Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
Exhausted, Leila collapsed onto the sofa.
Liza, having completed her tasks, returned and couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Leila’s distressed state. “Leila, I know you’re anxious, but if you break down, Sophie will get worried,” Liza remarked.
Leila inhaled deeply. “You’re right. But how can I possibly stay calm with Tyrone missing and no leads?”
Liza placed an envelope on the desk before Leila. “Please take a look at this. Please grab some rest.”
With a slight frown, Leila picked up the envelope and read it. Inside was an invitation. It had been sent by the Martel family, who were hoping Leila would attend.
This left Leila feeling perplexed.
“Why has the Martel family extended the invitation to me?”
During Leila’s time with the Kensington, she had maintained a distance from the Martels, and now, out of the blue, they sought her presence at a banquet.
Observing Leila’s puzzled expression, Liza offered a solution. “Leila, if you’re hesitant about this, I can easily decline on your behalf. The messenger who delivered the invitation is still nearby.”
Leila shook her head, scrutinizing the invitation. Her finger paused at the logo. “Look here, this emblem signifies VIP status. Although their motives are unclear, their effort to deliver this personally isn’t something to dismiss lightly.”
Leila added with a hint of curiosity, “It’s okay. I feel like watching how Melinda will react to my surprise for her.”
Liza acknowledged with a nod. “Understood.”
Just then, Leila’s phone interrupted their conversation with its insistent ring. It was Errol calling. The line was silent until Leila, pressed for time, broke the stillness. “Errol, I’m busy here. If you’ve nothing to discuss, I need to hang up.”
“Leila, please wait!” Errol’s voice came through, hurried and anxious.
“I’m calling for the sake of Sarah. If this makes you angry, you can lash out at me, and I won’t retaliate. But allow me to caution you that if this continues, it might spell trouble for you. You know how the Miller family operates.”
Leila smiled, her tone flat. “I doubt the Miller family has the capability to pose any real threat to me at the moment. Errol, if you’re facing a tough spot, just be upfront with me. We’ve been friends long enough, and I won’t hold this against you.”
As Leila spoke with such calmness, Errol’s guilt intensified. He bit his lip, his voice laden with a mix of sadness and resignation. “I need to get Sarah out immediately. She can’t be left in this situation.”
“Okay. Come and pick her up,” Leila agreed smoothly.
Elsewhere, after the past few days of suffering, Sarah bitterly started to grasp the harsh reality echoed by Courtney’s words. Leila was far from the doormat she had once been.
During the past grim days, the lack of food and drink subjected Sarah and Courtney to degrading acts for mere sustenance. They were demanded to kneel and bark like dogs to amuse the gatekeepers before they were fed.
Sarah, who had always carried herself with pride, faced humiliations she had never imagined possible. Leila had planned it all well.
The harshest treatment devised for Sarah was a slow, methodical breaking down of her resilience, intended to dismantle her piece by piece until nothing remained but a crushed spirit. The ultimate aim was to degrade Sarah to the point of utter helplessness, but that plan was on hold for now since Errol had arrived to fetch Sarah.
Emerging from the shadows of the dim room, the light and reality of the outside world felt surreal to Sarah. At the sight of the gatekeepers by the door, terror gripped Sarah, and she dropped to her knees, shaking.
“I didn’t escape! The door was opened for me. Please, I haven’t eaten yet. Please, give me some food!” she pleaded, her voice a whisper of her former self.
In the first few hours of her imprisonment, Sarah’s resolve had once been ironclad, but even iron crumbles without sustenance. Hunger had driven her to the brink of collapse. The idea of enduring this nightmare again was unbearable.
The two gatekeepers at the door exchanged a glance before bursting into cruel laughter. “Aren’t you the high and mighty daughter of the Miller family? Errol’s fianc?e, no less.” They sneered down at Sarah, “Look at yourself now! You’re not even fit to carry Leila’s shoes.”
Burning with anger from being humiliated yet helpless in the situation, Sarah could only nod, a painful grin etched on her face. “Yes, you’re right. Absolutely right.”
“Sarah!” A sharp, familiar voice sliced through the air.
Lifting her head, disbelief painted across her features, Sarah saw Errol at the end of the corridor, with Leila beside him. Leila, whose recovery was nearly complete, moved with only a slight hesitation in her steps. Errol stayed close to Leila, ready to support her at any moment.
As Errol’s eyes landed on Sarah, crouched in degradation, he frowned. The sight of her, so defeated, was unexpected.
Sarah’s relief at seeing Errol was overwhelmed by a profound sense of shame. Standing there, disheveled and humiliated in front of her fianc? and-worse-under Leila’s contemptuous gaze, was deeply humiliating. Sarah bowed her head, desperate to shield her flushed face from their scrutinizing eyes.
