not happening...

25

Oh, and no, you have to be at the hospital when my grandfather is there. It's your job to take care of him? Did he ask me? No, have I ever seen him? Did I even have a damn wedding? NO!!!!! Was I asked? Did he try to get to know me, the gold digger? NO!!! And now suddenly he's like a damn tick. And you, you support him?“ Tears stream down her cheeks and she wipes them away angrily. Konrad shakes his head: ”No, I didn't mean you have to accept it. I just wanted to tell you he's here. I'm always on your side and no one else's.“ Cole swallows, ”I felt sorry for him and..." He hangs his head.

Konrad replies, “I'll talk to him.” Leila nods, sinks back into the pillows, and breathes in and out slowly. She feels Cole's gaze on her. “Cole, why?” Cole looks at her pale face, sighs, and replies, "Probably because I understand him.

Everyone has their problems, and I treated Grace so badly, but I can't make it up to her anymore.“ Leila opens her eyes: ”Who is Grace?“ Cole blushes slightly: ”Grace Miller, my great love.“ Leila asks: ”What happened? She asked me for money once, and Serena Koller told me she spent it on another man." “And?” she presses. Cole: “I threw the money at her, then ended the whole thing, and it was only through you that I found out what kind of person Serena Koller is... I can't find her. I now know that her father needed an operation. I would do anything to be able to tell her how much I love her and that I'm sorry.”

He runs his hands through his hair. Leila murmurs, “And yet she wanted your money for another man.” Cole laughs dryly, “Yep—she paid me back with a check. I'm still looking for her.” Leila strokes Cole's hair as he lays his head on her knees. Leila smiles inwardly because she knows where the girl is.

She is very good with numbers and they have become really good friends. She will talk to her. And depending on what the girl thinks, she will support her in this case. Leila: “Why did you blame her for that? You've had women before who were only after your money and power.” Cole sighs: "She was different, she only accepted gifts if I made them myself. She wouldn't accept anything I bought her. She loved flowers, but only if I picked them myself. That's why I was so angry. I fell so deeply in love with her...“ Leila: ”What would you do if you ran into her?“ Cole: ”Talk to her.“ Leila replies, ”From experience, I can say that talking to someone isn't always enough. To be honest, you must have hurt her a lot. I was constantly accused of being after the family money and of being trash. Words are strange. When spoken carelessly, words can often hurt someone deeply. Once spoken, it's impossible to take them back. For example: ‘I tried to tell him that I wasn't after his money, and? He didn't listen. You're just the same. Are you sure she didn't try to talk to you, but you couldn't hear her?’ She looks at him sadly, 'Just start your own club where you can feel sorry for each other. Because that's all this is. You're helping someone who, through ignorance and arrogance, put me in a situation where I was helpless and beaten. Hell, I had a mattress to sleep on and a blanket with holes in it.“ She pauses. ”Cole, please go. I'm tired." Cole wants to say something, but she's right. He saw his sister and he had her taken out. He gets up and goes to the door. Leila opens her eyes after she is alone in the room.

Nicholas

Nicholas sits in front of the door to her room and waits. Unfortunately, he can't hear anything, but he doesn't need to hear anything. This should have been her day, and just because he couldn't help himself—he had rushed into it. But he hadn't done anything to her. He hadn't hit her. He doesn't deserve this treatment. The door opens and he looks up. Konrad comes out of the room and looks at him. Konrad: “Let's go for a walk.” Nicholas looks at the door, but gets up and goes with Konrad. There is a small park near the hospital and they sit down on a bench there. Konrad: “This is going to be a little difficult, but I want to ask you to stay away from Leila.” Nicholas: “Why should I stay away from her?” Konrad sighs: “How was your marriage?” Nicholas frowns, “She got into my bed and tricked me, I bribed a judge and he issued the marriage certificate. So she got what she wanted.” Konrad sighs, "That answer alone shows me that you're an asshole. She was drugged by your friends, so basically you had s*x with her without her consent, which is r**e. And worse, k********g, if we're really going to be legal about it. Then you threw her to the wolves and tell me you didn't do anything? From what I understand, she was even a virgin, hadn't even had her first kiss, and then all this happens to her. And you claim it wasn't you who hurt her? You treated her like a piece of trash, didn't give her a choice. You were the one who did all this." Konrad reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a folder. “This is the result of the investigation when Cole rescued her.” Nicholas opens the folder and sees photos of a severely underweight Leila. Photos of wounds all over her body, burns, welts upon welts. What he had seen had been covered by clothing, not this—never this. Konrad sees a tear running down Nicholas' cheek. He says, "So, she was kidn*pped, drugged, r***d—because no matter how you look at it, she wasn't able to say anything after she was drugged, and she had never had s*x before, not even a date with a boy. All of that was taken from her. And there's something you don't know.