CHAPTER 14: Day 5 – Newly Formed Friendship

With heart confused and head felt stupid, Candy was frustratingly walking back and forth at the night duty room in the hospital trying to comfort herself and think about the whole thing.

The sound of a knock at the door stopped her. She lifted her head and saw Neal. At his sight, she felt relieved, all trace of bitterness in her heart was momentarily gone. But she's curious where she actually was in the picture. She hated love triangle. It always ended with her having the broken heart.

"Why are you here?" asked Candy coldly.

Oh no… she's back to be her old self, thought Neal.

"To ask for your hand… Marry me, Candy...," said Neal quickly.

No one had ever said that to her. Her heart jumped in shock, she almost screamed. His words sounded so good, it made her feel happy and loved.

At the same time, it's hard to believe that it's real. Her past love triangle affairs all ended tragically. Either the other girl would tearfully beg her to give up the man, or threaten to commit suicide, or the man simply walked away and left…. Regardless, she always ended up being the loser.

There must be a catch. Things never be this easy for me , she thought cautiously.

"But Neal," said Candy. She started to be on guard, giving an icy stare to the door anticipating the other girl to show up. "Elisa said..."

"Whatever she said, do you believe her?" cut Neal. "You're not that naive, are you?"

"I didn't believe her. But I believe what I saw. I know what I heard," she said attacking him. "You are sweet to her and she's good to you." She added firmly, refusing to look at him.

"She doesn't know about all this protocol and etiquette. She just hugged me like the way we used to hug," he said gently. "I shouldn't say 'she's my nobody' in front of everyone, should I? But, I have explained to her in private."

After the unforgettable humiliation he received from Albert in that engagement party which left him utterly broken, he vowed to never reject anyone openly in public especially to a dear friend such as Nichole.

"'The way you used to'," sneered Candy. "And? What did she say?"

"She asked me to apologize to you for creating the misunderstanding. She's in the train to New York now. She always knows that in my heart there's only you."

"She knows what?" asked Candy flabbergasted, starting to tremble. "Who is she to you?"

"You probably don't know this since almost no one outside my family knows," Neal said quietly. "Not long after you rejected me, I had a total meltdown. It was so bad that my parents had to send me to Florida..."

He told her everything.

"She must mean so much to you. Why don't you marry her?" asked Candy. Her legs started to feel weak, chest started to suffocate in anticipation of his answer.

"I have given my entire heart to you, Candy. I am incapable of loving anyone else, including Nichole."

Neal's answer delighted her. He didn't disappoint her. Finally, the man who cared about her happiness more than other women's, who picked her over others, who made her the winner of his love, who would rather break other women's hearts rather than breaking hers...

Unable to support her weight anymore, she sank to a chair, buried her face in her hands.

"Nice woman," said Candy tearing up. "And instead of thanking her for taking care of you, I made her go to the train station alone."

"She's not alone, she's with her fiancé," responded Neal.

"I was selfish. I was thinking only about myself. That's the sign that I've been with this wretched family far too long. I don't belong to this Ardlay family nonsense. I hate their merciless intrigues. All they care about is themselves, greed, how to destroy one another,... I have had enough." Candy sobbed.

"Don't tell me that you're afraid of any fricking intrigue. I know you're not afraid of anything."

"I'm just a simple girl..."

"Candy, I love you," cut Neal. "Only you. In my entire life I never love anyone else except you."

He continued softly. "Marry me. Make me a happy man so I can stop pretending to be one. Accept my love, my terrible history and all my flaws together with it," persuaded Neal.

Marry him? Go back to live among the Leagans? Elisa...! A few minutes interaction with her was all it took to create deep hatred and anger in her heart. That's absurd! And by marrying him, all Ardlay disgusting family intrigues would stick to her like glue.

"This has happened way too fast, Neal. I need to think about it," said Candy.

"Of course," said Neal in sympathy. "I understand. The time you spent with us must be the worst period of your life. You were just a little girl back then, an admirably strong one. If I were put in your shoes, I doubt I could have made it."

He took an envelope from his pocket. He knew her well and had suspected that it wouldn't be smooth and easy so he wrote her a letter for a backup plan.

"I don't want to rush you. But, I'll go back to Florida in two days. While I'm away, if you think about me at all, read this."

He handed the letter to her, but she didn't take it. He then put it on the table next to her.

"I love you, Candy. This, I promise, will never change," Neal said.

He left.

In a flash, she felt lonely. She missed him already. She sat silently for a few minutes then looked at the door. The anticipated girl still hadn't showed up. All moved unexpectedly too smoothly without any drama. Slowly she picked up his letter and gripped it, hard. She wanted to hug him. The room suddenly got too quite without him.

She almost jumped in surprise when a knocking sound at the door cut through the quiet of the room.

The girl is here! Finally!, Candy thought, quivering. She will beg me to leave him.

Nervously she looked at the door. But it's not her, it's just one doctor who came to ask for her assistance. Candy took a deep breath, put the letter in her pocket, and went to work…

oOo

The following day Neal spent the whole day with the police to finish the final round of investigation. He also visited Jay who's recovering to tell him how the story concluded.

Jay accidentally was in the barn when they came out from the basement. They suspected him and wanted to capture him. He tried to run. They had some car chasing and he accidentally hit a tree.

Eois had planned to trap Elisa. He never told Elisa anything about the tunnel. Eois planned to have her visit Albert alone then sent his men trough the tunnel to kill Albert. Eois then would create a story where he set Elisa as the killer…

oOo

In the evening, finally Neal had the time to visit Albert. He wanted to get Albert's pardon for Elisa. After Albert obliterated his engagement party with Candy, Neal never liked Albert. But for the sake of his sister, he swallowed his hatred and visited Albert with a smile on his face.

