Chapter 17: Leave Us

Andrea took the hallway behind the huge staircase and saw a slightly open door. She slid the door to open up a little more. It was the kitchen. The best part was seeing another door on the other side of the kitchen, fully opened and leading outside. She smiled at herself and rushed to the open door.

"And where do you think you're going?" she heard a familiar hoarse voice ask from the other side of the large kitchen.

"A-Antonio," she whispered. 'How didn't I see him earlier,' she thought, staring at him as tears formed in her eyes. At that point, she felt all hope was lost...yet she didn't want to accept that fate. Suddenly, her little weak legs made an attempt for the light but unfortunately, a pair of large strong arms lifted her, making her feet wobble in the air.

"Let me go," she struggled and groaned in pain, trying to hit his arms off her. He didn't flinch in the slightest bit.

"Quit struggling. You're only hurting yourself," he said with an unfazed expression as he placed her on the counter. Antonio kept his hands firm on the counter, with her positioned in between, right in front of her. She was suddenly calm, sobbing softly. He sighed, "You're in no condition to be out of bed and much less kicking around like a two year old throwing a tantrum."

"You're sick. You're a psychopath," she said softly and in shock. He rolled his eyes, as though lacking the slightest bit of care. "You freaking had me kidnapped by that maniacal witch....tortured and beaten like I attempted a coup d'etat against the president....and now you stand here and talk like you care?" His expression softened, seeing her reddened eyes. Hate and disgust were evident on her face. "You're despicable," she said through gritted teeth. "You wanted to teach me a lesson so I respect you and worship you like the others do, right? Well guess what? That's never gonna happen so I suggest you finish what you started. There's no point keeping me in this weird hospital. Kill me once and for all Antonio. I bet it's what you've been trying to do."

Antonio squinted his eyes, not in anger but in confusion. "First of all, this is no hospital. It's my house," he said and her anger didn't manage to hide the shock very well. "Secondly, you're right. I wanted to teach you a lesson and I still do. As a matter of fact, I most certainly will. I'm not behind your kidnapping and..."

"Yeah, right and I'm supposed to believe that because you beat up one of your men. I bet it was just an act to make you look good and make me think I'm better off as your ally. Then I would accept to work with you and for you and then you can truly punish..." Before she could land, Antonio covered her mouth.

"Shut up," he said, slightly irritated, and chuckled. "You really need to quit interrupting me. It's quite annoying. Oh and by the way, if no one ever told you, let me be the first....you're a chronic overthinker," he said and chuckled again, "Amusing little creature." He swiftly picked her up in bridal style. She groaned instantly.

"Put me down," she cried, wiggling out of his arms, "It hurts." Seeing as she could barely walk either, he called for a stretcher.

In barely a minute, one arrived and she was placed on it and taken into the elevator. She saw Antonio press the button for the third floor. "I was on the first floor," she said in confusion. The guard and the nurse holding the stretcher shared looks of equal confusion.

"Wow, I didn't know," he said sarcastically, avoiding her gaze.

"Antonio, where are you taking me?" A hint of fear clear in her voice.

"Somewhere you can't escape from," he said bluntly, busy staring at his phone.

★★★

Lauren's penthouse...

Lauren sat on the floor in the corner of her bedroom, drinking tequila directly from its bottle. "Who the heck is that b****?!" she yelled, throwing the now empty bottle against the wall opposite her, its particles joining its fellow bottles that suffered the same fate. 'Is something really going on between them both?' she thought to herself with her eyes wide open and her lips apart. The mere thought of that flipped a switch in her head and she instantly let out her horrifying scream, pulling her hair like she intended to rip it out. The only thing between her and an asylum was her sound proof penthouse. "Damn you Andrea! Damn you Antonio! You'll never be together!" she screamed through gritted teeth, trashing objects in her room, from her lamps to mirrors to furniture and to the vases. "You only belong to me Antonio," she said softly as she walked out of the room, "Only me." She coiled up herself like a child and slept on the cold marble floor.

About an hour later, her house help, Ophelia, a woman in her mid fifties, arrived. She got into the living room to meet a huge mess. The furniture was turned upside down, the 64 inch curved TV was smashed and glass shuttered everywhere. It looked like a tornado had been there.

"Not this again," the old woman lamented as though she was going to breakdown soon. 'Doesn't she feel anything when she destroys so many expensive things? It's a waste of so much money. All that money could literally change my life,' she thought with a dejected sigh. She took a tour around just to see the amount of damage done. It was worse than ever. Lauren had such a hot temper. It scared Ophelia to the bones. "She's getting out of control," she whispered in horror, seeing how the huge fridge was almost in shambles with the huge cracks on the counter. 'Do I call the asylum?' she thought in a panic but suddenly, another thought popped up, 'No no no, I better mind my own business. I have to quit before I get caught up in this one day. I only had my first grandchild a few days ago. I can't be at the break of death so soon." She took pictures of everything just to show her son and his wife. She as well added photos of Lauren on the floor and her room in shambles. She left a note behind, informing Lauren of her decision to leave for personal reasons.

"I hope you find peace some day Miss," she said to sleeping Lauren sorrowfully.

★★★

Jackson's penthouse...

Lana was busy cooking in the kitchen when her phone beeped. She hastily dropped what she was doing, wiping her hands in the apron, and picked up her phone. Disappointment drawn on her face. It was a spam. She hoped it was Andrea, checking up on her. She didn't have the guts to call her again, afraid of the outcome. She hadn't intended to but had spent the night at Jackson's place. She was truly horrified of Andrea's reaction once she got home. 'She'd never forgive me,' she thought, imagining the fit her sister was sure to throw.

