CHAPTER TWO

LESLIE’S POV

I am speechless for the next few seconds as his words hit me like a freight train. I wait. I wait for his hard eyes to soften with remorse at the harsh words he threw at me but that doesn’t happen. He is glowering at me, nose flaring angrily.

“Kian, how…how could you say that to me?” I say, my eyes crossing over to Beverly who is now hiding her own frame behind his tall, muscular one, “In front of her?”

“Because it’s the truth!” He yells again, startling me into making a small helpless sound. Kian has never yelled at me. And even though it hurts me to admit that he is truly saying the truth, he has never said it to my face and I never really thought he would. I have always known it yet it hurts to hear it come from him. It feels like a thousand needles are pricking my heart and making me bleed out with so much pain.

He runs his fingers through his hair, seeming frustrated. Like he would rather not have this conversation with me. And just when I think it is over, he continues to speak, breaking me even further.

“You were nothing but a mere secretary who wormed her way into my life. If you hadn’t forced yourself on me that night, none of this would have happened! This marriage would have never happened and you know it.”

He brings up the past. Our past. The night that meant everything to me but clearly means nothing to him. I swallow over and over again till my throat and mouth become dry. I can’t cry. No, I can’t appear weak. Not in front of Kian and definitely not in front of Beverly so I keep my tears at bay, urging them to return before they spill down my cheeks.

“I never forced myself on you, Kian. Why won’t you believe me?” I manage to say but he raises a hand to tell me to stop talking and I clamp my lips shut.

“Do not stand there and try to look innocent, Leslie because that is far from who you are. I simply said the truth and I do not care if you cannot take it.” He says and stares at me intently.

“Do not let what happened today repeat itself again. Know your place and I will not have any reason to talk to you like this. Do you understand?”

He lays emphasis on every word of warning he is giving me and turns his back against me before I can even open my mouth to speak again.

“Are you okay?” I can’t believe how his voice goes from hard to soft in the next second as he fusses over Beverly. Beverly makes a face that has me balling my fingers into a fist. A face that clearly says she is not okay.

“The coffee was hot and I think I might have to visit the hospital to prevent the burn from leaving a scar.” She says in a quiet voice. I look down at my own body that is also drenched in the same coffee. The coffee wasn’t hot enough to cause a burn but Kian believes her instantly. He pulls her into a hug and embarrassment washes over me like a bucket of ice.

“I’ll drive. Wait here, I will get my keys.” he says as he pulls away, rushing to his office table to grab his car keys before coming back to her side. He takes her purse from her and leads her out. They both seem so lost in each other that they forget my existence totally, leaving me to stand alone in the middle of the room.

Silence falls over me and I am left with my thoughts, licking the wound that his words caused. I have never been able to convince Kian that I didn’t force myself on him yet till this very day, he still believes I drugged him into sleeping with him on the night we were having dinner with his family three years ago. I can never forget the pure look of disgust and shock on his face when we both woke up in each other’s arms the next morning.

I knew since then that Kian would never love me, yet I was hopeful. As the years go by, the hope keeps dwindling with his grandfather, being the only support system in everything.

Sighing, I return to my office and pick up my phone. My eyes widens when I see that a number has called my phone repeatedly all the time I was in Kian’s office. The dread that fills me stems from the fact that I recognise the number as the hospital’s number.

I call back instantly, my heart racing. They pick up on the second ring.

“Mrs Winston, we have been trying to reach you all afternoon!” A female voice says.

“Why? Is something wrong? Is my grandmother okay?” I ask, rushing my words as I am filled with dread and panic.

“You need to be at the hospital, your grandmother—”

I don’t wait to hear the rest of her words. I race out of the room and call on a taxi to drive me to the hospital. I go straight to her hospital room but the sheets and blankets are already being neatly arranged and the bed is empty. More panic. More dread.

“Where is my grandmother?” I ask, “Where is she?”

The nurse cleaning the room gives me a look of pity that nauseates me.

“I am sorry, Mrs Winston but your grandmother died ten minutes ago and has been moved to the hospital’s mortuary. I am sorry.” She says.

The world around me stops and I don’t know how I am able to walk on my two feet to the mortuary where the Nurse leads me. She stops at the door and points to my grandmother laying on a table in the room, her body covered in a white sheet from head to toe.

I walk to the bedside with shaky legs and the moment I take the sheet off and set my eyes on her pale face, I burst out into a loud sob, wishing I could go back to a month ago so I can prevent that accident that made her this way. The accident that took my only living family away from me.

