Cheers To Comeuppance
Chapter 39

Third Person

Beau closed his eyes after contacting the family lawyers about his run-in with Jeffrey. It was hard to recall the last time someone had managed to catch him unaware to this extent, and to make matters worse, the person responsible was none other than his ex-son-in-law. This was hardly the outcome Beau had expected, and there would be hell to pay for tarnishing his image of Annika, but first, he needed to put out the latest dumpster fire she started and tip the scales back in their favor. As his mind was playing mental gymnastics, trying to wrap his head around his daughter’s reckless behavior, the veil of pretense had completely disintegrated, and he appeared to be wrestling with intense emotions. He raked a hand through his hair before straightening up and returning to the penthouse, feeling unsettled in more ways than one. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Beau’s cowboy boots sounded like an executioner marching to carry out a death sentence as his anger swelled with each step. By the time he reached the door, he was fuming over Annika’s recent stunt and burst through, shouting at Huxley, Royce, and Matthias.

“GET ANNIKA ON THE PHONE RIGHT NOW!” Beau’s voice was enough to make everyone jump out of their skin while making their flesh crawl. No one bothered to ask what had him all worked up because when Papa Bear had a demand, there was no room for discussion, and everyone was expected to obey. The three men scrambled to pull out their respective cell phones and called Annika, but none could reach her as they were all sent to voicemail without the call connecting, indicating she had turned off her phone.

“Dad … it’s off,” Royce carefully said while holding up his phone on speaker. Annika’s voice was playing back, stating she would call back when she could. Her family knew that meant she would only return their calls when the mood struck her.

“Matthias, call Micky!” Beau snarled. Matthias immediately complied, and once the other daughter of the Silverton family was on the line, he placed the call on speaker.

“Hey, darlin’, what’s going on?” Micky’s voice rang out.

“McKenna Silverton-Angel! What has your sister gotten herself into!?” Beau launched into a tirade directed at the receiver, causing Micky to drop the phone on her end.

“Geez, Daddy! Why are you screaming at me? And what are you talking about? What has Anni done now?”

“Is Annika in a relationship with someone!?”

“What!? Daddy, you’re not making any sense. She’s not even divorced yet! Why and how would she be in a relation—” Micky stopped mid-sentence. “Oh, shit…”

“McKenna …” Beau started to growl.

“Well, Daddy, I don’t know for sure, but she might be interested in someone. Or he might be interested in her, at least.”

“WHO!?” The overprotective nature of the male Silverton family members blasted forth in unison, and Micky could already picture the scene unfolding at the penthouse. They were likely in defensive stances over their phones, and she couldn’t stop the eye roll at her family’s antics.

“Royce, pull up the video from the time she exposed that two-timing loser. There should be a really good-looking guy who remains by her side or close to her throughout the whole ordeal.” Royce did as he was told and brought up the video, and sure enough, Leon stood out like a sore thumb to everyone.

“Holy f**k, this guy is humungous. How did I not notice him before?” Royce asked no one in particular.

“Is that who I think it is?” Huxley asked, grabbing the phone from Royce. “Holy hell, it is.”

“Who is it, Hux?” Micky asked, wishing she were in the same room with her family right now.

“This is Leonardo Von Doren.”

“Leo—Are you positive?!” Beau questioned. Huxley just nodded.

“Micky, are you saying that Von Doren has feelings for Baby Bear?” Huxley asked his other sister.

“I mean, it looks that way in the video. And Anni did get squirrely when I interrogated her about him. I may not have seen her face because it was over the phone, but I can almost guarantee she was blushing. You know how she gets when she’s bashful. Her tone changes, and she gets super defensive.” The Silverton men exchanged glances, and it was clear that none were happy to hear this. “Daddy, why are you asking this all of a sudden?” Micky asked.

“Yeah, Dad,” Royce also chimed in, equally confused by the sudden change.

“Your baby sister has gone and caused another riot with that imbecile, Hollands. He was here, ranting and raving, calling Annika a cheater because she didn’t go on vacation just to get away. He told me she left with Von Doren and, apparently, had relations with him!”

“WHAT!?” Everyone hollered in unison after being caught off guard.

“Your sister thought it was wise to antagonize him and even sent him pictures!” Beau shuddered when his mind was plagued with images of his youngest in a compromising position. The room was eerily silent for a minute but was no sooner broken by Micky’s hysterical laughter through the phone.

