That evening after leaving Becca's apartment, Leo headed to the airport to board his private jet, but before he stepped into the plane, he fished out his phone from his pocket and dialed the number of one of his most trusted men on it. The call rang twice before being picked up by a man on the other line.
" Boss?" The man on the other line was the first one to speak after he answered the call.
" Alfonso, I need you to keep an eye on someone for me, I want you to guard her with your life," Leo ordered and on hearing the boss's words, the man called Alfonso sat up straight on his bed he was laying down on.
" Baby, who is it?" The woman who was supposed to please him that night asked, feeling a little offended that Alfonso was ignoring her to answer a call in the middle of their intimate moment. Alfonso shot her a warning with his eyes, telling her to hush. Then the woman pouted and folded her arms angrily over her naked chest but decided to shut up while Alfonso continued his phone call.
" Who is it, boss?" Alfonso asked, holding the phone to his ear, and glanced at the naked woman laying on the bed next to him.
" Rebecca Ramus, I want you to keep tabs on her. I want to know everything that happens to her and everything she does, no mistakes will be tolerated." Leo stepped into the jet and took a seat, still on the phone.
' Ramus? As in the same Ramus as Johnny Ramus? Why was the boss so fixated on that family? First, he asked me to find out about the whereabouts of Kristina Ramus, now he's ordering me to keep track of this one? And why does boss sound so obsessed with this one?' Alfonso asked himself but didn't dare question his boss in fear of losing his tongue.
Leonardo was a crazy man who had a way of getting creative with his punishments and despite Alfonso being one of his boss's most trusted men, he knew that Leo wouldn't think twice about nailing him on a fucking cross if he defied his orders.
" Okay, boss but may I ask a question?" Alfonso asked and held his breath, knowing fully well that he could lose his prized possession if his question somehow found a way of annoying the fuck out of Leo.
" Go ahead." Leo permitted and Alfonso silently heaved a sigh of relief.
" From the way you sound over the phone, it's like you plan on going away. Where are you going?" Alfonso gathered the courage to ask and Leo massaged his forehead.
It wasn't like Leo wanted to leave but he had urgent business to attend to. He had some matters that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible and what better time to solve those matters than now when Becca broke up with him.
Leo wasn't mad about what Becca did to him, or how she pushed him away, though he was a little hurt by it but not mad.
How could he be angry at her when all he wanted to do was love her with everything he had. To love her until she forgot the meaning of loneliness.
He expected her to do something like that, something as cruel as that because, from the time he spent with her, he studied her. He knew how her brain worked. Becca was the type of person who could deny herself something she wanted just because other people wanted it. She had this weird way of punishing herself by not allowing herself to have what she desired, telling herself that she didn't deserve it and that it wasn't for her. That being happy wasn't for her and it was only something that existed in fairytales.
That getting what she wanted wasn't for her and despite how many times she told herself that she wanted to be happy, deep down she couldn't give herself the chance to be.
She was afraid to even allow herself to be and it was messed up that she did that to herself. She was punishing herself for no reason when she was supposed to be living the best life she could. When she should be happy.
She was her biggest enemy, her own tormentor and it was fucking her up but Leo, being as fucked up as she was, knew how to handle the situation. He knew what she badly needed and it was space and time.
Space to rethink her decisions and time to regret them. He had already done his part by carving himself in her heart, by fucking engraving his name in her soul that leaving her by herself would hurt her. It would make her feel an emptiness in her and as much as it pained him to hurt her like this, it had to be done so she would realize what she felt towards him. So she would crave him with every breath she took, to make her as obsessed with him as he was with her.
It was his fucked up plan all along.
" Italy, my beloved grandfather seems to be getting even more desperate to see me these days." Leo joked humourlessly and Alfonso knew quite well that Leo wasn't in his best mood at that time. He was just trying to keep his shit together and Alfonso chose not to bother his boss with more questions.
" Okay boss, I will do what you asked," Alfonso responded and Leo instantly ended the call. He leaned back on his seat and shut his eyes, allowing images of his beloved to flood his mind. He was really going to miss her while he would be away but it was for the best, she needed the time apart and he needed it as well. They were going too fast anyway, their relationship needed space to breathe and time to mature, all this was for the best.
These were the words Leo kept telling himself to strengthen his resolve. So he wouldn't give in to his desires, to prevent him from being controlled by the force that kept pulling him to Becca.
Yes, he loved her and she meant everything to him but she also needed to learn. He needed her to realize that she could be as happy as she wanted if she let herself. If she stopped fucking blocking her heart with tall walls of ice.
That night, Leo flew to Italy to meet his grandfather dearest and after the jet landed, he went to visit the old crapper immediately because he didn't want to waste any more time on whatever his grandfather wanted from him and to get it over with.
