After Divorce, Billionaire Ex Found Me Pregnant-Chapter 104 Owen’s Predicament.

The moment Leonica had left, Bill stuck his head through the door, testing the water whether or not it was okay for him to step in.

“Sir?” He called out, snapping Gabriel out of whatever he had been thinking about at that moment. “May I step in?”

Gabriel waved his hand at his assistant’s question, indicating that he could do whatever he pleased. Tentatively, he stepped in while Gabriel returned back to the chair he had been seating in, grabbing the photo he has found in the process.

Once again staring at the photo, Ashley in particular, Gabriel found his mind replaying Leonica’s words, something that had somewhat become like a daily routine to him, since he had woken up a few days ago.

He wondered, had he really been that much of an asshole?

Was he the reason their marriage ended? The reason why Ashley was forced to live with a broken family?

Although he couldn’t recall a thing about the child, Gabriel felt connected to him, just from the photo alone and thinking about how much the child must suffer from having a broken family, result of his own action, weighted heavily on Gabriel’s chest.

But not heavier than the fact that he couldn’t remember a thing. His memories and actions, both good and bad, for the past ten years, all was gone.

Now, he was forced to learn things anew.

With a sigh, he dropped the picture. "Mr. Bryce, is everything alright? Do I need to call the doctor?" Bill questioned after he had sighed.

He shook his head, dismissing his assistant’s concern, but in that moment, he recalled something. "That wouldn’t be necessary," He said. "But if you do see him, make sure to request a discharge date for me."

"Of course." Bill nodded his head. "I’ll do that right away." He said and hurried out of the room, leaving Gabriel alone was again.

Was alone, Gabriel raised the key chain Leonica had given him.

Forget-me-not, he thought, admiring his favorite flower which had been carved into a silver keychain.

A smile bloomed across his lips when remembering that it was Ashley who has given him.

With yet another sigh, the male looked towards his window, watching as the sun descended on the city below, causing the sky to mix with beautiful shades of orange, pink and blue.

As he stared at the scenery, one thought flashed in his mind; he wanted his memories back. Both the bad one and the good ones, he wanted them back.

He didn’t know when he would remember, but one thing was for certain, Gabriel didn’t intend on stopping until his memories were fully back, even if that meant he’d have to ask Leonica for her help.

But even that, he saw nothing wrong with it.

Leonica, despite the hot head she put up for him from time to time, seemed like a nice person. He had no doubts that she was a good mother and had done her part as a parent.

And him, well, he couldn’t even tell how many mistakes he has made or how many people he has hurt in the past, so who was he to judge his ex-wife?

He had no clue about his own life, but that didn’t stop him from hoping, perhaps the next time they meet, he’d know the full truth and would be able to apologize properly, for whatever it is he seemed to have done to her.

Perhaps, with that, he can be on his way to fixing things, regaining his memories and having the right to see his son.

Gabriel, for some reason, felt a sudden surge of determination rush through him. He didn’t know when it will happen, but he was certain, his memories will return.

And then, he’ll know.

Everything.

*~*

Leonica sat in the parking lot of the supposed restaurant she was meant to meet Owen and his manager, but had arrived way earlier than their planned meeting time.

The main culprit of this, was of course Gabriel. He and his damned questions. Leonica had cursed at him one third of the way here, the rest she had spent in silence, listening to music and thinking about what he had asked of her and how she would break the entire thing down to Ashley.

In the end, she couldn’t come up with a solution. Which was reasonable as it wasn’t everyday one would expect to have to explain to her child that his father had lost his memory.

With a sigh, Leonica leaned against the chair and closed her eyes.

Just thinking about everything was making her exhausted.

But then again, thinking and complaining over the matter wasn’t going to help her sort anything out.

She opened her eyes after the thought and reached for her phone.

She unlocked the screen, tapped on the call log and looked for the contact name; Ashley.

After the incident with Angelina, she had gotten the little one a phone, nothing fancy, just something she could use and keep communication with him in event something like that repeated itself.

She had a few minutes to spare before the meeting and Owen’s company car didn’t seem to be anywhere in the vicinity, so Leonica dialed the number and waited for the ringing tone.

Seconds later, Ashley’s voice filled the empty space in the car.

“Hi mom!” He happily greeted, and even though Leonica couldn’t see his face, she was certain her little one was smiling brightly. freewebnoveℓ.com

“Hi sweetie,” Leonica greeted back. “How was school today?”

“Boring, as always.” He replied and she could hear the sound of him moving, followed by a few muffled words before he spoke again. “I’m waiting at the play ground, so are you gonna pick me up or is nanny Grace gonna do it?”

“Actually, about that...”

“No... you’re cancelling again?” He guessed and his tone changed drastically.

“Sweetie, I promise it’s the last time. After today, no more cancelling, no more work. I promise.”

“That’s what you said the last time.” Ashley argued and she could almost see the pout forming on his lips. “You always cancel. I’m sure daddy wouldn’t cancel if he was here.”

Now that, hit close to home.

“Ashley,” She started, sighing. “We’ve talked about this. Your dad is in no condition to take care of you now-“

“I know, but I still want to see him.” He argued. “I’m not asking to stay with him. Just a visit, that’s all. I want to see him.”

“I know, but...”

“Please mom?” He pleaded.

Leonica didn’t reply immediately. She had to think carefully. She had already made her decision about whether or not he’d get to see his father, but she couldn’t just tell him like that.

She knew before taking him to see Gabriel, she needed to seat down and talk things over with him, in the simplest and easiest manner for his brain to understand.

