Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
For the first time, Sophie’s heart shattered completely. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, her sobs so wrenching that her breath came in sharp, painful gasps.
Sophie had always been by Leila’s side, her entire existence orbiting around her. Now, faced with Leila’s steadfast denial, Sophie felt as if the very ground beneath her feet was giving way. She didn’t need anything else. All she longed for was her mom.
Leila, moved by the raw despair in Sophie’s eyes, extended a tender hand to gently wipe away the tears streaking Sophie’s face.
“My dear, don’t weep. Believe me when I say I’m not deceiving you. I genuinely have no memory of you.”.
Sparked by a sudden idea, Sophie hastily dabbed at her tears and seized Leila’s hand, leading her toward the bathroom. With a flick of the switch, the light bathed them both, and Sophie pointed earnestly toward the mirror, silently pleading with Leila to see the truth.
“Mom, look at us. Just look-don’t we look strikingly alike? Doesn’t it mean anything?”
Leila’s gaze lingered on her reflection, her expression one of pure astonishment. Then, her eyes shifted to Sophie’s reflection. Gazing at her own reflection, Leila noted a woman whose elegance was undeniable, even with her pale complexion and hair slightly unkempt, suggesting a casual, effortless grace. Her eyes were keen, holding a sharpness that could be quite daunting when she fixed her stare. And indeed, she and the young girl bore an uncanny resemblance to each other. It was as if the girl was a smaller, more innocent version of herself.
Yet, Leila found it hard to reconcile her image with this reflection. Her memory was a blank slate, but she had always considered herself plain, someone who had fallen in love and married, with no children in the picture. She wasn’t meant to look so refined. She was supposed to be more ordinary.
A sudden headache pierced through Leila, sharp and demanding. Overwhelmed, she swayed and then collapsed onto the floor with a faint thud.
The abruptness of it all left Sophie frozen for a moment. Once she came back to her senses, she hurried out to seek help.
Outside, Leo was anxiously waiting. At the first sound of distress, he rushed inside, immediately calling out for doctors and nurses to attend to Leila.
The medical staff conducted a meticulous examination on Leila, probing every possibility. The conclusions remained unchanged. The doctors were stumped. Leila had inexplicably fainted, yet there seemed to be no underlying cause.
Sophie was overwhelmed with remorse, her tears flowing ceaselessly. She deeply regretted her earlier insistence. She shouldn’t have pressed on to prove their resemblance, as it ended up being a big mistake.
The more Sophie dwelled on her theory, the more convinced she became. Leila wasn’t acting. She genuinely had no recollection of the events. There was no longer any need for pretense with Landon’s absence. Yet, the question lingered. What had transformed Leila so drastically?
At that moment, Sophie’s ears caught a snippet of a hushed conversation outside.
” I stumbled upon something rather peculiar recently.”
” Do tell.”
” My cousin-in-law’s sister, who was never forgetful, has suddenly started losing her memory. Initially, everyone thought she was ill, leading to numerous costly hospital visits, but all the tests returned normal.”
” How can that be? What was the cause?”
” They finally pieced it together when they remembered she’d undergone hypnosis therapy to tackle some deep-seated emotional issues. It appears some hypnotists have the ability to erase memories entirely.”
A spark of understanding ignited in Sophie’s eyes as she pieced together the fragments of their conversation. She came to the startling realization that Leila had been hypnotized. It seemed the only plausible explanation. The doctors confirmed Leila hadn’t sustained any injuries nor ingested any peculiar substances. But who could have orchestrated such a scheme? Could it have been Clayton?
Sophie’s mind raced. It appeared to be part of a sinister plan Clayton had concocted. His goal was clear: hypnotize Leila to make her irresistibly fall for him, ensuring she would stay by his side forever. Simultaneously, he aimed to eliminate Sophie, effectively burying the truth forever.
Had Sophie not been alert at that critical moment, Clayton’s sinister plan could have played out successfully.
Mulling over these thoughts, Sophie decided to seek out Leo.
” Leo, could I possibly trouble you for a favor?” Sophie asked tentatively, her voice tinged with hope.
Leo responded with a warm yet formal tone, ” Of course, Sophie. You’re Mr. Kensington’ daughter, and assisting you is not just a pleasure but also my obligation. What do you need?”
Biting her lip in hesitation, Sophie said, ” Could you possibly take us back to Burmoos today? It’s crucial, but please, Leo, you mustn’t let my dad find out.”
Leo’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment, his gaze fixed on Sophie as he wrestled with her request.
