Leonica was sitting upright on the bed, staring emptily into the space.
The hickeys Gabriel left on her were still fresh, yet instead of excitement like anytime before, it only made her shudder and sick.
She hated him.
Hated him with a new growing p*ssion.
When he was the one who asked for the divorce, the one who brought his mistress home regardless of her opinions as his wife, the one who said he'd rather die than marry her, how the hell could he do all that to her last night?
In order not to hurt the baby, she dropped all her pride to beg him yet he still cared about his feelings only. And after all this, he stepped out of bed before she could wake up as if nothing happened.
what the h*ll did he think she was? A free wh*re at his beck and call? Gabriel Bryce that b*stard surely had no heart for her!
Leonica didn't know how long she kept this position until the doorbell rang.
She had planned on ignoring it, but the person on the other end was persistent and rang the bell repeatedly, annoying her.
"Who could it be?" She muttered, heading towards the door after dressing up.
As she opened the door, she was greeted by the familiar sight of a young man, Gabriel's attorney.
"Good afternoon, Mrs." Daniel greeted politely.
Nearly at once, Leonica realized the reason for his sudden visit.
As if to confirm her suspicions, Daniel reached into his brown briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers, offering them to her.
"I'm here to deliver the divorce papers."
It felt like her heart had stopped, the world was slowly fading around her, and Leonica was being suffocated by her own emotions.
It took her a while to suppress those stupid feelings and Leonica reached for the papers and took them, forcing a smile on her lips and saying.
"Thank you, Daniel."
"You're welcome, Mrs. Bryce. And...there was one more thing."
Leonica felt being stabbed hard in her chest the moment she recognized what the pills lying on his palm were.
The oral contraceptive.
"Mr. Bryce asked me to give you this..." Daniel scratched his head awkwardly as he explained, "He said..."
"I see." Leonica cut his words while grabbing a pill and threw it in her mouth.
"Now, he can rest *ssured and you can leave."
As her voice had turned cold and her eyes so sharp, Daniel knew he shouldn't stay longer.
"Wish you a good day, Mrs. Bryce." Daniel tipped his fedora hat and said his goodbye, turning and walking down the stairs towards the car parked at the side of the road.
As soon as Daniel was out of sight, Leonica rushed back home and gouged out the pill stuck in her throat. Tears streaming down her face as she coughed hard. Her broken heart screamed in pain.
How could she be so stupid? How could she even expect him to change his mind after last night?
Gabriel never wanted her but only took her as an unpaid wh*re. How would he want a child from a wh*re in his eyes?
If he was so heartless, there was no need for her to be indecisive.
Leonica slowly took the wedding ring from her hand and put it on the table before she calmed herself to sign the paper.
Gabriel Bryce, you'd better not regret what you've done today!
***
Gabriel sat in the comfort of his office, face mildly scrunched up. He was trying to focus greatly on the work at hand but images with Leonica last night kept dangling in front of his eyes.
Did that woman put a spell on him?
He picked up the gl*ss of whiskey resting on his table and took a shot. Even the soft music of the cl*ssical song playing on the radio which usually helped him calm didn't work at all today.
Something was out of control.
A knock sounded on his door and Gabriel replied, “Come in.”
“Mr. Bryce, I came here to return the documents.” Daniel, his attorney, said and walked towards his desk, putting the divorce documents on it.
"She signed it?" Gabriel questioned as his brows frowned.
Daniel nodded and Gabriel quickly opened the documents and sure enough, he saw Leonica’s signature written in attractive cursive letters on the bottom of the first page.
For some reason, he felt as if a corner of his heart had gone missing at that moment.
He had expected her to show up at his office, weeping and begging at his feet after receiving the divorce papers, or better yet, he had anticipated returning home and finding her a crying mess, who’d later make promises and once more, proclaim her love for him, all in the bid to keep their marriage standing.
But she signed it, quickly and quietly. Not like her at all.
How could Leonica sign their divorce documents as quietly as an ant?
And this should be what he wanted, but why wasn't he feeling as relieved and happy as he had expected?
***
Club Parrish, was one of the best nightclubs in the whole of New York and had the largest VIP room with the most expensive champagne and the finest liquor money could buy. Only the elite ranks gained access to the place.
Weaving throw the crowd of people, Gabriel walked straight to his private room and upon opening the door, was instantly greeted by Lloyd Riley and Christian Andersen.
Lloyd and Christian were just as famous as Gabriel, only out of the three, one of them was a business tycoon, the other a famous doctor who owned his hospital, and the last one a hotelier with more than a hundred hotels worldwide.
