When Leo walked up the stairs, he didnât immediately rest but only stared at the wall. He put his hands in his pocket and slightly bent down. He furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly to be in thought.
Tobyâs words flashed in his mind, asking him if he had fallen in love with Amelie.
As he thought about what happened after he and Amelie had gotten a divorce, he realized that there was no reason for him to be in love with her other than being surprised. However, he realized that she had a special place in his heart for god knew how long. Sometimes, he would even instinctively pay close attention to her and even want to get to know her.
Is this love? But it is impossible to love someone without reason! I would have trusted this if it had happened to someone else. I also know that I am a person with a goal to achieve. After Elyse dumped me, I would never get close to someone else or get to know them without a valid reason. Yet, Amelie is the exception to this rule! Still, I canât believe I will fall in love with her. I think it is because she is Briaâs mother, and I feel sorry for Bria.
As Leo thought about it, he shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Then, he dialed a number and said, âKeep an eye close on Mrs. Alston these days.â
âMrs. Alston?â The person was startled since he had never expected Leo to have such an order.
âYes.â Leo didnât explain anything and hung up the phone.
He felt something was going on since Jodie had asked to meet up for lunch. After all, she was afraid of him and had always avoided him. There was definitely something going on behind the scenes since they had encountered Toby and Amelie on their way to lunch.
The next day, Leo went to Star Kindergarten. When he arrived, the teacher recognized him and approached him. âAre you Briaâs father? Youâre just in time. Bria has been unhappy these two days due to unknown reasons. She wouldnât tell me even if I asked her. Why donât you talk to her about it?â
The teacher had been in a conflict with Amelie prior to this. So, she was afraid that Amelie would want an explanation now that Bria was unhappy. Initially, she was going to tell this matter to Amelie.
Unfortunately. she had not seen her for the past two days. Hence, when she saw Leo, she felt he was a lifesaver.
When Leo heard that Bria was unhappy, he was startled. Then, he immediately stepped into the school and entered the classroom under the teacherâs lead.
In the classroom, the kids were playing a game. Everyone was excited except for Bria. She seemed to be uninterested in even joining.
âBria has always been the top student in our class. No matter what she does, she always strives for perfection. But Iâve never seen her act like this before,â the teacher said hastily.
When Leo looked at Bria, he realized she was indeed in a bad mood. Leo felt like his heart had been stabbed At that moment, Bria stiffened when she felt she had fallen into someoneâs embrace. When she saw it was Leo, she blinked and opened her mouth. She wanted to call him âDaddyâ but held it back and quickly lowered her head.
When Leo saw her sad expression and hunched shoulders, he rubbed her shoulder and said, âWhatâs wrong? The teacher says you are unhappy.â
When the kids saw Bria being hugged by a handsome man, they all looked at her curiously.
Since Leo didnât want to interrupt the class, he nodded toward the teacher and carried Bria out of the classroom. Finally, they left the school with the teacherâs permission, and Leo bought ice cream for Bria, just like last time.
Bria looked at the ice cream with clear want. Nonetheless, she only licked her lips but didnât take it from Leo. Instead, she turned to look at him and said, âAre you taking me back to the Alston Residence?â
As Leo heard her bell-like voice, his heart softened.
At that moment, Leo realized that a childâs voice could soothe a personâs heart. Nevertheless, he was pretty surprised by her question. âWhy do you think Iâm here to bring you back?â
âWhen I was talking with Ma, I heard you found a professional lawyer to take me back home. Mommy hasnât returned home for two days and has been thinking of a solution to prevent you guys from taking me away.â Bria looked at him with her big doe eyes.
Amelie was more considerate than Julia. She would avoid others when talking on the phone and would make sure that Bria wouldnât hear her before answering the call. Although Julia had also taken similar precautions, she couldnât prevent the possibility of someone barging into her room and talking about this. Hence, even if Julia had covered the speaker, which muffled the voices on the other end of the line, Bria could still hear it.
Then, she reached out and fumbled with Leoâs collar as she spoke, âCan you not bring me back? I want to be with Mommy. Donât worry. When you are old, I will take care of you as I do with Mommy,â she said seriously.
Leo felt his heart pang as he looked at her serious expression.
âI heard that Mommy was going to beg for you to stop, but you didnât pick up her calls. So, is it alright if I beg for your leniency instead, Daddy?â
âBeg?â At that moment, Leo was startled.
Then, he remembered that night when Elyse had taken away his phone. He saw that the last digit number was nine. Now that he thought about it, Amelieâs last digit of the phone number was nine! If thatâs the case, Elyse wasnât going to spend the night with me by snatching away my phone, but to avoid Amelie from contacting me?
As he thought about it, he felt chills run down his spine.
As he thought about it, his phone rang, and it was Laura. âMr. Alston, Elyse had called and said to return your phone. Should I keep it for you?â
He only took his private phone when he left, while Laura had his work phone. Then, Elyse placed his phone in the security safe at the hotel. When he returned, he didnât ask Elyse about his phone and only went to retrieve his work phone from the company.
âNo need, Iâll find her myself,â he replied coldly. Then, he hung up the phone and handed the ice cream to Bria. âI promise I wonât take you away from Mommy, Bria.â He stared straight into Briaâs eyes as he spoke.
At that moment, Briaâs eyes brightened. âYou promise?â she asked.
âYes.â He nodded sincerely.
Bria was overjoyed by his promise and hugged him tightly. âYou are the best, Daddy!â She snuggled her face in the crook of his neck. The warmth of her soft cheeks made Leoâs heart soften.
At that moment, Leo realized that he had been neglecting Bria for too long.
After he briefly chatted with Bria, he sent her back to school and drove to Elyseâs home.
When Elyse, who was wearing a beautiful dress, saw him, she pouted and ran toward him. âWhy are you back all of a sudden without telling me? You made me worried. I only knew that you had returned to Clouson City after giving Laura a call.â
âI still have to go back.â Leo wore a dispassionate expression as he spoke. He took the phone that she had put on the charger stand.
âReturn? Did you forget something?â Elyse was surprised.
âI have forgotten something important,â he replied.
Elyse merely hummed weakly in response and said, âIf you are going alone, please be careful.â
âNot me, but us.â
When Elyse heard his words, she was confused. âAre you telling me you are going on vacation with me again, Leony?â
âYour so-called vacation is only trying to keep me from knowing that you and my mom had been trying to take Briaâs custody from Amelielâ Leo exposed her without hesitation.
When she was caught red-handed, she immediately froze in place and couldnât do anything but stand there dumbly. At that moment, she knew that she was doomed.
Inst as she was terrified she heard his words âDonât worry though I wonât do anything about this â
sigh of relief, Leoâs next words dumbfounded her.