“I understand Miss Peters just came back from Cambola City. Thank you for taking the trouble to meet me this soon.”
His face was full of wrinkles. It looked grimly with his half-smiling look.
He stood with a walking stick with a Bamford emblem carved on the head.
It was Waylen’s grandfather, Mr. Bamford.
“Why are you here? Where is Diana?”
“Do you want to meet her so much? Tell me, why do you want to meet her? Isn’t she Waylen’s old flame? You won’t jump at her at the sight of her, will you?”
“Only people with filthy thoughts think of things of the worst,” she should have known it was Mr. Bamford that kept in touch via email. She used to think of this possibility.
But she totally fell for it when she was given the card.
If Mr. Bamford wanted to see her, he could just force her to come. He didn’t need to be so prudent. So she really thought she was meeting Diana that day.
But she was outwitted. Mr. Bamford didn’t have to force her. He tricked her into coming here.
He even knew she just got back from. Cambola City. So he knew her schedule.
She couldn’t help shivering.
“That’s how you think of me? Fine. There’s only the strong and the weak in my world. I never consider whether my methods are dirty or not.”
“What do you want?”
Crossing one hand on top of another, Mr. Bamford put his weight on the walking stick.
“I won’t do anything to you; after all, you’re pregnant with the Bamford son. I invite you here to watch a good show.”
“What a good show?” The first thing that Leilani thought of was confinement: he locked her somewhere to see Waylen and Rebecca’s wedding.
Apart from that, there was no good show for her.
“Is interest so important to you? Is it more important than your grandson’s happiness?
Do you think he’ll be happy if he marries Rebecca? You’re destroying him!” Leilani smiled icily.
“Hahaha. You have an interesting way of thinking. But I don’t need your lecturing on
Happiness and love at my age,” Mr. Bamford laughed out. The laughter came from his chest and was loud and clear.
“Waylen will not do your bidding.”
“He’ll know one day that love will perish as time passes by. Only wealth and power are your closet friends. They will never betray you. He’ll thank me after he comes around.”
“He won’t! As far as I can tell, he’s not like you!”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself. How long do you think a man’s love can last?”
“I don’t care. But at least we don’t break couples apart just for the fun of it. We don’t do anything that burdens our conscience. We don’t betray each other. That’s enough for me.”
“Really?” Mr. Bamford looked at Leilani with pity.
“Then you should watch the show carefully. Then you can decide whether the man you love will betray you or not. But you have to keep up your nutrition. You’re too thin for a pregnant woman. You’ll harm the child in your belly.”
Leilani felt her spine crawling when Mr. Bamford stared at her belly. She covered it with her hands.
“Aren’t you afraid this good show might cause a miscarriage?”
“I’ll ask the doctor to be present too. Besides, if you could lose the child easily, you’d lose it already. This is the safest yet the most dangerous place for you.”
Mr. Bamford waved his hands. A man in black came in and put a black hood on
Leilani’s head. Leilani didn’t know where she would be taken to. But fighting back made no difference.
When she could see the light again, she found herself in an open European-style bedroom. The decorations were luxurious.
Mr. Bamford didn’t plan to torture her, so she gathered. It was perhaps for the sake of her child.
She looked around. All the windows were sealed. The door was made of iron with a tiny hole to put a food tray.
Her activities were confined in this room. She couldn’t get out.
So Mr. Bamford was determined to keep her here until after Waylen and Rebecca’s wedding, after the child was born, more pessimistically speaking.
Leilani got out of the bed barefoot. The thick carpets had royal painting patterns.
Leilani came to the door and started banging as hard as she could.
“Open the door! Let me out! Is anybody out there?”
She knew there must be people outside. But none answered her.
If, by any luck, she managed to open the door, there must be guards.
Anything including her phone to keep her in touch with others was confiscated.
People would only come at meal hours to bring her food. Every time, they would only open the tiny hole to deliver the food tray in.
It was no different from jail.
She walked around the room. Sometimes she looked down from the window. It was about the height of four or five stores.
There was also a bathroom and a study. When she got bored, she started reading.
She didn’t even know the wedding date of Waylen and Rebecca since she couldn’t talk to anybody.
She heard footsteps outside. It was probably mealtime again.
There wasn’t even a watch. She could only tell the day and night.
Leilani knelt down next to the hole. She planned to grab whoever it was to ask when would Rebecca and Waylen get married and what time it was.
But the hole wasn’t opened this time. The door was opened.
Leilani looked up. The maid came in with a food tray with dozens following behind her.
Ten strong bodyguards carried some boxes. There are also medical professionals with medical cases and equipment.
The maid placed the tray next to the bed and ordered impersonally.
“Eat.”
Leilani frowned at the uninvited crowd. She didn’t touch the food.
The maid ordered again coldly.
“Eat, please, Miss Peters.”
“When will you let me out? When is Waylen’s wedding? Where is Mr. Bamford? I need to see him.”
“Give her a physical check if she isn’t hungry,” the maid stepped aside.
Two men came in carrying her to the bed and made her sit down.
“What are you doing?” Leilani struggled.
“Don’t move. The doctor will check you up,” the maid answered.
The doctor went out to grab his devices and did the checkup.
“She’s in perfect condition. So is the baby.”
Leilani could get used to the environment. Although she didn’t agree with the food in
Cambola City, she regularly ate to reserve strength.
She knew how much the child meant for Mr. Bamford. But she didn’t choose to starve herself to fight back.
She would never risk the child.
The maid nodded.
“Good. Start setting up.”
The bodyguards started hustling after the order. Leilani was confused.
One of them pulled up a giant screen. Others held the projectors.
Were they making her watch the wedding of Waylen and Rebecca?
Or what were the screen and projector for?
Everything was ready to go. The bodyguards, doctor, and maid all stayed behind. They moved to the side of the room. Two bodyguards carried her to sit down on the sofa.
One man said to the walkie-talkie.
“Sir, everything is ready.”
He handed it over to Leilani. It was Mr. Bamford.
“Miss Peters, I’m sure you’re expecting this good show. Stay back and relax. I’ll ask the doctor to keep monitoring your heartbeat and fetal movement. I know you’re always calm. I hope you don’t let me down this time.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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