Secretly Mine

"Leslie, is there anything I can do to help?"

Okay, here goes nothing.

Taking a final deep breath, I closed my eyes.

"My father asked me to come here and beg for your forgiveness," I said quietly.

When I opened my eyes again, I was greeted with his stunned expression.

"Why would you, of all people, have to come apologize to me? If anything, it should be your sister who needs to beg for my forgiveness," he said with a frown.

I averted my gaze. Those were my thoughts exactly.

"They believe that you are angry due to being disturbed during the 'process'. According to Morgan, everything happened willfully, though I know that my father knows the truth."

Christian's eyes darkened.

"Leslie, I know you don't want to hear about this subject anymore, but trust me when I say that your father isn't a good person. Doesn't it seem strange that someone who's always maintained their image is suddenly okay with drugging me?"

I frowned. He was right, it did seem strange. It was actually still hard to swallow that this even happened...

"I know my earlier words sounded ridiculous. Human trafficking is a huge accusation to make, especially against your family, that's been widely known for its good image. But think about it. If your father is okay with drugging someone, what else do you think he's capable of?"

I sat silently, doing my best to process Christian's words. There was an unease brewing in my chest.

What if...

No! No way. Drugging is bad, but human trafficking is a whole different level!

But as ridiculous as it sounded, I finally felt a seed of doubt begin to grow deep inside of me.

Christian watched me closely, studying my expression.

"You don't have to fully believe me right now. I'm actually close to getting evidence. All I ask is for you to give me some time," he said softly.

A new kind of fear opened up inside of me. The 'what if' began to raise all sorts of questions. What if Christian was telling the truth? What if my family were truly involved in such a horrible thing? What would that make me?

Calm down. Nothing's been proven yet. This could still just be part of his plot to make himself appear better.

He must have seen the fear in my eyes because the next moment, he came to sit beside me. His warm hand landed on top of mine.

"Leslie. I swear, no matter what, I won't let anything happen to you. You're innocent and shouldn't have to carry the sins of your family... not now, not ever."

My body froze as I looked up at him. Wasn't that exactly what I was doing now? Bearing the sins of my father and Morgan. They sent me to beg for forgiveness for something they had done.

Christian's words continued to echo in my mind. I didn't want to carry the fault of others.

Tears began to flow down my face, but the next moment I felt myself being pulled into Christian's warm embrace.

This time I didn't pull away. I allowed myself to feel the warmth of his strong arms around me. They felt like a strong shield, protecting me against anything that could possibly come my way. It felt as if, as long as these arms were wrapped around me, I could do anything I wanted without worry.

-

After sitting in Christian's embrace, I finally pulled away.

But does any of this excuse the fact that I was used? Even now, I still haven't heard the words I've been wanting to hear the most.

But before I could voice my concerns, Christian spoke.

"I will never forgive your family for what they've done to me yesterday. But I will make it seem like I have for your sake. I don't want them causing you trouble for something you're not even guilty of." Christian wiped away one of my tears. "Why did they resort to doing that anyway? I couldn't figure that part out."

"Apparently, we're facing a major financial crisis. Father refused to fill us in on the specifics, but he's been on edge because of it." I looked down at my hands, "Not that it excuses what they did to you."

Christian lifted his eyebrow. "Financial crisis? I see..."

He turned to me, "Very well. I'll approve a small contract they've been trying to secure for a while now. That should show your father that I've 'forgiven' them." He suddenly turned serious, "But Leslie, I will apologize to you right now. When I get my hands on the evidence, I will fight tooth and nail to put everyone responsible behind bars."

Oddly, I didn't feel as much protectiveness towards my family as I thought I did. "If what you claim is true, and that my Father has indeed been part of a human trafficking circle, I will not stand in your way, nor will I feel bad that he and anyone else included will be sent to prison."

There was no way I would protect someone who's capable of capturing and selling other humans. Even if that person were my own father.

Christian observed me for a moment before giving me a slight nod. "Thank you, Leslie. I feel a lot more relieved doing this."

I looked up at him, "Why are you so invested in doing this? I never really took you for someone who goes out of their way to uproot evil."

Christian's expression turned solemn for a brief moment before returning to normal. "I'll tell you after I present you with the evidence."

I nodded, "Fair enough."

There really was no point in discussing something I didn't really believe to be true anyway. I turned to glance at the clock on the wall, realizing that it was already very late.

"Oh no! I need to get going!" I gasped, shooting up from my seat.

Lucas must've been waiting for me for at least twenty minutes now!

I turned to Christian, "Thank you for the gifts and for 'forgiving' my family, even if it's just temporarily."

He nodded and remained silent. His eyes were fixed on me, looking at me with a sense of longing.

Suddenly, I felt guilty seeing Lucas...