hoped she hadn't. And if she did, he hoped his father had disagreed with567Please respect copyright.PENANAwQAnqKZ1fL
her and that he wanted to talk to Angel about something else.567Please respect copyright.PENANAO6gWtyXU4P
Angel567Please respect copyright.PENANAgFaqoTAJDh
poured herself a glass of juice and looked up at Leo who had looked 567Please respect copyright.PENANAu89WoC5Etm
away after he realised that he had been looking at her since she sat at 567Please respect copyright.PENANAIMsvUFbyFk
the table. Angel ignored him as she got some toast.567Please respect copyright.PENANAMW2zIUZ3iV
While the others continued to have breakfast, Oliver and his mother, Diana, joined them.567Please respect copyright.PENANAh67fy2KSBJ
"I'll567Please respect copyright.PENANAvSng2QNBXg
be in my study if you need me," said Mr McDonell as he drank the last 567Please respect copyright.PENANA9slySDGbn8
of his coffee. "Angel, you can join me in the study when you're done."567Please respect copyright.PENANAPLBvuMgo3V
"Yes, I would," said Angel.567Please respect copyright.PENANAgOh8SXLRIk
Mr McDonell soon left the dining room.567Please respect copyright.PENANAH4Uy3duLvi
"I see that you're not sitting on your wheelchair, Angel," said Diana.567Please respect copyright.PENANAPOmuFNoOm9
"Yes, I'm not."567Please respect copyright.PENANAImyh42dwDe
"That's nice," said Oliver. "It would be so much easier now taking you around."567Please respect copyright.PENANA7AOZxF9upv
"Why? You want to take me around the house? I never got that opportunity since I wasn't feeling too well."567Please respect copyright.PENANAoBHV8odN2u
"Yes, I would."567Please respect copyright.PENANAsalrvLRC7k
Angel smiled at Oliver, sitting next to her. "Charming."567Please respect copyright.PENANAapErL1RXQL
"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."567Please respect copyright.PENANAXhSgnHItLf
"Well, it doesn't work on me," said Amanda.567Please respect copyright.PENANACNhWgwHbcp
Almost everyone at the table laughed, except Leo.567Please respect copyright.PENANAArn8szQABz
"You can take me around the house after I'm done talking with your uncle, okay?"567Please respect copyright.PENANAWZWVd7FgG5
"Yes."567Please respect copyright.PENANAXepQBBDLYM
Leo567Please respect copyright.PENANA9GYIGyphaR
soon found himself standing up, ready to leave the table. He had had 567Please respect copyright.PENANADJaI6JYwej
enough of his breakfast and he certainly had had enough of everyone 567Please respect copyright.PENANAd6HesH9ZNE
talking about Angel.567Please respect copyright.PENANAVtOL2a3NAd
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.567Please respect copyright.PENANAhY1QipuKbd
"I'll be going to see Mr McDonell in his office now," said Angel as she drew away from the table.567Please respect copyright.PENANAyLTz6Bande
"You'll find us here," said Amanda.567Please respect copyright.PENANAn7HHyHGgF0
Before Angel could find 567Please respect copyright.PENANAolZ29WlOWx
her way out of the dining room, Carly soon came in. And she paused upon 567Please respect copyright.PENANAuL3KJ1VvVV
seeing her sister, standing on her own.567Please respect copyright.PENANA8mZ9B7r92Q
"Wow, Angel," said Carly with a surprised look on his face. "You're walking again."567Please respect copyright.PENANAtAb2NbddmP
Angel only smiled. "Yes," she said. "You should have your breakfast and come to the study."567Please respect copyright.PENANAwa3A6KUv07
"To the study? Why?" The excited look Carly had on her face, soon disappeared.567Please respect copyright.PENANAkfef1pSRJ2
"Mr McDonell wants to have a word. You'll find me there."567Please respect copyright.PENANAHLtmVtGUKW
Angel made her way out of the dining room while Carly stood there wondering what Mr McDonell wanted to talk about.
ns 15.158.61.46da2