After Divorce Billionaire Ex Found Me Pregnant (Leonica and Gabriel)
A Common Enemy.

Standing in front of his office mirror, Gabriel adjusted the rumples on his suit, getting ready for the press conference that he had carefully planned for, for the past three days.

The sound of Billy gently knocking on the office door had his head snapping away from his reflection. "Come in." He called.

The door opened and said assistant stepped in, holding in his hand, the speech that Gabriel was meant to give today.

"Everything's ready, Sir." He informed while handing Gabriel the folder. The male accepted it, subtly thanking him, yet Billy showed no sign of leaving.

"Is there something else you want to say?" Gabriel asked, eyeing the younger male from the side of his eyes.

Billy hesitated. He shouldn't have, seeing as what he wanted to say was for Gabriel's good. He had known the man for close to six years and watching him carry on with his foolish antique up until now, worried him.

"I know I may be overstepping my boundaries when I say this sir, but I must remind you, there is no urgent need for you to give a speech linking to Ms. Romero. After all, this conference is strictly for the company's performance." He added after receiving a creased brow from his boss. "And then again, The public opinion of Ms. Romero has already drastically changed following the release of the news of her rather 'generous' compensation and the article never really mentioned anything concerning you so the public doesn't know it's you, that was in that room."

Gabriel listened to him silently, a contemplating look on his face. He knew exactly what Billy was trying to say and although he had a point, it wasn't enough.

Perhaps this was his way to compensating Leonica for the trouble that video had caused her, because he remembered clearly that that whole night had happened because he was careless around Angelina.

So mixing a little bit of praise worthy speech for Leonica into the conference meeting he was holding for his stocks, seemed like the right thing to do.

Maybe then Leonica would consider looking his way?

No, she wouldn't. He swallowed the painful truth, recalling what she had told him about a week back.

Settle his feelings and not drag her into it. She had basically rejected him before he had the chance for fully confess.

It left a sour taste in his mouth each time he remembered it, but that wasn't going to stop him from setting out to do the right thing.

"I understand what you're saying Billy, but I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions. All you need to do is assist me in those decisions, that's part of the reason why I pay you 20 thousand a month." He said, tone bouncing in between the lines of polite and dismissive.

Billy looked like he wanted to say something, but eventually closed his mouth, realizing that the topic was over.

"Very well, then, Sir."

"Good, now, let's head out, the press has already been gathered." "Of course, sir."

"The stock prices have stabilized once again, and as for the investors," Gabriel flipped through the document before continuing. "It is reported that they are not too worried about the recent happenings, instead, they are rather looking forward to what the company has in store. As for the rest, I believe the future for Bryce Enterprise is bright and I would like to thank everyone present here for their unwavering support."

A round of applause and camera flashing followed, causing Gabriel to pause his speech.

"I shall not take any more of your time. A question of two please, before we wrap up."

Immediately, a reporter's hand shot up. "Mr. Bryce, do you have anything to say concerning the recent controversy of Ms. Romero that has been circulating the internet and as her business client and acquaintance, as per spotted in various photos, do you have any words to address these rumors and speculations?"

Gabriel had known such a question was going to be asked, and had prepared an answer accordingly.

"Yes, I have a thing or two to say. Unlike what those negative comments painted Leonica to be, she is actually a very kindhearted person. And as an acquaintance of mine, I know this is true. Those who have had the privilege to interact with her are aware of her generous and selfless character and her love for doing things the right way, so I'd have you know that, whatever negative opinions the public has about her are simply unfounded and I'd like to ask the media to stop spreading false and inaccurate information. Thank you." With a bow, he ended his speech and began walking off the stage.

There were several questions and commotion coming from the press, but he chose to ignore them, and walked off stage, Billy quickly following behind him.

"You handled that well, sir." He complimented.

Gabriel sighed, loosening the knot on his tie. "Of course I did."

"Would you like a drink?"

He thought about it for a second. The only thing he wanted right now was to see Leonica. "No, thank you. I'm heading out, tell the chauffeur to prepare the car." Billy bowed. "As you wish, sir."

Leonica sat on the couch in her living room, absentmindedly flipping through the channels on her TV.

