ENCHANTED LOVE, VOLUME 3 - Season 11 Episode 59

“What happened next? Did you profess your love for him?” Melissa hastily asked Leila.

With a weak smile, Leila replied in a sad voice, “Actually no. In the end I couldn’t gather enough courage to do it.”

With a deep melancholic sigh, Leila revealed more details. “The reason I had the opportunity to work as his secretary was because that woman introduced me to him. She was my friend as well as my benefactor. I truly couldn’t bear to be her enemy if I were to compete for his heart. So in the end, I just didn’t have enough courage.”

“So what happened then?” Melissa prompted, her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity.

Melissa guessed something must have happened; otherwise Leila wouldn’t be in prison now.

“Later…” Leila paused to gather her thoughts before continuing, “Later I found out that there was actually no love between him and that girl. Their relationship started by accident, which made me think there might be hope for me after all.”

Smiling softly to herself, Leila continued, “So I tried my best to do whatever he instructed me to do just to get his praise and catch his attention. I chose to work by his side silently and not reveal my true feelings for him because I didn’t want to trouble him,” Leila said quietly. There was sadness in her voice and it was clear that this had been difficult for her.

“Didn’t he notice your infatuation at all?” Melissa asked in confusion. Although men’s sense of affection was less sensitive than women’s, it was hard to imagine that this man wouldn’t catch on to Leila’s true feelings.

“Maybe he noticed but pretended not to.” Leila’s weak smile faltered as she continued to explain her story. “Later on, I discovered that he had already fallen in love with that girl. She was even pregnant.

But their happy life together was suddenly cut short when that woman went missing. He nearly went mad trying to find her. He searched for her everywhere, but she was just nowhere to be found,” Leila added, shaking her head slowly. Glancing over at her Melissa, she continued hesitantly, “I have to confess something to you…Right before that woman went missing, I had met up with her. At the time, she was experiencing a difficult birth. When she finally gave birth to a beautiful boy, I took him away and brought him up until he was three years old.”

Staring at Leila in shock, Melissa prompted her to continue. “After three years, I took the boy back. I thought maybe if I brought the boy to him, he would fall in love with me and we could start a life together.” Leila paused and looked down at her hands. “But when I saw him, I could tell that he was still deeply in love with the woman. He was beside himself with grief. He drank excessively every day and he was not the same man I had fallen in love with.”

“Oh, you silly girl…” Melissa sighed pitifully, shaking her head. While it was true that young women in love made mistakes, Melissa had never heard anything quite like this.

“I know what I did was wrong, ” Leila responded, trying to explain herself. “But at the time, I felt so desperate, I really didn’t know what else to do but to take the boy.” As Leila spoke, she knew how inadequate her reasoning sounded, but she continued, “I know it was so selfish and naive, but I just thought this would allow me to be with him forever.”

Nodding empathetically, Melissa replied, “So what happened next? Did you get along with the boy? How was your relationship with the man?” Melissa quickly covered her mouth with her hand as if to stop herself from asking more questions. She was very curious, but didn’t want to rush Leila.

“That boy…” Leila’s voice trailed off. There was a good chance that the boy was the reason she finally broke up with Charles.

Although she raised him, the boy didn’t show any intimacy towards her at all.

“The boy is extremely mature,” Leila continued, shaking her head in amazement. “Although he is only three years old, he is so smart. He doesn’t even behave like a child.” She smiled to herself sadly before resuming. “I thought I could be with the man if I returned his child to him, but I didn’t expect that the girl who had been missing would suddenly show up again.” Leila looked down at her hands wistfully.

“Suddenly show up again?” Melissa repeated, slightly taken aback. “Where had she been the past three years? Why didn’t she come back sooner?” Melissa continued to ask, puzzled.

“Apparently she lost her memory,” replied Leila. “But the most significant part is that prior to returning home she had been another man’s girlfriend. I heard that they had been together for three years!

Everyone was so happy to see her back home. The man didn’t seem to mind one bit that she had been with another man.” Leila frowned. “He had been showing some interest in me, but once that girl reappeared, all of his interest vanished.”

The more Leila spoke, the more upset she felt about the whole situation. She looked into Melissa’s eyes and couldn’t help but confess, “Sometimes I couldn’t help but wish that she never came back…”

“Silly girl,” Melissa responded, feeling heartbroken for this poor girl. “Love affairs will never satisfy you.”

Nodding her head in agreement, Leila replied, “In the beginning I thought that God was being unfair to me, putting me through the pain of unrequited love and all that. But later on, I just gave up. Everyone was so relieved to see her come home alive, and I felt bad for wishing otherwise.

And although she had been with another man, Charles Taylor didn’t seem to mind, so how could I have the right to mind it?” Leila said with a bitter smile.

“Did you say Charles Taylor?” Melissa asked, dumbfounded.

Surprised by Melissa’s odd reaction, Leila looked at her in confusion. “Melissa, what’s wrong with you? Why are you reacting so strangely?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Melissa responded quickly, not realizing how peculiar her reaction was until hearing Leila’s question. Smiling awkwardly, she said to Leila, “The name Charles Taylor just seems a little familiar for some reason.”

“His family is pretty well known in Ylanbu. Do you know Shining Enterprise? He is the chairman.” “Oh, no wonder he sounds familiar,” Melissa replied, trying to hold back her emotions, before asking more questions.

“So what happened next? What on earth happened?” Taking a deep breath, Leila continued, “Remember just now I said that I wanted to give up? Well, Sheryl didn’t want to discharge me. Instead, after regaining her memory, she accused me of harming her. And of course, Charles believed her wholeheartedly. I tried to explain myself, but he refused to believe me. And so I was charged and now I’m in this jail.”

“I know why Sheryl did this to me. She wanted to be with Charles again because of his money. My existence must have posed a threat to her devious plan, so she got rid of me,” Leila added, her eyes darkened with resentment.

“Now here I am,” she grumbled. “I’ve lost both my son and boyfriend, and I have to stay in this dark place for three years…”

“Didn’t Charles show you no compassion?” Melissa inquired with narrowed brows.

“He was trying to please that woman and showed me no empathy. He would do even worse things to me if she asked him,” Leila replied, curving her lips into a sardonic smile.