After Divorce Billionaire Ex Found Me Pregnant (Leonica and Gabriel)
Taking Matters Into Her Own Hands.

Be it Jamil or Leonica, it was clear to Irene that both of them had tossed her out after getting what they wanted.

"Bastards," She cursed under her breath as she sat in her car, biting on the finger nail of her thumb. "Just you wait." She muttered, scrolling through her contact to see who she could use.

But no one seemed to be forth coming. Those articles and tabloids released about her a few days back had really dented her image, up to the point that those who she considered friends, had distanced themselves. And as for the business Arvan had opened for her, it's condition worsened more than it previously was, hitting near bankruptcy.

It was safe to say her desire to be part of the Romero family had caused the rest of she and Jamil's plans to implode.

But she wasn't going to give up so easily.

"I won't let you win, Leonica," She said, her tone sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than anything, as she scrolled through her caller list and found Benjamin's number.

She dialed it, hoping for him to pick up since it was nearly night. The line rang three times before his voice sounded from the other side.

"Who is this?"

"It's Irene," She answered, ignoring the fact that her own father didn't have her number stored. Well, she wasn't his favorite child, his legitimate child, so it wasn't a surprise.

The sound of Benjamin sighing pulled her out of her bitter thoughts. "What do you want Irene?"

"For you to help me," She nearly snapped, replaceing it funny how her own father hadn't raised a single finger to help her out in this situation, whereas he was ready to take a client worth billions and give to her all to save Leonica. "I am your daughter, you can't just leave me alone. Do you hate me that much, or is it that just can't measure up to Leonica." She sneered.

Silence descended on the other side of the line and Irene prayed that he was contemplating her words. "I would have helped you, Irene," Came his response, deflating whatever hope she had. "But the things you've done to Leonica all in the name of besting her," She could almost imagine him shaking his head. "I can't support that, not even if you're my daughter."

And that was enough to make Irene suddenly exploded. "I just wanted to be accepted, have what should have been rightfully mine from the start, back. Is that so bad, huh." She asked, tears brimming at the corner of her eyes. Why was Leonica making her life so difficult. It was all because of her that Jamil approached her. It was all because of her that she now had to feel the pain of being looked down upon by her birth father. It was because of her that her life was in shambles.

Everything going wrong in her life today was all because of Leonica fucking Romero.

"She took so much from me," She seethed, gritting her teeth in anger as she bit back tears. "She ruined my life. Why are you still siding her?"

"I'm not siding anyone, I'm merely looking at things from the perspective of who's in the right and who's in the wrong and clearly, you fall into the latter. I'm sorry Irene, but I can't help you."

"Of course you fucking can't!" She finally snapped. "You love your precious family too much to think of the one you abandoned, or at least what's left of it."

"I did not abandon your mother and you. I was ready to take full responsibility-"

"Well take it now!" Irene cut him off. "My inheritance, company shares and all the other assets and money my mother and I deserve. Give them all to me!"

"I will not," Came Benjamin's response. "Your mother was already allocated those privilege even before you were born."

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" She shrieked.

"Right before you were born, my father had already given your mother those shares in anticipation that they'd be used to raise you in a comfortable environment, but your mother went astray and instead chose to spend that money on herself and later, gambling. If you want someone to be angry at, be angry at your mother who had ran away with you. She stripped you of the life you deserved."

And with that, the line went dead.

Irene held the phone to her ear for a few seconds more before allowing it slide out of her hand while staring absentmindedly ahead.

It took a few seconds to register what her father had said and when she did, she blew up.

"What the fuck!" She screamed, slamming her hand on the steering wheel, causing the horn to sound out. "That's fucking bitch," Her anger for Leonica had temporarily died down, directing it towards her mother who has forced her into this position. "What type of fucking human being runs away with a fucking child?!"

Her anger was reaching its peak. So much so that she was close to pulling her hair out. But then she realized there was no need doing all this. Even though her mother had been the one to start her misfortune, the person who continued it and made sure it persisted was Leonica. She was currently the source of her problem and she needed to crop that source, one was or another.

And the solution for her problem came thirty minutes later when she had sat in her car, scrolling through all of Leonica's Instagram picture and dreading how happy she looked in them. And her solution, well it was the blonde woman spotted in a few of her pictures, Cassandra Romero.

What better way to get back at the entire Romero family than to hurt their most important person. Cassandra.

A smile stretched across her face and a new found fire ignited in her orbs.

"Let's see how well your favorite daughter can survive without a mother, Benjamin Romero."

Leonica who had just finished combing her hair in front of her vanity mirror, suddenly sneezed. "Achoo!"

"Did you come down with a cold?" Owen asked as he stepped into her room, returning from his task of putting Ashley to sleep.

He had decided to stay the night today and Leonica couldn't have been more glad seeing as Ashley's check up was tomorrow.

"I don't think so," Leonica answered

as she placed the comb down and

stood up, turning around to face

Owen who wasted no time in placing the back of his head against her.

en Ebookex

"I told you I was fine," She said.

"I know, but I needed to be reassured." Owen said as he pulled away and during the time he had his head placed against Leonica's, he had made two discoveries. One, she was indeed fine.

Two, they were dark circles underneath her eyes, indicating that she had barely slept for the past week.

It worried him, even more so when he thinks about how she'd easily wave it off if he dares bring it up.

Leonica always loved appearing strong and independent in front of everyone, even him, at least to some extent.

"Is Ashley asleep?" Leonica asked as she pulled away, heading towards the study table in her room.

Owen beat her to it, closing the laptop before she could even start using it. "Ashley's sleeping, something you should try doing right now."

"Owen," Leonica complained. "My problems aren't going to solve themselves."

"It can wait until tomorrow," He answered. "Come on, I'll take you to bed."

Leonica wanted to complain but decided not to and instead, allowed Owen to carry her and place her on the bed.

He clapped his hands to dim the light before sliding into the space beside her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Sleep." He gently instructed and although Leonica wanted to object, she found her eyelids dropping.

Perhaps Owen was right.

She was tired, so maybe a little bit of sleep could give her a clearer head sort out Jamil's nonsense.

"Alright." She answered and closed her eyes, quickly falling into a dreamless sleep while Owen watched her with a passionate expression.

It wasn't everyday he got to see her

sleep like this, but on the rare

occasions, such as this one, he'd

usually take his time to stare at her

burning her every facial features into

his mind.

Her long eye lashes, button nose and plump lips added all the more to benign and serene looks. There wasn't a single feature on her face that wasn't gorgeous to him. That was just how much he's loved her since his teenage years.

Owen leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, pulling away with a small smile.

"You don't need to fight this battle alone, Leonica," He whispered, running a finger through her hair. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Immediately after those words,

Leonica's phone dinged and came alive, brightening up the dim lit

room. He thought of Ignoring it allt

first, but after hearing two more messages enter, he began to

wonder if it would be something

important he'd need to wake

Leonica up for.

So, he reached for the device, careful not to wake Leonica and checked the message. Almost immediately, his expression dropped when he saw it was a message from Gabriel.

The latest one read; Margret received a package from you. Thank you very much.

With a frown, Owen turned off the phone and placed it aside, a bitter taste lingering in his mouth.

This man, he was really persistent and not giving up, even after it was clear that Leonica was engaged to him.

How persistent, Owen thought, pulling the cover over Leonica's body and wrapping his arms around her again.

But, he wouldn't give up, especially not when the other party wasn't backing off.

"Leonica," He called, placing his lips against the crook of her neck.

"I won't lose you."