Chapter Forty-Four

"Stay here," Keanu said, jumping off the bed. "I'll settle this."

"No!" Alice said, following him out to the living area.

When they reached, Leonard's face was red with anger, and his hand shot out to the vase nearby and shoved it, sending it crashing to the ground in pieces.

"Leonard," Keanu said. "Let me explain everything first."

"Fuck you will! You bastard! How dare you fuck my girl?!" Leonard shouted.

"She's not your girl anymore," Keanu said.

"She's still mine!"

"No, she stopped being your girl a long time ago, when you failed to give her what she deserved."

"How long have you freaks been fucking behind my back?"

"Alice never cheated," Keanu said. "It only happened after you guys split."

"As if I'm gonna believe that shit," Leonard said, still fuming. "I should've known! You were always too close to her! She went to you for everything!"

"She only came to me because you failed to do your job as her boyfriend."

"So that means you can steal Alice from me? Fuck, I wasn't sure before but I sure as hell am sure now. You're no fucking father of mine!"

"I didn't mean to fall for her, Leonard. It just happened."

"I'm not the son you wanted, is that it? So you go behind my back and fuck my girl?"

"You know that's not what happened. I've been nothing but a good father to you, and if you can't realise that, you need to wake up."

"Fuck you! You didn't even have the balls to tell me. I heard from Mike!"

"I wanted to tell you in person," Keanu said. Leonard kicked the stool that formerly held the vase and it skittered across the floor loudly. "Will you stop that?"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Leonard shouted. "God, I hate you! You're the worst father imaginable! I wish Mom won custody of me!"

"Leonard - " Keanu started.

"You know what? Mom was right. You're a useless bastard. She told me you were evil and now I know for real she was right. You never wanted me in the first place. Having me shattered your dreams, and now you have this fucking grudge against me. You're always trying to ruin my life, you sick, pathetic loser!"

Alice stepped forward, her finger raised at Leonard. "You keep your mouth shut!"

Leonard gaped at her. "You bitch!"

"You're so blinded by your hate for your father, you don't even realise that he gave you everything you have. You're ungrateful! How dare you speak to him like that?"

"Oh, great! Now you're lecturing me! I always thought you wanted to be my wife, but it looks like you want to be my stepmom!"

"You think he resents you for ruining his career? Let me tell you the truth, Leonard. The one who wanted to throw you away for a career in tennis was your mother. She also wanted to play professionally but her dreams were lost when she sustained an injury, so she found your dad to fulfil her dreams vicariously. She became pregnant with you, and he decided to give his dreams up to become your parent. She was the one who was desperate for him to succeed professionally."

Leonard's jaw dropped. He tried to speak but no words came out.

"Why do you think Keanu won custody of you? Your mother hated you because she lost her dreams again when she had you. She turned you against your father to get revenge on him, and to this day, he never told you the truth because he didn't want your relationship with your mother to be ruined, neither did he want to make you feel guilty. He sacrificed everything for you, and you dare to say he wants to ruin your life?"

"But - " Leonard said.

"When has he ever shown you that he didn't care about you? Oh, by giving you a roof over your head? By locking the alcohol cabinet when you were underage? By giving you everything you ever asked for? By letting you have me when he so clearly wanted me for himself? He loved the hell out of you, but you've always been too blind to see that, Leonard."

Leonard stayed silent, his eyes brimming over with emotion.

"You're a fool, Leonard," she said. "Wake up already. We were never going to last. I stayed with you because I thought too lowly of myself. I thought I didn't deserve better than you. Was there ever a time where you truly realised that having me was one of the best things you ever had? Our relationship has always been one-sided. I put my all in our relationship, and we both know you can't say the same. Well, I waited for you for half a decade, but now, I have what I've always been searching for. A good man who is worthy of me."

Leonard shook his head violently, and he took a few steps towards her. Keanu put himself between the two of them, his hand extended outwards to shield her body. Just as Leonard was coming closer, a few knocks sounded on the door. Leonard turned around to stare at the door before he faced them again, but more knocks sounded on the door.

"Fucking hell," Leonard said, heading to the door and looking into the peephole.

"Who is it?" Keanu asked. Leonard spun around.

"The FBI is here for you!"