Chapter 137. A ploy in a game

Chapter 137. A ploy in a game
Laura had not been herself throughout her stay at the mansion. Regardless of the fact that she did have the favour of senior Carter, she still felt like she was living the worst moments of herself. Especially now that there was a very evident friction between herself and Leo.

She had barely exchanged words with Leo since their last talk together.  It was as if he was casually ignoring her and that fact hit at her heavily.  She didn't know what Rachel may have told him to turn his mind away from her so fast, almost as if they were strangers now. She had been at the mansion for 3 days now and it had indeed been the worst three days of her life.  She was already fed up and irritated with everything Rachel and Leo were putting her through. Rachel blew up at the slightest and smallest issue and Leo foolishly went along with her, like he was gradually eating out of her palm.

Later at noon,  Laura was sprawled against one of the couches in the living room, her hand resting over her eyes in the cool silence that filled up the room. No one was home, that is besides the maids, Laura and unfortunately rather Rachel.  Leo and his grandfather had gone somewhere together,  leaving Rachel in the care of the maids. Laura on the other hand couldn't care less if something happened to her or not.

When Laura felt like she was just about to dive into a land of sleep, she felt something thrown against her with full force. 
"What the..." She sat up abruptly as she stared down at the pillow that was thrown at her. Looking back up, her mood immediately darkened as she watched Rachel approach her with her hand folded across her chest.

"Are you naturally stupid or is that pregnancy you're carrying affecting that head of yours?"

"Oh please, " Rachel's voice was sharp.  "Spare me these stupid trivialities of yours,  I don't have the time for it."

Laura glared at her before taking in a few deep breaths. "What do you want, Rachel?"

Rachel nodded. "Good. Now you're acting like a human being." She said as she moved towards one of the couches and settled herself on it. "I want us to talk."

Laura stared at her as if she had heard wrongly. "I'm sorry,  what was that?"

"Don't act like you didn't hear me the first time." She said coldly but Laura could barely care about her tone.

"Well, can you really blame me?" She asked as she readjusted herself on the couch.  "This is the first time you're acting quite human rather than your normal self. Probably the effects of the pregnancy are kicking in."

Before Rachel could start an argument,  Laura's voice came to cut hers short.

"What is it you want, Rachel?" She asked while resting her elbows against the arm rest. "Is this about Leo again? Are you here to tell me to leave Leo alone like you always do."

Rachel chuckled but Laura knew better than anyone that this wasn't a friendly one. There were a few moments of silence that formed  between them.

"Actually, it's something of that sort. "She said. Then she leaned back in her seat and folded her leg on top of the other. "We both knew that you obviously have no use here at this mansion..."

"Is that what you think?" Laura interrupted

"I don't think so, darling.  It's pretty much an obvious fact as you basically don't do anything besides being on your laptop all the time, which I personally find to be eye sore if you don't know." She said, "And pretty much sights like that are only going to be making me uncomfortable, which in turn affects my baby."

Laura watched her place her hand against her stomach then moved her gaze back to Rachel's face. "So where exactly are you aiming for this?"

"Well," she sat up straight. "Leo and I had a talk last night..."

"Excuse me?" The words escaped her lips unconsciously.  "You and Leo had a discussion...about me?"

The words felt heavier each second she thought about.  Although she seemed to have already been tagged as a third wheel,  she was still not expecting that the person she claimed to love discussing her with another woman.  And most definitely not in a good light from the signs written all over Rachel's face.

"Do you naturally not hear or you're just acting plainly dumb?" Rachel asked with a hint of irritation.

Laura decided not to say anything. Her hand tapped against the armrest one by one as if she was counting the hours she had before she would eventually 
blow up. On that note, she leaned back into her seat, waiting for Rachel's next words.

"Anyways,  we decided it was the best decision for myself and my baby if you left the mansion."

Laura's brows furrowed together immediately. "What?"

Rachel scoffed. "Please don't make things weird or awkward.  You knew this was fast coming when you thought you could come here and make things fall into place for yourself and another person's territory. " She told her. "What is even said about all this is that the person you think you're fighting for obviously doesn't want you around. Are the signs not everywhere?"

"Rachel, " Laura called, her voice lowered as she hung her head low. "Did Leo agree with this?" With that, she raised her gaze back up. "Did he actually agree to send me out?"

Rachel snorted. "Do you really think I have the interest to lie about something like that? Or if you want,  why not ask him? Although you'd be doing yourself a lot of harm by that particular stupid action."

Laura was left speechless as a bitter smile immediately formed on her face. Is this what she had finally subjected herself to?

"Don't look any more desperate than you already do by being here. There's nothing else that can happen at this junction that Leo would come back to you. And I am very certain you're aware of that fact."

Laura exhaled softly.  "Don't say things you don't know.”

Rachel let out a mocking laugh. “Are you genuinely not seeing things or are you just deciding to be stupid? Leo has moved on from you, a long time ago.” Rachel's words were hard as Laura felt them pierce deeply at her, but she tried not to flinch at it. “Do you think because he came back begging foolishly that he had actually come back to you? Oh please.”

Laura raised her head up to stare at her. “What exactly are you talking about?”

Suddenly, a mischievous smile formed on Rachel's lips as she tilted her head to the side. “You obviously didn't know, did you?”

Laura blinked. “Know what exactly?”

Rachel let out a heavy sigh as she moved at the edge of her seat. “Well my dear Laura, let me fill you up on a little thing that was obviously kept away from you.” She said as she clasped her hands together. “There is nothing about this stupid relationship you have with Leo that is the real Laura. Is that what you're really telling yourself?”

Laura let out a tired breath. “If you know something and would like to say it, and do so and stop with this ridiculous back and forth you're going on with.

Rachel chucked lightly as she lowered her head. “If I were you, I would be so desperate to hear what I have to say to you, Laura.”

Suddenly, a pin drop silence filled up the room between both of them. While Laura felt like she was holding her breath at what Rachel had to say, Rachel on the other hand stared at her with so much calmness.

“Leo doesn't really love you, Laura. He just needed you to get his inheritance.” The words dropped with so much force that she couldn't understand it upfront.

“What are you saying?”

“You don't know? The Senior Carter had threatened Leo, saying he would strip him of his company and inheritance and hand it all over to Nathan if he doesn't get you back.” Rachel said 

Laura couldn't believe her ears. The words were ringing hauntingly in her ears as she stared back at Rachel who still had a smirk on her lips 

“Are you lying about this right now?” Laura's voice trembled as they left her lips.

Rachel scoffed. “Why else do you think he was so persistent to get with you? Why did he leave me just so he could prove it was you he wanted?” She threw the questions at Laura. Then she leaned back in her seat.
“Oh darling, you were nothing more than a ploy in his little take back game.”