He asked his chauffeur to take him to Salvador's mansion and after not too long, the car stopped in front of the gate to one of the most luxurious villas in the entire Venice which belonged to his grandfather. After the security system granted him admission to enter, the electronic gates automatically opened and the car drove into the vast compound.
The car parked next to the dolphin-shaped fountain and Leo got out with a bored expression on his face.
He stared at the mansion in indifference when others would stare at it in awe, mostly because his mansion in America was better looking. Leo stepped into the house and was first welcomed by his grandmother, yes the same one who used to call him her little sugar ant.
She hugged him, well mostly his torso because he was just too damn tall. Once he broke their hug, Leo held his grandmother's face in his hands and kissed her forehead.
" I missed you so much, grandma," Leo said with a soft smile on his face, and his grandmother, Fernanda Kane, burst into her usual waterworks.
" Look at you, you have grown up so much. No longer the little boy who used to break into my kitchen. I missed you so much, my son." Fernanda curled her arms around Leo, refusing to let go and Leo just patted her back to calm her down.
Now we know where Leo got the attitude of hugging like a constricting snake from. It seemed both grandmother and grandson were natural-born huggers.
" I came here to meet the old fire-breathing dragon," Leo said and Fernanda giggled, knowing that he was referring to her husband.
That was the name Leo always called his grandfather behind his back and sometimes even in front of him. Salvador Kane, despite his old age, still had quite the temper. Same as the one he had in his youth.
As both grandmother and grandson were still in each other's embrace, the door to one of the rooms upstairs opened and Salvador made his way down the stairs, walking normally without any support whatsoever. He approached where his wife and Leo were and saw that they were having a beautiful family reunion but instead of giving them some space like a normal person would, he cleared his throat loudly to get both their attention.
Fernanda soon noticed her husband's presence while Leo despite being the first one to be aware of it, chose to ignore his grandfather and continued hugging his grandmother like no one was there.
" Salvador, look, our grandson came to visit." Fernanda beamed at her husband, still holding Leo around his torso and Salvador nodded.
" Hallelujah to that," Salvador responded sarcastically and then turned to Leo. " I'm sure you didn't come all this way to hug my wife."
" No, I'm here to speak to you, old man. You have been so persistent these days so I dropped by to say what's up." Leo responded in an even more sarcastic tone that made his grandfather's eyes twitch in anger. Leo let go of his grandmother and turned to Salvador with a ' let's get this over with because you're wasting my fucking time' look plastered on his face.
Salvador saw the look his grandson was giving him and shook his head at how disrespectful Leo was being towards him. Salvador had never been disrespectful to his father so why did God punish him by giving him a grandson like Leonardo?
He should have done more to discipline the shit out of the brat or at least told Lorenzo to teach his son proper manners before he passed away.
Angrily, Salvador turned around and gestured Leo to follow him while he walked back upstairs. Luckily, Leo wasn't in the mood to disobey his grandfather that night so he willingly followed him to his study where he just came out from.
And as both men disappeared into the study, Fernanda stayed in the living room, nervously pacing around the place. She knew that whenever Leo and Salvador were in a room alone together, nothing but conflicts and disagreements comes out of it. Just by the look on the two broody men's faces, she already knew that their discussion wouldn't be a friendly one.
The study was soundproof so no scolding and arguments could be heard but after a few minutes, just as Fernanda predicted, the door to Salvador's study flew open and Leo stormed out of it with a furious look on his face.
Leo walked downstairs and headed straight to the exit of the mansion but stopped when he felt someone holding his coat. He turned and saw his grandmother with a worried expression on her face.
" What happened this time, son?" Fernanda asked with a soft voice and took Leo's hand in hers, rubbing it gently to soothe the burning inferno inside of him.
" Your husband is still trying to shape me into the perfect grandson I never was, the perfect one he never had and I'm fucking sick of it." Leo huffed, his voice slightly raised, and started taking deep breaths to calm down.
" Leo, he's still your grandfather. He loves you that's why he's doing this." Fernanda lectured but knew that Leo wasn't ready to listen so she decided to let it go and chose to change the topic instead. " My birthday is in three months, I hope you can be able to attend this year." She batted her lashes cutely at Leo like a child asking her father for money and started drawing circles on his hand to keep his attention on her.
Fernanda didn't only act way younger than her age but also looked younger too. Just like Salvador, Fernanda didn't even look old enough to be Leo's grandparent and when standing next to him, she could be mistaken to be Leo's mother.
Leo looked at his grandmother who was bursting out all her cuteness to get him to agree to her request like she always did and sighed. He badly wanted to refuse her because attending her birthday party would mean being in the same room with the rest of his family members and he wasn't ready for that. The anger and frustration they would cause him would kill him before the event even ends. But just as he was about to say no, he saw her pouting like a child and the next thing he saw was his resolve to refuse her being tossed out the window.