“HAHAHAHA!!! OH MY GOD, THAT IS f*****g GLORIOUS!!! GO, BABY BEAR!!!” She couldn’t help but cheer for her younger sister.

“MCKENNA!!!” The men in the family roared at her in disapproval, but it only made her laugh even harder. While Micky was in the throes of sheer amusement over Annika’s petty revenge on Jeffrey, clutching her sides as she gasped for air, Micky’s husband was mortified that she would be so on board with something so risqué. He more or less knew what he signed up for going into his marriage and was well aware of her wild side, but he would never have imagined she would give the green light to send lewd photos for revenge, especially given her background in law.

“It’s not funny, Micky!” Huxley yelled at his other sister.

“Yes, it is! The irony of it all is so gratifying, Huxie! He paraded around with his mistress without a care in the world and caused Anni so much pain and heartache. Not only did she oust him as a cheating bastard, but she pulled a fast one on him by moving on and snagging that hunk of a man. And in no time at all, she slept with said hunk, took pictures, and sent them to that cheating bastard. And now he wants to claim that she cheated!? PUH-LEASE! He only has his panties in a wad because of his bruised ego since his needle d**k could never compare to that Von Doren guy. I mean, just look at him; he’s bigger than you, Royce, and the man obviously takes care of himself. I can’t imagine his tool not being satisfying.”

“MCKENNA ANGEL!!!” Matthias cried out in unrestrained jealousy.

“Oh, darlin’, don’t you worry now. You know you’ll always be my number one. But I do have eyes.”

“I’m not following the irony part …” Royce mumbled, still missing the point.

“Oh, right. I forgot. That man is also the mistress’ ex-husband.” After Micky’s quintessential mic drop moment, the stillness that followed stifled the air and was palpable. No one dared to speak, and the phone call ended in a complete stalemate. Despite his irritation with Annika after she intentionally stirred up the hornet’s nest, Beau had to admit he found the irony somewhat comical, knowing the man his daughter had moved on with was the ex-husband of the mistress Jeffrey chose over her.

While the Silverton family busied themselves and attempted to figure out how to get in touch with her to demand answers for her actions, Annika was none the wiser and busy shopping with Leon. They had a light dinner at a casual sushi spot called Kona Grill, followed by an extensive shopping spree at several higher-end luxury retailers.

“I’m surprised at you, Doc,” Leon said as he dutifully held her shopping bags.

“Why?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dress in name-brand clothing for as long as I’ve known you.” Leon held up his left hand to showcase the damage done at Salvatore Ferragamo, Versace, and Zimmermann to prove his point.

“Well, I had to pretend I didn’t have a lot of money. Remember? I was married to an average Joe, and if I wore what I really wanted to wear, it would blow my cover and give away that I had access to more money than I led on.” Annika gave a nonchalant shrug before strolling across the hallway and entering Isabel Marant. As soon as she reached the door, she stopped and turned back to Leon. “I’m sorry, I was so busy shopping for myself that I didn’t ask what stores you wanted to go to.”

“It’s okay, Doc. Let’s shop for you first. You showed up empty-handed, so your needs are a little more pressing. We can go to some men’s retailers once you’re done.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Annika stood on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek before she walked into the store. Feeling more at ease, she left the store with a couple of pairs of boots, a crossbody bag, and a silk floral top.

Annika felt satisfied with her haul, so it was finally Leon’s turn, and she was curious to see his extravagant spending in action. She was quite shocked when she realized her boyfriend wasn’t as rambunctious with his shopping as he was beneath the sheets. Leon wasn’t all that interested in clothing per se; instead, he specialized in accessories. Leon had only one store in mind, and that was TAG HEUER. Annika was in a daze, surrounded by the intense lights and taking in all of the watches on display one by one. The pricing wasn’t out of their league by any means, but since she wasn’t much of a watch person, she had a hard time justifying the price point for something that only told the time.

Annika recalled that all of the men in her family owned limited edition Rolexes that cost nearly six figures each. She had never understood the concept of spending such exorbitant amounts on something meant to be functional, and neither did her mom or her sister. She supposed it was the same for men as it was for women with jewelry. Her mother owned a pristine collection of various jewels, including diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies that no one was allowed to touch. Micky also owned a diamond collection from Tiffany and Co with an impressive million-dollar price tag. Matthias nearly had a stroke when she purchased the entire set without his knowledge. And now, Annika herself owned the set Leon had gifted her. Despite her initial reservations, she no longer felt burdened by the monetary value and now cherished the collection since Leon gave it to her.

