Secret Trio

Chapter 13

Publishing a few minutes early since I've been late .. for more than a month.

Last Update. August 7, 2018

Not Edited.

ALENA

Lord God, please help me.

I start to keep my laptop, trying to avoid Leo's intense stare. No words were exchanged since Stan's departure a few minutes ago. All he has done was stare at me with a mix of emotions that I do not understand. Being the center of his attention, no, just simply being in his presence after all these years is very unnerving. Feelings that have been locked up all these time is struggling to burst out. It takes all of my emotional strength to try to stop the dam from opening.

"Excuse me Ma'am, Sir. Should I order lunch for the both of you?"

I am shaken from my thoughts at Louis's question. I was so out of it, I didn't even notice Louis knock. Get a grip Alena!

Before I could respond, Leo answers. "No need Miss Louis. Architect and I will be having lunch outside. Will you kindly tell my driver to prepare for our departure?"

"Certainly Sir." Louis replies then leaves.

"Excuse me?" I ask Leo with a hint of annoyance. "Why am I having lunch with you?"

"We have a lot of things to discuss Alena." He replies.

"We can talk here." I say. Trying to not get affected by Leo saying my name.

"Are you sure? You want your staff to wonder why we are talking in private? Just the two of us?" Leo asks challengingly.

I grip my bag in annoyance. Dang it, he has a point. "Fine. But I'm bringing my car." I answer.

"Suit yourself. Let's meet in the cafe by the park in 10 minutes." Leo says. He waits for me to nod in agreement before standing and leaving the room.

I transfer my things to my office in dismay. This is it Alena. The meeting you've always imagined. I sigh, wondering how my perfectly normal day suddenly turned into a nightmare. Before leaving, I tell Louis that I'll be returning to the office for an hour or two. I also call Shara, my bestfriend, asking if she could pick up the kids since they were leaving early today.

When I get to the cafe, I see Leo seated in a corner booth. My heart clenches upon seeing that he ordered ahead. Set on the table for me was carbonara with garlic bread and Caffe Mocha — some of my favorites.

"Eat up, you have lost some weight." Leo says as I sit across from him.

I am about to answer him angrily but when I look up, I see the soft and worried look in his eyes. The anger unwittingly deflates and I answer. "Thank you. You too, eat."

He nods and starts eating. I start eating as well, since I really am hungry. I genuinely enjoyed the food that I only noticed Leo staring at me again when I finished my meal. I take a deep breath in preparation of the difficult discussion we were going to have.

"Aunt Trish is dead." Leo suddenly says.

I'm shaken by the announcement. I didn't know her as well as Leo but she was among the few who believed in my innocence. I am lost for words that the only thing I could think to say was "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Leo replies while nodding. "She left me a letter ... your letter."

I freeze, remembering that life-altering letter. Did  Mrs. Jones not give Leo  my letter? "You didn't read it before?"

Leo shakes his head then says "I didn't. I threw it away. Aunt Trish kept it all these years."

I freeze even more. I try to stop the tears from coming down. Be strong Alena. "Did you read it now?"

A few seconds pass before Leo nods in agreement. A flood of emotions rush through my entire body. Anger. Sadness. Worry. A lone tear escapes my desperate attempt to look strong in front of the man who changed my whole life. "And?"

Before Leo could reply, I see from my peripheral vision Lucca running towards us. Before I could react, Lucca starts punching Leo in the leg.

"Lucc—"

"STOP HURTING MY MOM!" Lucca says heatedly while continually punching Leo in the leg. Leo, on the other hand, looks surprised and confused. He looks at me with desperately, asking what he should do. At the same time, Lei and Laila tries to pull me out from the booth. I am so overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events that my mind goes blank.

Shara then comes swooping in, pulling Lucca away from Leo. "Lucca baby calm down!" She hugs Lucca and faces him away from Leo. "Sorry Alena, I picked them up like you asked but I didn't know you were here."

Shara continues to hold on to Lucca who was struggling to get free. Lei and Laila, on the other hand, continues to try to pull me out of the booth.

"Is there a problem here, Sir? Ma'ams?" A man suddenly interjects. Based on his uniform, he looked like the store manager. This brings my brain out of its shocked state and I immediately answer. "No worries Sir. We were just about to leave. I apologize for the commotion my kids are causing."

"But—" "Alright Ma'am. If you need any help, please do not hesitate to ask." Leo and the store manager say at the same time. The store manager then returns the counter.

"Leo I'm sorry, let's finish this another time. Call me." I say while rising and grabbing the hands of Lei and Laila.

Shara and I immediately rush out the cafe with the kids before Leo could complain.

"Who was that Mom?" Laila asks worriedly.

I choose to ignore the question. Sorry baby, I'm not ready yet.