288 I Need You To Leave


    Leon stared at his wife for a few seconds in silence, unsure of what to do to make her acknowledge his presence. The fact that she spoke to Denise but refused to look in his direction was both tormenting and excruciatingly painful.


    This was the first time E had shunned him coldly since their marriage. She had been angry at him for one or two misunderstandings in the past but not to the extent of avoiding his touch.


    Although Leon tried to shield the hurt in his eyes, he couldn’t stand the fact that Denise was standing beside his wife or talking to her.


    He needed his wife’s attention and as usual, Denise was intruding. He thought of saying something to Denise but instead looked in the direction of Tom.


    Tom, who quickly understood his friend’s non-verbalmunication rose to his feet and slowly walked towards Denise. He wanted to give Denise ample time to bond with her bestie before separating them briefly.


    “You gave us quite a scare.” Denise wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and covered E’s head with kisses, further provoking Leon as the jealousy in him skyrocketed.


    “I’m sorry, mama bear,” E slowly lifted her right free hand and touched Denise’s cheek tenderly.


    “E, it’s good to see that you are okay.” Tom came from behind Denise and touched her shoulder tenderly.


    “Thanks, Tom.” E’s lips curved into a brief smile.


    .....


    “Babe,” Tom gently made Denise stand straight. “We need to give E and her husband some privacy.”


    “But...” Denise felt E’s hand gently stroke her while giving her a warm smile that says; it’s okay, I’ll be fine.


    “O...kay!” Denise sighed and kissed E once more on the head while passing Leon a disgusted look. “I’ll quickly go home, shower, and return with a mouth-watering meal that you wouldn’t be able to resist. Alright?”


    E nodded her head in response, as an infectious smile spread across her face.


    “You better not make my friend cry again.” Denise pointed aggressively at Leon before leaving like a fearless mother kitten.


    Leon resisted the urge to reply to Denise’s rudeness because he knew it would only put him in a worse position with E. Instead, he simply ignored her and focused all his attention on E, who was still staring the other way and not saying anything to him.


    Leon waited until Tom and Denise had left the room before he tried speaking to his wife.


    “Sweetheart, I’m very sorry for what happened to you. I never meant for things to deteriorate to this level. You know I can’t afford to see you in this state, let alone watch you drowning yourself in depression.”


    Leon gently ced his hand on her forehead and tenderly massaged it. He could observe a glimpse of chilliness in her stares but he was grateful that she didn’t try to push his hand away.


    E on the other hand felt repelled and repulsive to Leon’s touch. She wanted to scream at him, punch him in the face, and the thoughts of castrating him even crossed her mind. However, she knew all these would be impossible due to her current immobilized and weakened state.


    Also, she was worried for the safety of her developing baby. She was scared that her loss of consciousness had put her baby in a danger zone.


    Ignoring all of Leon’s words and care, she gently ced her right hand on her tummy and softly massaged it while apologizing to her unborn baby.


    “I’m sorry, my angel,” E said weakly amidst quiet sobs. “Mummy was so stupid to allow her emotions to get the better part of her and put you in danger. Going forward, I promise that I would never allow any danger or harm toe your way. I will give my life for you and ensure youe into this world like the little hero you’re meant to be.”


    E’s affirmation fell on Leon’s heart like an atomic bomb. He felt his brain and heart explode with no hope of recovery as he stared at E in hopelessness. Not only did she affirm that she was willing to die for her baby, she no longer included him in her world. It felt as though he was dead and she was painfully mourning his loss.


    “Babe,” Leon did his best not to sound broken like he already was inwardly. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to warrant this coldness from you. I’m ready to make amends and be anything you want me to be even if it means epting your...your...” Leon bit down on his lower lips as he forced the words right out of his mouth. “... your pregnancy. Just tell me what you want. I’m ready to do it.”


    E shut her eyes tightly as Leon’s words fell on her heart like an unforgiving blizzard.


    “He chooses to ept his responsibility now after frolicking shamelessly was his co-worker?” She questioned her thoughts silently, in fury. “What a shameless fool!”


    E’s mind was consumed with a swirling vortex of fury but she did her best to cage them. She had already decided on her next n of action and giving Leon a resounding p at the moment wasn’t part of her ns. All she needed to do was get him the hell away from her presence before shepletely lose the million restraints holding her down.


    “I need you to leave,” E said in a barely audible tone due to the emotions clogging her throat.


    Leon instantly stopped massaging her forehead and gazed into her frosty eyes which were now ring at him. Although he heard what she said, he was unsure if she meant it. Hence, he decided to confirm her statement by repeating her words back to her.


    “Do you want me to leave?”


    “Yes, I need to be alone. Only Denise and Paul are allowed to visit me.” E said firmly and turned away from his distraught face.


    Leon slowly stood up from her bed and stared at his weak but extremely angry wife. He knew her request was a result of his staying away from the house and trying to talk to her now would onlyplicate things. Hence, he decided to honor her wish and quietly left the room with the intention of checking up on her muchter.


    Before Leon left the hospital, he met with E’s doctor and strictly instructed him that E must be given optimum attention and only the best treatment until she was discharged. He also told the doctor to keep him updated on her progress.


    Afterward, he ensured the receptionist nurse that earlier flirted with him was relieved of her duty before he stormed out of the hospital.


    Instead of returning to his second mansion, Leon instructed Austin to drive him straight to the vi.


    On arrival, he instructed John and Paul to see him immediately in his office.


    “Paul, I am highly disappointed in you.” Leon’s low but deep frosty voice sent chills down Paul’s spine.


    All the while, Paul had been secretly dreading Leon. He already knew that he was in a big mess from the moment he found E lying on the bed unconscious.


    “I’m very sorry...” Paul tried to apologize but was instantly reprimanded by Leon’s fierce growl.


    “Sorry!” Leon moved closer to Paul, causing the trembling middle-aged man to almost copse in horror.


    “You’re sorry?” Leon raised his hand and grabbed the cor of Paul’s shirt. He slowly but firmly squeezed the cor until Paul started to choke fromck of oxygen. He was so fueled by the rage of E’s harsh words and rejection, that he felt like killing someone.


    “If you ever say sorry to me, one more time, I will put two bullets right through your brainless head,” Leon growled devilishly, before releasing his grip around Paul’s throat and shoving him to the floor.


    John, whose heart had already melted like wax, shifted a little from Paul, with his head bowed low and staring at his neatly polished shoes. He started recollecting all of E’s activities for the previous days while he waited patiently for Leon to spell out his crime.


    Cough!


    Cough!!


    A few tears escaped Paul’s horrified eyes as he kept coughing to clear his airways.


    Although he was feeling a bit sore from the way Leon shoved him to the floor, Paul slowly got up to his feet and bowed his head in shame and agony for disappointing his boss. He already knew his boss’s temper and was grateful that Leon wasn’t holding a gun. Otherwise, he would have been bleeding by now.


    “I gave you a simple task to watch over my wife and ensure that she is safe at all times. But what do you do? You foolishly abandoned her when you know the uniqueness of her state, and put my precious wife’s life at risk! What if something worse had happened to her? What if she hadn’t pressed the red button?” Leon mmed his fist on his desk as the possibility of E dying crossed his mind.


    “You know what, I should kill you right now and decapitate you. Just thank your stars that my wife wants you around. Now...” Leon pointed towards the door, “...get lost and go see that my wife is properly attended to in that hospital. If I find out that she’s not well taken care of, then consider yourself a dead man.”


    “Yes, Sir,” Paul bowed politely and hurried out of the office.


    “You...” Leon turned to John, “Give me a rundown on all of E’s activities for the previous day.”