A Matter of Wife and Love by Mila

Toby remained quiet for quite some time. His brows were tightly knitted together, and he felt torn.

After a while, he stepped back abruptly and rubbed his forehead. “Sorry about that. I had a little too much to drink.”

As his hand fell back down to his side, he regained his pleasant, gentlemanly demeanor. He then nodded at Amelie

and left.

She stared at his retreating figure in confusion. Although she could tell that he was in a bad mood, she didn’t know

why. I guess something must’ve happened, she thought to herself as she turned around and went back in.

Behind her, the elevator door came to a close. The warm, gentle smile on Toby’s face slowly vanished as his

features contorted in pain. His long sleeves kept his clenched fists hidden from sight. It had taken him all the self-

restraint he had to not blurt out the last thing he wanted to say.

He didn’t tell Amelie that he discovered her secret an hour ago. In the past, he suspected that she was Big Eyes,

and now, he had been proven correct.

He didn’t go to Leo with this information right away. Instead, he came to look for Amelie first, but he had no idea

why he did that.

For some reason, his chest was killing him. It felt as if someone had stabbed a dagger right through his heart.

When he thought about everything Amelie had to suffer throughout her marriage while staying with the Alstons, the

pain he felt became so excruciating that he almost gasped for air. What was it like to cling to hope in the middle of

despair? How did she survive those times? It’s Amelie’s business, so why does my heart hurt so badly?

Toby pressed his fist against his chest. Deep down inside, he knew why, but he dared not say it. If he did, Amelie

would stay away from him. He even had to use the excuse of being drunk just to see her.

Toby went back to Prix Bar. He owned the establishment, so no one stopped him along the way. Once he got back to

the private room, he lay down on a couch and covered his head.

“What’s up with you?” When Leo came in, he was surprised to find Toby in this state.

Leo was used to being stern and indifferent. He rarely showed any emotions in his expression, but he still knew how

to express concern for others.

Toby’s hand moved away slightly as he turned to look at Leo.

Soon, he started laughing.

Leo was even more puzzled by the laughter. He walked over to the other side, bent down, and poured himself a

drink.

Leo was in a bit of a funk as well because of Amelie. She didn’t even want to listen to my explanation. It’s clear she

doesn’t care about me anymore.

This was what he wanted all along, but now that his wish came true, his mood was sour. It felt as if his chest had

been replaced by an empty cavern—a hollowed-out hole.

All of a sudden, Leo’s phone rang. It was a call from Eugene.

“Mr. Alston, someone took a photo of you and Miss Clayton together. Everyone’s saying that the wedding will

happen soon. Shall I attend to it?”

Leo frowned. He removed his phone from his ear and started tapping. True enough, he saw a photo of him and

Elyse going viral on social media. In the photo, he was tending to the garden while Elyse was sitting in the

wheelchair looking on with a loving expression. It had been taken at Joie Nursing Home.

Many comments had been left under the original post. Most of them said the two were a match made in heaven.

The further Leo scrolled, the tighter his grip became, and the darker his expression.

“Why are you only reporting this to me now?” His tone became a lot harsher.

Eugene shuddered at the iciness in Leo’s tone before answering, “I just received the news from Miss Harris…”

After Eugene’s return, Laura had been reassigned to the communication department.

“She’s only reporting it now when it happened an hour ago?” Leo’s voice became even colder. “Fire her.”

Eugene was stunned into silence. All this while, he could tell that Leo was far more lenient on Laura than he was on

anyone else. Laura had committed several mistakes even graver than this, but she had never been punished for

them. Yet, now…

Eugene glanced at the news with a thoughtful look in his eyes. He sighed to himself as he replied, “Yes, Mr. Alston.”

“There’s one more thing I want you to do,” Leo instructed just as Eugene was about to end the call. Eugene listened

dutifully, but his eyes progressively widened as he heard Leo’s command. “Yes, Mr. Alston,” Eugene said at last.