★★★

Antonio's mansion....

Once they got to the third floor, all but the body guard got out of the elevator. Antonio personally strolled Andrea in the stretcher. "A-Antonio? I won't try to escape anymore. Just take me back to the first floor. There's no need to keep me here by myself," she said looking at the quiet hallway. It had beautiful painting patterns on the walls and was gold and white themed. 'Where are we going?' she thought worriedly.

"It's a lot too late for that now," he said as he tapped on his phone, opening a huge door before them.

"An apartment?!" Andrea exclaimed and groaned in pain.

"Get her on the bed," he instructed. The nurse and an old lady helped get Andrea into a huge king-size bed while the doctor in the room fixed the drip. Andrea looked around. The apartment was huge and fancy. It had a white and grey theme and an entire yard as a balcony with a pool. There were two walk-in closets and one huge bathroom. A corner near the door to the yard-balcony was a bar. There was a huge 72 inch curved TV, a shelf filled with video games and a black fluffy sofas with a black tinted and colourless glass table as the center table.

Once the doctor and nurse where done with her, Dr. Grayson stepped out to have a word with Antonio. Andrea was left alone with the old lady and the nurse. The old lady, Wanda, smiled comfortingly to Andrea before leaving the bedside while the nurse checked her vitals.

"Had I met you anywhere else, I'd have assumed you were sweet," Andrea said to the retreating old lady and groaned in pain as she moved a little.

"You should try and stay in bed to avoid further injury," the nurse said, earning a deathly glare from Andrea, which caused her to gulp hard. 'Damn! She's almost as intimidating as the boss. Oh Dr. Grayson, why did you have to bring me along? This is all too much for me,' the nurse, Paloma, thought with fear written all over her face. Wanda came back with a covered tray and placed it on a table nearby. She touched Paloma's arm gently to calm her down.

"I won't lie, Miss Cabrera, I really don't know what's going on between you and Antonio but I can assure you that you're in safe hands."

"Who are you to him?" Andrea asked. 'She addresses him informally,' she thought.

Before she could respond, Antonio walked in saying, "An employee who needs to finish up what she has been told to do and leave immediately," Antonio said coldly, sparing Wanda a glare and focusing back on his phone. Andrea was infuriated by the way he treated the old lady but this time, she tried to ignore. Well, that didn't work out. "Wow, Manners really did leave you out," she said with a scoff. "Whether an employee or not, she's an elderly and should be accorded with such respe..."

"Shut up and mind your own business," Antonio said unfazed, still focusing on his phone as he dropped into the sofa with a sigh of exhaustion. Wanda and Paloma looked at each other in shock and back at the two. They were stunned by her ability to speak so confidently to Antonio and the fact that he was unmoved.

"Truth hurts?" she asked with a cheeky tone.

"Eat up," he said and turned on the TV with his phone.

"I won't," she said and shut her eyes. Antonio, still seated in the sofa, turned around to look at the defiant little girl in his bed. His infuriated look suddenly turned soft, seeing her quiet with her eyes shut. She looked innocent and peaceful, a sight warming even to his cold heart. Wanda was in shock. She hadn't seen him look at anyone without an infuriated or unfazed expression in years. Antonio snapped out of his daze and intended to look away when his eyes met with Wanda's shocked ones. He squinted his eyes in irritation and anger.

"Andrea!" he boomed, causing her to wake up with a fright.

"Ah!" she shouted and seeing that he intended to have that effect, she picked up a pillow from her side and tossed it at him. He caught it effortlessly and gave her an 'is-that-all-you've-got' look, a lifted brow with an unmoved expression. She rolled her eyes at him and shut her eyes again.

"You better eat before I get there," he said and turned back to the TV.

Wanda, feeling he was likely to get really upset soon, tried to convince Andrea to eat but that effort was in vain.

"Get away from me," she said with her eyes still shut.

"So much for respecting the elderly, Miss Manners," Antonio said with a scoff.

Andrea threw another pillow at him while he changed channels. Again, he effortlessly caught it without even looking. Talking about instinctive reflexes. "Throw another and I'll make you eat myself," he said without turning.

"Ha! All the best," she said with a chuckle of disbelief.

He turned to look at her with a devious smile. "Try me then," he said. For the first time, Wanda and Paloma saw fear in Andrea's eyes, the smartest thing they thought she had done since she arrived. That, however, was shortlived. She suddenly looked infuriated and tossed another pillow at him. Antonio caught it and grinned devilishly. He turned back to the TV saying, "Leave us alone." Wanda looked at Andrea worriedly and reluctant to leave. Paloma looked frightened as she saw Antonio get up after turning the TV off.

"A-Anto..."

"I won't repeat myself," he said through gritted teeth, cutting Wanda's speech. Paloma held Wanda and walked away with her. Andrea saw so much worry in Wanda's eyes. Suddenly she murmured something to Andrea, "Don't dare him. He'll do it!"

Once they stepped out, Antonio locked the door manually. Each click of the locking door made Andrea feel regretful.

"Now that it's just the two of us," Antonio said happily, "...how shall we deal with a naughty girl."

Andrea's heart started to race intensely, seeing Antonio unbuttoning his shirt. "W-W-What are you doing?" She panicked sitting up in bed. He merely looked at her with a horrifying grin.