Chapter 6 Not a stranger

Elena's POV

Layla sat on the other chair opposite me, staring at my face as if I was an alien of some sort. She had been doing it for a while now and it was getting creepy.

"Okay now Lay, stop it." I said putting my leg down from the sofa and sitting up. "I'm here, like I am here...in a real freaking body."

"Yeah, that's the surprising part." Layla said with a small nod as if she didn't hear the first part and I chuckled.

Her reaction was too much...she was clearly overreacting.

Yeah, to be sincere, her surprise wasn't that surprising. I wasn't supposed to be back here, not now and not here.

I pressed my lips together rolling my eyes. "Lay..."

"I'm sorry okay." She raised her hands up, surrending. "It's just shocking. I haven't seen you in years...like three freaking years, but here you are... sitting in my new apartment." She said pointing at me and I rolled my eyes again.

Yeah, speaking of that.

"This place is amazing."

Getting up from the sofa, I strolled around the sitting room.

"It's so big, and beautiful..." Then I walked towards her, leaning in. "Just what did you do to get this? Who did you con? The mayor? Governor?" Then I did a overly dramatic gasp. " The president!"

Layla giggled pushing me away. "It's actually what didn't I do."

What?

She got this house for not doing something?

I blinked twice looking at her.

What didn't she do? My eyes asked her. She understood instantly and sighed.

"My father...he wants me to come home."

Fuck.

I always loved being right but this was one of the rare times I hated it.

Scoffing, I returned back to the sofa "After how many years...over 6 freaking years he wants you to come back?"

"Yn." She sighed again. "He gave me the house to try to get me to go back to him."

I scoffed again crossing my hands as I sat down. "Typical...just typical."

What did I expect?

Like...con a president? That was impossible...but maybe not for Layla.

Unlike me, Layla was from a rich home. Her parents were highly influential people in the country...the most respected Campbell's.

We met when we were in highschool, I was there on a scholarship and we just clicked. Her parents warned her of hanging around with a peasant like me but she didn't listen and kept me around. This got her parents very mad and sometimes they stopped talking to her.

But then one day, after we finished highschool, they made her pick between me and everything she owned. Her gather promised to remove her name from his will if she didn't stop seeing me.

When I heard of it I wanted to distance myself from her, just so she and her dad would still be okay. But she refused.

I can never forget what she said to me.

...

"Ele, I'm not hanging out with you because I have nothing to do at home, nor am I hanging out with you because I want my dad to get mad." Layla said softly as she held my hands in hers. "You are my friend, you get me...those people don't."

"So if have to pick between you and then...well, welcome your new sister."

...

I giggled when she said it, but in less than few days, it became true. We became more than best friends...we became sisters. And since we lived on the street, and were really pretty, we went into coning rich people that had too much money to spare.

Since then we haven't been apart...well, we haven't been apart, but that changed 3 years ago.

"Elena what are you thinking about?" Layla tapped my hand and I looked towards her. "Do you think I'm going to just agree to go back after what that man did?"

A sad smile appeared on my lips. "I know you won't, but if he gave you this house...it doesn't seem like he is going to give up now is he?" I asked her back.

She had been away from her father for 6 years...6 crazy years, but now the man wants her back.

But then again, isn't that a good thing?

At least she still even had a father who wanted her...even after being stupid for 6 years.

I sighed loudly as I looked at my best friend who I hadn't seen in over 3 years. She had grown, she was now even more beautiful than the last time we saw. Her usually short hair had grown out, it was now reaching her back. Her lips were plum and pick, her brows...in total she looked like a fragile, delicate beauty...

Before we normally conned guys by pretending to be fragile and delicate, but to do that we had to use lots of make-up...but now she...she just looked like that.

Layla was literally blessed with a face to kill.

Maybe it was time for her to return home.

"Layla..." I called her softly. "I think, that maybe you should agree to what your dad wants."

Layla instantly turned her head to face me, her eyes filled with just one emotion... disbelief.

Shaking my head I sighed again. "Layla, you of all people know that I grew up without a father and a mother..."

"So did I." She firmly interjected.

I shook my head again. "Yeah, but your case is different. It's like, they left and now they're back. Mine left, but...I don't know if they died on the way or they are alive somewhere and forgot about me...I don't know." A tear slip down from my eyes but I caught it immediately, wiping it away with my hands.

I hardly spoke about my parents. That was because it hurt too much. Growing in an orphanage leaves you with lots of questions.

Are they alive? Did they not want me? Are they dead? Did they forget about me? Did they never knew I existed?

But as I grew older I discovered that it was impossible for a mother not to know her child existed...just impossible.

So it's either they forgot about me, didn't want me or were dead.

I picked the last option because that was real, and kept to it. Since then I never spoke about it, never thought about it ever again...until now.

"Your father wants you back, Layla" He said taking a deep breath. "He cares about you."

Layla shook her head, her expression turning ugly. "No."

"My father doesn't love me. Nobody loved me in that family apart from my mother, and she's dead!" She shouted her voice filled with anger and frustration.

Fuck...I can't believe I forgot that part. Her mum was dead.

That was the reason she felt no one understood her in that family. She and her mother were really close, but then one day she went out and didn't come back on time.

Almost 24 hours later, her body was found lying on the road battered.

She was dead.

Layla changed from then on...and two weeks later, I came to school.

"Elena just drop this topic please...I'm not going back to that man." She said with a sniffled wiping her eyes. "Also I think he got me an arranged marriage that would benefit the family... that's why he wants me back."

That fucking son of a... My mouth opened in shock.

An arranged marriage?

That was why he wanted her back?!

And here I was even tearing up trying to defend that bastard...

The sound of Lyla's laughter resounded in my ears, I looked up at her to see that she was pointing at me laughing mockingly. "See...I know you probably feel shitty right now."

Yup I did.

Speaking of marriage...I suddenly remember my Mr. Mysterious oops I meant, Mr. Reynolds.

I was yet to research about him, but I could bet he was someone really wealthy.

"By the way Lay, do you know a rich person with the surname Reynolds? I bumped into him few days ago and..." I rested my back on the sofa. "Well, you know me."

Layla's face crumbled, it was just a second but I saw an emotion of fear pass through her eyes.

"Reynolds?" She repeated.

Her behavior got me suspicious. Raising one of my brow I nodded at her. "Yeah, do you know him?"