So, she did the best thing she could. “Ashley, how about this; I’ll have Anastasia pick you up and then later in the day, we’ll have a little chat after I pick you up. We can go somewhere nice, like the park and have a talk about everything, then we’ll go home. How’s that?”

There was silence on the other end, so Leonica continued. “Just the two of us. Okay?”

“...Fine.” He hesitantly answered.

Leonica smiled a bit after knowing that she was getting through to him. “That’s my boy.” She praised. Up head, her eyes caught a familiar vehicle pulling into the parking lot and she instantly recognized it as the one Owen used.

It wasn’t long before his manager, Alistair, stepped out and rushed to open the back door for Owen.

“Alright sweetie, I’ll be calling you a bit later, so until then, don’t be too hard on your Aunty. And no playing with strangers.”

“Okay mom.” He answered.

“And Ashley,” She called again, and he hummed. “I love you.”

“Love you too, mommy." He replied and Leonica felt her heart swell.

With the call ending, Leonica put the phone into her purse and exited the car, locking the door as she walked towards Owen.

"Owen, hey." She greeted, catching both male’s attention, who stopped and waited until she had reached their sides.

"Leonica," Owen was the first to greet her back, with a hug that she eased into with a simple chuckle.

The next greeting was by Alistair, who offered her his hand, all the while scolding Owen about how he cared so little about his image as an idol.

"Do you know what type of scandals would break out if someone were to take a picture of you two hugging?" He questioned in a tone befitting that of a lecturer.

"What type of scandal?" Owen asked, almost too innocently for Alistair’s liking.

With a sigh, the manager pinched the bridge of his nose, mumbling underneath his breath. "I’m already dealing with one problem because of your recklessness, can’t you be considerate for once."

"Did you say something, manager?" Owen asked.

"No, not at all. Ms. Romero, shall we head in?" Alistair asked as he turned his attention to Leonica who nodded.

As they walked in, Owen settled beside Leonica, standing as close to her as possible and gently hooking his pinky finger around hers.

"How are you doing, Leo?" He whispered.

"Fine," She replied, allowing the small physical contact, but keeping their hands hidden.

Owen wasn’t satisfied by her answer. "Really?"

"Mhm, I’m fine. Just a bit stressed." She answered again, offering him a genuine smile.

"Wanna talk about it?" He offered.

Leonica shook her head. "Not now, perhaps another time."

"Well, alright. If you’re sure." Owen said, and gave her hand a squeeze.

Leonica’s eyes glanced up at the male beside her, and for a split second, she wondered how he could act so carefree like they hadn’t ended things on a bad note the last time he called her out to the cafe.

Perhaps he couldn’t bring himself to feel angry or awkward around her because they had know each other for quite some time? Or maybe because... he had feelings for her?

Shaking the thoughts off her mind, she decided not to dwell on the matter and instead, allowed herself to ease into the comfortable feeling that the male was bringing.

They didn’t talk much, just a few comments here and there about the decor as they stepped into the restaurant and had the waitress take them to their reserved suite.

Once they were inside, seated with food and drink served, Alistair’s expression became serious.

“The reason why I has requested this meeting be set up is because of Owen’s recent predicament.”

Owen’s predicament? Leonica thought and glazed at the male seated beside her. He had a nonchalant smile on his face, which only grew when she started at him.

“Which is?” Leonica asked.

Alistair cleared his throat. “Owen was spotted a few days ago, in a café with...you. And as usual, it didn’t take the media long to make a scandal out of the whole thing. However, the company took care of it all before it had become something global, but that didn’t restrict a few of his fans from seeing the news.”

“Oh,” Leonica muttered as she casted gee gaze downwards. She hadn’t been aware of this.

“It’s nothing,” Owen spoke up, trying to reassure her as he gently places his hand over hers.

"It’s not nothing." Alistair argued. "Your career, the one you’ve built for so many years, the one I’ve spent the last three years building is at risk, all because of that." He pointed at Owen’s hand on Leonica’s. "And that damned speech you released."

Owen chuckled and withdrew his hand. "Don’t tell me you’re still salty over that, manager."

"Of course, I’m salty, Owen! You went ahead and released the speech I warned you against releasing. And now," He paused and turned towards Leonica. "No offense Ms. Romero." When she slowly nodded her head, he continued. "You’re flaunting your personal feelings like your fans don’t even exist."

"Manager, calm down." Owen ordered, and for once, his tone sounded different. Almost authoritative.

Leonica’s brows furrowed a bit at the change.

"Don’t tell me to calm down!" Alistair hissed and slammed his palm against the table. "I’m only worried for you, and now I’ve got the board breathing down my neck. All because you couldn’t curtail your feelings right. Do you really have no respect for the job you do?"

"Okay, hold on," Leonica finally spoke up, raising her hand to gain the attention she needed. "This is looking more like an argument than a meeting to me," She pointed out. "If this is what is going to be happening, then tell me, I’ll gladly take my leave, if not, let’s get down to the real matter at hand." She said in an authoritative tone.

"You’re right," Alistair agreed and took a deep breath. "I apologize for my rudeness."

"It’s alright." Leonica accepted his apology and settled her hands on the table. "Now, can you explain what this meeting is about? In simpler terms, please."

Alistair nodded his head. "Of course," He said, letting a moment pass, in which he glanced from Owen to Leonica, before he spoke. "The Higher ups at SG entertainment have demanded that Owen set things right and cut off all contact with you, else his contract will be terminated instantly."