Chapter 356 A Father's Neglect
CHAPTER 353
ELIJAH
I looked at the envelope sitting on my table. It lay there, a stark white rectangle against the dark wood, a silent accusation. I hadn't touched it once since Roy brought it to me last night. It wasn't that I was scared to open it and see its contents, but there was a whole lot riding on what was inside.
Everything that has happened in the past few weeks between my wife and me has been because of what was in that envelope. It was the source of the chasm that had opened up between us, the reason Adriana looked at me with a mixture of disappointment and hurt I couldn't bear.
There was a knock on the door, sharp and insistent. I didn't want to answer it at first because I didn't want to be disturbed, but when it came two more times, each more demanding than the last, I didn't have an option but to answer. "Come in!" I called out, my voice rougher than I intended.
Leo walked through, and I was so glad that I didn't tell him to get out, because my back was turned to the door and I would have said it without turning around. I would have regretted it instantly.
"Good evening, Father."
His voice was flat, devoid of its usual warmth. I turned to look at him and saw that there was something terribly wrong. I asked him to sit, but he remained standing, his posture rigid. He couldn't even look at me. His face was turned to the ground, his shoulders slumped, and I wondered what could possibly be wrong.
"Leo, what is it? Why do you look so gloomy?" I asked, a knot of dread tightening in my stomach.
"How can't I look gloomy when my own Father has decided to turn against me?"
That sent a chill down my spine, and my eyes widened. The air left my lungs. "What did you say to me?"
"I've been betrayed by the one I call father," he said, his voice cracking. "Is it that you no longer love me, or have you now finally realized that royal blood now runs through your veins and I'm just a commoner? Has your false love for me finally come to light?"
I could hear the tears in his voice, and I hated it. I was feeling a lot of things, but anger was the main one. Anger that I didn't even understand what he was talking about, and he was crying. I barely saw Leo cry. Not since he was a little boy. Even when Lana had been kidnapped from his arms, he hadn't cried like this. He had been strong, defiant. This was different. This was broken.
"How can you say those words to my face? Have you lost your mind? Look at me!" I commanded, my voice echoing in the large office. He slowly raised his head, his eyes swimming with tears. "What are you going on about? What do you think I have done this time?"
He was sobbing like a little child now, and the last time I'd seen him cry like this was when he was a kid. "You raised me as yours," he choked out, the words torn from his throat. "You told everyone that I was your son. That it didn't matter if Mum didn't birth me, but I was your son and I was a part of this family. Why did you throw all that out the window just as soon as Lucien came walking by? Where is your love for me?"
Was that what this was about? I couldn't say that I couldn't believe Leo would think this way, because I knew I had messed up greatly. I had been so focused on Lucien, on this new, unexpected connection, that I had given him so much attention and care that I had neglected my own son, the boy I had sworn to love as my own flesh and blood.
I went around the table and knelt in front of him, a position I hadn't been in since he was small enough to fit in my arms. I placed my hand on his, but he pushed it away, the rejection a physical blow.
"Leo, just as I told you and your mother before, I would never ever disrespect any of you like that," I pleaded, my voice softening. "I raised you to take my crown, and that's what you're going to do. I won't be ridiculous as to doing something like giving the crown to someone else. You think that's what I'm doing?"
"What else are you doing?" he shot back, his voice rising with a newfound anger. "When was the last time we trained together? When was the last time you came to see me before going to bed? You forgot my adoption day, Dad. All you do is go around with him. I'm sure the people would be happy to see that an illegitimate son who has your blood in his veins becomes King over some servant's son. That's what I'll always be to this kingdom."
I was so stunned that I didn't even know what to say. His adoption day had passed? His gift, a beautifully crafted dagger with the royal crest, was sitting in my room, and I'd hoped to give it to him the night before, but I must have missed the date. I had been so consumed with my own thoughts, with the envelope, with Lucien, that I had let the most important day in my son's life slip by.
He stood up and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand, his movements sharp and angry. "I'll be out of your hair very soon. After all, you have someone to take my place. So you don't need me. Lana, Lorraine and the twins have a mum. You know, even though Mum was so busy, she never forgot a thing? Mum didn't forget my adoption day, she didn't forget Lana, and she didn't forget the twins. But you forgot her in jail. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you raised me all these years. Maybe when I'm older, I'll find a way to repay you, but for now, I need to go find myself and become a man, just as you taught me to."
He stormed out of the office before I could even say a word, the door slamming shut behind him, leaving me in a deafening silence. How could I have neglected my kids like this? Just the same way I'd missed Lana's first words and almost her first steps. It's no wonder Adriana can't even look at me. What was I going to do to remedy this? Leo was talking about leaving? I'd die before I let that happen. I'd raised that boy with everything in me.
A sudden gust of wind blew through the open balcony doors, carrying with it a scent I knew all too well. I turned around to see her there, standing in the shadows like a ghost.
I stood up immediately, my heart pounding. "Adriana, you're here."
Had she heard everything that we had said?
"Good to see that you're so worried about your son that you'd run after him when he's crying," she said, her voice dripping with a sarcasm so sharp it could cut glass.
Yeah, she had heard everything.
"I was going to do that," I stammered. "I just needed to find out what to say to him."
"You're his father!" she shot back, her eyes flashing with anger. "You're not supposed to have a rehearsal before you speak to him!"
She was right, but I also didn't want to say the wrong thing, to make things worse than they already were.
"Elijah, make sure nothing happens to my son," she said, her voice low and dangerous, before turning and walking away, leaving me standing there, not knowing if I should chase after her too.
Just then, Hazel came into view, her expression grim. "Court is in session. Grab your crown."