Cheers To Comeuppance
Chapter 43

Third Person

Leon stared down at the phone and couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t affected in the slightest that Annika had hesitated in responding to him. He knew that the affirmation of his love for her would catch her off guard, but he had never been the type to display his affection for another person so openly the way he had with Annika. Leon also hated having sent her away because he immediately regretted his decision when he saw his jet take off. However, he knew that it was necessary. He knew very well that their relationship was fresh and new and that it was a big decision for Annika to have made such a decision on a whim, but he knew his feelings for her were genuine, and at the very least, he wanted her to know them. He wanted, no, needed Annika to believe that he wasn’t just spouting spur-of-the-moment words to her.

Once he settled his rapidly beating heart, he was about to put his phone away and get ready for his work luncheon when he received a text. He opened his messages and was surprised to see it was from Annika.

My Doc: So, I was going to say something before you hung up.

Leon: Oh? I’m sorry. What did you want to say?

My Doc: I was going to say that my family wants to meet you when you return to N.Y.

Leon’s eyes widened in shock when he read her text. And before he knew it, he felt his palms getting sweaty. He was never the type to get nervous or intimated. Still, knowing the family Annika came from and already having tasted Beau Silverton’s wrath the night before, Leon couldn’t help but become slightly timid at the thought of meeting the parents.

Leon: Okay.

“Okay.” Was all that Leon could reply. He had been so adamant about meeting them when she was leaving and riding the high horse that he declared he would marry her as soon as all of their legal issues were taken care of. So, it was only natural for him to agree to meet the Silverton family as soon as he returned to New York. However, he expected them to wait to make the invite.

My Doc: Okay. See you when you get back.

Leon: I love you.

Leon figured that she wouldn’t respond to him again, so he was putting his phone away for the second time when it chimed with a notification. He glanced down and saw the message preview on his home screen. ‘I heart you.’ Was her reply. Leon smiled like the Cheshire Cat. Even if she didn’t type out the word love, just providing a heart in place of the actual word was enough to have his soul soaring into the skies. He finally put his phone away and got down to business as usual.

Next to him, Toby noticed his facial expressions and overheard Leon’s token of love for Annika. Having worked for Leon for so long, even Toby was baffled at how doting and loving Leon was when it came to the young heiress who held an M.D.. Toby, himself, was very fond of Annika as well. She treated him with courtesy and respect, which was genuine, unlike that of Sadie Galloway and every other female that tried to wriggle their way into Leon’s nonexistent heart.

Sadie trampled over him and treated him like her personal servant in the short time she was wedded to Leon. Her attitude and actions towards him during that time were why he was so hostile towards her at Annika’s clinic when they all first ran into each other. The other women, well, he knew that their kindness came at a price. Some even faked attraction towards Toby, only later for him to replace out they got close to him to get closer to Leon. Although some have told Toby that he was only screwing himself over by staying by Leon’s side, Toby never once blamed Leon for how fake the opposite s*x was. If anything, he remained loyal to Leon because of this reason. It helped him weed out the liars and the phonies.

“Mr. Von Doren, permission to speak freely?” Toby asked Leon as they made their way to their rental car.

“When have you not spoken freely with me in private, Toby?”

“True. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile so cheesy.”

“I didn’t smile all cheesy,” Leon countered immediately.

“Yeah, you did.”

“Keep talking. I’ll dock your monthly bonus,” Leon threatened. Toby shook his head and chuckled.

“You know that macho man cockamamy bullshit doesn’t work on me, right?”

“Shut up and drive.” Toby kept his mouth shut this time but laughed wholeheartedly internally. Leon sat in the backseat and couldn’t help but smile again as he re-read Annika’s last text. Of course, this was all seen by Toby, who just rolled his eyes at Leon and his self-contradictory.

While Leon and everyone else enjoyed moving on with their lives, two people were not enjoying themselves. Jeffrey was trying to maintain his charade of being at home when he was circumventing his house arrest by tampering with his ankle monitor and stalking the Silverton family. Since he could no longer enter the premises of the penthouse, or even the building itself, he had to do his reconnaissance from the exterior. Every so often, he caught glimpses of Royce leaving and even McKenna and Madalena with Beau. He would always see a large group of people coming and going. He figured that they were the army of lawyers his brother spoke of.

What caught him by surprise was when he saw Annika emerge in the late afternoon with McKenna and their mother.

“Yesterday, they told me she wasn’t here. What the hell?” he questioned to himself. He watched from his vehicle and took several pictures of the Silverton women. He noticed that Annika was glowing. She was smiling happily with her mother and sister. What caught his eye, even more, was that Annika was no longer wearing her wedding band or engagement ring that he had given her. He unknowingly started playing with his ring finger, only to replace that he didn’t have his wedding band either. He looked down at his hand and furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Wh … Where’s my ring?” he asked himself. “When did I …” he couldn’t even remember when he last wore his ring. After he left the penthouse when Annika kicked him out, he took it off and never put it back on. He couldn’t even remember what he had done with it. Biting his bottom l*p, he tried to recollect what he did with it; however, no matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn’t. Guilt started to eat him up, knowing that the symbol of his marriage to Annika was suddenly lost. As he kept trying to rack his brain on the whereabouts of his wedding band, the passenger door to his vehicle suddenly opened, startling him.

“Holy f*****g s**t!” he exclaimed as the door slammed shut. He saw that it was Piper. “f*****g hell, Piper, what are you doing here!?” he shouted at her.

“What am I doing here? What the f**k are you doing here!? You’re on house arrest, for f**k’s sake, Jeff! If you get caught, you’re screwed!”

