Official Breakup

Ava frowned and looked at Michael. She knew he wanted to say something to her. He was going to complain in some seconds. 'Four. Three. Two. One,' She counted in her head. "Why can't you get it on the fifth trial?!" He yelled and slammed the pencil on the table.

Ava frowned deeper and looked at the biology textbook on the table. "I'm not supposed to be interested in biology in the first place," She muttered.

"Keep telling yourself that and get ready to fail," Michael yelled at her.

"I'm going to be a lawyer, Michael. I'm going to sue you and put you in jail for yelling at me all the time. Do you yell at that bitch when you talk to her?!" Ava yelled back. She was also angry. He wasn't the only one.

"What bitch?" Michael raised his brow.

"Barbara!" Ava shouted.

"If not her, then who? You two have been close lately. I don't even know if you're dating her or me!"

"Baby, don't say that," Michael's voice became soft.

"It's true, Mike! You tell me all the time that you're always hooked up with her for projects, but the last time I saw you both together, she was helping you with your buttons. Don't you have hands for that?!" Ava yelled.

"Ava—"

"Don't!" Ava raised her hand. "Don't tell me to calm down or tell me to stop. You're different, Michael. I don't even recognize you as my boyfriend anymore," Ava cried.

Michael saw her get up to face the window. She began to cry and mumbled inaudible words to herself. He heaved a sigh and also got up. He hugged her from behind and muttered, "I'm sorry. I don't have anything to do with Barbara. I just allowed her to button up my shirt that day. It would never happen again."

Ava looked at him and didn't say anything. His hand was still on her waist. They just stared at each other.

"Are you still angry at me, babe?" Michael asked with a soft voice.

"Can't you tell?" Ava hissed.

"I'm sorry," He apologized and kissed her cheeks.

"Are you?" Ava rolled her eyes.

"You yelled at me for not getting the stupid spelling right!"

"Did I? I don't remember," Michael pecked her lips.

"Fine," Ava smiled and kissed him. "Let's go on a date."

"What? I thought we were here to study," Michael frowned.

"C'mon, baby," Ava pouted. "The spelling is just a piece of cake. I'll be done with the topic and drawings by midnight. Don't worry."

"I swear your sister is going to kill me if you fail," Michael smiled at her.

"She will kill us both, but me first. I escaped from the house to go on a date with you after lying that it was for a study group," Ava laughed.

"Bad you!" Michael replied, and they chuckled together.

"I love you," Ava paused to confess.

"Really?" Michael stared at her.

He interlocked their fingers together and swung it happily. "Yes," Ava responded and smiled.

Michael stared at her dimples that were exposed and cupped her face. He leaned in and kissed her.

Leo shot his eyes open and picked up his phone, which was ringing. He hissed when he saw the caller ID.

"What is it, Dominic?" He asked with a frown.

"Why are you doing this to Abi?" Dominic asked back.

"Doing what?"

"You won't let her out of the freaking house! I can tell that she's bored. I want to take her out of this place, but that old man is getting on my nerves," Dominic commented.

"You mean Butler Lee?" Leo smirked.

"I don't care about his name and post. Let me take her out of the house, Leo. What's your problem?" Dominic asked.

"I don't think she wants to go out," Leo's lip pulled up to the side.

"What's the matter with you? She has been pouting all—"

"Then let her pout till I return. Tell her to call me if she really wants to leave the house," Leo smirked and hung up.

He began to smile warmly as he stared at the ceiling. He was at a hotel. He was presently in the bedroom on the king-size bed with a smirk playing on his lips.

His phone began to ring again, and he picked it quickly, thinking it was his wife.

"Hey!"

It was Darcy on the line. Leo frowned and heaved a sigh.

"What's it? You're expecting someone else's call?" Darcy pulled his legs.

"What do you want?" Leo asked quickly.

"Actually, I called to let you know that I won't be able to join you today," Darcy said.

"Great! Come tomorrow then, since you're still in Spain," Leo replied.

"That's the problem," Darcy began. "You see, Sapphire is going to sing at the Grand Lauren Cathedral soon, and I have to be there."

"How soon?" Leo asked.

"In a few days," Darcy replied.

"Darcy," Leo breathed angrily. "I swear—"

"Thank you!" Darcy yelled and hung up.

"Fuck you, Darcy!" Leo hissed and glanced at his phone's screen. His wife had sent him a message.

'Hi'

That's the message she had sent. Leo had been waiting for her to text or call him ever since he had left the house. It's been three days since he had gone to Australia for business. He had purposely told her that he was going away for three weeks to finalize his marriage with Ophelia. He guessed she wasn't aware of the fact that he had broken up with her.

He had been waiting for her to text him. He had been glancing at his phone all day because he missed her a lot. He didn't know why, but he missed her pretty face. He missed her angry face. He missed her excited face. He also missed her arguments and complaints whenever she was with him. He missed her voice and weird voice expression. He missed everything about her and wanted to be back soon, but he wanted to give her some space.

