when I tell you what a great concern we are plagued. "
Not only was she a talented speaker, but to make matters worse, she was also a gifted actress; Leylan lost the last bit of hope she still had.
"Now?"
Sky-blue eyes literally bored into her innermost part, greedily groped for the solution to the riddle. One of the reporters cleared his throat audibly - the silence began to become uncomfortable.Leylan's expression changed from resignation to panic, cold sweat settling on sandy-colored skin. Her friends gave her confused looks, one after the other trying to catch theirs to ask for an answer - all except Kai.

The stubborn half-Russian finally knew about Leylan's plight and could almost feel how desperate she was. But it wasn't until Kai looked at her sideways that he realized the real extent of her despair and he remembered how much Leylan had hated it even then when the general attention was on her, and how much she hated it cornered to get stuck in a dead end with no way out.

In such moments her calm was gone, the serene in her gaze disappeared and she no longer looked like the normally superior and always smugly smiling young fighter. Her gaze wandered restlessly around, a rare flicker in her eyes, her hands lay frozen in her lap and her lips were pressed tightly together - she was a really pitiful sight.
It didn't take much brains to realize that the truth itself caused such problems for Leylan, because if she gave the world an honest answer, her memory would be bare, would be accessible to everyone. He was pretty sure that her time in Russia was eventful and by no means pleasant, he could see the fear in her, could see in her eyes how much she was afraid of the truth and he realized that Leylan would rather go up in flames than to reveal their secret.

And it was precisely this attitude that put her in such a predicament.

The pretty journalist gave the black-haired woman a critical look and then said with an ironic undertone in her voice: "Come on, it can't be that bad that you intend to withhold it from the public.But I understand, you want to put important things in meaningful words. But in the end you owe it to your fans, dear. "

The knot on Leylan's tongue remained, even in the face of such offensive words, she couldn't find her old sharp-tonguedness. In this moment of helplessness, in this moment when she felt the so hated weakness, she turned to the only person in whom she put unlimited trust, whatever might happen.
Her dark eyes, resembling the deepest of all lakes, met his gaze, her head tilted slightly, there was no doubt about the uniqueness of her gesture - she turned directly to him. It only took two seconds to get him to act, only two seconds to let him know all that was blocking her. For a seemingly endless moment, crimson red merged with night black, until the silence was unbearable and Kai turned resolutely towards the audience.

This significant question had been hanging in the air for about five minutes, for five minutes the room had been haunted by a haunted silence and it was clear to everyone that Leylan's disappearance had a deep, very deep and delicate cause. The long pause made this abundantly clear and also made it clear that no matter what the answer was, it would be a lie or at least a milder truth.

Because if you didn't hide anything, you didn't hesitate.
The journalists present asked themselves what was so piquant and unsettling about Leylan Lao's reason for her disappearance, whereas Tyson and Co. were concerned about why Leylan didn't just tell the reporters about her stay with her grandmother - after all, it was nothing in it.

Kai didn't really care. He didn't give a damn what others were thinking at the moment and to his amazement he just didn't give a damn what had happened between him and Leylan - at this moment he just wanted to protect her and shut up this sensationalist journalist.He let his icy gaze slide over those present, stopped at the pretty young woman and regarded her indifferently. If only because she withstood his piercing gaze, in contrast to her colleagues, and responded aggressively with sky-blue eyes.

"Miss Lao was on vacation at my behest, I recommended her to 'go into hiding' for a while to enjoy rest and relaxation. Due to the enormous media hype about her person, I kept her whereabouts and ultimately the reason for her absence a secret - too good I know about the filigree information network of local reporters. Far from the media and all the interviews, Miss Lao found her usual excellent form and is now able to support our team again productively. That is the ´big secret´ of Leylan Lao so nothing more than a necessary break from the public. "

Again amazement.
Kai's lips twisted into a macabre smile and his expression betrayed the enormous glee at the crushing defeat of the insolent reporter. Nevertheless, this did not seem entirely convinced; she looked extremely annoyed in his direction, but could not do anything because the bystanders believed Kai's story to be true and bought it from him without comment. It was noted and recorded - the solution to the riddle was in the box, even if not quite as spectacular as previously assumed.