“I won’t get caught. My ankle monitor is at the hotel. As far as the police are concerned, I haven’t left the hotel since being put on house arrest,” he snarked and looked back toward where Annika and her family got into a car and drove away. He started his car to follow them, but Piper stopped him.

“Are you insane!? Why are you stalking her?”

“It’s none of your damn business, Piper! Get out of my car!”

“No. I have to keep you from doing anything else that’s stupid. Go back to the hotel,” she demanded.

“Need I remind you that we’re not even that close? Both in b***d relation and overall family ties,” Jeffrey scowled. Piper swallowed the lump in her throat to keep herself from showing how his words affected her. Jeffrey had no idea who she was to him, and she had to keep it that way for his protection.

“Even if we’re not that close, Jeff, it doesn’t mean we’re not still family. Extended or not. Now, stop being stupid and go back to the hotel. What do you plan on achieving with stalking your ex-wife?”

“She’s not my ex-wife! She’s my wife! We’re only separated!” Jeff whined like a petulant child.

“I told you that she’s moved on. And it doesn’t matter that you’re only separated right now. The court case is for her to finalize it.”

“I don’t care! Annika won’t leave me. I won’t let her. I could care less if she slept with Leon. I slept with Sadie. We’re even now.”

“Really? Do you think just because you both slept with other people makes you two even? Are you naïve or just plain dense? Huh? Sadie is pregnant with your child, you foolish boy!”

“And I’ve said it over and over. I don’t give a f**k about that thing inside of her. The only woman who is going to carry my children is Annika!”

“And what will you do if she gets pregnant from this Leon guy?”

“What?” Jeffrey’s pupils dilated in horror at Piper’s question.

“You said yourself just now Annika has slept with Leon. What if she gets pregnant? What are you going to do then?”

“No … That … She … Annika wouldn’t. She wouldn’t dare get pregnant for another man!” Piper huffed at Jeff’s ridiculousness.

“You need to get your head in the game, Jeff. In just under a month, you’re going to court. Not just for your divorce hearing against Annika but for fraud, evidence tampering, and assault. You don’t have the time or the luxury to be stalking her. And even if you did, you still shouldn’t. You’re on house arrest!”

“God, f**k off, Piper! I know what I’m doing!” Jeffrey snapped at her. His words stung her incredibly. “I don’t need you or anyone else telling me what to do with my life or my wife. Get the f**k out, and stop showing up in front of me!” Piper bit back the tears and reluctantly got out of his car when she saw that he wasn’t going to budge. The hatred and malice in his eyes spoke volumes. She knew deep down that it was her fault for only being in his life as a “distant cousin” rather than as his mother. But she made a choice to make sure he grew up in a decent family and not with her, a teen mom at the time.

As soon as she got out of the car and closed the door behind her, Jeffrey skidded out of his parking space and hastily made his way to try and catch up with Annika’s family car. Even though he was several minutes behind them, he didn’t think he had lost them. Piper watched from her spot on the sidewalk and just shook her head. What she didn’t realize, however, was that she was also being monitored. Royce took pictures of her and Jeff from the penthouse above with his extended telephoto lens. Behind him were Huxley and Matthaeus, watching with great pleasure as Jeff violated his house arrest.

“So, you didn’t end up telling Baby Bear?” Royce asked.

“No. She already knows he violated his house arrest once already when he came to look for her the other day. But instead, he met Beau. Let her enjoy the next few weeks for herself. You have an eye on that fucker and his Mommy. There’s no need to stress out Anni any more than she already is,” Matthaeus answered.

“He’s right. Keep gathering evidence against this ingrate. He’s hurt Baby Bear enough,” Huxley agreed while gritting his teeth.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her cry like that. Like ever,” Royce mumbled as he snapped several more shots of Piper standing outside the penthouse building.

“She hasn’t. Not since she was a kid. The last time I saw her cry that way was when she fell off her bike and face-planted the pavement when she was like 7 or 8,” Huxley replied.

“This fucker isn’t going to get away with hurting her this way. He never deserved her,” Matthaeus added as he defended his favorite sister-in-law. “Oh, she’s leaving.”

“Royce. Go,” Huxley commanded.

“See you guys later.” Royce quickly packed up his camera and dashed out of the penthouse to follow Piper. The more he got on her and the rest of the Hollands family, the better it would be for Annika when it came time for court.

“Do you think you, Micky, and everyone else can win?” Huxley asked Matthaeus.

“I bet my license on it. If we lose any cases against that trash and his baby mama, I’ll disbar myself.”

“Don’t be rash, Matthaeus.”

“I’m not, Hux. Anni isn’t just the baby of this family. She’s my sister too. If we lose, I’ve failed her, not just as her lawyer, but as her brother-in-law. I didn’t become a lawyer for shits and giggles. I did so because I wanted to stand up for the little people in the world. That’s why I take on so many pro bono cases regarding custody battles involving women who are the victims. The majority of the time, it’s rich husbands screwing over their poor wives. The only thing different in our current case is that fucker has no idea who the Silvertons really are. The injustice in these kinds of cases makes me sick.”

“Hm,” Huxley hummed in understanding.

“Come on. We should brainstorm some more. These cases are anything but open and shut.” Both men made their way back to the living room and went over everything again. It was redundant, but it was necessary.

As they were working at home, Annika, Micky, and their mother enjoyed their time at the mall. Thankfully, Jeff lost them in traffic and had no choice but to return home. At the same time, on the other side of the city, Sadie isolated herself from the world. But rather than staying low like she should have been, Sadie, too, was plotting revenge against Jeffrey for abandoning her.

“Jeff, I’ll make you regret for ever turning your back on me.”