Unexpected Marriage With Mr. Leighton: Rebirth of the Villain-Chapter 130: I KNOW ABOUT JAMES AND AMELIA

Carl decided to wait for his stepmother to finish her phone call and sat on the single sofa when he spotted a document on top of the bed, and his curiosity got the better of him.

But his heart sank when he realized what document it was. The divorce papers were neatly laid out on the bed.

The finality of the situation struck him like a thunderclap. "Please, don’t do this..." Carl shook his head as he mumbled, desperation thick in his voice. "No... no..."

The realization crept in; his stepmother was leaving.

Right at that moment, when he saw the word ’divorce,’ he realized that he didn’t want Laurel to leave his life. She was not just his stepmother, but she was a real mother to him.

She was there through everything in his life. She was there to cherish his milestone when Amelia couldn’t be bothered; and now, he ruined everything.

It was Laurel in his every step of the way, and every time he thought of a mother, it would always be her who came to his mind.

"No... No... No..." Carl was shaking; he had never gotten a panic attack before, but it was close to it. He breathed raggedly, and the document felt heavy in his hand.

Carl didn’t know how long, but when he saw Laurel come from the balcony, he immediately hugged her.

"No, please no, Mother. Don’t do this... Don’t... I am sorry." He cried like a baby. He was so scared to lose his mother. "I am sorry, you are my mother... I am sorry. I will listen to you. I promise..."

The words that came out of his mouth were a rush; he was being incoherent, and he hugged Laurel very tightly as if she was going to disappear if he let her go.

"I am so sorry, Mother. I am sorry..." He kept apologizing, but Laurel didn’t budge. Her expression was devoid of any emotions.

Carl was scared, and he had never been this scared in his entire life. The dreadful thought of losing Laurel as his mother made him cry even harder as the guilty feeling weighed him down. He felt this sinking feeling in his stomach.

"I know about James and Amelia," Laurel stated; her voice was steady, yet it felt like someone stabbed Carl with a knife.

This was the thing that Carl dreaded the most. He knew what his father and mother had done was not right, but the two of them always told him they were meant for each other.

That it was the right thing to do for them to be together again as a family.

However, the family that Carl wanted was where Laurel was, yet he realized it too late, and everything was a big mess.

"And you help them." The betrayal from Carl was what hurt Laurel the most.

Carl was taken aback, and when Laurel pushed him from her, he stumbled on his feet. His face turned red, and he was stuttering.

"What have I done to deserve this?"

Carl shook his head so hard, but no word came out of his mouth. He couldn’t explain himself, and the look on Laurel’s face let him know that he was going to lose his mother...

Laurel was not angry, though Carl preferred her to be mad at him, to scream in his face, and to slap him. He wouldn’t complain or say a word, but her calmness was terrifying...

On the other hand, without waiting for his response, Laurel turned away, and as she walked out, she spoke again for the last time, "Just give the divorce papers to your father."

Since Carl was already here and he knew about the divorce anyway, there was no reason for Laurel to stay.

Everything was done. Her marriage was over.

With that, the door was closed behind her, leaving Carl engulfed in a haunting silence. The reality of what transpired crashed over him, an overwhelming tide of regret surging.

The young boy stood there, grappling with the heart-wrenching truth.

His mother hated him...

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"I have never seen someone as stupid as you, Olivia," Lyle said; his voice was thick with disappointment. "If this is what you want, then pray the next time I see you, it’s not in the coffin."

And after saying that, Lyle left. He looked at Olivia over his shoulder when she put down the sharp glass from her neck, the weapon that she used to threaten Lyle to stop beating Marcus up.

Silence ensued in the room, and Olivia dropped to her knees. freēnovelkiss.com

The wound on her neck was not so deep that it would threaten her life, and Lyle must have seen that, too; that was why he left.

And the silence was broken by Olivia’s sobs. She covered her face and started to cry.

She hated herself for having an argument with Lyle. She could see how her brother, who was always in her corner, now despised her.

She hated herself because she couldn’t let go of Marcus.

She should have tried harder, but she couldn’t... This love for him was going to kill her one day, and she knew that.

"Ssh... Don’t cry. I am sorry..." Marcus said softly.

Olivia didn’t even realize how long she had been crying and how long Marcus had been holding her tightly in his arms.

His blood stained her dress and her cheeks, but she couldn’t care less about that as she held onto him tightly.

She really prayed that she made the right decision this time.

He looked at her with sincerity in his eyes and pledged to turn his life around. "I promise I will get better," he said. "I am going to seek help for all my problems. I promised you. I will do everything to deserve you..."

Olivia found herself holding onto this little hope.

Maybe, just maybe, this time would be different.

***

Greyson sat in the darkness of his room; his thoughts wandered to everything that had transpired in his life.

His last interaction with Hazel and their conversation weighed down on him, and just as he was lost in his reverie, Renna knocked on the door, bringing a hot cup of coffee that he requested earlier.

"Here is your coffee, sir," she said as she entered the room and put down the hot cup on the table.

"Tell me, Renna," Greyson said when Renna was about to walk away from the room.

"Tell you about what, sir?" Renna turned around and looked at him.

"Tell me about her..."

Greyson looked distraught. He stared into the distance as he leaned his body against the window.

For a brief moment, Renna was confused, but then she understood who ’her’ was that Greyson meant. "What do you want to know, sir?"

"Everything." He frowned. "Anything."

Renna then started to tell him about Hazel. All of her habits, her allergies, the things that she liked and disliked. Everything...

Only then did Greyson realize how much he had missed Hazel’s milestone. She was right; he had never been there for her.

"...one day when Hazel was sixteen years old, she told me something that’s stuck with me."

Seeing how Greyson listened to what she said, Renna decided to be a little bit bold. She went deeper, not only a superficial thing.

"Hazel said, ’I didn’t want my father to be here all the time to fix everything for me. I just wanted him to notice me, to sit with me, and tell me it’s okay when things get hard. But he is always busy. I wish he had saved some time for me. I wish my brothers would notice me. Am I asking too much?’"

Renna recited what Hazel told her. It stuck with her; that was why she remembered every word of it.

"She looked sorrowful... That day was her birthday."

"Where was I?"

"You were at home, but you didn’t want to be bothered because the next day you have an important meeting."

No. Greyson didn’t think he had an important meeting, because he would clear his schedule for the week leading up to his late wife’s death anniversary.

The day when Hazel was born was the day he lost the love of his life.

He was grieving.

"She missed you, sir." Renna pushed her luck. "You lost your wife, but at the same time, she lost both her father and mother." She then added with a small voice. "Her brothers look up to you, and they watch how you treat her."

Greyson felt each word resonate deep within him, amplifying the guilt and regret he had been harboring. Those unspoken feelings that Renna told him would haunt him.

"You can leave, Renna."

But Renna had more to say, her expression grave.

"As a parent myself, I used to think that I can never be wrong. But I wonder how many parents lose their kids because they refuse to admit they are wrong. How many children cry themselves to sleep every night because their parents always need to be right?"

Her voice softened, but her words held the weight of truth. Greyson looked even more in pain, but she continued.

"Miss Jasmine loved her children so much." Renna had teary eyes when she spoke again. "Don’t let the feeling of control and being right ruin the relationship that Miss Jasmine treasured, sir."

Renna’s final words hung in the air as she exited the room and left Greyson alone to feel the gravity of the realization of the thing he had done to all of his children, especially Hazel.

And what it truly meant to be a father.

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