After Divorce, Billionaire Ex Found Me Pregnant-Chapter 159 The Gaze Of An Unrequited Love.

After much congratulations from friends, potential new clienteles and family as well, Leonica stood in front of the refreshment area, fetching herself a fresh glass of wine. As she sipped on it, surveying her environment with an absent mind, she thought back to the little accomplishment she had just made.

She smiled, once again proud of herself.

That smile however, vanished at the sound of Melvin’s voice. freёnovelkiss.com

"I thought I had you all figured out," He stood beside her, stuffing both hands into his pocket and releasing a heavy sigh through his lips. "But you’re more of a sly minx than I thought."

Leonica shot a glare his way. "A minx? That’s one way to address your sister."

Melvin shrugged, a smile on his lips that didn’t quite reach the light in his eyes. "You have to admit, it’s not entirely wrong."

When silence descended on the two, Leonica glanced at him, expecting another witty saying, however, much to her surprise, she found a desolate look on his expression.

Makes sense, she thought as she quietly took another sip from her drink, seeing as I just literally stole something right under his nose.

After a few seconds, she dared to ask. “You’re not mad, are you?”

Melvin shook his head. “Not one bit. I’m just...” He paused, staring off in the crowded distance as he tried to get the right words to use. And then it clicked. “Jealous.”

Leonica glanced at him, arching her brows in the process in a questioning manner, as if he had just grown two heads.

“Jealous?” She repeated.

“Yeah. When we were younger, I had so much potential. The Ace of the Romero family; they called me, but now, I can’t even get one damn thing done right.” He turned to face her and a bittersweet smile bloomed on his lips. “You’ve surpassed me, Leonica and for that, I can’t help but be jealous.”

“Melvin,” Leonica stated, her expression softening. “There’s nothing to be jealous about. Have you ever thought that perhaps you have your field to shine in? Remember how when we were younger, you always hated taking all those succession classes and would drag me along just so you had someone to make fun of the teacher with?”

This made Melvin smile a genuine smile. “Yeah, I remember that. You were such a spoilsport.”

“Hey!”

“Sorry,” He chuckled. “What’s your point?”

“I enjoyed those classes, but you didn’t. To sum it up, my point is, you have your thing, and I have mine. So, instead of trying to compete with me, why don’t you work hard and make your own way?”

Silence filled the air after Leonica’s little advice, but it was quickly broken when Melvin released a heavy sigh.

“I can’t believe I’m getting advice from a person who’s scared of chickens.”

Leonica’s expression immediately shifted, and she elbowed him in the side.

“Ouch.”

“Serves you right. What a horrible person.”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” He laughed, holding his hand up in defense and in seconds, she was back to her serious expression that Melvin was getting used to seeing.

But much to his surprise, she placed her drink down and suddenly opened her arms, beckoning him in for a hug, which of course, he accepted.

“Congratulations Leon,” He whispered as they hugged.

Leonica smiled. “Thank you, Mel.”

He waved her goodbye as they separated and Leonica, well she tried finding Owen, her dearest fiancé. And she did find him, only that he was swarmed by fans and potential investors, which surprised Leonica, seeing as this was an inauguration party, not a meet and greet.

When he spotted her through the small crowd, she pointed towards the balcony and mouthed; take your time, I’ll wait for you, and then made a beeline for the balcony.

It was a chilly evening, but the wind that blew in the atmosphere was cool, relaxing.

Leaning against the railing, Leonica took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cold evening air before slowly exhaling.

Tonight was a night to remember.

And she had done exactly that.

She couldn’t wait until Monday came, because then, she would officially be the President of Romero Empire.

Returning to her busy world and leaving her idle one behind was something she had dreamt of for the past week.

Exhaling once more, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her and was more than sure that Owen was finally joining her.

Planning on teasing him a bit, she turned around, only to be surprised to find Gabriel standing close.

“What...What are you doing here?” Leonica asked. She couldn’t really hate herself for stammering, seeing as she had been caught off guard by how close he was standing.

“I saw you walking in here and wanted to congratulate you, on becoming the new president.” He said softly, but the baritone of his voice was louder than ever due to the close proximity.

Leonica realized this and stepped back, quickly distancing herself. “Well there isn’t really any need for that,” She smiled. “But thank you.”

Gabriel nodded and stepped beside her, leaning his elbows on the railing as he stared into the darkness of the night.

Very much like his life, he bitterly thought, but quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind, choosing instead to have a conversation with Leonica.

“So, now that you’re back in the company, what do you plan on doing?”

“Restructuring,” Came her answer as she too leaned against the railing. “Nothing too elaborate of course. Perhaps change a few rules, weed out a few investors and open new sectors now that I’m the owner.”

Gabriel nodded to her words. “And your brother, Melvin? What’s going to happen to him?”

Leonica shrugged. “I’m not sure. Why’d you ask?”

Gabriel was silent for a few seconds before answering. “I couldn’t help but notice how friendly you are towards him. He wasn’t really an opponent to begin with, now was he?”

“Not at all.” Leonica honestly answered. “Now that I think about it, I could have easily gotten the company back without doing something this elaborate.”

Gabriel’s brows creased and he turned to look at her. “Then why did you do it?”

A few seconds passed and he watched, in silence, as she stared into the dark night, the light of the moon highlighting her features.

She looked beautiful, Gabriel couldn’t help but think, but just as quickly, he shook the thought away, and focused on waiting for her answer.

“Have you ever cherished something to the point that every single day, you feared it was going to be taken away from you and then you realized that, you had to do something to prevent that?”

Leonica said and when she glanced at Gabriel, he instantly became lost in the glint shinning in her green eyes.

“That something, this was the only way to achieve it. To make Romero Empire mine, permanently.” She concluded with a confident smile on her lips.

But even then, Gabriel could tell that what she had just said...was an utter excuse.

As much as she had tried to school her expression this time around, he could read her like a book and he knew that the answer to the question he had asked was simple.

She was insecure.

About what, was the big question.

“Leonica, are you afraid?” He blurted the question out before he even knew it.

The question caught her off guard and for a split second, her eyes grew wide, a sign of surprise, before her expression settled down into one of confusion.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’re afraid,” Gabriel stated, his eyes not leaving hers. “Aren’t you?”

Leonica’s mouth gaped open, ready to defend her actions and prove him wrong, but then closed shut, her jaw tightening.

He was right, but she was never going to admit that.

“Don’t be delusional Gabriel,” She said in a nonchalant tone, turning back to rest her elbows against the railing, whereas he watched her. “There’s nothing for me to be scared for. Not Melvin, not my father, nothing.”

There’s no doubt, Gabriel thought, realizing how her words sounded more like words of reassurance rather than words that she already knew, she did this because of her insecurity.

But, just what was she insecure about? Her standing? Her competence? Her looks were definitely out of the question, so what was it that made her go to such lengths?

He had so many questions to ask, but decided against them and just stared at her.

To passerbys, his gaze looked like one filled with curiosity and wonder, but to Owen who stood by the balcony entrance, watching as Gabriel stared at Leonica, he could tell the type of gaze he had fixed on Leonica.

It was the gaze of a man who was staring at a woman he slowly found himself falling in love with, even though he knew it was never possible for them.

It was the gaze of an unrequited love.