“Grandma…” I call in a broken voice as I reach for her hand. They are too cold, so lifeless and the tears begin to leave my eyes in torrents as I remember how warm these hands used to be when they held my face.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.” I cry, holding tightly unto her and hating myself for not being there in her last moments. I should have been there with her but I was too busy worrying about my place in my husband’s life.

The nurse comes into the room and says, “She asked us to give you this.”

I wipe my tears, sniffling as I take what seems to be a business card from her. I couldn’t think of a reason why grandmother’s parting gift to me would be a business card but I can’t seem to care. Her cold hands slammed me into the reality of what had happened. Grandmother is dead. I fall to my knees by the bed and weep, muttering and calling for her to return to me.

“Leslie.” Kian’s voice calls from behind me. I am both surprised and relieved to find him there. He must have been contacted by the hospital as well and stopped by since he already came here with Beverly anyway. Beverly is standing in the room with us but I ignore her. I focus on Kian because I need him. I need someone to hold me and tell me everything will be fine.

“Kian.” I cry as I walk over to him and hug him without a second thought, my tears gathering and falling again. His body stiffens at my touch but I don’t let go. I need his warmth. I need him because he is really all that I have left and I can’t bear to lose him too. I expect him to push me away but he doesn’t. He doesn’t hug me back too but I can’t find it in me to care as I sob uncontrollably. My tears subside and I sniffle repeatedly and slowly let go of him.

He clears his throat and takes out his phone, saying; “I’ll place a call to start making preparations for her funeral.” He turns around to leave with Beverly also following him but I can’t bear the sight of him turning his back to me and leaving. I grab his hand.

“Stay.” I sound so weak and helpless but I do not give a damn, “Please, don’t go. Stay with me.” I beg.

Kian opens his mouth to say something but a sharp cry stuns us both. We spin around at the same time to the source of the cry and she is crouching, holding her stomach with an expression of pain. Kian rushes to Beverly’s side in a heartbeat and my heart sinks further down my stomach.

“Beverly, are you okay?” He asks with concern ringing high in his voice.

She shakes her head, “There is something I’ve been wanting to tell you but didn’t know how.” She says, holding her stomach as she looks directly at me.

“What is it?” Kian asks, still very much concerned.

“Kian…I…I am pregnant.”

CHAPTER THREE

LESLIE’S POV

Grandmother’s funeral is being held on a gloomy day, much to my displeasure.

I listened to the weather forecast so I could choose the perfect day for the funeral, and according to the forecast, the day is supposed to be sunny and bright just like Grandmother. I feel duped standing by grandmother’s grave with the sky covered in clouds that only worsen the dark and depressing feeling that has settled in my guts since her death.

I have cried so much that I have no tears left to shed at grandmother’s grave and now have to wear dark sunglasses to hide how red and puffy my eyes are rather than to complement my black dress.

There are a few people hanging around the other graves in the cemetery to pay their last respects to their loved ones and at each grave, there are at least two people; couples holding each other, families comforting each other and even church processions.

I am alone, with no one to comfort me since no one else bothered to attend my grandmother's funeral. With her gone, I realize how lonely I actually am and the thought deals another blow to my already damaged heart. I try hard to get the heartbreaking events of the past few days off my mind and when I finally succeed, I turn my focus back to my grandmother.

She’s smiling in the framed picture placed by her tombstone and I force a smile as well as a fond memory of her slips into my mind.

“Leslie, my child, you can’t frown like that everytime or you’ll get wrinkles like me before you are even my age!” She would say and then go ahead to spread my lips into a smile with her fingers.

Grandmother was a cheerful soul who would tell me stories, mostly the ones about my birth and how she knew from the very first day that she set her eyes on me that I was going to be a really beautiful and amazing child. I shared everything with her and talking to her about my marriage was one of the things that made it bearable. I don’t know what I’d do without Grandmother.

Tears start to gather in my eyes again and I take off the sunglasses to wipe them off before they start to fall. I already promised myself not to cry anymore; Grandmother wouldn’t want that.

Sniffling, I begin to place the things I brought with me by her grave; Tulips, which were her favorite flowers; Peaches, her favorite fruit and finally some sweets because grandmother had a really sweet tooth and never listened to me whenever I told her they were bad for her age.

“There are no sweets in heaven, Leslie. It’s only right that I take as much as I can down here before the big guy calls me up there.” She would say at the same she unwraps another candy and tosses it into her mouth. She would talk on and on about ‘The big guy’ and ‘Up there’ like she was always prepared for the day she would die.

I can’t help it anymore, I burst into tears, falling on my knees by her grave as it dawns on me fully that she is really gone.

“I should have let you have all the Candy in the world. I should have been there with you at your dying moment. I should have held your hands and told you it’s gonna be okay. I–” My voice breaks, the deep regret and tears choking me and making me lose my train of thoughts. I can’t think of a thing to say anymore and so I just cry, sobbing so hard my body shakes.

