Since the masquerade ball came to an end, Len hadn't been himself. It was like the world of façade he had built for years collapsed after having that conversation with his ex-wife. He felt drained and for a few days, her words echoed in his ears, reminding him of his actions in the past.
Does he regret it?
Sincerely, Len doesn't know.
The fire he thought had fade away ignited during the night of the masquerade ball, making him think of his actions.
He does regret it. But what had been done had been done. There was no use crying over spilled milk.
He was in his office when he received news that David Alesso's new love got into an accident.
Even though the news was suppressed, Len still found out about it because of his impact and power.
Without thinking, he had bolted from his work and head wildly to Yolanda's place.
"Are you alright? I heard something happened?"
It appears that the incident was exaggerated. Some even said Paula was shot. Some said she was already dead. Although it was news, it was no where to be seen on the social media.
"What are you doing here?" Paula looked up, her eyes wide open. "How did you even know I was here? Are you stalking me?!"
Paula couldn't believe her eyes and the worry in his voice. Her anger seemed to surge, she was at the verge of losing her cool.
"Oops!" Yolanda exclaimed, realizing the situation. "I posted a picture of you online. It was just a simple picture I took when we were leaving the hospital. I didn't know…"
Paula let out a sigh and cast Yolanda a peculiar glance before turning to face Len, whose concern had vanished as if it had never existed.
"Mr. Bertram, you are seriously overstepping your boundaries but thanks for caring. As you can see, I'm okay and breathing well. Now leave."
With a frown forming on his brows, Len stood motionless like a statue. He gaped at Paula, the tension rising to the highest peak.
Yes. He had overstepped his boundaries and acted like a total loser.
"I'm sorry for whatever happened between us" Len uttered, the worry on his face vanishing like it was never there. His frown deepened and his eyes seemed to colder. "I didn't know the Video was…"
"Its in the past! I'm not going to dwell in the past, Mr. Bertram. Please leave before I call the security."
Not waiting for him to answer, Paula walked into the house, not even sparing Yolanda a glance.
She was not sure how she was feeling, but at the moment, she could not shake a sickening sensation.
She, who had prepare to forget what happened in the past, she, who appeared strong even when she failed countless times during those years now look crumbled.
She felt sickened that Len's word have an impact on her.
As she entered the house, a young boy approached her, his brown eyes gleaming with happiness.
"Mom! You are back. Can we go home now?"
The boy's voice was high and youthful.
Afraid that his voice might be heard outside, Paula quickly put her finger on her lips, signaling to the boy.
"What's wrong?" Whispering, the boy craned his neck to see what was going on outside.
But by now Yolanda had come in and shut the door behind her.
"Paula! I swear, I didn't know…"
"I know" Paula cut in, a small smile spreading over her lips. "Don't let us talk about it. We will sleep over tonight and leave tomorrow morning."
"But Mom, I don't want to stay here. I want to go home" The young boy whined, seemingly not pleased with the arrangement. "If I stay, Louis and Leonard would want to play with me and I don't want to play with them.
Paula went down to her knees, a smile on her lips as he gazed at her son. "Winter, it's good to interact with others. We will go home tomorrow. Mom is tired and needs to rest."
Yolanda just stood there, watching the conversation between the Mother and Son's duo.
She wasn't offended by what Winter had said because she knew how playful her niece and nephew, Louis and Leonard can be.
However, she was overcome with guilt because Len had discovered their location via the photo she had shared.
Although she was aware that Paula was not angry, she was furious with herself for such a careless error.
Meanwhile, Len drove back to his office, his eyes blazing with fire. He felt foolish for having overreacted and rushing to Yolanda's place.
His stomach was growling with guilt. Yes… he deserved it but Paula was already his past and he doesn't want to do things that would go below his expectations.
Arriving at his office, he sat down to resume his work. But no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to concentrate.
Paula's face when she saw him, her reaction, her disgust were very vivid in his mind.
Len didn't know when he let out a low chuckle. The chuckle sounded even more arid due to his parched throat than seemed dryer the beach sand.
When they were married, Paula would look at him lovingly with her puppy eyes.
The fact that he has only recently realized that Paula has puppy eyes makes it even more bizarre.
"Mr. Bertram."
Len heard his secretary's voice, jolting him out of his myriad of thoughts.
"Miss Melissa…" Isak said, glancing at his boss and debating whether or not to say anything more.
"What did she do again this time?" Len shifted his gaze from the computer screen, letting down a shallow sigh. "She is getting more problematic as time passes by."
"She posted a ring and tagged you on Instabloom" Isak continued. "They are all assuming you are getting married. So we've been getting a lot of calls since morning."
Len's face was a portrait of cold, tense worry. He lowered his head to examine the screen Isak was presenting to him, a crease appearing on his otherwise expressionless face.
"Release an official statement. We are not romantically involved with each other" Len made known, letting out a deep breath as if it would clear his anger.
Isak spun around, prepared to complete his boss's assignment. However as he reached the door, he turned around, blinking his eyes as if he was hesitant to say something.
"Len" He called casually, a deep line of worry etched on his forehead.
Although he used to call Len by his name outside working hours, he had never called Len by his name in the office.
"About what happened" He paused, his intent gaze on Len who was staring at him. "Are you not going to confront your Mother and Melissa?"
Unconsciously clenching his fist, Len was silent for a brief while.
"I'm just worried" Isak added, seeing Len's reaction.
However, Len kept quiet, hiding his expression.
Isak witnessed the anguish in Len's eyes, witnessed the distant man nearly crumble before him when he heard that Paula had been shot.
But nothing happened. Len shook it off like it was nothing.
"I have apologized to her" Len said, his voice low. "What happened is in the past. A past remains a past."
Isak inhaled deeply after hearing his response. "Yes Sir." And left the office.