Leila, seizing the moment to twist the knife further, taunted Sarah. “What’s the matter? It’s only been a few days, Miss Miller. Don’t you recognize me?” Her voice dripped with faux concern. “I’m curious how you’ve been managing here. Have you had time to reflect on your actions? Realized any of your mistakes yet?”
Sarah’s hands clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms.
Errol, stepping forward, attempted to bridge the gap, his voice tinged with frustration, “Didn’t you hear Leila addressing you?”
Feeling utterly betrayed, Sarah whispered back, a mixture of hurt and accusation in her tone, “You’re my fianc?. Why do you always take her side?”
Errol massaged his temples, his patience wearing thin. “You’re still so stubborn, even now.”
Leila clicked her tongue. “I did intend to release Miss Miller, but her animosity persists,” she remarked coolly. “If she’s freed, who’s to say she won’t seek vengeance as she has before?”
“Leila!” Sarah’s eyes burned with hatred from beneath her disheveled hair. “Look at me. Aren’t you satisfied yet?”
Leila’s reply was icy. “Hardly satisfied. What you’ve endured is nothing compared to the grief you’ve caused me over the past years.”
Sarah sneered, her voice laced with venom, “Before, you were nothing but a mute fool, trying to steal my man. You got what you deserved!”
Leila sighed, her gaze flickering to Errol, who was visibly distressed. “The victim is at fault, huh? Errol, as you can see, my own safety is at stake. She remains a threat.”
In a moment of frustration, Errol pinned Sarah to the ground more roughly than intended. “It’s your own doing. I hoped for some reflection from you, but you’re unchanged.”
Errol then delivered an ultimatum. “Sarah, if you expect me to take you out today, you’ll kneel and apologize to Leila.”
“No!” The refusal came from Sarah’s gritted teeth.
Leila, dismissive, waved her hand. “Forget it then. Take Miss Miller back inside.”
At Leila’s command, the gatekeepers by the door seized Sarah, dragging her toward the grim familiarity of the small, dark room.
Seeing the door to her personal hell once more, Sarah broke.
With frantic desperation, Sarah tore free and knelt before Leila, her head bowing repeatedly in a display of forced submission, driven by a mix of fear and deep-seated resentment.
Sarah’s voice was a hoarse whisper, laden with desperation. “I’m sorry, Leila. It’s all my fault. I won’t cross you again. Please, just don’t send me back to that room.”
Leila observed Sarah from above, her expression unreadable. She was no fool. She understood Sarah’s apology was merely a tactic for reprieve. Beneath that contrite facade, Leila knew hatred seethed, but none of that mattered to her. Revenge, if necessary, should be a slow, deliberate affair.
Turning to Errol, Leila gave a dismissive nod. “Take her away.”
Errol extended his hand to help Sarah, but as she stood, her strength gave way, and she collapsed onto the ground, seemingly unconscious.
With no other option, Errol hoisted Sarah up and carried her out.
As they passed Leila, Sarah’s eyelids fluttered open, shooting Leila a venomous glare, tinged with a defiant smirk.
Sarah’s gaze suggested she was content that she still held a significant place in Errol’s heart, and that alone was a victory over Leila, at least in what she perceived.
In Sarah’s mind, once she secured her position as Errol’s wife, dealing with Leila would be trivial. To her, Leila was nothing more than a loser, destined to be overshadowed and trampled underfoot.
Charlee’s birthday banquet soon arrived. Leila’s legs were nearly back to normal, though she hadn’t stopped searching for Tyrone all this while, she had found no leads. Burdened by self-blame, Sophie could find no peace; her appetite waned. The stress had caused her to lose weight, and Leila couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
In hopes of lifting Sophie’s spirits, Leila decided to take her to the banquet, hoping that the lively atmosphere would provide a much-needed distraction.
As anticipated, the Martel family treated Leila like an honored guest, attending to her every need with meticulous care. However, it was the Kensington family that commanded the most respect. Representing the Kensington family, Stan and Melinda made an appearance at the event.
Holding a glass of red wine, Leila approached Stan with a composed smile and said smoothly, “Congratulations, Mr. Kensington.”
Stan tensed at the sound of Leila’s voice. Since Leila’s return, a string of misfortunes had befallen him, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that her presence brought trouble.
Now, every time he saw Leila, an instinctive urge to keep his distance kicked in. At that moment, surrounded by so many people, Stan forced a strained, uneasy smile and asked, “Leila, what exactly do you mean by that?”
“Isn’t it a good thing that I helped you take care of those who were being disobedient?” Leila beamed with warmth, her bright eyes sparkling. Her smile seemed to convey heartfelt congratulations.