He knew she didn't like him much, like he thought. But he wanted something more than 'hi'. He decided to ignore her message but continued to stay online. Her call came in after some minutes, but he continued staring at the screen for a while.

'I can't pick it up so fast. She would think I was waiting for her call….nine…twelve'

"What is it?" He asked coldly as she greeted him over the phone.

Leo heard her curse when he spoke so coldly to her. He didn't want to, but he did at the end of the day.

"I…I just wanted to ask if I can go out with Dominic," She stammered.

"What?" Leo asked. He heard her, but he wanted her to be confident when talking to him. He's her husband, after all.

"I said that I wanted to ask for permission to leave the house with Dominic," She spoke louder.

"Oh! And where are you going to?" Leo asked.

"To nicB," Abi replied.

It was funny that she had already planned her outing that day with Dominic.

"How long would you be there for?" Leo further asked.

"Maybe four hours," Abi replied.

"Maybe?" Leo raised his brow.

"You're in Australia for three weeks. No one gave you permission to go there, but you disappeared overnight," Abi hissed.

"Are you scolding me?" Leo queried.

"Yes. Would you fly over here to punish me?" Abi was bold all of a sudden.

Leo found himself smiling at his wife's words. It seems like she's gotten bolder with his absence.

"Actually, I'll pay a visit to the hospital when I leave nicB," Abi told him.

"What's wrong?" Leo became worried.

"Nothing. I have to do antenatal. Don't you know that?" Abi scoffed.

"Of course, I know that. What do you take me for?" Leo scoffed proudly.

"A jerk!" Abi muttered.

"Don't stay out for so long. I don't want my baby to be tired," Leo replied.

"Your baby?" Abi rolled her eyes.

Leo was silent. It was their breaths that could be heard over the phone.

"So, where are you?" Abi asked after fighting in her brain on whether to show concern or not.

"In a hotel," Leo replied honestly.

"Hotel?" Abi bit her lips hard.

"Are-are you…with a girl?" Leo wanted to laugh when he heard her question. He knew she was bothered to hear he was at a hotel.

"Abi," He said warmly. "I don't stay at hotels to stay with girls."

"Then, you're alone?" Abi asked, carefully choosing her words.

"Yeah," Leo replied curtly.

"Oh! Then, how are you?" Abi asked.

The discussion she had with Butler Lee came rushing into her head again.

"You're worried about your husband?" Leo teased her.

"Don't go about telling everyone that you're my husband. You're in Australia for your fiancée. So, let's drop the fake romance. I just wanted to ask after you. It seems like you're doing well, so…bye," Abi hung up.

Leo's face darkened when he heard that. He ran his fingers through his hair and got up. He glanced at his phone and called his mother.

"Hello, my son," Pen said with an excited voice.

Leo knew that she was over the moon that day because he was the one who called her. She was among the contacts he had blacklisted recently.

"Hello, Mother," Leo said in a cold voice.

Leo could imagine the smile she had on her face when he said that.

"I'm so happy you called me today. How are you doing, Leonardo?" Pen asked.

"I'm always fine," Leo replied nonchalantly.

"That's good. I'm also good over here, in good health," Pen added.

"That's good. You would need your good health to face the press very soon," Leo smirked.

"What do you mean? Is there another big scandal with you?" Pen asked.

"Hasn't Ophelia told you about our breakup?" Leo hissed.

"Of course, she did, but she said you said that because you were angry. I want to use this opportunity to also tell you not to be angry with her. You see, Ophelia is a nice girl, and—"

"I have a wife, Mother!" Leo yelled.

"That's not your wife, Leonardo! She's just a woman who's going to be the mother of your child. She's privileged to bear your first child, as it is," Pen became furious.

"No, Mother! You should be the one to be privileged to know that she is the only one capable of bearing your first grandchild," Leo replied, being cocky.

"What do you mean?" Pen asked with a low voice.

"See, Mother. I just called to let you know about my displeasure with Ophelia. I've called off the engagement, so I want it to be public in twenty-four hours. If I don't see the news about that soon, you can say goodbye to seeing me again in this lifetime," Leo spoke calmly and hung up.

*

Pen took the phone away from her ear and looked at the anxious lady beside her.

"What did he say, Mother?" Ophelia asked Pen with a smile on her face.

"What have you done to him, Ophelia?" Pen asked back.

"I know Leo is not the type to be easily provoked, so what have you done, Ophelia?"

Ophelia began to breathe heavily and closed her eyes. She bit her lips hard and began to think of what to tell her mother. How could she tell the woman rooting for her so much that she cheated on her son with his enemy? No, she had been cheating on him for a long time because she had been sleeping with him for some months.

But she knew her mom would know the truth sooner or later because of her influence and connections with people. Ophelia decided to say the truth because there's a saying that came to her mind.

"Say the truth, and the truth will set you free."

"I cheated on him with Santiago," She blurted out when she came to a firm decision.

_PAH_

"Mother!" _PAH_ _PAH_

Pen slapped her hard across the face thrice. It came as a shocking action to Ophelia. She didn't know she could be hit by Leo's mom.

