After the meeting with his family ended, Leo wasted no time escaping into his room. He was about to close the door behind him when his mom pushed her way in, closely followed by Oliva, the eldest of his two younger sisters.
"Leo we need to talk about this..." His mom declared as soon as she stepped inside his room
Leo sighed heavily. He was physically and mentally drained and knew he wouldn't be able to handle his mom's emotional drama right at that moment.
"Not now mom, please! Can we make it some other day?..." Leo pleaded with frustration.
His mom has been a pillar to all her kids, cheering and caring for them at every turn in their lives ever since they lost their father.
She was a good mother. But as good as she was to her kids, she could also be so unbearable to the extent of making him feel nutty. As the only male child in the family, she would always want to be involved in every decision-making that concerns his life like he was thirteen instead of thirty.
"Why not now!?" She stood in front of him with both her hands on her waist like she was spoiling for a fight with him. "Today is Saturday and you don't work on Saturdays so tell me, why not now!?"
Leo plopped himself on the ottoman chair in his room in resignation when he saw there was no way he could avoid her this time. "Okay mom, I'm all ears, what do you want to talk about?"
He asked her with a forced smile on his face. He's not in the mood for her drama and the sooner they get this conversation of hers over with the better for him.
"It is about this witch that just attached herself to you. They killed my husband Leonard... Your father!" She said dramatically. "We have to devise a plan to get rid of her as soon as you get married to her because I won't have peace if I'm forced to be seeing her day in day out...
You all know what I went through in the hands of Elizabeth Thomas that gold-digger and her bastard son. If not for your grandfather that paid her off and made it clear to her that her bastard son will never bear the name Salvador and will also never be part of the empire, what do you think would have happened to you and your younger sisters?... To your inheritance!?"
I won't have Claire, the woman you would eventually get married to, go through what I went through in the hand of Elizabeth! Uhn uhn, no way! That history won't repeat itself over your life!"
She was already sniffling and dabbing at her eyes with the handkerchief Leo had no idea where it materialized from.
"So what are your plans? She asked in a clear voice when she was done cleaning the imaginary tears from her eyes. "If you don't have any then let's think of something right now because I won't have her live here in this mansion for long. I might die of heart failure if that happens... I'm sure you won't want your mother to die or do you!?"
Now that's exactly the kind of emotional blackmail he's trying to avoid. Leo didn't know whether to laugh or go along with his mom's drama. He didn't just have the mental fortitude to deal with anything right at that very moment.
"Mom there's nothing else to talk about on this matter. Grandpa already made it clear that I'll have to be with her for two to three years and we all heard his reasons so what do you want me to do!?
I can't take her to my house, neither could I get an apartment for her because grandpa wants to keep an eye on her himself. It's not as...
"And what about Claire!?" Olivia fired her own question at him cutting him off mid-sentence.
"What about her?" Leo asked back
"What will happen to her now that you agreed to go marry your prostitute!?... I'm disappointed in you Leo! I'm disappointed in the way you just accepted grandpa's decision without question. You didn't even attempt to ask him to look for another way for you. you just went along with it like it was the greatest idea ever... Like you wanted exactly that to happen" Olivia ranted.
It's a pity Olivia was his sister because she was the most annoying, arrogant, and bossy individual that Leo had ever known... She was also intrusive and opinionated. Most times Leo just ignores her and pretends she doesn't exist so he wouldn't result to wringing her neck out of annoyance.
"My relationship with Claire is my business, not yours, so let me take care of my business while you also take care of yours." He said to her with disdain.
"It is certainly my business because she's my best friend... If you hadn't turned yourself to community dick this wouldn't have happened... I will not allow you to use and dump my friend like a piece of rag, do you hear me!?"
Leo snickered. "Sometimes the stupid things that come out of your mouth baffle me... You will not allow me...!? Who the fuck do you think you are!? My mom!?... Your brain is retard for a twenty-nine-year-old, you know that right!?"
Your friend knew the kind of dangerous game she was playing when you both decided to connive and drugged me, hoping I would get her pregnant!" Leo said and laughed derisively.
Olivia was shocked hearing what he said. 'How did he get to know about that!?' wondered and turned her eyes away from him, immediately burying her head in shame and hoping she could disappear when she felt her mom's eyes burning into her.
"What! Do you think I don't know about your manipulative games uhn? Do you now see how retard you are?... God! You're such an idiot!" Leo said and guffawed.
"You can tell your friend to get the fuck out of my life if she doesn't like the way I'm leaving it," Leo said finally before turning his attention back to his mom
"Mom please can we talk about this later? I need to take care of something right now and it can't be done with you both breathing down my neck" His mom's gaze was however focused on Olivia intently.
"Olivia is what I just heard the truth!? Did you and Claire drugged..."
"Mom he's lying!" Olivia shouted, immediately springing to her feet from where she was sitting. "I can't believe you just fell for his lies! He just said that to cover up what we came here to discuss with him can't you see through him, mom!"
She said with the right emotions on her face to go with her lies. Anybody witnessing her drama right then would believe she was the one saying the truth while Leo was the liar
Leo sighed in exasperation, grabbed the bunch of keys to his own house from his bedside drawer, and left his room, immediately followed by his mom and crazy sister.
Leo loved his mom but right then, he needs to get away from both of them and go cool off before he said or do something he would regret.