Episode 19

Sure, I will reconstruct the given text with the same paragraph structuring, but with more natural English prose:

NEXT...

Leandro's guards arrived and forcefully took the boy away while he struggled to free himself, simultaneously calling for his own reinforcements to no avail. Outnumbered, he was unable to overcome the guards who eventually took his life.

MADISON'S THOUGHTS...

When Leandro stepped into the fight and defended me, I felt safe for the first time. I truly thought the guy was going to hit me, leaving significant marks on my face. All I did was close my eyes and brace for the blow, but then a deep, commanding voice intervened. I was shocked to see it was Leandro; I had never heard that tone from him before. Thankfully, he was there. At the moment, I thanked him silently, but then he left abruptly, abandoning me.

WITH BOTH...

LEANDRO: looking at Madison and pulling her aside - "I TOLD YOU TO STAY PUT AND NOT DO ANYTHING STUPID!" he said, anger knitting his brow.

MADISON: "ARE YOU REALLY TELLING ME THIS? I DID NOTHING WRONG. I JUST SAT WHERE YOU LEFT ME, THAT'S ALL," she yelled back.

LEANDRO: "AND WHAT WAS ALL THAT COMMOTION ABOUT, THEN?"

MADISON: "I WAS DEFENDING MYSELF, WHAT ELSE DID YOU EXPECT ME TO DO? DID YOU WANT THAT MAN TO TOUCH AND HIT ME? OF COURSE NOT! I COULDN'T LET HIM," she retorted angrily. "BESIDES, IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR LEAVING ME ALONE," she said, frowning. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU WENT OFF WITH ANOTHER WOMAN TO DO YOUR DEBAUCHERY. IF YOU HADN'T FORCED ME TO COME HERE, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED," she said sternly, crossing her arms.

LEANDRO: "Look," he said, sighing, "it was my fault, but I didn't go to do what you're implying. I went to talk to a friend about business," he explained, while Madison made a face as if she didn't believe him and looked away. "HEY! I'm talking to you. You watch me when I talk!" he exclaimed, grasping Madison's chin and directing her gaze toward him. "That's what happened, end of story. Believe it or not," he said, releasing her abruptly.

LEANDRO: "Now, I'd like you to meet some friends here," he said sternly. "Like it or not, we're going."

Madison just stared at him, arching an eyebrow.

MADISON: "I'm tired, can't we just go, please? I'm not in the mood to meet your 'buddies'," she said, looking stressed.

LEANDRO: "I told you you're going, especially now that you're my fiancee," he said, locking eyes with her.

MADISON: "UGH!" she exclaimed, trying not to keep repeating the same old argument, knowing he wouldn’t listen, and just proceeded to leave.

They arrived at a place where many men stood, seemingly with their girlfriends, who looked at us with surprise, as Leandro inexplicably drew me close by the waist. I wasn't going to stand for it, and quickly disentangled myself, drawing odd looks from the others.

LEANDRO: "Behave yourself," he hissed through clenched teeth.

MADISON: "I told you that you can't touch me without my consent," she snapped back, equally infuriated.

LEANDRO: "You're mine and I do what I want," he said angrily.

MADISON: "Then go to hell," she retorted and walked away.

LEANDRO: "Madison, come back here!" his voice rose as he watched her go toward the balcony of the house. "Damned child, you'll pay for this when we get home," he muttered, frowning deeply.

Leandro returned to his friends, and as he was about to join them, a woman approached. It was Jennifer, who had come uninvited.

LEANDRO: "What are you doing here?" he asked, frowning at her angrily.

JENNIFER: "Didn't you tell me to come?" she replied flirtatiously. "And here I am, love. I need to be with my man," she said, kissing him while the others looked on, smiling.

LEANDRO: "Just leave, I don't want you here," he responded tersely.

JENNIFER: "Of course I won't leave. Now, tell me, where is that brat?" she said, looking around angrily.

LEANDRO: "That's none of your business, just go," he said, firmly pushing her away from him.

JENNIFER: "I told you I'm not leaving," she paused. "Oh, look," she said, spotting Madison in the distance. "I thought she was a meek little thing, but apparently not," she said with a sly smile, signaling to Leandro, who couldn't help but look. His expression darkened with anger upon seeing Madison laughing and chatting with a guy.

