"Leila...We are here." Angelo's voice shook Leila out of her daydreams. She nodded slowly and grabbed the bouquet.

"C-can I get f-few minutes?" Her small voice shook. Angelo just let out a hum of understanding and opened the door for her.

She slid out of the car and made her way towards the familiar black metal doors. Angelo stood silently, leaning against the car and watched his sister as she walked out from his sight.

He let out a small sigh and lit a cigarette.

Leila's mind was complete blank, only thing she could notice that her feet were leading her to a familiar pathway.

Her breath hitched as her eyes made contact with Adriano Silas. In his hands, there was a bouquet of black roses same like Leila.

He ignored Leila's stare and placed the bouquet down. He stood there for a complete minute in silence with his hands shoved in his pockets. His eyes remained staring at the name embedded on the stone.

L A U R A B R O O K E

Silently, he turned around and walked past a stunned Leila. A guilt crushed her heart at the new discovery and a small sob escaped her lips.

Adriano froze.

"It was her own decision. You shouldn't blame yourself and hurt yourself continuously. It will give her pain too." He whispered and placed his hand over Leila's trembling shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.

With that, he walked out from there. At the same moment, Leila dropped down on her knees and she placed the bouquet of her black roses beside Adriano's.

She looked at the stone and let another tear roll down her cheek.

"It's been four years now." She whispered.

"I'm not gonna lie, I terribly miss you. I wish I knew what you had been going through at that time, maybe I could have helped. But I-I was ignorant. This regret is tearing me apart, Laura. I feel like something is crushing me, suffocating me by every second. I need y-you. I really need you. Why did you have to go? Just why?"

Leila burst in tears. A harsh blow of wind brushed her body making her hair fly.

"I w-want to be mad at you. I want to yell at you and s-scream at y-you. But I can't. I r-really c-can't."

She cried silently as small droplets of rain started falling on top of her. She didn't move a inch just kept crying as the rain got harsh and heavier.

Leila felt a presence behind her that made her stiffen.

"Rain's getting heavier. We should go." Angelo said.

She sniffled and stood up slowly. Angelo took a hold of her hand and started to lead her out of there.

One last time, she glanced back, her eyes caught a glimpse of a small figure near the stone. Leila frowned slightly.

She rubbed on her eyes and tried to look again. The rain was only making it harder to look but there was no-one now. She tried to look around in search of that figure but there was nothing and Angelo was already leading her out of the doors.

He opened the door of car letting her get in first and got in the driver seat.

As he started driving, Leila leaned her head against the window and watched the rain falling outside. She didn't even notice when her eyes started closing.

______******______

"Laura! What are you doing up here? Get down or you will get hurt." Leila said in confusion and worry. Laura slowly turned to look back at her and gave her bestfriend a little smile.

"I'm sorry Leila. Please stop right there." Laura whispered.

"W-what are you saying, Laura? I'm sure we can w-work upon this problem together. Next tim--" Laura cut her off.

"There won't be a next time Leila. I'm really sorry." A tear rolled down her cheek and she took a step back.

"NO NO NO! LAURA NO!" Leila ran towards her and she tried to grab her hand, she managed to merely touch her finger.

"NO LAURA!" Leila shrieked as Laura was falling down. A small smile was formed on Laura's lips but her tears were spilling down.

"Forgive me." She mouthed to Leila, a gasp left her lips as her body made contact with concrete floor. Her fingers merely twitched for a second, before she went completely motionless. Her smile remained on her lips.

"LAURA!"

Leila flinched awake. Her frantic eyes made contact with Angelo's unemotional eyes. He was carrying her in the mansion.

He settled her down on her feet and let her walk to her room. His eyes followed her back but this time with a small warmth and sadness in them that Leila never got to see.

# 16

Samantha greeted Leila with a bright smile as soon as she entered the class. Rest of the students present in there gave Samantha a weird look. She ignored them all and took a seat beside Leila.

"You didn't come to school from last four days. I was worried. Are you all fine?"

Leila nodded in reassurance a little. She was doodling in the corner of her notebook, deep indulged in her thoughts. Their teacher arrived within next second and started the class.