"How dare you?!" Pen thundered in anger.

"I-I-I had…sex with him," Ophelia began to cry.

Pen looked to the sky and shook her head. She began to shake her leg too and stood up.

"I'll go to see the press," Pen bit her lips.

"For what?" Ophelia quickly stood up to ask.

"This engagement is officially over. I'll call your parents and let them know over the phone. Get your lawyer ready, and we'll get ours ready too. I don't want to see you here again, Ophelia. You've disappointed me a lot," Pen hissed.

"It won't happen again," Ophelia begged.

"Define your definition of cheating with that bastard now!" Pen yelled.

"I-I-I had…sex with him," Ophelia repeated.

"How many times did you sleep with him?" Pen asked.

Ophelia kept quiet because she was already feeling dirty and useless. How could she say that she lost count of the times she opened her legs for Santiago?

"Answer me!" Pen thundered.

"I don't know," Ophelia replied and cleaned her tears.

"That's right! Clean those stupid crocodile tears of yours quickly. I never knew you were a slut, Ophelia. Like I said, I'm very disappointed in you. You don't have to follow me to see the press. Go home. I'm glad we came out for lunch because I wouldn't have heard your confession. Goodbye," Pen grabbed her bag and attempted to leave, but Ophelia held her hand.

"Forgive me, mother. It was a terrible mistake!" Ophelia begged. Pen removed her hand from Ophelia angrily and flung it away. 

"Don't ever call me mother again. I don't want to see you with my son again either. Good luck," Pen marched ahead angrily and began to call someone. 

"Hello, Jay," her voice began to fade as she walked away. Ophelia's tears fell harder as she realized it was already official. 

'But I love you, Leo,' she thought and cried harder. She began to call Leo, but he wasn't picking her calls. Her calls kept going into voicemail. It was then she realized she had already been blacklisted.

**

Abi followed Dominic to nicB to see the mighty company for herself. She made sure to FaceTime her sister as soon as she got there. 

"Thank you so much for calling me, sis. It's as if I'm presently there too. By the way, how did you know about Dominic Barker too?" Ava asked. 

"He's my husband's friend," Abi rolled her eyes. 

"I'm so jealous. First, it was Junho. Then it was Leonardo Grey, and now it's Dominic Barker," Ava pouted. 

"Don't worry. You'll meet him too. He's a foodie like us," Abi laughed. Ava also laughed, and Abi hung up when they were done.

"Are you gossiping about me with your sister?" Dominic asked as he approached her.

 "I wasn't gossiping about you," Abi defended herself. "I was just telling her that we shared the same characteristics."

"What characteristics do we share?" Dominic asked with interest.

"We're always curious. We are playful, and sometimes we're very unserious. Oh! I almost forgot about this one. We love food!" Abi smiled. Dominic had to laugh when she blurted that out.

"Well, we do," Dominic agreed. "Leo asked me to accompany you to your antenatal. I don't know if you'd mind," Dominic asked with a smile.

"Oh no," Abi smiled back. "I don't think I'd like that. It's for pregnant women, and people will talk if they see us together. I don't want another scandal to happen."

"Don't you know?" Dominic raised his brows and continued, "You've been moved to Grey's hospital."

"It's a private hospital, right?" Abi asked with a frown. She was already thinking of ways to come up with settling her bills when the time comes for that. All her money had been used to settle her family's loan – all the money meant for her allowance.

"Don't worry. It's Leo who's paying for that. He's your husband," Dominic replied and smiled.

"Right," Abi smiled awkwardly.

"Lest I forget, Logan wants me to pass some information to you," he rubbed his finger on his nose and played with the earring on his ear. "What's wrong?" Abi asked.

"Nothing's wrong, Abi," Dominic laughed. "He just wanted me to let you know that he's up for the challenge. You wanted to play video games with him, so he said he's free for that."

"Oh," Abi beamed a smile and brushed her hair back.

"You're that happy?" Dominic asked.

"Of course. Leo doesn't do anything with me except give me orders and criticize all I do. It's nice to have someone to play games with me. I play real games, though," Abi whispered.

"I can tell," Dominic scratched his blonde hair and laughed.

"Don't forget that you owe me a wedding gift," Abi reminded him.

"How can I escape?" Dominic replied and gave her the bags of ice cream in his hand.

"What's this?" Abi asked as soon as her nose hit the delicious aroma coming from the bag.

"Oh, it's your favorite ice cream. Leo told me that you loved vanilla, so I got some for you. It's the biggest size," Dominic replied.

"He did?" Abi was surprised to know that he finally knew something about her.

"Yeah. I also gave orders for some cookies and cakes to be packed for you," he added.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much," Abi was already thinking of ways to appreciate him when she heard her name from someone familiar.

"Abi!!" Julian yelled and walked up to her with a smile on his face. He hugged her tightly, and Dominic pressed his lips together. A middle-aged woman looked at the scene with pure anger in her eyes.