WITH MADISON

"Who does he think he is to treat me like that? Better to avoid worsening the situation, I left," Madison thought to herself. She needed some air; crowds stressed her out. Upon reaching the balcony, she settled onto one of the sofas. After a few minutes of calming down, she decided to return to the party. That's when she saw Jennifer on Leandro's lap, giving him a kiss. She rolled her eyes at the sight and chose to sit and look away, feeling some unidentifiable emotion stirring within. As she tried to dismiss it, a handsome, well-built young man with black hair and stormy gray eyes, about 21, approached her with a sideways smile.

UNKNOWN: "Hello, why so alone?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

MADISON: "Excuse me, but who are you?" she replied, her tone bordering on curt. No matter how attractive he was, she wasn't about to become silly and overly friendly; looks can be deceiving.

UNKNOWN: "Oh, how rude of me. My name is Tomasso, but you can call me Tomas," he said, offering his hand.

MADISON: "Nice to meet you, Tomas. I'm Madison," she responded, shaking his hand.

TOMAS: "Why are you sitting here alone and not with your boyfriend?" he inquired.

MADISON: "He is not my boyfriend," she said flatly. "And how do you know him?"

TOMAS: "Well, he made it quite clear during the altercation that you were together. As for how I know him, everyone here does. Let's just say we don't exactly get along," he stated rather solemnly.

MADISON: "Why? What happened?" she probed with curiosity.

TOMAS: "Things you wouldn't want to know about," he replied gravely, but then his expression lightened. "But let's not dwell on that. Tell me, why do you say he's not your boyfriend?"

MADISON: "Well, he's not really, by choice anyway. He 'bought' me from my parents because they couldn't pay off their debt. It's a long, stressful story," she said, looking away.

TOMAS: "I understand. But with your beauty, who wouldn't want to have you?" he remarked, his flirtatious smile causing Madison to blush and chuckle lightly.

MADISON: "Stop talking nonsense," she dismissed him.

But Tomas's compliment was cut short as Leandro appeared, gripping Madison's wrist tightly.

LEANDRO: "Madison, we're leaving," he said, with a tone of authority bordering on aggression.

MADISON: "HEY, LET GO, YOU'RE HURTING ME!" she exclaimed, trying to pull free.

TOMAS: "Hey, let her go, you're hurting her," he demanded, grabbing Leandro’s arm.

LEANDRO: "Don't interfere," he said sternly, shoving Tomas aside. "I won't be as lenient next time," he warned him, not hiding his anger, before dragging Madison away. Tomas stood silently, watching the scene unfold.

LEANDRO'S THOUGHTS...

Watching her talk and laugh with another guy, especially one of my enemies, drove me mad. I wanted to take out Tomas right there but managed to contain myself, focusing on getting Madison away from him. My jealousy was so intense that I was already planning to make her mine as soon as we reached home. Nothing else mattered to me at that moment.

We left the party, the car waiting outside.

MADISON: "LET ME GO!" she demanded angrily.

LEANDRO: "YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ANYONE ELSE AGAIN! DO YOU HEAR ME?" he ordered, shoving her into the car. "WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU DOING TALKING TO HIM!" he shouted at her.

MADISON: "I was just talking! It's not my fault if you're fighting with everyone. Whatever you did, don't drag me into your dirty business. I want a normal life, to go to school, to have friends," she said, but was cut off.

LEANDRO: "Too bad that's impossible. You've gotten involved with a mafioso, and the life you want isn't going to happen. So get used to this one. You'll have everything – dresses, jewels, cars, shoes, whatever you want. Just ask and it's yours," he stated resolutely, staring ahead as he drove.

MADISON: "But you also need to understand that not everything in life can be bought with money."

LEANDRO: "Ha, don't talk to me about such nonsense. There's nothing that money can't buy; everything has a price in this world."

MADISON: "Well, not to me. And if you think I'm going to get used to your way of life, you're wrong. I never will, and you'll never have me," she insisted.

LEANDRO: "We'll see about that," he said coldly as he stopped the car in front of the house. Madison quickly got out and Leandro followed. She entered the house and raced up the stairs, desperate to reach her room and lock herself away, fearing that Leandro, still brewing with anger, might force her to do things against her will. But as she was nearly at her door, he caught her by the arm and pulled her close, their breaths mingling, their lips inches apart. A tense silence lasted for seconds before Madison pushed him away.

MADISON: "What is wrong with you? Get away!" She shoved him back, her breath uneven, as was Leandro's, both of their cheeks flushing.

LEANDRO: "Tonight, you'll sleep with me," he declared assertively, trying to steady his breathing. "That's your punishment for today. So go get changed into your pajamas; I'll be waiting in my room," he said, before turning and leaving Madison frozen, her heart racing, unable to speak.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***