BLOOD BY THE HAND OF GUILT

Chapter Thirty Two

New York

Leia arrived in New York two days later and decided to rest a whole day. She thought about Dave and his family and she just could not take him off her mind. She hoped he was going to come out of coma soon. She called Brendan so he was aware she had returned.

Khalid called her that night, she answered.

"Thank goodness I finally got to you" He said.

"I'm so sorry, I was away for a while'

'Is everything alright?"

"A friend of mine was involved in accident"

"Damn!"

"Yea, when are we leaving for Morocco?"

"We?"

Uh huh" Leia affirmed.

"I don't understand"

"This is me saying Yes to you"

"As in yes to my proposal?"

"Yes Khalid, I will marry you"

Leia's next agenda was to get the pupblics attention. She needed people to notice her, it wasn't long before she began to appear in magazines as the beauty that savaged the heart of the soon to be Prime Minister of Morocco.

People wondered where she was from, who was she and where had she come from?

She was the newest attractive thing on Fifth Avenue. She did not like the attention people were given her, it could mess up her plans and for that reason she hardly took interviews or calls. She turned down proposals by Vogue and Vanity fair to feature in their newest edition.

Karen Kay had become more like her personal assistant and thanks to him slash her, Jazmine always looked her best.

It was at a beautiful dinner date with Khalid that he brought out the ring. It was the most beautiful thing she had seen, simple yet classy, just the way she liked it.

And that was a new topic for New York.

Jazmine rose to be a goddess in the world of glamour and her fame had risen from just looking her best. People described her as a befitting princess, others rumored that she was royalty, a rumor people soon began to believe, but where on earth did she just drop from, no one knew.

Khalid had told her they were to leave for Morocco in two days and she was excited. The nostalgic feeling was just so real. She was going home.

That night, she took out her raffia bag and the Argan oil, She kissed it.

"It is probably time to let go"

She thought.

***

Leia had her plans. She had told Khalid she had to make a trip to Florida.

But suddenly she wondered if that was a good idea, paparazzi could easily capture her with Clayton but she needed to see him anyway.

Khalid knew not to ask questions because he knew his fiance to be a woman who hardly opened up, he was okay with that.

Leia arrived in Florida at ten in the morning and took a cab to Clay's mom's mansion.

She was received at the door by a servant who recognized her and was pleased to see her.

"Come on in, Clayton is in the garden"

"Thank you Nina"

Leia walked into the garden and found Clay staring at a tree with a note pad in his hand. He would look up at the stem and then jot something. Leia watched him quietly savouring in his height, his hair, eeverything. He had really grown taller. Clayton who was eight had taken his fathers stature but his mothers looks. He already showed signs of being tall like his father was, he had black wavy hair and fiery brown eyes just like Leia's.

His skin was perfectly tanned naturally, he was perfect.

"What is this scientist up to, I wonder" Leia said and he turned, Dropping all that he held he smiled.

"Mom!" He ran to her and she knelt to embrace him and lifeted him up and he wrapped his legs round her slender body..

"I can't believe you are here" He said as she planted kisses all over his face.

"My little peanut"

She kept kissing him amidst tears. Finally putting him down they walked to a bench in the garden and sat to catch up.

"How long are you going to be here?"

"I'm going back tonight"

He suddenly looked sad.

"I don't like it here" He said.

"I know baby but I'm going to come for you soon"

"When?" He said looking down at his hands.

Leia liften his chin up with a finger.

"I got you something" She said and reached into her bag.

She took out a little case and opened it. In it was the bracelet with the key locket.

"Wow" He said.

"You like it?"

"Uh huh"

"It's the key to this" She showed him the necklace round her neck.

"Your heart?" He smiled.

"My heart" Leia repeated with a smile.

"Thanks mom" He hugged her.

"My pleasure baby, let me help you put that on" Leia fixed the bracelet on his tiny wrist.

"Don't worry baby, you'll grow into it"

"Mom, Granny said Dad was weak, is that true?"

"Maybe in an certain things, everyone has a weakness, even me, but your father was the most generous man I had ever met and that alone is enough strength, no, it is all the strength you will ever need.....loving others not because you know them or want their attention, but because they are human just like you, that is not an easy thing to do because people hurt you a lot, the ability to not hold grudges or want to hurt them too that is love, and that is the greatest strength"

Leia said to her son, realizing she was teaching him to not be like her.

They were interrupted by an unwanted third person.

"What are you doing here?"

"Seeing my son, is something wrong with that?"

"You are not welcome here"

"I could care less Victoria" Leia jumped in barely before she could end her statement.

"As long as my son's feet walk within your walls I will visit him right here and the gates of hell would not stop me, you have done your worst Victoria and thanks for showing me what you are capable of, taking a child from his mother, it is my turn to show you what it feels like to take the only memory of your son from you"

"Is that a threat?"

"Does it sound like a threat?" Leia mocked her with a face that feigned worry.

"I can think of no other way to describe your words, you do not want to threaten me Leia"

Leia smiled and got closer. She stared into the elderly grey haired woman's face for a while and then turned to her son. She squatted before him and took both his hands.

"I want you to always remember that I love you, always......and I need you to be strong no matter what happens, I will always be there for you, okay?"

"Okay" He answered and she hugged him and kissed him on his nose. He giggled.

She stood to face Victoria again still wearing a smile.

"Soon your legacy will fail you and you will be your own downfall, I'll be back for my son and no lawyer judge or jury can help you win this case, you can count on that" Leia said and turned to walk away.

"Mom!" Clay called after her and she turned.

"I love you" He said and his words melted her heart.

"I love you too peanut"