The three of them, despite their difference in character all, had influential family backgrounds, thus making them the perfect match.
The unholy Trinity, as they had been called back in their college days.
"Yo! Gabriel!" Lloyd greeted loudly as soon as he spotted his best friend step into the room. Beside him, Christian gave a subtle nod of acknowledgment in Gabriel's way.
"Suddenly getting a text like that from you out of the blue sure did concern us. So what's up?" Christian asked whilst taking a sip from the transparent gl*ss that held his liquor.
"You don't look so good, man." Lloyd pointed out, observing his friend. "Is everything alright?" He questioned, cocking his head to the side.
"It's nothing," Gabriel *ssured, taking a seat at the center of the three-seater couch, across from them.
Almost immediately he reached for a gl*ss and poured himself a measurable amount of whiskey before downing it in one gulp, which surprised both Lloyd and Christian, causing them to share glances.
"It's obviously Not Nothing if you're drinking like this." Christian pointed out.
Gabriel, instead of responding, glared at his friend, not because his words were annoying, but rather because they were true.
Ever since holding the signed divorce papers in his hands, Gabriel had felt uneasy and his heart heavy, as if something was bothering him and he didn't know what it was.
The more he tried not to think about it, the more he ended up thinking about it, and the worse he felt.
"Ah, I think I know what all this is about," Christian snickered after a while.
At his words, all eyes were on him.
"Gabriel Bryce is panicking," Christian stated nonchalantly as if saying the obvious.
This caused another round of confused glances at him.
"Panicking about what?" Lloyd asked, sharing a confused glance with Gabriel.
"Why, about his wife, of course." Christian clarified, the look in his eyes mischievous and playful.
"You mean Leonica? Why would Gabriel panic about her?" Lloyd asked, confused, even Gabriel was confused too.
There was no way Christian knew about his divorce.
It was still fresh news.
"Well, I saw Leonica by the gynecology yesterday." Christian suddenly began, causing Gabriel's movement to halt.
The gynecology? Why had Leonica gone there?
A sudden thought hit Gabriel like a brick and his eyes narrowed dangerously.
The only reason a woman would go to gynecology would be...
"You don't mean..." Lloyd started, catching on to Gabriel's silent horror.
"Yes." Christian nodded his head, confirming it.
"Gabe's lovely wife, might be pregnant."
Gabriel shot up from his seat after Christian’s words, startling both his friends.“Whoa!” Lloyd exclaimed, nearly spilling his drink on his dress.“I’m leaving.” Gabriel announced and without another word, walked out of the club room.He made his way towards his car, entered and began driving towards his and Leonica’s shared Villa.Throughout the drive there, Gabriel’s mind wandered, pondering the many possibilities of what would happen if Leonica was indeed pregnant.That would mean he was about to become a father.The p*ssing thought caused a fluttering feeling to erupt in his chest. However, he discarded the feeling as quick as it had came, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel.Before *ssuming things, he needed to speak with Leonica and have her confirm it herself.After an hours drive, Gabriel finally pulled up in the driveway of their shared Villa and stepped into the house.“Leonica,” He called out, his voice echoing off the huge living room that barely housed furni
Five Years Later.The warm sun. The sound of joyous children as they ran around the park, playing and Blooming cherry blossom.It was the start of spring, Leonica’s favorite season.Staring out the gl*ss window of the shop she was standing in, she admired the beautiful scenery of spring in Colorado.It has always been a sight that marveled her ever since she settled in Colorado. It was a peaceful neighborhood that had become her home ever since five years ago.Smiling warmly at the sight, Leonica’s attention was drawn away by the sound of approaching footsteps.“Ah, this should do the job. It’s the cutest one I have.” Marcus, the shop owner, spoke as he approached her, holding a cute black bunny toy.Leonica smiled brightly and reached her hands out, taking the plush toy and admiring it.Marcus had been a long time friend of her, having met him two years ago. She had walked into his toy shop one day, looking for a gift like a lost soul, when he spotted her.After helping her, they beg
The next day, in the affluent district of Norway city, a meeting consisting of Romero Empire’s main shareholders was ensuing.Voices bounced off the four walls of the conference room, growing louder and rowdier by each p*ssing second as one shareholder over another, had something more important to voice.“The presidential seat has been vacant for far too long,” Rodrigo began, opening his argument for the meeting. “Romero empire needs a capable president that can lead us to prosperity.”“I agree.” One of the shareholders present concurred, nodding his head at Rodrigo’s statement. “But the question is who?”“Perhaps the eldest son of the Romero family, Leonardo?” Another shareholder spoke up, however, instantly regretting her words when Rodrigo sent her a sharp glare.“Impossible.” He objected. “Leonardo is not fit to be the president of Romero Empire. He may have graduated with a business degree from oxford, but he’s still too inexperienced to take over a company as successful as this.
