A Matter of Wife and Love
Chapter 217

But Melissa snapped out of it and read into the matter. The more she thought about it, the more she was sure Amelie was no Foxy. Or at least, she wasn't the original Foxy. If she had that kind of skill, she would've shown it off when she was married to Leo. Nobody would hide their own best side, especially not the finest people in the world. And besides, nobody liked her back then. She could've used this as leverage to make us take her seriously. Also...

Most people would have a ton of excuses to wave away the facts that didn't align with their preconceived notions. Cognitive dissonance, so to speak, and Melissa had fallen into it. And now she had a new theory. Amelie used Julia to change Foxy's account ownership. She's still useless. She doesn't want us to replace out she's still useless. If we do replace out, we'd take Bria away from her. And once we have her custody, Amelie would have no reason to see Leo, and she would have no chance to return to our family.

Melissa didn't tell him about her theory. Instead, she placed a voice recorder on the table. "Listen to this." And then she left without saying a word.

Leo remained in his seat for a while before he finally turned the recorder on. At first, he heard white noise, and then he heard Amelie's voice.

She said a lot, but all Leo remembered was one particular line she said. "He's my ex. No matter how bad my life might get, I will never take back the trash I've thrown away."

He clenched his fist, his face tensing up. I am nothing but trash to her? And then his grip became so strong, he broke the recorder.

When Victor came in, he was met with Leo and his bloody hand. Whoops. He ignored the scene and handed him something. "The file you want. It's about Amelie."

Leo grunted calmly.

Victor asked nothing. He nodded and drifted away like a phantom.

But the moment the door was closed, the loud sound of something crashing came from the office, shocking the assistants and secretaries. They looked at the office, wondering what had happened. When they realized it was from Leo's office, they exchanged a look. None of these employees had ever seen Leo fly into a rage. No matter what kind of crisis the company had to face, Leo settled him with calm precision, much like a machine. So, what happened?

Amelie and Julia spent hours negotiating, and the matter came to a close. Julia was about to pick Bria up with Amelie, but Samuel called. He had something important to talk about, so Julia left.

Amelie busied herself for a while before she turned her laptop off and made her way to Brianna's kindergarten. Her daughter wasn't around, but her new teacher was. Her old teacher took a medical leave due to her illness.

"She left with a young gentleman," the new teacher said.

Amelie's mind buzzed for a moment. She was reminded of the time Elyse sent someone to kidnap Brianna. That incident left her with an injured leg that still wasn't healed. Once bitten, twice shy, and Amelie worried that her daughter might be kidnapped once more.

Oh no. She looks scared. The new teacher quickly explained, "I think he's Bria's father. She called her Daddy. Didn't he call you?"

Oh. So, it's Leo. Amelie felt a weight getting lifted off her shoulders, and she heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you." She went back to her car and called Leo, but he didn't pick it up. She had no idea why Leo took Brianna away, but she went all the way to Clouson anyway.

She was surprised nobody at Genesis stopped her, and she made her way to Leo's office easily. With her worry held down, she pushed her bangs back so she wouldn't look too harried. And then she knocked. "Enter," said Leo coolly.

Amelie entered the office. Leo was behind his desk, working on something. His lips were pursed, and his attention was focused on his work. But she couldn't see what he was doing, not when his computer was in her way. All he afforded her was a glance.

Still worried, she darted over to Leo. "Where's Bria? You took her, didn't you?"

He slowly raised his head, the look in his eyes dark as the night. "She's asleep. In the waiting room," he said after a long pause.

Good. She's here. Amelie relaxed and, almost instinctively, made her way to the waiting room.

"That's my private quarter," said Leo.

Amelie held the door handle, wondering why he said that.

Leo stood up, approaching her coolly. "I'm just trash that you have thrown away, aren't I? Didn't know you had a habit of dumpster diving." He stopped a few inches before her.

Huh? Oh, wait. The thing I told Melissa. She recorded it? Amelie looked a little awkward. She didn't mean to talk him down, but Melissa was being pushy, so she had to say something. Yet now the one she denigrated heard her comment, and he was asking for an explanation. Awkward. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to say that. If you don't like it, you can hurl any insult you want at me." She bowed and put both her hands before her.

Leo froze. She thinks this is a transaction? Is she an idiot? "If I'm nothing but trash, then I suppose you won't want the child you had with trash," said Leo.

Amelie's polite smile disappeared, replaced by horror. She didn't think Leo would be this petty. He's going to take Brianna away over one comment? "I... I can explain." She fidgeted.

Leo kept quiet, giving her a chance to explain.

Amelie wondered what he wanted, but she told him the truth anyway. "Your mother was pushing me around. She wouldn't leave if I didn't tell her what she wanted to hear."

"You could have come to me." Leo was still upset.

"Which would prove that I still am hounding you."

And then she felt the air around her stop. A great pressure came from Leo. He's upset? But why?

"You don't wish to get involved with me?"

Yep. Dealing with my past is something bad. But he has Bria. If he tries to take her away from me, I can't win. Deciding not to take the aggressive way, she said softly, "You're going to get married to Miss Joyner. I don't think I should be involved with you. I have my own concerns."

For some reason, Leo instantly looked happier. "So, you were just cutting ties with me because you heard I was going to marry someone?"

"Um..." Amelie gave a vague answer.

And then Leo blurted, "Go. See the girl."

"Sorry?" What's he trying to do? I can't understand him. But she didn't have time to figure out what he was thinking. She wanted to see Brianna, so she entered the room. But when she turned around, she caught Leo looking at her gently.