Chapter four

I was still trying to register Leo’s appearance in my home. I looked at him with a frown, trying to figure him out. At that exact moment, he looked up and returned my gaze as if he knew exactly what I was doing.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked again, breaking eye contact.

“You’re hurt Bella—” he started.

“Not that,” I cut him, “the marriage.”

“I do not have a choice.” He simply answered.

Before I could interrogate him with more questions, Dylan’s voice echoed through the living room, “Mommy? Who’s that?”

“This is—” I started.

“Is he your boyfriend?” he asked, cutting me off.

“No,” I replied with a frown, knowing where this was going.

“Yes,” Leo said at the same time. “Your mom and I will get married soon.”

As soon as those words escaped Leo’s lips, Dylan’s eyes widened. “Is he going to be my dad? Can I call you dad?” he asked excitedly, barely taking a breath before adding, “Liam always teases me because I don’t have a dad, so since you and my mom are getting married you’re going to be my dad right?”

With those words, Leo stiffened and looked at me with pleading eyes. I looked away from his piercing blue eyes. I could not get myself to tell Dylan that Leo and I were not even together after what he said. I could not break my son’s heart like that.

“Um…” Leo hesitated, scratching the back of his head. “Of course you can.”

“Thank you mommy, this is the best birthday present ever!” he squealed in delight.

My heart grew heavier by the second. Dylan never had a father figure to look up to growing up. More than once, he asked me where his father was. One day I told him he died and my son did not talk to me for a week. To say that it broke my heart would be an understatement. It left me devastated and led me down the dangerous path of memory lane. The only way he could talk to me was me giving him a promise to get him a father. Now Leo took it up to himself to fulfill the promise I never intended to fulfill.

I felt Leo’s hand on my face, caressing my cheek with a noticeable frown, replacing the dread that I felt with an emotion that I could not put a finger on.

“Dylan,” I croaked, “Go to sleep, sweetheart, we’ll talk about this tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.”

“Okay,” he replied, “Goodnight mommy, goodnight daddy.” With that, he came up to me and kissed my cheek. He did the same with Leo and sprinted up the stairs.

Once he was out of sight, I faced Leo, slapping him. “Why did you do that? Huh, look at my son Leo. He has so much hope and thinks you are going to be his father!”

His eyes were on fire but his voice was so calm, “We are getting married Bella, whether you like it, get that!?” he said, raising his voice at the end.

“We’ll see,” I said, “But as long as I am still breathing, I’m not getting married to someone because of a business deal!”

He chuckled and looked at me, “Bella, if you want to stop this, then talk to your father, but the way he talked to you today, I don’t think he will change his mind.”

With this, he got up and started heading to the door. I stood up to walk to my room, but two steps later, I tumbled to the floor. With determination, I looked at my bandaged feet. I was going to walk myself over to my room. The voice in my head said that I don't need his help. I got up again and tried walking, but as soon as I got to my feet, a piercing pain made me groan in agony.

“Need any help?” Leo smirked. I shook my head and leaned to the wall for support, standing on my toes, intending to stop them from being inflicted with further damage. I was so emotional earlier that I did not care about the consequences of my actions. I mean, what if it was Dylan that walked into that room?

My tactic was working, but my toes ached. As soon as I reached the bottom of the staircase, I collapsed again. I let out a string of curse words, but stopped when I heard Leo chuckle.

“Why are women so stubborn?” he said as he swooped me in his arms bridal style.

“Let me go.” I said through gritted teeth, struggling in his arms. “I can walk on my own.”

“Obviously,” he chuckled, rolling his eyes, “After three failed attempts, one can think you’d give up!”

Leonardo’s POV

She sighed in defeat, cloaking her arms around my neck. I grinned at her action.

“Just get me to my room!” she ordered, looking flushed.

“Are you that eager?” I teased.

“Ugh… can you just walk?” she groaned. With that, I rushed up the stairs and dumped her on the bed. “Geez, can’t you at least be gentle? My feet are bleeding.”

“Goodnight Bella,” I waved, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I wanted to stay by her side but a part of me does not stand the woman’s attitude. I walked down the stairs and bumped into someone.

“S-sorry sir,” she whispered, getting up from the floor.

“It’s fine,” I dismissed. “Can you go clean up the broken glass in Bella’s room?”

“I’ll do it right away,” she quickly said, lowering her gaze.

“Wait!” I called out to her as she ascended the stairs, bringing her to a halt, “Bella, how… no, does this happen often?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you this, sir, but my boss is unpredictable when her emotions are unstable. Honestly speaking, she holds up a strong front, but inside she has some scars yet to heal.” She explained calmly, “She does not talk a lot, but I’ve been around long enough to know that she’s not a bad person, just a victim of circumstances.”

With that, she continued stepping up the stairs, leaving me with more questions than answers.