Chapter 209 - 209. I Am Sorry (2)

"Trust me, honey."

"I know my cousin more than anyone. Now I'm just asking you to trust me, okay?"

"If I don't succeed in getting Devan to explain to Anna or the extended family, then you can hate me, you can curse me as you please," added Leo again.

Hearing that, Naila did not respond and only glanced at him briefly.

"I'm thirsty," she said after a few minutes, the girl started to walk past Leo. Choose to use the stairs instead of the elevator to reach the first floor.

While on the other hand, Anna who was left alone slowly removed the blanket covering her body. Her gaze immediately searched for her son's whereabouts.

And after finding Dave's whereabouts, Anna slowly got up from her sleep, walking towards the sofa in the room.

"Why are you sleeping here, honey?" Anna's monologue then lifted Dave's body very carefully, carried him to the bed, then laid him there.

After that, Anna did the same, lying next to the boy, staring at him without blinking, occasionally rubbing his head gently, it was clear that she loved her son very much.

"Hope you don't end up like Me, my dear. Life is very hard, I don't think I'm willing to see you grow up," Anna continued to talk to herself.

"And I'm sorry, I gave birth to you in this very cruel world," she added again, the tears suddenly slipping from her eyelids, wetting the skin of her face very obediently.

Staying in that position for several tens of minutes, Anna did nothing but stare at her son's face.

Her eyelids slowly grew heavy, and without Anna knowing it, she fell asleep too.

A few minutes later, Naila slowly opened the door, stepped carefully into the room, a tray containing a bottle of water, an empty glass, and some snacks and fruit perched in her hands.

The girl did it with the aim that Anna no longer had to go to the kitchen when she was thirsty. For a moment her steps stopped when she found Mother and Son sleeping on the bed.

A sight that somehow made Naila feel a little moved. Without waiting long, the girl slowly put the tray she was carrying on the nightstand very carefully and left the room.

***

In the afternoon, at four o'clock, Leo left the house where Anna lived, of course, after saying goodbye to Naila.

Stepped on the gas, splitting the crowds of City J. The congested roads he passed made the frustration he had been holding back ever more intense. He even almost committed a violation if he was too late to step on the brakes at a traffic light that suddenly turned red.

Grabbing a flat-shaped object on the dashboard of his car, Leo tried to contact Devan again. He had contacted his cousin three times since his trip, and this was the fourth time.

Leo didn't know what the man was doing so he ignored his call. He had sent a text message but had not received a reply.

"Come on, pick up my call, Devan," Leo muttered as he stared at the traffic light which still hadn't changed color.

Tut...

Again, there was no response from the man.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"Don't you know how dire the situation is right now?" Leo muttered over and over.

He then tried to do the same, but instead of connecting, his cousin's contact was now even out of reach, making Leo feel very frustrated, the man then took a shaky breath, then turned the wheel again when the traffic light had turned yellow.

Moving slowly, Leo tried to contact Clarissa, the woman who was Devan's secretary.

"Hello Mr. Leo, how can I help you?" Just three knocks and a woman's voice was heard from the other side.

"Hello, Clarissa. Where are you now?" Leo asked directly, without further ado.

"I'm still in the office, sir," Clarissa replied.

"Devan to the office today right?" Leo asked again.

"Right, sir. Today Mr. Devan is in the office," the woman replied.

"Is he still there at the moment?"

"Sorry sir, since this afternoon, right after the meeting was over, Mr. Devan had left the office."

"Really? He's home so soon?"

"I don't know sir. Did something happen? Or maybe you wanted to tell him something? You can say it, I'll tell to him later," Clarissa said.

"No, there's no need. I just wanted to see him. I haven't seen my cousin in a long time," Leo replied.

"Didn't he say his purpose?"

"No, he didn't, sir," Clarissa answered that instant.

Leo sighed roughly, "Okay, call me when Devan comes back," Leo said.

"Yes sir."

"Thanks, Clarissa, then I'll hang up."

"You're welcome, sir."

And after that, the connection was lost.

"Has he gone home yet?" Leo monologue. Without thinking, he who originally wanted to visit Devan in his office suddenly turned around, then stepped on the gas again, heading to his cousin's house.

It only took a few minutes, the man had arrived at the front gate of Devan's house.

"Welcome, sir," said Lukman.

"Um, Devan is at home?" Leo asked as he opened the car windows wide.

"Mr. Devan is not at home, sir."

"Ha? You didn't lie to me, did you?" Leo squinted suspiciously.

"N-no, Sir. I don't have that kind of courage. What I said is true. Since Mr. Devan left the house this morning, he hasn't come back until now," Lukman replied, stuttering a little.

Hearing that answer, Leo fell silent. The man no longer gave any response, making Lukman feel a little awkward.

"Then I want to ask something else," Leo said after a few minutes of silence.

"Please, sir," replied Lukman while bowing his body.

"Did Byanca come last night?" Leo asked.

"N-no sir," stuttered Lukman.

"Don't lie to me, Lukman. Do you look at me like an ignorant fool?"

"Was it Devan who asked you to keep Byanca's arrival a secret?" Leo asked raising his voice slightly.

"N-no, sir. You misunderstood," replied Lukman immediately.

"Ha? What do you mean? Who misunderstood? How?" Leo asked with one eyebrow raised, completely unable to process the middle-aged man's words.

"Tell me, don't hide anything from me, Lukman," he added with a little emphasis on certain words.

"What I said earlier is true, sir. I'm not hiding anything. I swear," replied Mr. Lukman.

"Miss Byanca never came, because since a few days ago, Miss Byanca has been living here, sir. Miss Byanca lives in the same house as Mr. Devan," added the middle-aged man again.

"I've said everything without hiding anything."