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"This is ridiculous," Leonardo expressed as he paced around the room with his eyebrows furrowed.

His hand ran through his hair as he glanced over at Maria once again, who looked nowhere near like she was joking.

Maria's eyes were low on the ground, a broken look on her face. It was strange; he somehow felt that she was telling the truth but kept denying his feelings. "There is no way. Why are you saying this?" Leonardo had thousands of questions prowling through his mind; he was becoming tense, his stomach twisting and his heart racing.

Maria's eyes caught his confused ones. She stood, clasping her hands tightly together. She tried to attest, "I'm telling you the truth. Sienna —"

"Sienna is dead, Maria," Leonardo firmly retorted before articulating, "A dead person can't live with you. Why are you saying stupid things like that?" He would not and could not believe what she had said. By the minute, he was growing more frustrated, unable to see why Maria was telling him nonsense to his ears.

Leonardo lightly scoffed, studying her grief-stricken face. "Impossible." Maria placed her hands on the top of her head, feeling the pain in her heart worsen as her eyes began to go blurry again.

She sniffed, blinking rapidly to remain calm. "Leo," was all Maria said in anguish. She sincerely gazed into his puzzled eyes.

Maria approached him, and his eyes could recognise her sincerity. She stood before him and reiterated, "Your sister is alive. She's well, she's happy, she's content."

"She's amazing."

She wasn't lying at all; Maria had spent years with Sienna. They had been contacting each other all that time. Maria protected Sienna and gave her a new home. After Maria left to return to Dream, they continued talking. Sienna was living in a residence provided by Maria; her identity had changed, and she lived a very simple but safe life. Sienna was a normal girl living a life away from violence and guns — she was free, and she loved it. Maria had asked Sienna many times to join her, but she wasn't ready. It would take a lot for Sienna to face her childhood memories again. She was a broken girl when she first moved away.

She exhaled before honestly saying, "She's alive, and I'm so sorry that I couldn't tell you." Maria felt the instant relief after sharing the truth with Leonardo. She had relieved the burden off her chest; all that time of containing such a huge revelation had been eating and eating at her. She was finally free from the restraint, but it came with a consequence.

Leonardo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked at Maria with complete disbelief, his eyebrows furrowed. He had become speechless, staring at her with no words to say. It couldn't be true — Leonardo had spent his whole life in misery, regretting and mourning over his sister, who had died in that fire that had scarred him.

"She was screaming," Leonardo managed to say, his voice low as he remembered the daunting memory. He placed his hands on his head. He felt shaky and unstable, a reminder that his PTSD still existed. He shook his head again at the sound of her high-pitched wails filling his mind up again. "She was there — I know she was. It was all I could hear."

Maria's eyes gazed deeply into Leonardo's as she softly replied with confirmation, "And she was there, baby. What you heard was right. You must've passed out before she escaped." He let out a breath, his shaky eyes on Maria. She sounded too genuine.

Leonardo rubbed his temple. "I don't — I can't believe you. It's not true."

Maria realised that she needed to make it more clear to him. She had to break it to him more strongly. "I took Sienna, Leonardo. I took your sister when I left for that programme, and she lived with me. She still lives under my care, and I speak to her almost every day." She came closer to him; her eyes were intense and ardent. "I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted to. But I had to do what was right for Sisi. I had to."

"You wouldn't do that!" Leonardo passionately burst out, his hands on her shoulders. Maria slightly flinched, shocked by his sudden closeness. He swallowed roughly, beginning to become overwhelmed by a wave of emotions, challenging his previous mentality. She blinked over and over, recognising that he was finally starting to accept her truth.

Leonardo slowly exhaled, his words being caught in his throat. He stared at her beautiful face, those loving eyes of hers that never used to lie to him, her red lips that always smiled and warmed his heart, her soft cheeks that were always blushed and hid her adorable dimples. "You wouldn't lie to me," Leonardo whispered in pain with a bated breath, feeling his voice begin to tremble. His hands were shaking on her wet, small shoulders; he clutched onto them, hoping her words were false.

"You wouldn't," he said again, unable to see her face of truth change. The regret was pouring into her. Maria's heart was pounding, her chest rising and falling quickly as she was breathing faster and faster. His face was so close to hers, his eyes filled with affliction set on hers. She couldn't speak, letting out a quiet whimper as the tears began to spill from her eyes, "I did, Leo. I'm sorry."

"Stop, Ria!" Leonardo exclaimed, his eyes beginning to fill with tears as his voice shook and his throat tightened. "You, out of all people, wouldn't do that to me! You, out of all people, would never trick me! You would never hurt me — you said that you love me — you wouldn't!" Maria's tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to contain her cries. He was finally seeing the severity of the situation.

"Ria!" Leonardo burst, his eyes wide in alarm and in shock at the realisation. He had gone pale and was breathing heavily. "Please, just tell me you're lying. Tell me, Ria, please tell me you're lying!" He moved back to her, cupping her face as she let out a sob, shaking her head in his large hands. She couldn't. Maria's tears fell down her cheeks, and she bit her quivering lip as she fought back the rest of the tears. Her face crumbled in sadness as his eyes stared at her in complete horror.