Gabriel laid motionless in his bed, eyes glued blankly on his white ceiling. He had just woken up an hour ago, however he hadn't moved from his current spot as his mind recounted the dream that he had.He had been dreaming.A dream of the past and a future that would never happen, one that felt vivid and almost too real.The dream had started off being about the first time he had met Leonica.He remembered her clearly, the young woman with yellow hair, dressed in a beautiful white dress and a warm smile on her face.In the dream, Gabriel was sitting on a sofa with his grandmother when Leonica, along with her father and mother were introduced to him.Their first meeting.However, the dream quickly took a different turn and they were in an open field with beautifully planted irises and Leonica was standing in the center, but she was not alone.Held in her embrace was a small child, who slept peacefully on her chest.He remembered watching her cradle the child in her arms as they slept p
It was currently 5pm and Leonica was seated in a restaurant, listening to the Noirette in front of her, namely Anastasia, her best friend, rain all heaven down on her.“I can’t believe you. You could you just up and pop without telling I, your best friend a single thing. You didn’t even dim it fit to say goodbye to me.” Anastasia scolded like she has been doing for the last hour.The following day after her returning to Norway, Leonica had gotten a phone call from Anastasia who had heard the news from Leonardo.To say she had been pissed was an understatement. Leonica had nearly lost her hearing the moment she answered the call.Fortunately, she had found a way to calm the Noirette down and proposed dinner while she explained her previous action.Anastasia accepted without a second to waste, thus the reason for the current situation.“I’m sorry,” Leonica apologized for the umpteenth time, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “But there was no other choice. The decision had been made on the
The next day at Bryce Empire, all the major employees of the Media team had been gathered in Gabriel’s office.The man himself was in front of the small crowd, leaning against his table. With a darken atmosphere behind him, it made all the employees present cower all the more.What had they done wrong this time around?!“I’ll only ask this once, who amongst you is responsible for the engagement post released by the media department?” Gabriel asked and soon, all heads turned to face an impish looking brunette.The male flinched under all the eyes and slowly raised his hand, announcing. “It…it was me S-sir.”Gabriel’s brows twitched at the answer.This man, what was his name?Ah, yes, Kelvin.He was the manager of the media department, but more importantly, the one responsible for the engagement announcement that had caused him so much trouble.Gabriel sighed, running his fingers through his hair.What had made him think that hiring Kelvin was a good idea?“So,” he began, taking a deep
"Leonica, is that you?" Christian asked, his tone and expression filled with disbelief as he took a step forward.The said female nearly shrank back at the sight of one of Gabriel's closest friends. She had not expected to run into him here, as a matter of fact, she had not expected to run into him at all.This was bad, she thought as he her on Ashely who was now sound asleep, tightened.Maybe she could wriggle her way out of this."I'm sorry, but I think you've mistaken me for someone else." She quickly dismissed him. "I'm not quiet sure I know who you are." With that, she turned and continued heading for the door.Christian however, did not relent and rushed after her."It's me Leonica, Christian, Gabriel's friend."'Of course I know that.' Leonica thought, increasing her pace.She couldn't understand why the man was insisting on talking to her, or rather, she couldn't understand why the universe was working against her."You're not gonna believe me if I say I don't know who you are
Leonica sat in the back of her car, mind replaying the conversation she had with Leonardo.“Are you sure no one would find out?” She had asked, her eyes on her rear view mirror where she could see her son sleeping peacefully.“Yes. No one can track the boy, I’ve made sure of it.” Leonardo *ssured.Leonica’s jaws clenched, her fist curling. “And are you sure…”“I’m sure no one would bother you or the boy,” Leonardo interrupted her, sensing what she was about to ask.“Right. Thank you.”Those were the last words exchanged between the siblings before Leonica got ready for the banquet tonight. And right now, she was in the back seat of her car which was parked right in front of the venue.Taking a deep breath, she stepped out when her *ssistant opened the door for her.Instantly, all the paparazzi turned their cameras on her, the flashing light nearly blinding her vision.“Who are you? Is this your first appearance?”“What’s your name?”“My sources tell me that you’re the new president of