Chapter 63


    LEIGH-ARI POV


    ~~~5 WEEKS LATER~


    Sitting at the rooftop on the side of the west wing, I looked up at the naked trees thatid ahead, with


    leaves shed to the ground and the branches stark naked. The forest which was once so dense was now


    a small boscage, thanks to the mines that nearly ruptured me open Just the thought of that had me


    laughing softly. I tugged on my fleece shawl that was draped over myp, shielding me from the biting


    cold of the end of November. Winter was finally here, carrying with it the frost that spared none. The little


    sun in the sky provided the little heat that warmed me up, despite the whir of the cold wind.


    The past year had been a rollercoaster ride. Once I was just a normal citizen of Cyprus, a good doctor


    that took pride in saving lives, a friend, and a neighbor. Then suddenly everything went downhill that


    night I saved a guy, brought him into my apartment, and stitched him back to life. Had I called the police,


    surely things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did.


    My life took a turn for the worst since that night, but if I were to be honest, I did not regret even a single


    thing that has happened. All the unfortunate things that befell me since my arrival in Dark Woods, made


    me the woman I am today. From being locked in the steam room, to being spanked till I couldn’t sit, the


    sleepless nights where I cried under the nkets and being pointed with a gun at least a few times, I did


    not regret even a single one of them.


    But it was truly sad, having to find out that all your life, you have been living under someone’s watchful


    eye, without even knowing. It took a gun in my spleen to realize I wasn’t really living my life for myself. I


    truly wasn’t. Since that day that the two boys arrived, across the street 20 years ago, I lost the right over


    my life.


    That’s right. My memories are back. After waking up from a sma due to the Splenectomy, I woke


    up feeling like a new person. I wasn’t just Leigh-Ari from post-ident. I was me. And my memories


    were all back. From the day my mom left us, to the very first sleepover with the boys, I remembered it all.


    I was confused at first because, since the beginning of forever, I wasn’t seeing the faceless figures and


    pieces that didn’t make a full picture. I had called for a nurse, exined everything to them, and that I


    needed to do a quick PET scan. After knowing that I was a doctor, they all agreed to the scan and many


    other tests.


    as a


    When the results came out, it was clear that my hippocampus was healed. It was magical. And my boys,


    they were with me through it all and never left my side. I remember when I slipped back to thend of the


    living, I woke up to find Verzi sleeping on my shoulder, while Enzo was sitting by the bed with my hand in


    his, his head crushing down my thigh. I had justughed softly. They never changed. When their eyes


    opened and saw me, they went wild. I


    have never seen them so happy. They looked so ragged and tired, and I didn’t me them. This has


    been so much for all of us.


    One thing I did however was that I didn’t tell them about me regaining my memories. They just went with


    me to do the scans and had no idea why I was doing them. I had to lie to them and said the scans were


    rted to the surgery, poor them! They believed me!


    Thank God they weren’t doctors and they couldn’t read the scan results. I figured they didn’t have to


    know I regained my memories back.


    I wasn’t trying to be selfish. It wasn’t that. I was just reveling in the feeling of being reconnected to my old


    self, the younger me who was so carefree and so happy. I didn’t want t o share that with anyone. Not


    even the twins, at least not yet.


    After that, they had taken me back to the castle, insisting that I had to recuperate at home. Verzi hated


    the hospitals, he grumbled about the scent of the antiseptic and nurses who always told him to move. He


    was just him! And he came in a full package!


    “Tesoro.” Enzo’s soft voice called out, I turned my head in my wheelchair and stared at his handsome


    face, then gave him a small smile. “Hey.”


    He walked towards me and kissed the top of my head, then grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and


    turned it around.


    “You should go inside. You will catch a cold out here.” He informed wheeling my chair towards the


    entrance where my rampid.


    “I don’t want to go inside.” I conflicted hitting the stop button on the armrest, mming the brakes of the


    electric wheelchair. Technology has never been better!


    “It’s cold out here.” He called out bewildered, I turned and stared at him.


