Filed to story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
“Miss Osborne, is that you?”
Leia turned toward the voice and saw two college students staring at her excitedly. “Ah, it really is Miss Osborne! We’re your fans, and we love watching you on The Choice of Love! Here-this is for you!” The two women rushed over and shoved a bouquet into Leia’s hands.
Leia stared at the flowers in bewilderment. In just a few months, so many things had changed. How had someone like her managed to get fans?
“Miss Osborne, can we get a photo with you? You’re okay with it, right?” Without waiting for Leia’s response, the two students excitedly stood beside Leia and made peace signs, taking selfies with their phones. After they took their photos, one of the women turned to Leia and asked her curiously.” By the way, who did you pick finally? We’re very curious.”
Leia pointed at her throat and shook her head. For the first time, she was grateful that she couldn’t talk.
“I think you’ll pick Mr. Dalton. He suits you better, and you both are like the protagonists in a college romance.”
“No, Mr. Stuart suits her better. People will only reveal their true selves around the people they love, and Miss Osborne is only herself in front of Mr. Stuart. I’m taking Mr. Stuart’s side.”
Leia could only watch helplessly as the two women started to argue about who suited her better.
Leia couldn’t understand what was going on. She felt as if she was in a world where she had to choose between Xavier and Santiago, and everyone had an opinion on her choice. When the cab arrived, she hurried into it and closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief.
The driver was a young man. He stared at Leia in the rearview mirror for a while before he asked calmly, “Aren’t you Miss Osborne from The Choice of Love? The show is pretty good, so why did they stop it? Didn’t a sea snake bite you? Are you discharged now?”
Leia smiled politely even though she felt like jumping out of the car. How had a typical reality show like theirs become so popular? It felt like everyone had watched it at this point.
“I like Xavier best. It was hilarious watching him help that pig deliver her babies; he really is talented! But who do you like the best? Who did you pick in the end? I think Xavier suits you better. Maybe he can even help you give birth in the future. Haha!” The driver laughed heartily as spoke, his eyes gleaming fondly in remembrance. It looked like he was a huge fan of reality shows.
Once again, Leia was glad she couldn’t speak. She just wanted to reach Flossie’s house as soon as possible, and once she reached, she practically jumped out of the cab.
Adie and Abby were at school, Margaret had gone out to shop, and Halston had left for Guajardo Enterprise in the morning.
Flossie and Tess were the only ones in the large manor.
Tess was making Flossie’s coffee, and she added something to it before handing it to Flossie. “Your coffee, Miss Ellsworth.”
“Thank you.” Flossie was sitting in the yard, listening to music and basking in the sun, enjoying her slow-paced life. Her life was comfortable, but for some reason, she always felt sleepy and fatigued.
Suddenly, just as she was about to drink her coffee, someone held her neck.
“Lei?” Flossie recognized Leia’s scent and quickly put the cup of coffee down, her face lit up in joy.
Leia was happy too, but she could only type a message on her phone and show it to Flossie since she couldn’t speak.” I’ve missed you so much! Why didn’t you reply to my texts? I’ve been worried sick about you!”
Naturally, Flossie couldn’t read Leia’s texts. When she didn’t hear Leia’s voice, Flossie started to doubt it was her.
Frowning, Flossie asked, “Lei… is that you? Say something.”
Leia finally realized something was wrong with Flossie. She was wearing sunglasses as if she couldn’t see. “Mm, mm!” Leia made some noises to reassure Flossie that it was her.
“Lei, what’s the matter with you? Did you hurt your throat” Flossie asked sharply.
After a brief pause, an idea came to Leia. She took her phone out and turned her text into a voice message. “It’s
Leia. I hurt my throat, so I can’t speak. What’s wrong with you, bestie?”
After listening to the voice message, Flossie burst out laughing. “Oh, it’s hilarious. I hurt my eyes, so I can’t see.”
Leia was shocked. “What? Your eyes are hurt? Is it temporary?”
“I guess it’s temporary.” Flossie was blind, and Leia couldn’t speak, but they could still have good conversations with each other that made them both feel loved and supported.
After spending some time together, both of them started to feel a little bored.
