You Need Me

Chapter 36

"Is it really okay for us not to bring anything?" Viola asked.

"Do you think my old man lacks anything?" Leon asked back without looking.

"Urm... no?" Viola thought.

"That's right." He stepped on the accelerator and their car dashed forward. He was driving today. No Tom, no bodyguards, just the two of them. After Nora admitted her crime, Viola had begged Leon to remove the bodyguards. Leon was reluctant but eventually gave in.

A week had passed. Leon and Viola were on their way to Ian's house for an overdue visit. Both of them had totally forgotten about the visit if not for a sudden call from George two days ago.

Two days ago

"You are going back to Mir this Sunday?" Viola asked. She was back working in the florist when her father called. "Why suddenly..."

"I told you I will go back to Mir eventually and you are doing well here too." George laughed. "Besides..."

Viola knew something was on his father's mind.

"They have found Eugene." George said softly.

"Eugene?" Viola repeated. The name she would not forget. Eugene, that traitor! "When? Where? How?" Viola could not hide her anger. She remembered how her father's missing assistant had initiated all this mess. Her blood was boiling.

"He was captured hiding in overseas but had since been brought back to Mir. I am going back to help with the investigation as well." Her father explained calmly.

"I... I'm going with you!" Viola was worried about her father.

"No, stay here, Viola."

"But..."

"After what happened the other day, I feel the safest place for you to be is beside Leon. I don't want to see you getting hurt again." George tried to convince his daughter. He almost lost his mind when he received the news that Viola was in critical condition after going missing for a whole night.

An hour later, their car was approaching a large property, standing alone at the top of a hill. Two guards opened the gate upon seeing the familiar vehicle. A few minutes later, they were at the entrance of the main building.

"Viola!" George ran to hug his only daughter as soon as he saw her getting off the car.

"Dad!" Viola beamed as she saw her father. She hugged and kissed him on the cheek.

"What about me?" Ian appeared from behind George, his eyes expecting similar treatment.

Viola looked back at Leon over her shoulder.

"I'm not hugging anybody." Leon retorted. Ian frowned.

"Come, we are going inside." Leon grabbed Viola's hand and led her to the main building. Viola looked back to Ian and mouthed 'sorry' silently. Ian smiled happily and followed the pair inside with George.

As Viola stepped into the house, she paused and stood in awe. Leon's mansion was big but it was nowhere as big as Ian's home. Why somebody would want to live alone (with two turtles and a few attendants) in a house as big as this was something Viola could never understand.

"Are you done packing, Dad?" Viola asked. She was sitting in a living room... inside his father's guest room.

"More or less. I didn't bring anything here to begin with." There was a hint of sadness in George's eyes when he said it. "Where is Leon?" He turned his head around, looking for his son-in-law.

"His father called him to the office just now. Probably some business talk." Viola guessed.

George looked at Viola. The scars were fading, but he could still see they were there on his daughter's face. When Viola was hospitalized, he had wanted to see her but Leon refused to let him no matter what he said. Looking back now, George would probably pass out crying if he saw his daughter in a half-dead condition.

"Leon is a good man, isn't he?"

Viola was taken aback. She quickly looked away, avoiding her father's eyes. "Well, he isn't bad." Her cheeks turned pink.

George laughed and then shifted his sitting position. He clasped his hands in front of his knees, thinking how to bring up the topic. He took a deep breath. "I heard you met Walter."

Viola's heart sank as she heard the name. "Yeah..."

George waited for her to tell him more.

"I'm fine, Dad." Viola lifted her head, looking at her father.

"Are you sure?"

Viola smiled. "I'm quite surprised myself, how I can take this in calmly."

She leaned back and looked up to the ceiling. "He betrayed me when I needed him the most. I kept telling myself that he had to have something that prevented him from looking for me..." She closed her eyes. "But it looks like I'm wrong."

"Viola..." George called gently.

"He is going to be a father, you know." Viola was smiling at her father. "And I have my own life too now, so..." She left her sentence hanging.

George hugged his daughter. "As long as you are happy. Just know that I am always on your side." He kissed her forehead.

"I know. Thank you, Dad." She returned the hug.

"Maybe you should start considering as well."

Viola looked up. "What?"

"You know, babies. Two, maybe." George grinned at Viola.

"DAD!!!" Viola pushed her father away, looking embarrassed.

George laughed and got up from his seat.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming closer.

"Sorry for making you wait." Leon came in. Viola stared at him in horror. When did he come? He didn't hear what Dad just said, did he?

"Is there anything..." Leon asked.

"Nothing!!" Viola cried and glared at her father.

Leon calmly took a seat beside Viola. George tilted his head and smiled sneakily.

"What do you think, Leon?"

Leon shrugged his shoulders. "I want three. How about you, Viola?"

Viola wanted to dig a hole and buried herself.