    “I am wearing enough clothes,” I gestured to the heavy woolen sweater I had on, he stayed quiet for a


    second and nodded, then wheeled me back to where he had found me.


    “Where’s Verzi?” I asked staring out at the forest. The renowned Dark Woods. The name didn’t seem


    befitting now. I think they were more like Funny Woods than Dark!


    “He… uh… He went out…” He said with a bit of a stammer, they were just so bad at lying. I wonder how


    they managed to deceive me at first.


    “I want to see Lorik,” I informed causing his eyes to widen in shock.


    “Bullshit! You are not seeing that asshole. Verzi is finishing him off as we speak.” He cursed, ratting


    himself out.


    I arched a brow, causing him to realize what he just blurted out. He covered his mouth with his hands


    and then turned his broad back on me. I just chuckled and turned my wheelchair using the little joystick.


    Was it even called that? Joystick?


    “I’ll go by myself,” I announced already heading for the stairs. He came running after me and then


    stopped right in front of me.


    “You can’t go in there.” He said with a serious face.


    “Are you aware that I am tired of you two treating me like a kid?” I said in a stern voice. His shoulders


    dropped and his head hung low, I hadn’t meant that toe out too harsh, but it did.


    “I mean you can’t go in the wheelchair.” He corrected, I smiled at him and got up to my feet, cing the


    fleece on the chair.


    “I can walk,” I said with a grin.


    “No! You aren’t walking.” He contradicted and scooped me up bridal style, tearing a small giggle from out


    of me.


    “What are you doing?” I asked as he walked us in the other direction,


    “I am taking you down there.” He said in a small voice, furrows bundling on his forehead.


    “I can walk. I had my spleen removed, not my spinal cord.” I pointed out and he looked down a t me with


    a serious face, and then looked forward continuing with his steady strides.


    “I know. But you haven’t healedpletely.” He said as he began climbing down the stairs.


    I ced my head against his shoulder, letting the sound of his heartbeat soothe me. A lot has changed


    since that incident. Something inside me had shifted. I was still madly in love with the boys, but I didn’t


    want to be tied down to them anymore. I wanted to be free, to be let out of the cage. And I wasn’t going


    to let anything stop me.


    “What are you thinking about?” He asked in a gentle tone that made a small echo in the creepy stone


    staircase. I looked up at under chin and then shook my head. 1


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    “Nothing,” I said instead,


    “Hmmmm.” He said.


    “You sound like Verzi when you say that.” I pointed out causing him to chuckle.


    “Do I?”


    “Yeah. You too are so much alike, yet so different.” I said cing my hand on his t chest, heat


    resonating through his dress shirt..


    The walk into the dungeons took almost forever, but soon, we came to that clearing that always made my


    heart skip fast from how unsettling it was.


    The walls were pure stone, doors made with giant iron bars that creaked painfully creating a ghostly


    sound. Thenterns didn’t make anything better, just made it all worst. While I was busy looking around,


    my eyesnded on a half-dead body that looked so pale. It was as if it


    has been drained off every single drop of blood from the veins. The eye bags were so huge, with dark


    circles marring the under eyes. It was dressed in a thin pair of shorts, and from here, I could see the


    outline of the skeleton vividly. I have no idea how ghosts look like, but I tell, I was looking at one!


    The bulky rich guy who had kidnapped me and abused me was now chained on a stool looking so frail


    and so weak like his soul could depart at any moment.


    A shocked gasp left my lips, and Enzo gently ced me on my feet.


    “You shouldn’t in here,” Verzi called out emerging from the shadows, I looked at him for a good second


    and then shifted my eyes at the very tormented Lorik who was literally hanging by a loose thread. I had


    no doubt with this one, but the Gream Ripper was already telling him stories of the afterlife. 1


    I didn’t reply to Verzi, instead, on the hushed steps, I walked towards Lorik and perched myself on a


    chair that was in front of him. His chest rose and fell slowly, and that was the only sign that he was still


    alive.


    “I would like to talk to him. In private.”


    “Oh hell no!”


    “What the fuck?”


    The boys yelled, jumping to secure my sides in a split second. They red daggers at Lorik who just sat


    there with his head hanging on his shoulders.


