(Chapter 111) The Storm Remains Calm

"Hey Leone! You have a call?" Leone sniffled when he had that.

"A call? Is it a friend? Go answer it." The lawyer that he and Leone's partner were working under spoke softly.

Leone took his phone from his friend. but as he did so, his arm was grabbed. "A friend? Who is Fran Leone huh? A girl?" His friend was clearly trying to get some answers from Leone.

"Tch, just a friend. Alright sir, I'll be just a minute." Leone shook away his friend's hand, not realizing the increased heart rate in his body.

Leone walked away from the desk and looked at the contact, Fran, he and her had a weird relationship. Friends, but they also used each other for meals and lifts. He always felt a little strange around her, much different then the respect he had for Astrid. And neutrality to Winoa.

"Hello?" Leone answered the call before it went dead. But then he didn't hear anything.

"Hello? Fran? Are you alright?" He started to get worried, if Astrid thought Francesca was hurt, the world might stop spinning...

Francesca wiped her tears away as she heard Leone's voice on the phone. She looked back at the phone and wondered why? Why did she first call Leone instead of her father? Her right arm was wrapped up, and she looked at it with an upset look.

"Fran? Francesca!? Are you there!?" Leone was getting more and more worried, just as he was about to leave, he got a response.

*Sniffle* "Sorry Leone... I called you because I didn't know who else to call." Francesca's voice was nasal, Leone immediately knew she was crying.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Leone tried to stay calm, but he couldn't. Knowing the person who used him for meals... His friend, was crying while on the phone made him restless.

"I...There was an issue today... Sorry... I shouldn't have called, you are so busy an..." Francesca spoke quickly in a panic.

"No, don't say you shouldn't have called me." Leone cut her off. As his voice entered a lower pitch.

Francesca was quiet, especially when hearing how angry Leone was. Was he upset because she called him when he was busy? But he just said she shouldn't apologize for calling him...

"Oh sir... I think Leone might be more than a minute." The friend said to the professional lawyer, with a wide smile on his face.

Ah, Leone was so handsome and popular with the females, especially since he also was so smart and level-headed, but he never paid much attention to them. He was a workhorse! Constantly studying, but now he knew that there might be a woman in his life!

"Fran, are you home right now?" Leone asked as he got into his car. He learned how to drive so he didn't get attention from being dropped off by a driver every day. He was bought the car by Lewis, and then promised to pay him back one day.

Lewis only smiled in response, the car was a one of a kind. At least the base car was quite affordable...

"I...I am." Francesca stuttered, was he coming over now?

Then... She heard nothing. She looked at her phone and noticed it had switched off. Despite the technology gap in smartphones, Astrid didn't know how to make it run with no charge...

Francesca slumped down on the sofa. Her right hand... If she couldn't use excessive force on it, then she would lose some roles outright, even what she was currently shooting. She needed to hold a sword, how could she?

She might have some muscle and tendon damage, it would be a long process to even be able to carry a cup in her hand. Let alone something like a bag.

Francesca let her tears flow, as she tiredly closed her eyes. Not hearing a frantic knock on her door...

.......

Astrid was now sitting in Lewis's office with a cigarette in her mouth. Watching the smoke rise distractedly, she felt her side being covered with warmth.

"Don't blame yourself Astrid. Why blame yourself when it wasn't your fault?" Lewis could read Astrid. He knew, she would be feeling a pang of immense guilt right now.

"How could I not? If only I reacted quicker to her problems. If only I knew the situation on her set... Even if you didn't know Carmin, which doctor would react as quickly as him? And then let her go home straight away?" Astrid spoke as the ash trickled down onto her jumper.

Lewis wiped away the ash. "You are human. You overwork yourself as it is. The fact you even showed your face today... Some people could never do that for their so-called friends. So don't feel guilty." Lewis spoke softly, as he rubbed her back.

Astrid listened in silence. She knew Lewis was right, but the outcome... Truly upset her.

*Sigh* "Think about it this way. Leone might be able to realize something with this. And maybe, Francesca will learn of her flaws too... You can't babysit them like they are kids anymore, they need to deal with their own issues." Lewis said some harsh words, but in a light tone.

Lewis felt that his cousin was a fool. He felt it was obvious about his feelings toward Francesca, but for some reason he felt he had to prove himself first. While Francesca, had always worked hard, was always with Astrid and her family. If she hadn't met them, then her life would be tougher... But maybe not that off-track.

Astrid stubbed her cigarette. "Maybe, maybe. Francesca should sort herself out quickly... She isn't the type to be bogged down by something like this. Her manager isn't an idiot either." She said as she then allowed herself to get comfortable in Lewis's embrace.

Lewis smiled. But he was also upset. He was upset because Astrid was too, and he was especially upset since he could feel the unknown feelings between the two dense people. So Francesca would then become family, and he was sure his mother would enjoy being around her.

But his sadness couldn't be more than Astrid's. He might not know everything about Astrid's past yet. But he knew, that she treats the small amount of friends she has with her full care and protection.

Astrid closed her eyes, as like Lewis said, she was only human. And her lack of sleep would always get to her when she was Lewis. As Lewis turned into a pillow, he received a message from Stephan...