The disappointment that grew on Leonardo's face was like an arrow to Maria's heart. Her stomach knotted, and she felt sick, a wave of nausea and dizziness hitting her at the sight of his great sorrow right before her. She had never seen Leonardo like that, so disoriented and distressed.

"Oh my fucking..." He walked away, his hands on his head as he paced around the room again. Leonardo was losing it; he could feel it. He was quickly beginning to lose his sanity. He had felt the same way before, that one night, the evening where Amalia had to be taken away from him.

He was seriously insomniac at that time. Leonardo had passed out on his table while his newborn lay on her cot alone, crying and crying with no one to comfort her. The food was burning on the stove in the kitchen, and the doorbell was repeatedly ringing, the door banging as Dante was fighting on the other side to get in. It was his regret that consumed Leonardo for months afterwards; he had never been that low in a long time. He wasn't himself at all, and it was happening all over again.

Leonardo was repeating the same phrase over and over, "Ria." He was circling the room repeatedly as a million thoughts flooded his mind. His hands held onto his head as he moved constantly. Maria's panicked eyes followed him around; she was hesitant to touch him, hesitant to speak to him. He clearly wasn't in the right space of mind. She urged desperately, "Leo? Leo!"

She stood right before him, her hand on his arm as she stopped him from moving again. "Leo, I know this is a lot to take in —"
Leonardo, disconcerted and distracted, left the room before she could finish her sentence. Maria's eyes expanded as the front door slammed right behind him.

Maria wiped her face; her eyes meeting Bear's, who was beginning to bark following the sudden exit of his owner. She heard the thunder begin to clap the moment he left. Maria was shaking uncontrollably; her hand covered her mouth as her tears ran down her cheeks continuously. Her eyes shifted to the outside; the heavy rain poured across the city, the skies were dark, and it felt like nature was angry at her. The whole place was pelted down in floods of rain, soaking the ground.

Maria quickly left to follow him, scrambling after Leonardo as she ran.

The rain showered over her the moment she stepped outside. The cold air slammed against her body, and she wrapped her leather jacket around her tighter as her eyes recognised Leonardo from behind, his tall frame walking further and further away on the empty road. He wasn't wearing a coat; his clothes and hair were completely soaked from the heavy rain, falling densely from the dark sky.

"Leo!" Maria called loudly after him. She immediately coughed; her throat was dry and desperate for something hot. She was shivering; her bare legs were freezing in the cold. Maria was fast to catch up with Leonardo, standing in front of him to stop him from leaving her. She blocked his way each time he tried to move past her.

The rain merged with the tears running down Leonardo's cheeks. His bloodshot eyes stared at her in complete disbelief and growing anger. "What the hell, Maria? How the fuck could you do that to me?" He snapped, the raindrops trickling down his face from his soaked hair. She couldn't say anything that would make him feel better. Maria wiped her sore cheeks, her eyes filling with tears again.

"Leo, I'm sorry! I had to—"

"What do you mean you 'had to'? What the hell? You had to lie to me all this time? You had to deceive me?" His deep, masculine voice yelled back, making her whimper with tears. Maria took a step backwards unconsciously, her face turning away from him at his loud voice. She was crying again as she shivered in the cold, unable to take his shouts. Leonardo never shouted at her; he could never raise his voice at her. He was truly furious.

"Leave. Get away before I say something I don't mean!" He warned harshly, trying to move past her, but she held him back, her hand held onto his arms as she looked up at him, shaking her head. "I needed to protect her," Maria managed to say, her eyes desperately gazing up to his.

He couldn't stop himself from snapping, "From what? From fucking what, Maria?"

"From everything, Leo! I—"

"If she's alive, where is she? How have I not seen her?" Leonardo strongly questioned, his hazel eyes, that once only used to look at her with love, drilled into hers furiously. Anger fuelled his words; he was no longer restraining anything.

Maria tightened her hold on his arms. "She's not here. She's somewhere I can't tell you —"

"Why?" Leonardo shot back, his anger spiked at her unsatisfactory response. "You're telling me she's alive and I can't see her? Why not?"

Maria wept, her chest heavy. "No, Leo, you can't see her. No one can, I'm sorry —"

"Don't give me your late apologies — where the fuck is she?" Leonardo practically snarled back in frustration, his hands moving hers off him. He was tense; his jaw remained clenched, and his muscles stiff.

"She doesn't want to see you!" Maria finally told him, her voice slightly raised, her hands waved in the air. He stared at her in shock, taken aback by her sudden revelation. "She doesn't want to see anyone!" Maria realised how much louder she was beginning to sound and tried to remain calmer. Maria closed her eyes for a second before opening them, meeting his heartbroken ones. She knew Sienna better than he could ever understand.

"Sienna left on purpose, Leo! She left with the intention of making everyone believe that she was dead."

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~ Author's Note ~

This isn't even the most intense part of Leonardo's reaction.

Next chapter adds to this — would it even be called a conversation? — anyway, Leonardo's reaction continues!

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