After finishing the call, Leo was in no mood to sit around and drink anymore. He got to his feet.

“Leo,” Toby called out to stop him.

Toby had a perceptive look in his eyes as he asked, “Why are you treating Elyse like that?”

He heard the call between Leo and Eugene.

Leo simply looked right back at Toby without saying anything. He didn’t plan on answering the question.

Toby chuckled. “Is it because of Amelie?” His fingers dug into the couch under him.

“You’re mistaken,” Leo refuted coolly.

Toby started laughing again. It was a mocking laughter that Toby had never used with Leo in the past. Leo frowned.

All of a sudden, he felt a grip on his shoulder. It was Toby who grabbed him.

Toby didn’t say anything. Instead, he swung his fist right at Leo.

Leo was caught off-guard and took a punch to the face. A bruise blossomed on his handsome face as blood trickled

out of the corner of his lips. “Toby! Have you gone mad?” Leo snarled as he wiped the blood off.

Toby didn’t answer. He swung his fist again.

Leo’s guard was up this time. He dodged Toby’s fists as he raised his own, and the two began pummeling each

other…

Amelie woke up with a start. Her eyes were still a little droopy, but she saw Brianna sitting on the bed and staring at

her with a phone held up.

Brianna’s eyes were bright and clear.

“What is it?” Amelie asked puzzledly as she stroked Brianna’s cheek.

“Ma’s calling you.” Brianna passed the phone to Amelie.

It was only then that Amelie realized the phone was ringing. She quickly answered the call. “Why are you calling me

this late, Julia? Did something happen?”

“I’ve got the most shocking news to tell you!” Julia screeched so loudly that Amelie’s eardrum nearly burst.

“What’s going on?” Julia’s tone was so emphatic that Amelie’s heart stopped for a moment as she thought, Did

something happen to the company?

She grabbed her tablet to check for herself.

“What happened to Leo? Why did he suddenly stop lavishing his affections on Elyse?” Julia cried out. “At 8.00PM

today, Elyse did her usual b*tchy thing of posting a photo of her and Leo tending to the garden together, and the

Internet went wild with praise. Everyone said the wedding bells were ringing soon enough. Quite a number of

production companies tried to get her onboard for their projects when they heard about this.”

“Uh huh,” Amelie hummed noncommittedly.

“But doesn’t that prove his affection for her?” Amelie couldn’t help but recall what happened earlier today. She felt

a slight twang in her heart. No wonder they took so long. They were busy showing off their relationship. He

shouldn’t have done it during Bria’s event. He went too far.

“That’s not all, of course!” Julia raced to finish sharing, “Here comes the twist. At midnight, Leo personally made an

announcement saying that the so-called gardening date was just a coincidental encounter.”

Amelie was taken aback. “A coincidental encounter?”

“Not only that, but Leo even said that Elyse wants to focus on her career and has decided to go back to being just

friends with him. He said that from now on, the two of them are just friends and he asks that everyone stops trying

to put them together.”

“That’s…”

“Do you think Leo went crazy? Or did Elyse cheat on him?” Julia kept coming up with different possibilities.

Amelie couldn’t make heads or tails of the news either. She went online and checked the article for herself. Not only

did it include the photo, but it even had a statement that the reporter received from Elyse.

The article included a response from Elyse’s team who confirmed that she and Leo were in a solid relationship and

would soon be announcing some good news.

Leo immediately refuted what Elyse said. Wasn’t that akin to slapping her in the face?

When did Leo become so cold and merciless toward Elyse?

Still, this had nothing to do with Amelie and she wasn’t keen on paying any attention to it. She chatted briefly with

Julia before ending the call.

As soon as she finished her call with Julia, her phone started ringing again.

“Hello?” she asked in puzzlement.

A male voice rang out. “Miss Dillon? This is Eugene Cornelius. Could you come over to Prix Bar now?”