Leandro's Revenge

chapter 08

Isabelle’s mood was a mess when she entered her office at Smith’s Consulting Firm. Leandro’s accusation appalled her. It was a good thing he assumed it was another man instead of finding out about Simon. Nevertheless, it irritated her.

If there was anyone who should be mad, it was Isabelle. As soon as he came out of prison, he had the audacity to invite his ex-girlfriend. They could not even be discreet about their relationship and had openly smooched in front of her. Her heart had been wretched at that time.

Her mood dropped further when her father came in moments later.

“What’s with the long face?”

“Nothing. I just had a small fight with Leandro this morning.”

Her father hummed and took a seat on the couch. She vacated her office chair and made her way to the coffee pot. Knowing what he was about to say, she broke the silence and spoke.

“I’m filing for a divorce.” She began, bringing two cups of coffee to the small table.

Augustus reached for his, the saucer in one hand and the mug in the other, he crossed his legs before taking a sip.

“Dad, I know you disagree with my decision but—”

“What about Simon?”

She sighed. “I can raise him alone.”

“Your son deserves to meet his father.”

“Mom said the same thing.”

“If he doesn’t accept Simon, that’s the only time I can allow this divorce.” Augustus said with finality. He finished his coffee and left after reminding her to report to him the progress of the projects assigned to her. As COO, she knew she was next in line. Thus, she was doing her best to learn everything, so she could qualify for the CEO position once her father retired.

She thought about her father’s words for hours. For some reason, she was no longer convinced if divorcing Leandro was a good idea. After all, the reasons behind it—freedom and the chance to truly move on—were selfish. She ought to think about Simon’s wellbeing above all else. Even if it meant sacrificing her own happiness. Her parents were right. He deserved to know his father. But how could she tell him? If she did, would Leandro accept him?

“How’s my beautiful sister doing?” Oli, her stepbrother by law, son of her stepmom Meredith, came in several hours later. He was two years her senior and had been like a real older brother to her and to her younger sister Rebecca, who had just recently graduated from college. She was away on a trip with her friends, a graduation gift from their father.

When she was ten, her mother died of cancer, leaving her and Rebecca with their father. A few years later, Augustus met Meredith and Oli and they became family ever since.

Oliver Reid was appointed as Senior VP of Finance two years ago by Augustus and she could not have been happier to work with such a competent and smart man. However, he was about to resign next month as he had already built his own software company, and it was already thriving.

“I’m fine, thank you.” She smiled. “What brought you here?”

“Lunch?”

“Oh shoot!” She exclaimed, checking the time and realizing it was already past noon. Before they went out, she dropped by her father’s office to ask him to join her, but his secretary informed he was out to meet a big client.

Oli took her to a restaurant just across the road. This was something that they often did, as she had grown to love him and Meredith as if they were of real blood.

Besides, anyone would love them. Oli was a good-looking man with blonde hair, hazel-green eyes, good posture and a masculine body, and a smart mind. During his college days, women flocked to him and it was him who often rejected them. For some reason, he seldom dated. Probably, courtship was not his strong suit or maybe Oli’s standards were set so high, that no woman was qualified enough. She never bothered to ask, as she felt it was his personal life and it was none of her business. But she wished Oli would find someone soon.

The second they entered the restaurant, Isabelle knew her day would be one of her worst. Oli followed the direction of her eyes and grimaced, probably curious why his brother-in-law was with his harlot. She quickly withdrew her eyes from Leandro’s piercing ones and settled on their table reservation.

“Stop looking at them.” She hissed at Oli.

He scratched his cheek, frowning. “Why’s he with her?”

‘What else? They had probably gotten back together and wanted the world to know about it.’ She was outwardly calm but inwardly furious.

The disrespect was something she could not swallow. In the early stages of their marriage, Leandro would always spend time with his friends, including Celeste, and he would sometimes be gone for days without telling her where he had been. She had been furious, insecure, and jealous, but Leandro had been mad, insisting that there was nothing going on between them. But she knew better. Celeste was beautiful. Compared to her petite body—small t**s—men would go for Celeste’s rounded ones. And Leandro was no exception. She knew they had hooked up a lot of times in the past during their college days. She suddenly felt insecure once again.

When the food arrived, she began digging in. The subtle ache in her heart was still there. Oli tried to lift her spirits by telling her about Becca’s boyish ways of dressing, but her eyes wandered to the couple’s direction. Every time, a fist painfully tugged at her heart.

‘Does he still love Celeste? After all, she was his last girlfriend before they got married.’

He probably never moved on. You can not remain friends with an ex unless you really love them or never at all. In his case, it was probably the former. Seeing how they casually and comfortably talked with each other, Celeste touched his arm lightly. He knew Isabelle was there. And the thought that he did not care how she would feel, pained her very much.

Her eyes became moist as she glared at them. How despicable? He was even smiling. One that he never gave Isabelle. Needles pricked her heart.

Leandro caught her watching and for a moment their eyes met. Unable to maintain eye contact without giving away the pain in her heart, she tore her eyes from him and looked down at her food that had gone cold. A lone tear found its way down her cheek.

“f**k!” Oli cursed under his breath, noticing her tears.

Withdrawing his wallet from his pocket, Oli drew out cash and put it on the table. He grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the restaurant.

She kept her head down and let Oli take her away. When he finally stopped, he reached for her chin and forced her to look at him.

“Oh, Isabelle, don’t cry. It’s probably just a friendly lunch out.” Oli consoled her, handing her a handkerchief to dry her tears. He pulled her into a comforting hug.

A tight grip closed around her arm, and she was yanked away brusquely from Oli’s arms. Her eyes dilated when she realized who it was.

Leandro’s jaw was clenched, and brows furrowed as he glared down at her. “Why are you crying?”

“You should ask yourself that,” Oli interjected.

Leandro ignored him and asked again, “Did he hurt you?”

There was a snort from Oli. “You think I will hurt my own sister?” Oli reached for her other arm and pulled her to his side, but Leandro did not let go.

She grimaced, both hands gripping her tightly. The two men stared at each other, neither wanted to release her.

“Let her go.” Leandro growled at him.

“No. She’s coming with me.” Oli insisted, yanking her again.

Furious, Leandro pulled her so hard that she hit his chest, and Oli had no choice but to let go. “She’s my wife so she’s coming with me.” To emphasize his words, he wrapped an arm around her waist.

“She is, but you never treat her like one.”

“Don’t lecture me. You don’t know anything.” Leandro held my hand before he dragged me away.

It was difficult to keep up with his long strides. Was he taking her to his office? A large Gonzalez Service Ware Inc. named for a tall and massive building entrance confirmed her suspicion. They entered and employees began bowing and greeting him, watching them curiously. She kept her head low. He had never brought her to work before. She even doubted they knew who she was.

Neither Isabelle nor Leandro spoke until they reached his office on the 20th floor.

“Mr. Gonzalez, did you have a nice lunch with Ms. McMa—” A man, she assumed was Leandro’s personal assistant, was cut off by his boss’ warning glare. The poor scared man just opened the door to the CEO’s office and closed it behind him.

So, Celeste made regular trips to his office that even his PA knew her very well.

Once inside, he finally let her go, his back on her. Why did he bring her here? Shouldn’t he be with his girlfriend? She scoffed inwardly. He did not speak for a long time. Assuming he had nothing to say, she strode toward the door to leave.

“Did I say you can go?”