Chapter Three

After an eleven-hour-long flight and a few more hours of journeying, they finally arrived at a beautifully decorated penthouse mansion.

" Oh my God!" Leandra exclaimed.

"This is just... Wow!" she exclaimed.

"Don't just stand here" Ardin said chuckling.

"let's head inside" he said as he guided them into the house.

"Mr. Torres" a sharp-looking man in his late 70's said smiling.

"Oh! Edmund!" Ardin replied as he reached in for a hug.

"Mr. Torres" Edmund replied laughing.

"It's so nice to see you again, how many years has it been?" Ardin said as he let go of him.

"It's been a year" he replied smiling.

"Oh really? It feels like it's more than a year" Ardin said as he turned his gaze to Leandra and Karissa.

"Edmund, this is Leandra, the love of my life!" he said.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" he replied.

"Leandra, this is my family's butler and currently he is playing the role of my father" Ardin said as he reached out for her hand.

"It's very nice to meet you as well" she replied.

"Your accent! are you by any chance ..."

"yes, yes I am" she interrupted.

"You are Leandra Vivaldi?" he asked puzzled.

"yes I am" she replied.

"Oh, Dear!" he exclaimed.

"you finally understand why I had to leave" Ardin interrupted.

"Oh I certainly do" he said chuckling.

" you've been crazy about her for as long as I can remember!" he said excitedly.

"even from childhood!" Edmund exclaimed.

"Yeah, she's the one" Ardin replied softly.

"Oh yes, this little angel here is Karissa, Leandra's daughter" he continued.

"Hi, little one" Edmund said as he reached out for her.

She immediately hid behind her mother.

"Oh dear!" Leandra said as she knelt facing Karissa.

"Karissa it's okay!" she said as she stroked her cheeks.

"Mummy is here, don't worry, he won't hurt you!" she said.

Karissa peeped over her mother's shoulders. Edmund gave a warm smile and started walking towards them.

"It's okay I won't hurt you" he said opening his arms to hug Karissa.

Karissa hugged him and Edmund carried her and spun her around.

"There you go! She's laughing" Edmund said dropping her.

"Well then, would you want me to show you around?" he asked Karissa.

she nods her head as she reached for him to carry her.

"hmm...where do we start from?" he said leaving Leandra and Ardin in the living room.

"How did he manage to calm her down" Leandra asked.

"well, I wouldn't know that" Ardin chuckled.

"He has always had his way with kids" he added.

"I'm happy she was able to calm down, she has gone through a lot in just a few days" she replied.

"Don't you think you were extra with the whole thing?" she asked as she reached out for a glass of water.

"With what exactly?" he asked.

"With everything! I am quite certain that there were other ways to go around everything, Ardin you killed her father and she was watching, couldn't you have abducted us or something?" she said.

"If I had done that, that man would have come straight for me, he won't be out of your life" he said.

"It would only be temporary" he added.

"I understand but you didn't have to kill him immediately, you could have abducted us then kill him later, that's way better than killing him in front of the little girl" she said.

"well I guess I was just looking for something exciting, how boring would it be if I just abducted you" he said chuckling.

"you haven't changed a bit, always looking for the most exciting ways to do things" she said pulling his cheeks.

"I'm just thinking of how Karissa will cope" she added.

"I guess she'll forget about it sooner or later" he replied.

"I doubt that" she replied.

"We can't just leave her like this, we have to do something that will make her forget" she added.

"how about we brainwash her?" Ardin said smiling mischievously.

"She's just a little girl, how can we possibly do that?" she said.

"I mean she a little girl meaning her brain is still developing, it'll be easier doing it now than later" he said.

"I guess you're right" she said collapsing into the sofa.

"don't worry I'll handle it" he said kissing her.