“See anything you like?” Annika asked Leon as he continued skimming the display cases.

“Yeah, I see a few I’ve had my eye on.”

“Which ones?”

“All of them.”

“Huh?” Annika stared at him in shock, and without batting an eyelash, Leon proceeded to buy out the entire showroom. The sales associate broke into a sweat, unable to process what had just happened and what to do next. He had never encountered this type of situation before, and he was going in circles while attempting to coordinate packing up the store’s entire stock. Under normal circumstances, new orders would be placed for the watches and shipped at a later date to maintain store inventory levels. But when dealing with Leonardo Von Doren, it was no secret among the merchants at NorthPark Center that the only acceptable timeline for delivering goods to this man was right now. Feeling sympathy for the associate, Annika said, “Leon, you can’t just buy all of these watches! There’s like a hundred of them on display!”

“So? Why can’t I? I have the means, and now, I have the opportunity. I prefer to maintain an entire collection of a brand since I don’t like missing one.”

“So, what? You just buy out an entire store!?”

“Yup.” Annika’s jaw dropped at his logic. Since she was never one to flaunt her riches, she was perplexed by how natural it was for Leon to announce to the entire world, “Look at me, I have money,” and couldn’t be bothered about it. To this day, the Silverton family’s modus operandi was so deeply ingrained in her consciousness that she tracked her spending so as not to go overboard and place a potential target on her back. Even if she divulged her identity to Sadie and Jeffrey, it was a necessity at the time, and she still preferred not to disclose her personal finances.

After Leon worked out the necessary logistics with the sales associate, Annika and Leon left the store with the latter walking out with a single watch—the one that caught his eye at first glance. The rest would be shipped to his house back in New York, so Leon made sure to call his butler, Ainsley, and told him to expect the shipment. Annika couldn’t help but think it was a bit anticlimactic to leave the store with one watch after lighting a fire under the associate’s gluteus maximus.

“Wait, so you have Toby, your assistant, Ainsley, your at-home butler, and then that other guy, the one from the restaurant? What was his name again?”

“Jasper.”

“Yeah, him. Why do you have so many helpers?”

“Well, I have certain people for very specific jobs. Toby is my assistant through and through. He’s been with me since I started my company. He knows everything about me and my schedule like the back of his hand. He’s at my beck and call, 24/7. Ainsley has been my butler since I was a child. I’m not sure if you recall, but I mentioned that my mother died when I was young, and my father didn’t really care about me after he remarried. Ainsley was the only constant in my life, and he’s more like my father than my actual dad. And Jasper, he just runs the kitchen. There are two maids and a cook, and Jasper is in charge of them all. He makes sure there is either always a hot meal waiting for me or something I can heat up on my own if they’re not around. I’m very particular about my diet if you couldn’t already tell.”

“Oh, I can tell alright. Protein, protein, and protein. I don’t think I’ve seen you eat or drink any carbs since the day we met, even when we went to the restaurant. The wine was the only thing semi-sweet you had to drink. And during the meal itself, you steered clear of the potatoes or anything else starchy.” Leon couldn’t stop laughing.

“Am I that bad?”

“I don’t think it’s bad, Leon. Your diet, although highly mundane, is a healthy one, and it makes sense with your physique and gender.”

“What does my being a man have to do with anything?”

“Having a high protein diet is great for any person, but men reap even more benefits because you don’t have hormones that can alter your results. It’s that much more difficult for women to maintain a healthy physical appearance because of hormones. We’re required to change our diet constantly depending on hormonal imbalances, if it’s that time of the month, and even during pregnancy. I see it often with patients—a husband and wife commit to healthier lifestyle changes and although they adhere to the same restrictions, the men always drop more weight than the women.”

“Huh. I guess my male privilege excused me from taking the effects of hormones into perspective,” Leon replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “This has always been my lifestyle, at least for the last decade or so. I was a chubby guy before I got into fitness.”

“You? Chubby!? You’re lying!” Rather than gratifying Annika with a verbal response, Leon fished out his phone from his jacket pocket and gracefully scanned through his photos while keeping his eyes on the road. Once he found the picture he had in mind, Leon passed his phone to Annika, who couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw it. “This can’t be you!”

