There is a condition

Leo naturally had a soft side. Even though he was quick to get angry sometimes, he was not one to see someone in pain and let the person be, especially when the person was living in his house. 

Maybe because he had a younger sister that was the same age as Mia and was probably seeing her as his own younger sister. He wouldn't want his younger sister to live like that. 

"Can you stand up?" He asked her softly.

Her eyes were still closed and she didn't say a word.

He didn't have any other choice but to carry her from the ground and gently place her on the bed. 

She seemed to be sleeping because she did not say anything and her breathing was heavy.

He had been able to note that she was soft but at the same time, violent. For some reason, she reminded him of himself. He was just like her, having contradicting sides.

"Are you sleeping?" He asked as he lowered himself to sit beside her sleeping figure. 

Her body was hot. He wanted her to take her medicine and eat something before sleeping. Now, he realised he was not even bothered by her exposed thigh anymore.

"I am awake." She managed to say with a cracked voice. 

"You should take your medicine and eat something. Else, your illness may worsen" 

"I just want to die" She said before a sniff. 

"You cannot die. At least not in my house." He joked, but he had meant it. He really did not want to see a corpse. It was his greatest fear. 

"Why are you so nice to me?" She suddenly asked. 

The light in the room was dim. It was just the lamp by the bed that was on and it was not very bright but they could both see each other's faces. His was filled with pity while hers was filled with tears. 

"Cause I am a human and I should be nice to people." That was the only answer he could come up with.

"But I wasn't good to you." She added in a tiny voice. "I have never been good to you"

"I don't treat people depending on how they treat or treated me— well, there may be exceptions. But in general, I am nice to everyone– even those who stay in my house illegally." 

Mia cackled dryly at that. He was a strange person. He was probably the first person she was hearing that from— someone who didn't treat others the way others treated them. He obviously had a nice gene. But she didn't.

"I am sorry. And thank you... for everything" She said before closing her eyes. 

She knew she had been ungrateful. He had helped her a lot. First, with the house. Then, he saved her at the park and then he helped nurse her back to health and even paid for her drugs. 

It felt weird to be receiving these favours from one person at the same time. It was the first time she was in a position where one particular person had to help her over and over again. As much as she was embarrassed by it, she was not in any position to reject it now.

Leo smiled a bit. "Now that wasn't so difficult was it?" 

"It was." She said without opening her eyes.

"Your drugs–"

"I took them already. And I ate something before coming here" 

There was a small pause before Leo asked,

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" He asked skeptically. He wasn't sure he was in any place to be a 'listening ear' for her. Was he even ready to take up such responsibility? 

It was funny how their relationship developed overnight. From his strong hate towards her to strong pity. He wondered what the future held for them.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said before pulling the duvet to cover her body. 

"Alright. Good night little girl." He said before leaving the room.

Mia opened her eyes when she heard the door lock. She wished she could leave the house and stop troubling him. He had seem like a bad person the first time because he had suddenly entered her room with a naked lady, totally flustering her, plus he had acted like she broke into the place and tried to throw her out when it had been his sister's fault. 

She really would have left along the line, but she was short on the amount to get a good and comfortable apartment at such a short notice.

And from the first night there, she liked the place. She realised she was very relaxed there and had slept through the night without waking up to strange nightmares.  

She had thought maybe it was because she was in a new environment or probably because she was so tired, but the night after that, she had also slept just fine. She liked the feeling and wanted to stay longer.

But maybe she had been a bit extreme with the way she handled things, coupled with the fact that her entire emotion and mood had been terrible.

When Mia visited her mother earlier, she had expected to help her mother with chores and bread deliveries, but to her surprise,  her mother told her she had done everything already. 

"You've suffered a lot. I called you here to give you a treat" Linda said. 

Mia had been surprised, stupefied, elated, glad.

Her mother had made her a really nice meal and told her to just sit down and eat. Mia didn't have much appetite to eat because she was over excited., but because it was rare for this to happen, she sat and ate everything. Suddenly her mother sat opposite her, startling Mia. 

"How has part time jobs been?" Linda asked her.

"Good. Once I gather a bit more, I'll send it into your account. We've gone halfway with the debt right?" Mia asked. 

"Yes. But the other part may take us another four years to complete." 

"I know." Mia said sadly before reaching to hold her mother's hand. "I'll keep working hard to help us pay off Mary's debts." 

"What do you mean by Mary's debts?" Linda asked with a frown before pulling her hand away from Mia's. 

Mia bit her lip in embarrassment before quickly apologizing. Her sister, Mary had accured those debts, but apparently, her mother didn't like it when people mentioned it.

"You love your mother right?" Linda asked with a quiet voice. 

"Of course I love you." Mia admitted immediately. 

"Mr Timothy said he would let us off the debt and even refund the previous ones we've paid" Linda informed her

"Really?" Mia asked in surprise. That didn't quite make sense to her.

"Yes. But there is a condition to it.. one only you can help with." Linda said as she observed Mia's face intently.

"Me? What is it?" Mia asked curiously. 

Linda paused for a bit. It was as if she was contemplating telling her or not.

"He wants you to marry his son." 

Mia's jaw dropped immediately. Mr Timothy's son? Was he not the one with the Down Syndrome?

"You told him NO right?" Mia asked with a nervous laugh.

Linda smiled at her sadly before covering her daughter's hands with hers. 

"Child... haven't you thought about getting married?"