37: Leon's Baby

Lilian's POV.

The thought of it made me want to jump off a cliff. I could never face them to tell them something like that.

Never.

“I think I should call Herald. He has to take responsibility for this,” Cole suddenly announced, rising from his feet.

“No! Don't do that!” I yelled, pulling at his pants before he could leave.

He glanced down at me, his profile split with confusion.

“Why shouldn't I do that?”

Why he shouldn't do that?

That was because Herald and I had a breakup based on his infidelity. He'd been craving for a chance to get me back in his life.

He'd even told me to cheat on him so we'd be even. If Cole told him that I was pregnant with “his child” he'd surely take responsibility and I couldn't afford that. I couldn't afford enduring the abuse anymore.

But what would I tell Cole?

Telling him who the real father of this child is was impossible. But I still needed to say something.

I closed my eyes, trying to reassure myself that I could handle this as I racked my mind for a solution.

“Herald isn't the father of this child,” I muttered, opening my eyes to Cole's shocked look.

“What? What are you talking about? Who's the father of the child then?” Cole asked all questions at once, making my heart pound heavily in my chest.

My eyes darted to Leon, and he didn't give me any warning to be quiet. He looked like he was ready for the inevitable. But I couldn't do that to him, to us.

I returned my gaze to Cole who was still waiting for my answer.

“I'd like to keep his identity disclosed for now. In the meantime, I'd like to be left alone,” I declared, pulling the sheets over my body.

Cole nodded, assuming that I was overwhelmed by the news and then he left. Leon also followed, though he looked like he wanted to stay back and help me through it.

The moment the door slammed shut, the tears threatening to spill finally flowed freely. I sobbed profusely, wondering how life was going to be for me at this point.

I was supposed to go to school next month, but now that was out of it. I was already picturing my mother's face when I tell her about this. She'd tell me how she was so disappointed in me, how she'd expected me to keep myself.

She was literally the one who instilled all those morals on me and now I was about to disappoint her. The thought of it made me feel so bad, I sobbed until my head ached.

I had no idea when I fell asleep but when I woke uo again, I woke up to Leon's gentle strokes on my cheeks.

“Hey,” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Seeing him again made me feel a mix of comfort and worry. I pursed my lips, squinting my eyes from the burning feeling of my endless cries.

His expression softened as we looked at each other, “I'm..I’m so sorry Lilian. I should have been more careful.”

I shook my head, cupping his face as well, “No, I also had my faults in this. If I didn't delay restocking my birth pills, we wouldn't be in this mess.”

The two of us went quiet after that, finding solace in our silence. This was the first time we were around each other and we didn't have anything to say to each other.

Leon helped me sit myself up on the bed, and that was when I noticed the tray of food he brought for me.

But my appetite for food had turned sour, I didn't feel like it at all.

“I don't want to eat,” I announced but Leon shot me a soft, disapproving look.

“Please Lilian. Please. You've barley had anything to eat all morning. Please don't starve yourself, you have a–” he stopped himself, his head dropping as if the words were too heavy for him to speak.

A stray tear flowed down my cheek, “Leon…we're finished. What are we going to do? What will our parents do when they find out about this?”

Leon sighed, his face welling up with confusion, “I have no idea Lilian. I honestly don't. Will you tell Cole that I'm the father?”

“Fuck no. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is for both of us? Cole would literally kill us with his taunting words before our parents get here. I can't,” I shook my head, hating the feeling of frustration slithering through my gut.

“You know what? Let's not worry about this. You have to eat. When you're done eating, we can talk about how to navigate this. Okay?” Leon suggested, shifting from the bed as he moved towards the table behind us.

Leon took the tray of food in his bed, taking a seat beside me as he began to feed me. I had no desire whatsoever to eat but Leon wouldn't stop extending the spoon towards my mouth.

The clinking of the spoon against the plate was the only audible sound in the room. After eating to my fill, I stopped accepting anymore spoons from him.

Leon brought a glass of water towards my lips, that was all he did yet tears flowed down my cheeks. Was this because I felt like this was the last time he'd ever be able to care for me like this? Or it was because I was feeling a lot of regret?

I was pretty sure it was both.

“Do you want to talk about it now or?” Leon asked, his tone ever so soft.

My nostrils flared as I dragged in as much air as possible. The feeling of sweat clinging to my skin, making me feel rather dirty.

“I want to bath first. After that, we can talk,” I declared.

Leon nodded and pulled the sheets over me but then he froze, his gaze fixed on the sky blue sheets. My brows twitched as I stared at him, “What's wrong? Why'd you stop?”