Chapter 57 Loney cried
Loney jolted, his head lifted and his gaze caught the figure lying on the floor at the door. A freezing air blew around him, he froze. An emotion muffled with fear and blinded by anxiety massaged him. It felt strange, too strange. What just happened? The clothes scattered on the floor were Danica's. The woman lying beneath him almost drifting to sleep was Danica so what was Daniella doing on the floor in front of his door.
He was about to say something when his eyes caught sight of Danica's bracelet. Now everything hits home. The woman beneath him was Daniella and the love of his life passed out in shock. No, this can't be happening. His eyes were still glued to the figure at the door as he lifted himself. His hand pulled a towel robe which he slipped on as he ambled close to the figure.
Something died inside him at the realization. His knees shook with every step he took as he knelt before her. A loud growl tore from his throat. "ARRRRRRRRHHHHHH, NOOOOOOOOOOO."
It was so loud it shook every corner of his mansion. The maids were coiled in fear. The guards stepped back from turmoil. Paul heard it from the garage where he was parking the car upon his return to the mansion with Mabel.
Daniella's timing was perfect. Too perfect. She has always been planning. Always preparing and when the opportunity shone, she struck. She struck so hard, she didn't miss her target. Hitting two birds with one stone. Loney never expected this from Daniella. Nothing in life, not even Daniella shunning him, hurt as much as the pain he felt, seeing the woman he loved more than his life on the floor.
He tried to slip his arm under her neck and thighs to lift her from the floor but his contact with her burnt him like fire. He was repulsed with himself. He felt idiotic. He didn't deserve her. She was too pure and he was too dirty. Yet, he thought about her life. Her life could be in danger.
Brushing the strange feeling aside, he lifted her gently to the sofa. He put a call through to Dr Jeff and followed his instruction. He checked her pulse and it was normal. Her breathing was also stable. Therefore, he lowered her head into the sofa while her legs rested on the arm, just as Dr Jeff had instructed.
Paul raced to Loney's room, as soon as he parked the car, Mabel tried to keep up his pace, worry flunking her. Something terrible must have happened for Loney to scream like that. It was strange of him. Too strange. Loney never flinched when it came to pain so what could be happening?
"What happened, Loney?" Paul breathlessly asked, after barging into the room. He looked around, his gaze landing on Daniella peacefully lying on the bed. He thought it was Danica. His mind twitched. Something didn't seem right. His gaze found Loney. He looked like a mountain collapsed on top of him. Then he saw Danica lying on the sofa, seeming unconscious. Naturally, he moved to check on Danica, whom he thought to be Daniella because he didn't see any way Daniella would be on Loney's bed.
Confusion overrode Mabel's senses but she dared not ask a question. Instead, she got the maids to clean up. Seeing Mabel and Paul enter the room with two maids, Daniella got up lazily and began putting on her clothes. No one gave her any attention. It was almost as if she never existed.
"She passed out." Seeing Paul care for Danica, Loney couldn't bring himself to feel jealous this time. He rather felt relieved because he felt too dirty to touch her. "Take care of her Paul, I need to get out of here." He rushed to the washroom before Paul could respond. He bathed and scrapped his body as if he wanted to peel off his skin. A few minutes later, he came out, dressed in a simple shirt and denim jeans.
"You can't run away from your problems Loney, it will only worsen matters. She's pregnant." Loney was walking to the door when Paul spoke. He froze as soon as he heard the word pregnant. He had forgotten that aspect. Paul continued to speak. "Right now, she's sleeping and I think you should be the one by her side when she wakes up," he concluded.
Loney turned to face Paul but he couldn't look him in the eye. He felt guilty. Too guilty. "How can I face her? How can I ever look into her eyes again?" His voice was teary when he spoke. Paul realized he had been crying. Whatever happened must be terrible because Paul has never seen Loney this vulnerable. The great and mighty Loney had recoiled to his shell like a teenage boy.
"What happened, Loney?" Paul asked again, determined to get a tangible answer. Loney facepalmed. "I didn't know." Frustration was his visible companion at this moment.
Paul was intelligent. After all, he was an FBI secret agent for six years and has also had quite a lot of experience with women. From Loney's action, he could now decipher that Danica was the one on the sofa and Daniella is the one dressing up. He sighed helplessly.
"You mean..."
"Yes. If not for the bracelet, I wouldn't have known." Loney's voice was broken as he spoke. All Paul could feel for him at this moment was sympathy. He has never seen Loney like this. He was so broken. But Paul also knew very well how much Loney loathed Daniella. Therefore he guessed what had happened.
