You Need Me

Chapter 47

"Sir, are you not going back today?" Tom asked as he received the signed report from Leon. It was almost six in the evening.

Leon did not answer.

"Sir, you have stayed in the office for the past 10 days! You need to rest proper..."

"I sleep well, Tom and I can sleep and work whenever I want to, here."

Tom looked menacingly at the black sofa behind him. He sighed. You should have just stopped her from leaving instead of sulking here alone... the assistant thought.

"You can go home if you have nothing else to do." Leon said.

Tom stood silently for a while before gathering his courage to ask his superior. "We are celebrating Mia's birthday today. Do you... want to come?"

Leon stopped reading and turned his eyes to his assistant. "Do I look like I am in the mood to party?"

Tom smiled awkwardly, bid farewell and ran out for his life.

An hour after his assistant left, Leon felt hungry. He could not remember if he had had lunch either today. He glanced at his watch. It was almost seven and the sky had grown dark. The street below was still busy but he did not feel like going out to eat. He came out of his room and walked to the pantry, hoping that the consumption department did their job well in stocking snacks in the office. He opened the fridge and saw a rectangular white box adorned with gold lettering. Golden Sugar. Leon remembered his favorite patisserie with the same name. He took out the box and placed it gently on the pantry table. He remembered Tom mentioned that today was his secretary's birthday. Is this Mia's? There was no name written on the box so he decided to open to see what was inside. He gently lifted the lid and to his surprise, a golden honey lemon ginger cake was inside! His favorite. But his eyes were down on the chocolate calligraphy written across neatly arranged sliced lemons that were leaning against a rectangular chocolate wall.

Happy Birthday, Leon.

"For... me?" Leon murmured.

He stood in the pantry for a while before closing the lid again and brought the box with him into his room.

Inside, Leon carefully took the cake out of the box and placed it on the coffee table. He stared at it for some time. His birthday was almost two weeks ago. Who sent this? His father? After all, he knew Golden Sugar was his son's favorite. Leon slowly turned the cake to have a better look. When he turned to its back side, his hand stopped abruptly. His eyes widened. A message was written behind the chocolate wall.

Thank you for being born. Thank you for allowing me to be by your side.

Leon's chest tightened. Viola. Why now? Why did you give me this when you were thinking of leaving...

Leon got up and went to take cutlery from his dining table. He cut a side of the cake with a fork and took a bite. After that, he took another bite and another bite. He could not taste the sweetness in the cake. Instead, it was salty as tears began seeping down his cheeks.

***

Viola was sitting alone at the beach. She had wanted to go back home in Mir but fearing her separation with Leon would upset her father, she decided to stay away from her hometown and rented a house in neighboring city. What was she going to do now? She knew she could not hide herself like this forever.

"Viola?"

A familiar voice called her from behind. Viola turned her head to see a beautiful woman with red hair. She recognized the woman and the man behind her right away.

"Nora?" It was Nora and Walter.

"Oh my god, it's really you?! What are you doing here? Are you alone?" Nora could not hide her excitement. She ran towards Viola.

"Careful! You are pregnant!" Viola quickly got up and caught her hands. She led her to the seat beside her. Walter took the seat beside Nora.

"It has been a while. What are you doing here alone?" Walter asked.

"Oh... I was just..." Viola just laughed softly. She did not know how to answer. Nora sensed something amiss and took Viola's hands into hers.

"Did something happen?" Nora asked. Her eyes looked concerned. Viola looked down to her feet which were covered in sand. She was silent for a while. Nora asked Walter to buy some drinks and leave them alone. Walter quickly obeyed and left.

"Viola..." Nora called her again.

"We separated." Viola murmured.

"What?"

"Me and Leon... we just signed our divorce paper."

"What???"

***

Nora looked at Viola after she told her the story.

"I'm angry." Nora's eyebrows were drawn together. She looked disappointed.

"If you are referring to how Leon almost forced me that night..." Viola tried to ease the tension.

"I'm angry at you, Viola!" Nora talked back.

Viola was dumbfounded. "Eh?"

"Are you dumb?? How could you do that to him?" Nora was clearly angry now. She was not the girl who cried, looking for her forgiveness a few weeks ago. She was back to being Nora Tellsa, the proud and confident socialite of Mir.

Nora let out a sigh and leaned back to her seat. "You left him because you think that what's-her-name girl suits him better? That you are a hindrance to him? That you feel like you are taking advantages from him?" Viola was shocked by Nora's outburst she could not answer her questions.

"Have you ever considered what he actually thinks???"

"I... don't know... I thought... he doesn't need me. Just as when we got married, he accepted it without saying anything. I thought... it doesn't matter to him... whom he married..." Viola's voice was broken. "I tried to hold onto the thin hope that I can stay by his side after all that had happened but when I found out I was the cause of all his trouble, I lose all the confidence to stay by his side. I don't know what to do..." Viola covered her face with her hands and cried.

"Oh, Viola..." Nora got up and hugged her friend.

After both women calmed down. Nora took out her phone and gave it to Viola. Viola looked at her, unsure what she wanted her to do.

"Call him now. Apologize and tell him you did not mean what you said."

"What???" Viola was bewildered.

"Well, I think you are in the wrong. I can clearly see that both of you care for each other but your own insecurity ruins everything." Nora insisted.

"Wait... Nora! I can't." Viola pushed the phone back to Nora. What was she going to say to him?

Nora frowned. "You are not calling? Fine. I am! I don't know his number. Should I just call his office..." Nora mumbled as she opened the search engine on her phone.

"Nora!!" Viola begged.

"Eh...?" Nora let out a gasp. Her eyes looked troubled. Her fingers moved around the screen furiously.

Suddenly, Viola's phone rang, startling her. She searched through her bag and took out her phone. The caller was Rana, the florist, her former employer. Viola wondered why she was calling. She was just about to pick up the call when Nora suddenly stood up and grabbed her hand.

"You have to go back NOW! Your husband was found unconscious in his office this morning!"

Viola felt dizzy. Her body could not stop shaking. It was as if her world had collapsed.