She paused as the door was banged open and in come Alexander King with a smirk playing on the corner of his lips as usual.

His eyes made contact with Leila. The smirk on his lips never faltered as he took steps in her direction.

"Mr. King. Please take your seat." Their teacher said, stressing on the word 'please'.

Unsurprisingly, Alexander ignored her.

He stood in front of Leila's table and placed his hands on the surface before leaning down and staring intently in her eyes. He slowly took in her every feature.

Leila's cheeks reddened slightly.

"I heard that there was a assassination attempt on you."

Gasps erupted from everyone whoever heard and slow whispers resonated in the room.

"What's it to you?" Leila blinked her eyes in confusion.

"I was eager to take pleasure in your death news. My whole family was."

Leila shivered slightly.

He let out a small chuckle at her reaction.

"Mr. King. I will say this one last time, go to your seat and give some space to Ms. Lambordi." The teacher said loudly in a stern tone.

A moment later, Alexander started to make his way out of the classroom but Leila's voice paused him in his tracks.

"Alexander."

He didn't turn to look back but slightly tilted his head to the side.

"I trust my family to protect me really well. But you should worry about yourself, you know."

Alexander snorted at her words and waved while still not looking back at her face.

Samantha and the whole class just stared at Leila with wide eyes.

'Did the sweet and innocent Leila Lambordi just indirectly threatened Alexander King?'

Leila clicked her tongue in slight annoyance when her own words again rang in her mind.

Her brothers were rubbing on her.

****************

Oliya gritted her teeth in anger staring at Leila who passed by her in the hallway. She kept drilling holes in her back until she walked out of her sight completely.

"Stop making these expressions. You look like a clown." Julia stated in annoyance as she stood beside her. Their third friend Bella snickered.

"Shut up." Oliya scowled and she stormed away from them.

"What's up with her?" Bella asked in bewilderment. Oliya was never the one to act like this.

"I really don't know Bells. But we are not taking a part of it as it all concerns Leila." Julia said in a serious tone.

"Thank you very much. I worry about my life too." Bella raised her hands in exasperation as her left eye slightly twitched.

Oliya was following Leila to the terrace but she froze seeing Leila and Alexander together with his arms around Leila.

Her jaw dropped.

She immediately pulled her phone out and clicked their pictures while smirking in accomplishment. That wasn't what she had ever expected to see but she will make sure to make it beneficial to her.

"Let go off me now." Leila slightly raised her voice.

"No thank you or anything. I just saved you from falling and wasn't it you who bumped into me?"

"It was an accident and you were the one standing in the middle of the way." She successfully managed to pry herself off from his embrace.

Alexander snorted at her red, angry face.

"Don't ever touch me again like that." She shouted, irritated.

"Your claws are harmless as ever, Leila. You don't need to pretend that you have changed, you are still weak and so pathetic just like the last time I saw you. You couldn't even stand up for yourse--"

Leila turned away from him and silently walked out from the direction she first came from.

Alexander smirked at her reaction. That was what he had expected.

He raised his brow when she paused in her tracks and turned to look back at him.

"If I haven't changed, you are still the same too. Your whole family is still same. You can't fight against my family, that's why you are always targeting me using these cheap tricks..."

Her words didn't affected him a bit. He just kept staring at her with a smug look.

"If my family was really targeting you, you wouldn't be standing alive right now."

Leila rolled her eyes in exasperation. She found the 'walking out of here silently' option best.

On her way to the cafeteria, she passed Adriano. With his hands shoved in his pockets, he simply walked past her without a word.

As Leila turned right and went out of the sight, Adriano stopped and turned back to look at her direction before making his way to the terrace where he found Alexander.

"The annual ball is organised next weekend. Are you coming?" Adriano asked looking at Alexander who was smoking a cigarette.

Alexander chuckled.

"Are Lambordi's coming this time?"

"Most likely." Adriano shrugged.

"Then this will be fun."

Thank you for reading... I hope you like these chapters... Check out my other works if you have time or interest...

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