“I can take you back to Burmoos,” he said slowly.
“However, considering your mother’s fragile health, it might be wiser for her to remain under medical care. Also, Mr. Kensington made it explicitly clear that he must be informed about all your movements and encounters. He’s not trying to monitor you. He just wants to ensure your safety.”
Sophie, having prepared for resistance, didn’t falter. Her eyes sparkled with a mix of determination and persuasion as she pressed on.
“Leo, I know it’s a lot to ask, but I need you to trust me. I’ll shoulder any consequences. If my dad questions you, just say that I insisted, and I left you no choice.”
Leo’s stance hardened, his expression turning grave.
“Sophie, Mr. Kensington entrusted your wellbeing to me, and I take that responsibility seriously. I cannot, in good conscience, comply with your request. It’s too risky.”
Sophie was somewhat frustrated. She had never met anyone as stubborn as Leo.
“But it was a good thing, though. I wouldn’t need to worry if he was trying to pull something off,” she thought inwardly.
Sophie racked her brain and quickly devised a plan.
“Leo, I know how long you’ve been working for my dad, but I bet you can see that he and my mom still love each other. They’re just going through a rough patch. If you really want him to be happy, you have to help me out this once. I simply want them to get back together. I can’t tolerate seeing misunderstandings stand between them like this.”
Leo looked thoughtful, clearly considering her words. A flicker of hesitation flashed across his face.
Sophie pressed on.
“Leo, I’m serious. We need to do this now before it’s too late. Trust me, I’m Landon’s daughter. I would never do anything to hurt him.”
Leo gave a wry smile.
“It isn’t that any harm you might pose to Mr. Kensington makes me hesitant. My concerns simply lie with the potential complications on the journey back. Mr. Kensington’ men just got here for the task of keeping an eye on Clayton. If I take you and your mother back now, not many individuals would be assigned to keep us company, making us vulnerable if we stumbled upon any plots laid out just for us. Our lives are at stake.”
Sophie pondered over Leo’s words and brushed them off as unlikely. After all, Clayton was already under their control, and their presence here was no secret. While Leila did have some business rivals, none would aim for her life.
Leo hesitated for a moment longer before finally nodding his agreement.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do.” With that settled, they got prepared to leave.
Luckily, Leila had only fainted from the shock, and there was nothing seriously wrong with her, making the journey back much easier.
The hospital, though having advised Leila to linger behind for observation, didn’t try to stop them from leaving.
What Sophie failed to anticipate was that as soon as they set off, they were being followed.
The truth was, Lacey had sensed something amiss when Landon decided to take his men to Halsland.
On the day Sophie dialed Landon, Lacey had overheard their conversation just outside his study and thus learned of Leila’s and Sophie’s encounters with troubles in Halsland.
Naturally, Lacey didn’t want Landon to go to Halsland, wishing he could distance himself from Leila and Sophie forever.
So, just as Landon was about to set off, Lacey made Elma suddenly run a fever, halting him from his journey. However, Lacey didn’t expect Landon to leave as soon as Elma felt slightly better.
No sooner had Landon left than Cody called Lacey, instructing her to travel to Halsland with his men.
Lacey refused instantly. Aside from her reluctance to get involved with Cody or his men, Calvin’s presence was also a factor. If she left under Calvin’s watchful eyes, especially with a bunch of Cody’s men, it wouldn’t take long for Calvin to piece together everything and figure out her years-long conspiracy with Cody. So far, she still had Landon’s trust. Heeding Cody’s words just wasn’t worth the risk.
However, Cody insisted that Lacey come to Halsland immediately, threatening to reveal everything Lacey had done to Landon. Trapped, Lacey reluctantly agreed.
When Lacey arrived in Halsland, she had assumed Cody aimed to target Leila. But to her surprise, Cody simply asked her to monitor Leo’s movements.
When Cody found out that Leo had left with Leila, Sophie, and Brysen, he instructed Lacey to lead a team to rescue Clayton. Lacey had long figured out that Cody and Clayton had been in cahoots.
Lacey led some of Cody’s men to where Clayton was being held, but she remained cautious, careful not to reveal her involvement.
Meanwhile, Sophie and the others arrived safely in Burmoos. Sophie let out a sigh of relief.
Instead of returning home, Sophie headed toward the Kensington estate. But she stopped before reaching it and called Calvin.
Calvin and Elma were completely unaware of the events unfolding in Halsland.
Calvin had a sinking feeling when Sophie called at such a late hour.