''Don't talk,'' Zayden pushed himself to his feet and walked towards her but just when he was one step away from her, she raised her hand, motioning him to stop there.
His footsteps halted but his movements did not. He unbuttoned his shirt all the way through and removed it from his body before he draped it over, ''You had a bad fall so you need medical attention. Just sit there and don't move.''
Leona did not have to look up at him to know that he was half-naked, ''Just wear the shirt.. I am fine…'' she spoke through gritted teeth.
''You are scared of cold.''
'Zade, it was so cold outside today and I had not layered up enough when I went to the supermarket. It was terrible.'
'Why are you so afraid of cold?'
'Because I catch it in the blink of an eye. I can endure fever, or even more severe diseases but do you know how frustrating cold can get? It makes me feel sick of being sick for real. I would rather die ugh!'
'Shut up. Nobody is dying.'
Leona leaned back on the wall, wondering if it was the time of her death and that is why the old memories that had long gone to their grave were resurfacing at a time like this.
However, she did not let them linger for long. Hearing the sound of retreating footsteps, she looked in the direction of the sound. The view of a muscular back greeted her view. Since the man had his back facing towards her, Leona did not look away but instead she gazed at him, his back, his hair, his legs, and even the occasional movements of his hands as he tapped the walls of the cold storage to check if there was a way out.
Two years had passed and the man should be 30 years old now yet the years did not seem to have left any marks on him. He still looked the same, except more manly, wide, and broad-shoulder.
The trail of her thoughts made her lips twitch. Now, she knew she must be dying for real. She had heard somewhere that at death's door, the human body and mind goes through all kinds of emotions, from grief to happiness, from hatred to lust etc.
Heavens!
Leona closed her eyes.
''There doesn't seem to be any loophole around here.''
The man's voice made her open her eyes. She got her mind off his presence and analyzed the things in her mind.
Golden Globe was the shopping complex that Vetrov Consortium had taken over barely a month ago. When she first came across it, she had found this piece of business rather profitable but the person who owned this place was in a huge debt back then. And this business was also failing so she waited on the sidelines to maximize her profit. When the previous owner of this place was on the verge of bankruptcy, she offered him some profits and an adequate amount. A dying person would grab a thin straw to survive.
So, naturally, this business fell into her hands. Had she acquired it when it was at peak, she would have made losses so she naturally felt like she had made some decent profits in the situation.
But it hasn't even been a month before her vision was failing right in front of her eyes. Up until the rumours, it was still fine. A haunted place, zombies, this and that, all those things only ensured her doubt that this was the plot of some rivals perhaps. But when the place was locked down by the New York Police Department, she had decided to give it some attention.
However, there seemed to have emerged new turns in this case. Why would a shopping complex have such hidden mechanisms within it?
"What are you doing here?" Leona's sharp gaze snapped to Zayden, ''Are you the person behind it?"
Under her accusatory gaze, the man stopped tapping on the wall to check whether there was some way to activate the mechanism again. He slowly turned around to face her, entirely calm.
''If I was the person behind it, would I be trapped with you here?" the man looked at her like she lacked common sense.
But Leona's lips curved up in an enchanting smile when she heard his words, ''Weren't you trapped with me in a marriage because of your motives? Aren't you just that desperate and vicious?" her voice was soft and hoarse, obviously affected by the bone-chilling cold but by the end of her words, she chuckled lightly. The sound of her laughter contained a hint of evil
Zayden's heart constricted at her blatant mockery and a weird feeling settled in his chest but he did not let his mind linger on it for long.
He was about to avert his gaze from the woman's face when he saw her eyes gradually closing. Her face was still pale and her consciousness was fading.
Leona struggled to keep her eyes open with every bit of her willpower but her body was in pain. Wanting to move around, she pressed the palm on the wall and tried to stand up but the moment she moved, the numbness in her body caused her to slump on the floor again.
She winced and panted softly.
At this moment, she saw a wide palm appearing in front of her.
Leona did not realize when Zayden had come to stand in front her.
Under her questioning gaze, the man squatted on the floor and spoke up calmly, ''Just for a few hours.''
''What?" Maybe it was the weakness in her body or maybe it was her hazy consciousness but faced with the man, Leona found herself bewildered.
''Just for a few hours, forget about the old grudges. And just prioritize on your survival.''
Leona's lips quirked up in a smile, an almost drunken and mocking smile, ''Prioritize my survival in your presence? I would not even know when I died.''
''If I wanted you dead, you would be dead by now,'' his gaze turned cold at the sight of her pale lips.
''And trust me I would take you down with me… ahh…'' Leona gasped when...