Chapter 8 Leon Carter

Leon Carter I take one last look at the woman, I know I’ll have to win back after what I did. I spent the rest of the night in the club’s office, making sure Billy had actually done a good job. The numbers added up, and more importantly, the people who needed to be paid were being paid. A little later, I looked up when I saw Gavin walk into the office, and there was a certain confusion on his face. "What happened?" I asked, growing concerned. "What did you do to Ella?" He went straight to the point and remained standing. I set down the accounting books, glanced at Billy, who understood and left the room, leaving me alone with Gavin. "Ella never knew who we really are. To her and Leo, my family are just businessmen, just like her father," I said, feeling a tightness in my chest. "Why didn’t you give her even a hint of what you were trying to prepare her for?" My friend still looked shocked. "I was fifteen. I didn’t even know exactly what I was becoming. And after what happened with Aurora, I was afraid the same thing would happen…" "What happened with Aurora was just bad luck, Leon, but you still haven’t told me what you did to Ella." I took a deep breath and decided to tell my best friend the stupid idea I had to push away the girl I love, thinking it was the best way to keep her safe. "I abandoned her. I didn’t say a word. I just disappeared!" In a way, I felt the weight in my heart ease just a little, letting me breathe more freely. Gavin still stared at me, surprised and shocked by what I’d said. "And why didn’t Aunt Laís or Uncle Henrique stop you?" "My parents don’t know. I just told them we had a falling out and that I was giving her space…" I knew my parents still had plans for me and Ella. They firmly believed everything would sort itself out and that soon we’d be together to form one of the biggest business alliances in the First. What they didn’t know was that I was ignoring Ella’s calls and messages, or that she was hiding a depressive episode from everyone. "Ella’s not going to forgive you that easily, Leon. I hope you have a really good explanation for her," he said. "You talked to her?" I asked, and he nodded. "Your little billionaire princess left here crying when she realized you were at the club!" I took a deeper breath and felt a needle prick at my conscience, reminding me of the moment I had that idiotic idea of leaving her without a word. "I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, don’t I?" Gavin nodded. "Not just with her. I’m sure the Walkers won’t make it easy!" "Does her cousin know what happened…" "Don’t be stupid, Leon. Of course, they all know you hurt her. You could see the anger in Lucas’s eyes for what you did." "If that’s true, then why did Tommáz accept it when he made her sign the marriage documents? "I don’t know. Maybe he realized how it could be beneficial somehow…" The silence became suffocating at that point, and my cousin noticed I was starting to get anxious with this whole conversation. "Let’s go. Your birthday celebration has gone on long enough," he said, and I closed the books in front of me. I went back to my apartment in the middle of the night and decided to go straight to bed. I stopped by Perninha’s pen, gave him some affection, and reminded myself I needed to take him to the vet. I can’t lose my furry son. "I’ll do everything I can to win your mommy back and bring Lola home." I said to the little ball of fur sitting in my lap. The rest of my night was tense. My shoulder still ached from the dagger Arnold had plunged into it that day. In the middle of the night, I woke up startled from a nightmare where Ella had been captured by him, and it was her hanging by her arms, being tortured like I was. I got out of bed and saw it wasn’t even five in the morning. I left the bedroom and decided to go down to the lower floor of the building we bought to be my home and everything else I might need here. On my mother’s and grandmother’s orders, I had a gym, a place for my men to live, all with top-level security. With my thoughts on Ella and the nightmare I had, I tried to defeat my opponent in the ring. Besides trying to win back the girl I love, I always need to be ready to keep her safe, and especially far from Arnold’s radar. I know my idea of leaving my girl without any explanation was stupid, and when my parents find out, I’ll have to face the consequences too. "Focus…" My soldier said just as he landed a punch on my nose. "Shit!" I shouted, wiping the blood that started to drip. "Send flowers," my driver said from outside the ring. "You think she’ll give me a chance to explain if I send flowers?" I asked, looking