"You tricked him didn't you?" Paul's gaze met Daniella's. His expression was unreadable.
Daniella was unfazed. She wished that her sister would rather die. At least, she had Loney coiled around her finger even if it's just for this short while.
"Will he stop pretending already? You should have heard his moans. He enjoyed it as much as I did. I always said I was the one he wanted but no one believed me." Loney wanted to speak but no words would come out. His only concern was Danica.
Yet, when Daniella came close to him, he found it hard to control the rage forming in his mien. With an abrupt movement, he pushed her so violently before her hand touched his, she fell hard on the floor. "Ouch, that hurts. Why are you punishing me? I didn't seduce you or anything. You came to me," Daniella accused curtly.
Loney blinked and it was as if something else had died in him. He ambled close to her. Fearfully, Daniella kept stepping back. Loney's gaze was too deadly. She wasn't seeing Loney in there. It was someone else. Maybe a wounded lion. His voice was a low growl, embroidered with pain. "You wore her clothes, you used her shampoo and even her perfume. You looked and smelt just like her. One more word from you and I will strangle you to death." Loney's demeanour was so dangerous Daniella trembled. Yet, this was her chance and she wasn't ready to give up.
"You can lie to anybody but not to me. You knew I was the one Loney, you kn-" Her words stuck in her throat when a strong arm gripped her neck, pinning her to the wall. Her feet were in the air and her weight felt like paper.
"I will never lay hands on any woman but you, are not a woman. You are the epitome of evil and you have no gender." His grip tightened around her neck, Daniella felt hot. The flow of air to her lungs was reducing. She never expected Loney to feel pained this way. Was this the end of her life? Was he really going to kill her? She was losing her breath and her eyes began to roll back.
"I can kill and bury you right here, no one will know, not even your sister. I warned you to stay out of my way, didn't I?"
Daniella was losing consciousness. Things were turning dark. Suddenly, Loney felt another strong arm on his. The force was so great, it ripped his arms off Daniella. "It's not worth it Loney, let her go."
Loney blinked as he heard Paul's voice. Something awakened in him. All he saw was Daniella gasping for air. Coughing and coughing till her eyes turned watery. He took a step towards her as fear gripped Daniella. She thought he was going to finish what he started.
With the little strength and balance she regained, she cackled out of Loney's bedroom without looking back. She escaped this time but the man might kill her the next time. Loney ran his hand through his hair in frustration, not even realizing that he almost killed Daniella. Everyone has an evil side. That part of him had been locked for years but Daniella almost resurrected it and she would have died from it.
His gaze found the sleeping figure on the sofa. How was he going to face her when she woke up? The thought did not settle well with him yet, he couldn't bring himself to walk out, even though he so desperately wanted to. He would face her when she woke up and he wanted her to vent all her anger on him. He will take all the blame and he will do whatever she wants.
"Should I send her away?" Paul's voice interrupted Loney's thought. He knew Paul was talking about Daniella.
"Let Danica wake up first," he reluctantly said. Every fibre of his being wanted to send her away but how much more hurt will he cause Danica when she wakes up?
"I think you can move her to the bed. Jeff said she will be fine." Loney wondered when Paul called Jeff that he hadn't realized it.
"You called him?" He asked like he just saw Paul for the first time. He was supposed to call Dr Jeff to update him on Danica's state but something died inside him, he wasn't thinking right.
"Mmmm," Paul sighed.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. I will be in my room when you need me. I can't help you from here. I'm out." Paul didn't wait for Loney's approval. He knew that his help was no longer needed.
Loney placed Danica gently on the neatly laid bed. He knelt beside the bed and held her hand. It was warm, filled with love. "I don't deserve you, Danica. I couldn't differentiate between you and your sister. I betrayed you. Slap me. Hit me. Abuse me. Do whatever you want, Danica but please don't leave me. I know you won't be able to forgive me now but I'm ready to wait for as long as it takes."
Tears streamed down his cheeks as he spoke. He still couldn't understand what just happened. He was so excited to come home early to meet her. He had so much planned but why couldn't he be a bit more vigilant? No matter how he saw it, he couldn't forgive himself and neither was he expecting her forgiveness.
He didn't know how long he knelt on the fleece fluffy floor rug beside the bed. He didn't know how much time passed but the tears never stopped. His eyes were shut in remorse. He couldn't look at her in the face.
Suddenly, he felt a movement on his face. Something soft, it wasn't the tears constantly washing his face. It was rather wiping his tears. A soft hand was wiping his tears. It can't be Danica so who was it?