Ray cast a quick look around - no doubt, the others were just as amazed as he was. Neither Max, Tyson nor Tala seemed to have the faintest idea why Kai suddenly came around the corner with such a fairy tale.

Only Hilary leaned back in her chair and ... grinned.
It was like she knew; knew that Leylan would pull himself out of the affair despite her convincing story, which confirmed Hilary Eve's suspicion.

> So Leylan really lied to us ... but if Kai's story is true, why didn't she tell us?Oh damn it Hilary! Just think about it: Leylan ran away, Kai was devastated and furious, Leylan reappears and the two of them are nothing but trouble - so Kai couldn't have sent them on vacation. Ha! <, it cheered inwardly and she resolved to discuss this with Eve as quickly as possible - after all, the others had a right to the truth. At the moment, however, they were so confused that they would hardly have been able to cope with another story of Leylan's disappearance.
What should she say Thanks? Nice of you? Should she say anything at all or just keep staring at the tabletop in front of her?

Leyan still couldn't quite believe it: Kai had really helped her, helped her out of this desperate situation without batting an eyelid. It wasn't even a word of explanation, just one look and he acted.

She wavered between infinite gratitude and cautious distrust. It seemed a little inappropriate to suddenly break out into such warm-hearted feelings; she had by no means forgotten their last conversation. But it remained immovable: Kai had helped her and that without any desire for revenge.

And if Leylan was one, it was dutiful and decent.

The last questions were mainly about the team's private stuff and after 15 more agonizing minutes this press conference came to an end.

"I would like to thank our team, the Bladebreakers and also you, ladies and gentlemen, for your time. I really hope the fans enjoyed it and this conference can be described as 'successful'. Thank you very much." , Mr. Dickenson closed the conference and smiled happily at the group - no question about it, this performance was a successful one for him.
There was furious applause and the cameras were switched off - the whole thing finally came to an end and Leylan couldn't wait to escape the confines of the room.She literally stormed to the door and bumped into THE journalist. She rubbed her perfectly manicured hand and wanted to harshly reprimand the outrageous bump when she realized who exactly she had just bumped into. With a condescending expression she looked at Leylan's knee-length, dark brown dress which was laced in the tallie and so comfortably loosely snuggled around her body. However, with its bag-shaped sleeves, black hem and shoulder-free collar, it was the complete opposite of her elegant and figure-flattering costume.

Her inspection lasted only seconds and in a sweetish voice she said: "Nice boots."

Leylan's feet were in pale suede boots with a filigree border; just right for Leylan because the heel was practically non-existent and they were extremely comfortable. Strangely, however, she didn't know how to answer, unlike usual, she didn't get a single pointed comment, nothing.

It may seem ridiculous to other people, but the last conference had thrown her so off the rails that she was now completely vulnerable and haphazardly wandering around. She hated the feeling of weakness, but even more hated being without a way out, feeling so afraid and ultimately having to bow to someone else's superiority.

The mere memory of the past 3 ½ years and an oppressive cold took hold of her, wrapped itself around her chest like an icy hand and made it difficult for her to breathe. It, the memory, was not terrible or even cruel, no, it was oppressive and above all unsettling. As if a sword of Damocles was floating high above her, punishing each of her failures immediately.

She had to understand that fame was one of her greatest obstacles, became more and more of a burden to her and the knowledge she had gathered during her absence only became more explosive and dangerous.But even a Leylan Lao could not completely disappear from the scene and certainly not take on the media of this world. And if she couldn't silence them, then she had to keep silent herself.
Such sad thoughts rushed in her head and paralyzed her tongue, then the journalist still standing in front of her leaned forward and hissed: "We both know that you weren't on vacation ... unfortunately I don't know where You have been wasting your time instead. You seem a little off track to me, but you will understand this: I will find it, your little secret. Better not try to keep it under lock and key. I'll get you,