472 Ba
ch 96

He was anxious, nervous, scared. Danna was alive. Thank God Danna was very much alive, but for some reason they were calling her Leda! Her official name, her real one, was Danna McKenzie, he knew it because he had seen it on the competition boards and besides, that name was on the death certificate that John had found… The certificate! It had to mean something! Whose work was all this? The old hag who was Danna’s mother or the girl herself? In any case, faking her death was a crime, Loan knew that, that’s why he didn’t dare make any move until he knew exactly what was going on. She didn’t return to the dining room, instead another girl arrived and Loan spent the rest of the afternoon tormented, waiting for it to be night. “I have a question. How many service personnel does it take to keep the castle running?” he asked Olivia. “Only half a dozen.” Chef and two kitchen assistants, a butler, a gardener, and five cleaning and laundry girls,” Olivia answered proudly. “And… um… they all stay in the house?” “There are quarters outside the castle, about two hundred meters west, past the river,” Olivia stated. “That’s where the servants live.” “Ah… I see.” Loan closed the conversation, but he was annoyed that the clock was ticking slower so he could retreat to his room. He and Bryson apologized as quickly as they could and were led to the second-floor rooms. They were luxurious, yes, and not high enough that Loan couldn’t hang out of one of the windows as soon as the clock struck eleven and all the lights in the house went out. Thanks for reading at LeeNovelas.com. He carefully descended and crossed the small bridge over the river to reach the back of the buildings that housed the servants. There she sharpened her senses in an attempt to detect which one she was staying in or if she was alone, but it seemed that many were shared. Finally she discovered a little house further away from the others and a particular sound caught her attention there. Her heart jumped into her throat when through one of the windows she saw Danna carrying that baby, the same one she had seen in the afternoon, the one that the girl next to her had told her looked like him. “Lili, can you hold the baby for me for a minute? I’m going to get a diaper,” she asked the girl softly and Loan saw her enter one of the rooms. She quickly went around the little house and slipped through that window. Danna stifled a scream when she saw him in front of her, but Loan covered her mouth with a hand. “Shs shs shs…! It’s me. Remember. Read this novel only at LeeNovelas.com, not on other sites. There she was, his Danna, standing before him with her eyes as round as saucers and her chest rising and falling in desperation. They stared at each other for endless seconds before Loan lowered her head and found his lips in an urgent, desperate kiss.The girl’s body tensed in his arms and he heard her growl a furious “Let me go,” but Loan’s mouth was too demanding to resist and within seconds he felt that resistance give way as Danna gave her open access to his mouth. Their intertwined lips danced in the warm darkness of the room, their bodies coming together and separating almost rhythmically, pressing against each other as Loan enveloped her in a powerful embrace. Danna’s mouth was still tender, sweet and desperate as she gave herself completely to him. Her breathing became labored as their tongues met in a tender and frenetic dance.It wasn’t until Danna’s lips parted from his that Loan came back to reality. “Danna…” he whispered, looking at her tenderly. “We have to stop,” she said, lowering her gaze as her cheeks were tinted with a deep blush. Loan felt empty when Danna came out of his arms and looked at him with eyes full of tears. “What are you doing here?” she whispered, wiping her mouth. “We had something casual, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to be the mistress of the lady’s new husband…” Loan vehemently denied it while laughing and crying at the same time. “Are you crazy? I just arrived today and I only did it for you… Danna, I’ve been looking for you for months! Months, since the championship… because when I didn’t see you arrive I almost went crazy and then…!” He stopped to look into her eyes and his eyes crystallized. Then they told me you had been pregnant… then that you had lost the baby and finally… God, they finally told me you had died! But I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it so I kept looking for you… Loan didn’t want to even think, she just wanted to kiss her one more time. He hugged her tightly and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. “I came to replace you. I came for you… although I never even imagined you could be with people like this…” “So… you and Mrs. Winston…?” “Not dead and crucified, Danna, no way!” he assured her hugging her and Danna sighed with relief. Her arms wrapped around Loan’s neck as he returned the same passion, showing her how much he had wanted that kiss for the past few months. It was a kiss full of longing that intensified the beating of their hearts, a kiss that let them know how much they needed to be together. Finally they separated to take a breath, but their gazes remained locked on each other. The two of them were there, alone in the dark in that little house, sharing something they didn’t yet know was love. “He’s mine,” he said suddenly and Danna held her breath. “The baby in the living room with the other girl, I saw him this afternoon… He looks like me. He’s mine, right?” Tears rolled down Danna’s cheeks and she nodded. “Yes… yes, he’s yours,” she sobbed. “I really don’t know how it happened, we always took care of each other so much but… I don’t know.” “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter! God, I thought you had lost him!” he murmured, crying too. “Almost… but my child was strong even before he was born,” she whispered. “I was in the hospital for several days and then I understood… I understood that I couldn’t stay because then my mother would replace a way to make me lose him. So I ran away.” “Why didn’t you look for me, Danna?” he scolded her. “I could have helped you, I could have protected you from everything!” “And how was I going to replace you?” I don’t even know your last name! I barely know your first name because your mother once shouted them at you in a scolding text but… how was I supposed to replace you? —she replied. —Well… you could have gone to the championship! You knew I was going to wait for you there! —he exclaimed and Danna let go of his hands. —For God’s sake, Loan,She looked around. I work practically for food and shelter. My son sleeps with me in the same bed because I don’t have a crib for him. With what money was I going to go to France? —she said and Loan put both hands to her head feeling the full weight of the circumstances. She had done what she had to do to stay alive and to support her son. Now it was her turn to take care of them. —That’s over —she said with a heavy heart because she couldn’t bear the fact that with the money she had, her son didn’t even have a crib—. All that’s over, Danna, I’m going to take care of it now, they won’t lack anything, I promise you. We’re going to leave here right now, I’m going to take them to Switzerland and… —I can’t —Danna interrupted him shaking her head and Loan looked at her scared while she cried. I’m sorry, but I can’t leave here! Mrs. Winston, she… she won’t let me go!