Today, being one of those days that she took a leave off the company to let her ankle heal more and stayed home, she found herself bored, and a bit tired.

It had only been a week, but she had been through so much, it was as if a whole month had passed.

"The things I do for family, eh." She mused, sighing softly as she placed her leg back onto the cushion she was using as a prop.

Suddenly, one of the channels caught her attention. The channel had Gabriel speaking in a press conference, addressing the situation of his company lately and towards the end of the conference, he gave a speech that surprised her. Cleaver, she thought, he's addressing the video rumors but still not mentioning himself in an aide to make sure things don't escalate.

"Was he always this thoughtful," She hummed in thought, later clicking her tongue.

Why was he suddenly acting all different, confessing feelings and all, he didn't even remember her all that well due to his amnesia.

Sighing, she shook her head. The more she thought about it, the more it made her think slightly that she was the bad person, seeing as she had brutally turned him down.

"Ms. Romero," Grace's voice sounded out from behind her and soon the elderly lady was in view. "Someone's here to see you?"

Leonica tilted her head to the side. "Who?"

"Mr. Bryce," Leonica's expression became serious. "Shall I let him in?"

"Sure, go ahead." She nodded.

Grace smiled. "Alright."

A minute later, Gabriel stood at the entrance of her living room, looking as good as ever.

"Gabriel," Leonica greeted, offering him a seat. "Please sit."

He accepted her offer and sat, placing a box on the coffee table. "Are you feeling any better, I heard you got a sprained ankle?"

He heard? Leonica's brows creased. How? Ah dang, how could she forget how fast information travelled on social media, even Gabriel was no exception.

"And I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking."

"I'm glad to hear that." He said, and the conversation died down, silence quickly filling the space.

"Did you come here for some specific reason? To check up on Ashley Perhaps? He's currently in school just in case."

"I know that," Gabriel responded and reached for the box he had brought. "This is for you."

Leonica eyed the box curiously. It was a black rectangular one, covered in a silk red fabric, and tied together with a blue ribbon. "What's this?"

"Compensation," Came his answer. "For the trouble the video caused you. Please accept this gift as an apology."

Leonica shook her head, rejecting

his gift. "There's no need for a

compensation, Gabriel, the matter

has already been taken care of and it wasn't your fault, so no need for an apology."

en Ebookex

"Leonica, I insist." Gabriel tried once again.

"And I'll still decline."

Gabriel sighed. "Please,"

She looked into his eyes, noticing the sincere and guilty look in his orbs and sighed.

"Alright, just this once."

Gabriel visibly relaxed, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Open it."

Doing as she was told, Leonica

opened the box. In it was a diamond encrusted watch. The band was silver and the clock face had an intricate design, and on the inside, written in a cursive font wasa message.

'Leonica.'

It was simple and elegant, and a perfect fit.

"I hope you Like it?" Gabriel asked, watching her stare at the piece of jewelry.

"It's nice. I'll store it away so it doesn't get damaged." She answered, placing the box aside. "Thank you, Gabriel."

"It was my pleasure," Gabriel smiled softly at her, getting the cue to leave when silence once again descended. "I'll talk my leave now."

Leonica nodded, standing up. "Sure. Bye." After watching him leave, she glanced back at the watch and sighed.

Perhaps she was being too harsh on him.

"Grace," The caretaker arrived in seconds. "Please keep this and take my card, go shopping and have something nice sent to Bryce manor." "Yes, madam."

As Grace left, Leonica felt her phone

vibrate. She was sure that it was Owen texting her and so, happily picked the phone up. However, her entire demeanor flattened when she saw it was an unknown number.

[Leonica, let's talk.] The message read.

She became cautious.

[Who is this?]

QUMS

The reply came seconds later. [Irene. Let's meet up and talk, I have an information I'm sure you'd love to know.]

Information she'd love to know. Ah, Leonica already knew what it was, but she played along.

[What is it and why should I trust you?]

[Trust me because we have a common enemy.]

And bingo!

Leonica couldn't help the grin that grew across her face. She had succeeded in putting a rift between Irene and Jamil.

This was great news.

Now all she needed to do was pry on their stupidity and destroy whatever plans either of them have in store.

A pretty easy task seeing as both of them were very predictable.