Albert welcomed him with a wide genuine smile and friendly gesture more than what Neal expected. Albert called his wife and son to especially meet him, too. Beatrice said thank you many times until Neal lost count of it. They made little William to hug his uncle too. Beatrice and Albert also invited Neal for dinner or lunch or whatever Neal had time for which he had to politely decline.

"I need to pack tonight. Will go back to Florida tomorrow morning," said Neal.

Albert and Beatrice openly showed their disappointment.

"But, if your schedule permitted, could I perhaps have a private meeting with you, William?" asked Neal quickly. "To chat …"

Before Neal even finished Albert had said delightedly, "Oh… Of course…Please, it's an honor…"

A good start, thought Neal. He was very nervous. He remembered Albert's toughness in that engagement party. A man of principle, he knew that Albert could be tough if necessary.

Neal used all communicating skill he had to try to win Albert's heart. He told Albert about Florida, invited him and his family to come to ride on his yacht, and more. At some point, Neal told Albert about his startup business in Florida, that's when the opening finally cracked.

"You've made me promise not to say thank you anymore. So, I won't. But, is there anything, my friend, that I can do for you? We never really venture to Florida using our name as the Ardlay, but we have a vast networking of companies, immense resources, and great sources of connections. They all are yours," said Albert earnestly.

Seeing Albert's sincerity, Neal couldn't but to accept his sincere offer.

"There's this one man, a prominent banker in Florida. One of your associates. He had been refusing to see me, afraid you'd get offended," said Neal with a grin.

"What's his name? I'll have George call him tonight. When your schedule permits, he'll see you the first thing."

Albert looked genuinely happy that he could do something for his nephew. Neal felt encouraged and decided it's a good opportunity to bring the real purpose of his visit.

"Actually there's something else that I need your help about," said Neal. He then turned serious. His heart beat so hard, felt cold everywhere with nervousness. But he tried to look calm and stay composed.

Seeing his change in air, Albert could guess what Neal would say next and he guessed it right. In fact, he had predicted that this was the real purpose of the visit and had been waiting for that.

"William…," said Neal. "It's about Elisa…"

Albert didn't change his look or voice. Identically as before he responded, "With all the evidence lay openly on the table what do you want me to do?"

Albert smartly avoided the delicate subject. He wanted to hear Neal's thought first before letting her off that easily. Neal understood. Using all negotiating skill he had, he tried to win Albert's forgiveness for his sister.

"Please pardon her this time, William. Just this time," Neal pleaded. "What she did was wrong. I've talked to her and made her understand. I have made some agreement too with her to ensure this won't be repeated."

"Eois is done. But our family is large, there's no guarantee that there's no other Eois," said Albert. "Who will be watching her when another Eois strikes?"

"I will," said Neal.

As a response, Albert just stared at Neal as though requesting a more convincing answer.

"In just a few months, I'll graduate and come home to work and live permanently. I will watch her closely," explained Neal.

Albert had been debating about this issue since last night. He witnessed how closed the relationship between the brother and sister was, it was even touching. Many times it reminded him of his own beloved sister, Rosemary, and he almost tore up. He could understand how Neal felt at this moment, and that he would have done the same thing if it had happened to Rosemary…

Considering what Neal had done to save him and that actually Elisa helped him too to escape, Albert decided to generously forgive Elisa and not to put any charges on her.

"If I had been on a jury now, I would not have acquitted her. But she will be acquitted in accordance of our newly formed friendship," said Albert kindly to Neal.

"She might be acquitted at the bar of the law, but not at the bar of my conscience," responded Neal as eloquently. "I assure you that what happened will forever stay in the past."

Neal was grateful of Albert's generosity. Instantly gone was the past hostile feeling he had towards the big hearted man. Now it's his turn who wanted to do something nice to Albert.

"William, about the security breach in the Ardlay mansion…" Neal made a sudden change in topic.

In exchange of Albert's kindness, Neal shared what he thought about the issue and recommended a brilliant, dedicated, young private detective, Jay, to Albert. Albert was grateful to talk about the topic with someone he could trust. In addition, he had been thinking of asking Neal about Jay. He was impressed that Jay could think about the barn in just one day of investigation.

Thus from that night on, it began a genuine cordial friendship that was shared mutually between the two men…

When Neal was leaving, Albert personally took him to his car. He couldn't help to smile remembering the failed engagement party in the past. While staring at the then short man who had now grown to be as tall as himself, Albert thought, Wow, Neal…! Does Candy know this?

ooOoOooo

The time finally came for Neal to go back to Florida. Archie stopped by briefly before he went back to his office to work.

Genuinely grateful for his help and the newly formed friendship, Albert and Beatrice went to the Leagan mansion to take Neal to the train station. After staying for a while, Beatrice noticed that Candy wasn't around and started to get restless.

"How come Candy is not here yet?" Beatrice whispered to Albert while others were not looking.

"Candy doesn't like Neal," answered Albert shortly.

Beatrice sighed in disbelief. "You just don't know what women want, William. I think there's something else."

"Don't I?" Albert asked gently. "But I know what you want, isn't that good enough?" He hugged his beloved pregnant wife and gave her a quick smooch.

"Oh William," said Beatrice twisted spoiledly in his arms. "I'll go to see her, you wait here."

"But Beatrice, Neal will go soon."

"I'll be quick, make up some excuse for me," said Beatrice.

Beatrice quickly sneaked out to go to her car.

-TO BE CONTINUED-

I think it's just logical that Candy needs time to think…

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