    “I wouldn’t do anything to her even if I wanted.” He slightly raised his hand, cancel that, his arm that had


    no hand. Coagted ck blood made a coating around the angry wound. A shudder tore out of me at


    the unnerving sight, making my stomach churn painfully.


    I looked up at Verzi and to find him watching me, his face a little sad. It was as if he was waiting for me to


    yell at him for doing what he did. Because I bet my heart this was all his


    doing.


    “I’ll be okay. He won’t hurt me.” I informed adding a small smile. The sense of relief evidently washed


    over him, and he gave me a small nod in return.


    “Are you sure?” Enzo asked from my left. I nodded at him and he leaned down to kiss my forehead, then


    the two of them left the clearing.


    “Call us if anything happens!”


    I reclined in my seat and took my time assessing Lorik. When I stepped in here, I hadn’t fully seen the


    damage done to his body, but I tell you, he was better off dead. A proud man like him wasn’t going to live


    in this world looking like this.


    He had deep cuts all around his pale body, and the blood from the cuts was uncleaned which made the


    blood clots mar him all over. The sight wasn’t pleasing to the eye. I looked lower to


    his feet, to find them… gone. Both of his feet were gone, leaving just a leg-stick. The only limb he had


    was one left hand, which was missing two fingers. The stench of blood and death was so heavy around


    him.


    “You canugh. I know that’s what you came in here for.” He spat in a low voice. Instead of doing that, I


    got up and searched for a clean cloth, then took a bottle of drinking water and wetted the cloth with it.


    I walked to him and began scrapping the clots from him. He winced at first, but then rxed when he


    realized I wasn’t going to stop.


    In silence, I scrapped the disgusting clots off his back, revealing deep wounds that seemed to have been


    caused by a dagger, or a sharp knife. The wounds were coupled with the angry purplesh marks all


    over his back. I didn’t even want to begin to imagine what Verzi had looked like when he did all this. I


    couldn’t paint that picture in my mind.


    When his back was through, I looked around and spotted a small sink. I went to it and ran the bloodied


    cloth under cool water, and then got back to work.


    We stayed in a long silence, but I could hear he wanted to say something. “Why are you doing this?” He


    asked when I began cleaning his hands. “I am a doctor,” I replied inly and focused on his maimed


    arm.


    “Yes, but why?”


    “If the wound is not treated, it will be inmed and it won’t heal faster. I think you know that.” I said and


    scrapped the clot that was covering the whole wrist.


    He didn’t reply, just let me finish with what I was doing.


    “You must be thrilled to see me like this.” He said and then attempted to chuckle, only to cough out


    violently making his body shake so bad I thought he was going to crumble into a heap of bones. I cradled


    his body with my hands until the coughing subsided.


    “I am not,” I said refuting him.


    “That’s because you are stupid.” He said as I helped him lean back to his seat.


    “Maybe,” I said softly and went back to work.


    “I so want to kill you right now.” He announced, and I smiled. He noticed this and froze,


    “You are smiling.”


    “I am.” I looked up at his sunken face and fuck! This man was on the brink of death.


    “Why? I just said I want to kill you.”


    “Has that ever worked out for you?” I asked with my smile so big, then refocused my attention on the


    cleaning. Words seemed to fail him when my words sunk deeper into him.


    “You tampered with my dad’s car in an attempt to kill me. I survived. You kidnapped me and shot me. I


    survived. You can try another method again, I will survive. Throw anything at me Lorik and I will survive


    it.” My words shot straight to his heart causing him to shrink even further. I wasn’t trying to make him feel


    any worse, I was just telling the truth, and the truth will always be bitter.


    He didn’t say anything further, and I didn’t either. I jeast cleaned his body in silence, and once I was


    through, I got up and discarded the cloth, then stood a good foot from him. His eyesnded on me, I


    smiled at him and said:


    “I forgive you!”


    And with that, I turned my back and left him there. No matter how malicious he had been to m e, there


    was no point holding a grudge to a dead man. Hell would deliver the punishment for me.