“Sure is.” Annika studied the photo as her eyes darted back and forth between Leon in the flesh and the old photo. Although it was at least a decade ago, she could not deny the chunky twenty-something-year-old person in the photo was, in fact, her hunk of a boyfriend, except with a dad bod and far less tattoos. She even noticed he had stretch marks.

“I … can’t believe it.”

“I was in a bad place back then since I was so busy building my company and didn’t have time to care about my physical appearance or anything else for that matter. I was so blinded by my determination to escape from my father’s shadow and my stepmom’s constant bitching that I pretty much became a recluse. Once I had my assurances that I had made it and knew how successful my company would be, it was only then I saw how truly depressed and lonely I really was. I had assumed I had poured everything into work because I was driven by success, but I couldn’t be more wrong, and my reflection in the mirror was the proof in the pudding. Toby was a lot more fit in comparison, so he was the one who motivated me to go to the gym once we both had downtime. He taught me everything he knew about fitness and eating right, and before long, I surpassed him. Toby has always strived to maintain a healthy lifestyle, not necessarily to be jacked. For me, working out became a new escape from all the stress of the world. I can easily spend two to three hours at the gym a day.”

“Two to three hours!? That’s insane! I can barely do an hour without wanting to keel over and die!” Leon laughed again and peered over at Annika through his peripherals, but what he saw made him furrow his brows in dismay. There was Annika, pursing her lips and staring at her abdomen while poking at the natural pudge sticking out due to her posture while seated.

“Doc, don’t do that,” Leon chastised her.

“Do what?”

“Feel inferior. I love your body. Have you forgotten that I’ve seen every inch of you bare?” Desire was roaring under Leon’s breath, and Annika immediately blushed, coiling away in embarrassment. “Baby, just because I choose to work out like a madman doesn’t mean I expect you to. I love you the way you are and will still replace you just as attractive if you put on a few extra pounds in the future. Personally, I love my women curvy, and you, my dear Anni, are perfect in my eyes.”

“What do you mean by putting on a few pounds?!”

“Well, when you get pregnant, you will gain some weight. Right? Isn’t that normal?” Annika’s eyes went perfectly round and bulged out of their sockets at the sudden change in the direction of their conversation. She had made no indications that she wanted to have children with him, yet Leon had already planned to get her pregnant.

“Mr. Von Doren, I never once agreed to have your babies!”

“You do realize we had unprotected s*x last night and this morning, and I came inside of you both times, right? Who’s to say that you’re not already pregnant?” Leon shot back, proudly wearing his signature smirk. Annika just scowled at him. “Doc, I probably sound like a broken record by now, but I hope you know I’m in this for the long run. I plan on marrying you as soon as your divorce is finalized and all this bullshit with our exes is over and done with. In fact, I plan to formally ask your father for your hand once we get back home.”

“WHAT?! Leon, you can’t be serious! We just started dating!”

“So?”

“My family has no idea about you! They think I came here just to get away for a few days.”

“You didn’t tell your family you were coming with me!?” Leon stared at her, blown away by her admission.

“NO! Why would I tell my family I’m traveling with a male companion when I’m not even divorced yet!?”

“Doc!” Leon grunted in frustration at her oversight. “What will happen when we get back and they see us together!?”

“I didn’t think that far ahead, Leon. I was just too anxious to get to you, okay? You were the one who gave me a three-hour notice, you big dummy!” Things were at a complete standstill since both had mistakes to contribute to the mess they found themselves in, namely Leon’s overzealous desire to have her and Annika’s impatience to get to him. Now, they were both at a loss as to how they would break the news to her family.

“Hey, speaking of family, I’m surprised no one has called you all day. Aren’t they the least bit worried about you?” Leon wondered how this was possible for a family as protective as Annika’s.

“Oh, I turned off my phone. I didn’t want anyone to mess up today,” she replied and grabbed her phone from her purse. Upon powering it back up, Annika had expected to see a couple of texts from Kenzie, but she was startled by the dozens of missed phone calls from her brothers, sister, brother-in-law, mother, the douchebag, and even Hunter. On top of that, she had several text messages from the aforementioned family members, and all of them said the same thing.

CALL IMMEDIATELY! YOU’RE IN A WORLD OF TROUBLE!

Annika noticed all the messages also had the same photo attachment, the still of her and Leon together from the night of Sadie’s birthday party, and another text message indicating that she had some explaining to do as well.

“Oh shit.”