at my opponent. "Of course not. We’re talking about Ella Walker. I’m sure she’ll tell you to shove them up your ass." Gavin appeared beside the ring, still half-asleep. "Finally awake." I stepped back twice and got caught in the ropes. I stared at the soldier in front of me and went for him. I was taller and almost as strong as he was. I controlled my breathing and went in with a series of blows. He dodged them all, but something caught his attention and distracted him. I hit him square in the jaw. I watched him fall flat on his back with a dull thud. "Leon Alcântara Carter!" A shiver ran down my spine. I looked toward the door and saw my mother entering the gym with my father beside her. The gym had been set up to keep me from leaving the building. "Mom?" I said, my voice slightly desperate. I was royally screwed. If my mother was here, it meant she already knew Ella was in Chicago, and she was probably expecting to see her at the house today. "What’s with that scared look, kid?" my father asked as he took off his overcoat and walked toward the ring. "What are you doing here?" I asked too quickly. I saw the way my mother looked at me carefully, her eyes narrowing. "Leon, what did you do?" I swallowed hard at the sound of her heels approaching the ring. "We came to congratulate you," my father said, though his eyes were just as suspicious "Everyone out. Now!" I sighed, knowing I was about to get a serious scolding from both of them. I glanced at Gavin, who had stayed quiet, and looked at my mother. "Can I stay?" he asked, amusement in his voice. "Sure, you’re going to get beaten up either way…" I stepped out of the ring and walked over to my father to hug him. I felt him squeeze me tight and then step back, waiting for explanations. I walked over to my mother and kissed her cheek, and in her emerald-green eyes, matching the stones on her earrings, I saw all the unspoken questions. "I abandoned Ella a little over a year ago!" I blurted out. My head was down, and I started taking the gloves off my hands. "What did you just say?" I could feel their eyes fixed on me. "I knew my mission was approaching, and I had overheard the plans a few weeks before..." I began explaining. "Just like you, I was scared, not of being killed, but of the pain Ella would feel if she found out I had died." I felt a tear welling up. "I knew that if I died, you’d have to lie to her and say it was some kind of accident, and I didn’t want my girl to go through that. I love her!" My voice was so low I wasn’t even sure if my parents could hear me. "You just disappeared, Leon? Without saying anything to her?" Mom asked. "I was sure she’d move on, but knowing she wasn’t okay made me even more afraid. Still, undoing the mess I’d already made felt almost impossible…" I wiped away a tear that had run down my face. "Then the mission came, and with Arnold still alive, I panicked. I don’t want her to be a target." I lifted my gaze to my mother. "I love her, and I feel like she’ll never forgive me. I’d rather watch her from afar, safe and healthy, than see Ella trapped in a cage because I didn’t do my job right and failed to kill our enemy." "Leon, I was so careful to help you and Ella fall in love. I didn’t want you to go through the same problems your uncle Mahjub had with Hope…" my mother said, cupping my face in her hands. "Son, you are who you are. We hoped the love you two shared would be enough for Ella not to care about the life we lead," my father added, squeezing my shoulder. "She’ll never forgive me!" I said, and watched my idiot cousin start laughing. "Of course not. And I’m going to enjoy every second of watching you grovel to her!" he said. "Just like we’ll all enjoy watching you suffer when you fall in love," I heard my mother say. "Well, the damage is done. It’s time to help this boy win his wife back!" my father said "She’s still your wife, isn’t she? Tom didn’t mention anything about Ella knowing the truth." "As far as I know, yes," I replied, not very confidently, looking at my parents. "I’ll call Amélie, see if she says anything," Mom said, walking over to kiss my cheek. "Happy birthday. Let’s see if we can help you fix this mess." She said that and grabbed Gavin’s hand, pulling him out of the gym. "You’re in deep trouble with your mom…" my dad chuckled, pulling me into a hug. "Where’s Fay?" Just as I finished asking, I saw my sixteen-year-old sister walk in with a shy smile and a gift in her hands. "Can I talk to Leo now?" she asked, and I felt a hand press against my shoulder. "I’ll kill you myself, kid. Go ahead, sweetheart, call Leo while I beat the crap out of your idiot brother." Damn, I’m screwed.