He didn't have the strength to refuse his grandmother when she was acting like that. Forget strength, he didn't have the courage and willpower to refuse her. The woman was just so cunning that she knew how to use her charms to get what she wanted, whether it was from her husband, children, or even grandchildren.
From the way they behaved with each other, Leo had a good relationship with his grandmother more than he did with the rest of his family members. Mostly because she was the only one who had shown him any genuine love. She was the only one who tried to reach out to him when the depression he felt in his past almost cost him his life. She was the only one who made him feel like he mattered in the world while all his beloved grandfather did was use him for his own selfish gain by turning Leo into his assassin.
At just the age of eighteen, Salvador cut off all Leo's financial support, saying that he was old enough to earn his own money and the job he offered Leo back then was to kill people for money.
If he didn't kill, he would starve and end up dropping out of school.
Leo, being just a freshman in college, accepted the job offer to be able to pay for his expenses and soon became an expert in the field of killing. Leo was a very fast learner, who quickly graduated from being just a sniper to killing in closer ranges.
Leo started face-to-face confrontations with his victims, breaking into their houses and stabbing the life out of them. He soon realized that he liked killing people from close range, he liked having their blood in his hands and fucking relished their screams of terror.
It made him feel sated, it gave him a sense of fulfillment. It made him feel powerful and he was just nineteen at the time. Nineteen but already a cold-blooded killer.
Leo looked away from his grandmother and when Fernanda saw that he was desperate to ignore her persuading tactics, she decided to bring out the big guns. She started poking him lightly on the shoulder to get his attention and another sigh left Leo's lips.
" Fine, grandma. I will do my best to attend but I'm not making any promises." Leo finally gave into Fernanda's persuasion and rolled his eyes when he saw her beaming at him.
" Leo, you have no idea how happy it would make me have you celebrating with me. Don't forget to bring that girl you like along with you as well." Fernanda wrapped her arms around Leo who cast his eyes to the ceiling. Of course, he knew who she was referring to. It had to be Becca, no doubt about it.
" Grandma, how many times have I told you to stop keeping tabs on my personal life. I already have grandfather's intrusion to deal with and I don't want anymore." Leo complained but this time it was his grandmother who rolled her eyes.
This family just liked getting into their loved one's business.
" Hmph! Why won't I keep an eye on you when you never tell me anything. You rarely visit me, so what do you expect me to do? I wanted to know what happens in my baby's life, to know what he's up to." Fernanda nagged and Leo just shook his head at her. " She's gorgeous by the way, you two will give me cute great-grandchildren in the future," Fernanda added and a smile appeared on Leo's face.
He had never really considered having babies of his own before but his grandmother's words seemed to have put the thought in his head.
He started imagining how it would feel like to be a father, to raise children with his beloved. To finally come home and be welcomed by people who loved and cared about him. His own little family.
Leo looked at his grandmother with a smile still on his face and nodded.
" We are still working through some issues in our relationship but I will get her to come around." He said and touched Fernanda's cheek. " I have to go, grandma. I will visit you as soon as I can or as soon as grandfather stops being an asshole but either way I will visit you." He kissed her forehead and walked out of the mansion. He got into the backseat of his car and the driver immediately drove out of the compound, leaving Fernanda staring at the disappearing figure of the car.
She then heard footsteps approaching her and turned to see Salvador walking towards her. She angrily folded her arms over her chest and shot her husband a glare for being so childish to even argue with his grandson like that.
Despite Leo having a disrespectful attitude towards his grandfather, most of their clashes always started with Salvador doing something to piss Leo off and Fernanda knew about this fact.
" Stop looking at me like that," Salvador said as he approached his wife and wrapped his arms possessively around her slender waist, hugging her from behind.
" I will only stop giving you this look when you start acting maturely and make peace with Leo." Fernanda retorted and felt a laugh rumbling in Salvador's chest.
" You want me to apologize to that brat of a grandson?" Salvador said in between his laughs and Fernanda shook her head.
" Don't you dare call Leo a brat or else I will lock you out of our room and you will end up sleeping on the couch in your study." Fernanda threatened and forcefully removed Salvador's hands from her waist but Salvador only curled his hands around her waist again, tighter this time.
" Would you kick me out of our bedroom when I have something special to show you, something I know you love?" He started trailing kisses down her neck, making her thoughts hazy and her mind go blank.
Even at his old age, Salvador was still a master at seduction and he was so good at it that his wife always fell for it despite being married to him for so many years.
" What do you want to show me?" She asked as if under a spell, Salvador's spell. Seeing as he had already enticed her, Salvador spun her around to face him and stared straight into her eyes.
" Come with me to the bedroom and I will show you." With a sensual smirk on his face, he took her hand in his and led her upstairs to their room, with her following closely behind him.. Feeling hypnotized and curious to see what Salvador had to show her.