Life Without You

Chapter 73 - Andy's Recovery

While he looked, Mr Fujita continued speaking, "All the money in the world cannot buy love and life. All I wanted is for my children to be happy and fulfilled. Yet, in the pursuit of happiness, I have unknowingly supported their poor decision-making that has caused a lot of pain and hurt, especially to the both of you. For this," he faced them. "I sincerely apologise!" He bowed low to Ariel and Leon.

They were shocked by his gesture, especially Ariel who knew her boss never liked her associating with Leon before.

"Fujita-san, you don't have to," said Ariel.

"But I insist, Ariel-san," he waved her off. "I'm human and I have my misgivings too. I owe my gratitude to you both for saving my children's lives!"

"Hiroshi taught me well. If it weren't for his Krav Maga lessons, I wouldn't have been able to fight back," said Ariel. "Andy was right. All of us played a part in bringing the villain down, not just me and Leon."

"Your Andy is a really wise and brave boy, brought up by such an extraordinary mother," Mr Fujita complimented. "Any man who can't see it is blind. If he can't treasure you, he's not worth the keep, right?" He gave Leon a smirking look.

"I most certainly do!" Leon put his arm around Ariel's shoulders. Ariel's face turned red with embarrassment and she changed the topic, "By the way, how's Hiroshi and Hiromi doing?"

"Hiroshi's head injury is not too serious but he will need a lot of rest until he is fully recovered. He will stay at my mansion where a private doctor and nurse will attend to him. But Hiromi..."

Mr Fujita's countenance fell at the mention of his daughter's name.

"Even though she may not have suffered any serious injury, she's too traumatised that she's not been able to act in a normal mental state for now. She's been transferred to a psychiatric hospital for monitoring." He wiped a tear off his right eye.

"I'm so sorry, Fujita-san," Ariel was saddened to hear the news.

"So very sorry," Leon sympathised. Even though he never liked Hiromi, he never wished anything bad like this to happen to her.

"Anyway, take this month off from work. Be with your boy and take care of your mental health. I'll have Han and Hong take over your place for now," said Mr Fujita.

"Fujita-san, I'm sure Hiromi will come out stronger and better," Ariel consoled him.

Mr Fujita nodded with a thank-you smile, "Take care and let me know if you need anything else. I'll be heading off to see Hiromi." He left the hospital with his bodyguards.

Arnold suddenly called Leon to discuss business matters.

"Look, Andy's right now my utmost priority," Leon explained with a sigh.

"The press is painting you as some love-crazed maniac who still has not gotten his act together since the scandal and your disastrous concert. And you're not bothered? What's wrong with you, man?" Arnold criticised.

"What's wrong with me? I just survived a kidnap! I almost died of alcohol poisoning, faced financial ruin and all you care is about polishing my public image!"

"Dude! We're running out of narratives to save your a**! Focus! You, Leon Waltz, are a brand! Must I keep reminding you that Jake Milliano and the dozens of new artistes popping into the scene may soon topple you?"

Leon sucked in his breath.

"Now, Sheldon's giving his love to Jake who's bringing in the millions. Your last album may have done well but it still fell short of our target. Your absence means no concerts, no events and no money."

"So, Avon wants to give up on me for a 16-year-old newbie?"

"Dude, I'm trying to help you," Arnold reminded. "Let's discuss tomorrow with our team on how to bring you back from the brink. Don't disappoint Sheldon anymore."

"Disappoint him??" The mention of Sheldon's name made Leon feel like throwing up. "I'm so not in the mood or right place to discuss how to "save my brand". Tell Sheldon I won't be available till I'm ready."

"But, but-"

Leon hung up and kept his phone on silent mode.

"Leon, are you ok?" asked Ariel.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," he forced a smile.

The next few days saw Andy progressing well. He was still weak and his heart still needed monitoring, but he was able to eat well again. Ariel made sure that nothing scary or stressful was present that would stress his heart. She played soothing music in the background and entertain him with light-hearted movies. Leon played board games with him and made video calls to show Sky who was temporarily being taken care of by Rita.

Everyone came to pay Andy a visit and praised him for his heroic efforts. Camila, Beth and Theo, Rita and her parents, Imogen and Evan who just recovered, Anna, Leon's parents, and Angel and his wife, Ivy. Andy never imagined feeling more loved and appreciated by so many people in his life, that for the first time in days, he could sleep peacefully without the nightmares from the kidnapping ordeal.

"When can I go home?" he grumbled one day as his hospitalisation reached the eighth day.

"Soon, hopefully," replied Ariel, even though the doctor had not given him the all-clear.

Night fell and once he was asleep, Ariel asked Leon, "You've stayed here quite a while now. You sure you don't wanna go back?"

Leon had not stepped into his new rented house after the kidnapping incident. Instead, he cancelled the residency and lost his deposit. He decided to move back to his parents' mansion for the time being. His boxes of belongings were already moved to their mansion.

"If I go now, I won't be here in the city. I'll be far, far away from you," he reminded.

Ariel's eyes were downcast. The prospect of not having Leon here was feeling unbearable, but she did not want to trouble him with the uncomfortable stays in the hospital. Ariel noticed lately that Leon was suffering from short hours of sleep, pacing here and there and staring blankly for no reason for long periods of time. Understandably, they had gone through a lot but his unsettling mood was affecting her. As much as he was a great support and now that they were a couple, Ariel felt his behaviour out of the ordinary in some ways. Leon would sometimes disappear in between for long periods of time before heading back up in the ward, with nothing at hand. She assumed he may be trying to make private calls related to his Avon or his personal finances, which were still far from being sorted out.

"Ma'am, a police officer with an important person would like to speak with you," said one of the bodyguards guarding outside the ward.

"Let them come in," said Ariel.

In came a plump man with glasses and dark hair with a slightly balding top, wearing a grey coat with a red scarf and blue jeans. Accompanying him was a male police officer who escorted him inside.

"Who are you?" asked Ariel.

"I'm Johan Olsen. I'm the husband of the woman who tried to kill you," he said with a strong Norwegian accent.

Ariel covered her dropped jaw.

"Johan Olsen?" Leon leaped from his seat.

"Hello Leon, it's been a while," Johan took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. The look of distress was visible on his face.

Leon was stunned at how different Johan looked, a far cry from the athletic high-school heartthrob he once was. He had aged beyond his years and he looked worn out and unhappy.

"I....I...." Johan was struggling to find the right words to say. "I don't know where I should start."