I hear confident footsteps approaching me and feel a presence behind me that causes my sobs to come to a pause. My heart races and hope swells inside of me when the person puts a hand on my shoulder. I whip my head around, expecting to see Kian but my hope quickly shatters when I see that it isn’t him.

I feel stupid for hoping that he would show up here after what he has done but I feel even more stupid when I realize I was ready to shamelessly cry in his arms if he had showed up here instead of his Uncle who is now standing before me with a gentle look in his eyes.

“Travis.” I say, sniffing and wiping my tears in a rush.

“Here,” He hands me his handkerchief, stuffing it in my hand and closing my palm around it before I can even refuse. I say a barely audible thank you before I dab at the tears with the hanky that smelt like him.

“I came as soon as I heard, I’m sorry about your Grandmother, Leslie.” He says in a sincere and kind voice. Travis has always been kind to me even when I was just a secretary.

Whenever he came to visit his nephew at the office, he would stop to say hi and hand me a canned coffee with a smile on his face. However, he left the country to study a few days before our wedding and only returned not too long ago. This is the first time seeing him since his return and the kind look in his eyes assures me that if he had been around, I would have had another person rooting for me just like Kian’s grandfather.

“You didn’t have to.” I say quietly, trying to downplay how much it actually means to me that at least, one person cares enough to be here with me. Travis looks around as if searching for something and then he frowns when our eyes meet again.

“You’re alone? Where the hell is Kian?” He asks, his voice a little hard.

My cheeks redden in embarrassment. Travis has only just returned and probably doesn’t know anything yet. I am not willing to talk either. I force a smile and begin to pack the excess things I bought for my grandmother's funeral.

Travis joins me wordlessly and I sigh in silent appreciation of how he doesn’t ask anymore questions. He takes everything from my hands even before I can protest.

“Did you drive here?” He asks and I shake my head. I came here in a Taxi.

“C’mon, we’ll take my car.” He says and walks in front of me. I have no choice but to follow him.

We have just gotten outside of the cemetery when a car drives into the parking space right beside Travis’ car. The car is familiar and I keep doubting who it belongs to until Kian steps out of the car, eyes trained on me as he walks over. The first thing I notice is his Royal Blue suit and I feel the slow brewing of anger inside of me. How could he show up wearing that? It is like a blatant disrespect of my Grandmother and I can’t stand to watch her get disrespected even in her death.

It is clear that he came from the office; little surprise there and it would have been better if he didn’t come at all as I now realize how looking at him only infuriates me. He had managed to avoid me in the past three days since the hospital incident. Three days since Beverly announced that she was pregnant and shook my world. I didn’t need anyone to tell me who the baby belonged to as he walks towards me now, I feel nothing but resentment for him.

“Is it over? Crap, I must have lost track of time.” He says before turning to his uncle and giving him a tight smile of appreciation that I find nauseating.

“Thank you for being here with her, uncle.”

Travis merely crosses his arms, staring back at his nephew, “Care to explain why you are only just coming?” Travis thows the question at him and I face Kian too, crossing my arms.

“Yes, Kian. Tell me what was more important than being at my grandmother’s funeral.” I already know the answer but I still wait to hear him say it so I can have a reason to hate him even more.

“I really wanted to be here, Leslie but you know…” He trails off, running a hand through his hair, “I had to be with Beverly.”

The sound of her name is what does it for me; the same woman who is the reason I wasn’t around to witness grandmother’s dying moments.

“Did you really come all the way here to tell me you were with another woman you slept with and impregnated?”

“What?” Travis is the one who speaks, his voice echoing his shock as he looks from me to Kian. Kian’s usual blank look remains as if he is unaffected by my words and the pain he has caused me.

“Let’s not do this here, Leslie. You know I can’t just leave her.”

I scoff.

“I never stopped you. You know what? You should have never come here. You should have stayed with her since that is where your loyalties lie now and I am no longer in the picture.”

Kian frowns, moving closer and intimidating me just a little with his height and muscular frame, “What does that mean? You are my wife.”

“Ex-wife,” I say the words without even thinking. I didn’t think any of this through but I don’t care because my entire being seems to agree that this is what’s best for me,

“I want a divorce, Kian.”

His eyes grow wide, unable to contain the shock at my words and I am proud of myself that I finally got a reaction that isn’t anger or coldness from him.

“Both the divorce papers and my resignation will find their way to you soon.” I add before he can get over his shock and I don’t wait for him to reply as I turn to an equally stunned Travis.

“Take me home, Travis.”