“Flossie, do you want to walk around the nearby garden? A lot of things have changed around here. At first, there were plans to build a factory here, but the residents protested and decided to make it a habitable neighborhood. They even built a wetland park nearby, and it’s really pretty…” After typing those words, Leia suddenly realized that Flossie couldn’t see. Feeling sad, she changed the words and turned her text into a voice message. “Flossie, let’s take a walk at the wetland park nearby. The weather is nice.”
“Sure!” Flossie quickly agreed. She found it rather boring staying at home all day, and had wanted someone to accompany her outside.
Hence, Leia took Flossie to the nearby wetland park. There was a large man-made lake in the center of the park with reeds around it, and many popular streamers went there to take photos. Both Flossie and Leia didn’t like crowded places, so they picked an isolated spot at a boulder facing the center of the lake to relax at. The air was fresh and the sight of the lake glistening under the sunlight was beautiful to see.
“Flossie, can you tell me what’s the matter with your eyes?” Leia couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer, and asked through a voice message as she peeled an orange.
“I’m paying off a debt,” Flossie said lightly, but her tone was firm.
“What kind of debt was it? Why did you have to give up your eyes?”
“It was a favor I owed someone.”
“A favor? For whom?” Leia was unhappy with Flossie’s explanation, and wanted to seek justice for her best friend. *
It’s usually someone else owing you something. Could there have been a mistake?”
“Jovan…” A long sigh escaped Flossie. “He gave up his eyes to Halston because of me. He was a smart and sensible person, but he became pessimistic and depressed after that incident. I felt bad for ruining his bright future, and I would’ve felt guilty if I didn’t repay him.”
“What do you mean? Did you give up your eyes to that scumbag Jovan?” Leia crushed the orange in her hand out of anger. After that, she started typing manically on her phone. “Flossie, isn’t that dumb? You gave that demon a way out by giving your eyes to him! I’m sure he’s gone crazy after suffering so much, and he’ll definitely come back to create chaos.”
“That’s not the point. Although I’ve lost my eyes, I feel more relaxed. It’s nice to not owe anyone anything.” Flossie sounded calm as she faced the lake and breathed in the fresh air. She said sincerely, “I’m not lying. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so relaxed.”
Leia’s anger ebbed a little at Flossie’s honesty, but she was still unhappy with the way things were. “But it’s Halston who owed him something, isn’t it? He did nothing, but you’re here suffering on his behalf. I feel sorry for you!”
“Isn’t it better for him to owe it to me instead of the other way around?” Flossie faked a smile.
“What do you mean? Do you want Halston to owe you something? You haven’t given up on him, have you? Are you trying to get back with him again?” Leia didn’t know that
Flossie and Halston had gotten back together, and hated Halston for abandoning Flossie.
Leia had only been there for twenty minutes, but she had already cursed Halston and all his family members.
After sensing Leia’s anger, Flossie lost the courage to tell her that she had reconciled with Halston. Quickly, she changed the topic. “How about you? How’s it going with your reality show? Who did you fall for in the end?”
“Ugh, why did you have to bring that up?” Leia sniffed and picked up another orange to peel.
“I only watched one or two episodes, but it’s obvious that Xavier and Santiago have feelings for you. Are you not sure who to pick?” Flossie was also curious about Leia’s choice.
“Everyone’s asking me the same thing. I must be cursed…”
Leia sighed unhappily, unable to escape the question.
Unconsciously, she began to wonder who she liked more.
“Flossie, who do you think… I should choose?” Leia always listened to Flossie, and hoped Flossie would give her the right answer. “Tell me who I should choose. I’ll listen to you.”
“Stop messing around. This is a big deal, so why are you asking me? You’re supposed to know the answer.”
“But I don’t know. Logically, I should pick Santiago because we’re more compatible, but… Santiago showed me a video of how I woke up after anesthesia, and that’s when I learned that I subconsciously liked Xavier more. I kissed and hugged him, and was acting like a crazy person.”
“I get it. You like Santiago as a soulmate, but you like Xavier physically. Well, it’s undoubtedly a tough choice, and my answer is…”
“What is it? Tell me!” Leia looked at Flossie eagerly. In her mind, Flossie’s answer would be Leia’s choice.