Chapter Seven
This is what I like to call the Catalyst Chapter. You'll eventually know why.
"Just a little bit to the right."
Leila flinched when the sudden coldness invaded her body once more. She wanted to groan, but of course, the picture of her mother's disapproval playing in her mind stopped her from doing so. She tried to ignore the discomfort she had felt as the icy gelatinous fluid was smeared all over her stomach and the doctor started tracing a random path over her somewhat spherical belly.
"The heart rate is normal," He announced and moved the scanning device a little further, much to Leila's discomfort. Just finish the stupid scan already, you pervert, She thought.
"The movements are regular," The doctor added and pointed his other hand to something on the screen that was beyond her eyesight. David's eyes moved to stare at the computer and his brows furrowed on confusion as the doctor began describing stuff that he didn't understand.
"The pressure is stable," He finished off with a grin and returned the digital snake back to its spot. Leila was given a tissue by the nurse to wipe away the sticky substance from her stomach. She sat back up and pulled her blouse down, exhaling a relaxed breath. She stepped down from the bed and moved to take a glance at the screen.
"Everything seems fine, Mrs. Gareth," The doctor said, turning back in his chair to face the both of them. "The baby is normal and healthy, probably eight-to-ten weeks old, which is considered a very important development stage. You might feel more hungry than usual and have way too frequent visits to the bathroom, but rather than that, the signs show that the fetus is positive. You just need to keep an eye on the food you eat. Make sure to eat three or more meals daily, in addition to varied fruits and fresh beverages. I will attach a list to your husband's e-mail so you could know your eating schedule."
Leila nodded feigning understanding, while in reality she didn't even pay attention to what he was actually saying. She had been so eagerly looking forward to returning back home and relax.
"Thank you, Doctor," She replied gratefully and went over to stand next to her parents, not sparing a glance towards them. Her mother was enthusiastic and she seemed way too hyperactive and demanding lately, throwing an order and a warning every now and then whenever Leila did something that could hurt the baby, while on the other hand, her father looked neutral. She could freely say that he didn't even care if she was going to have a baby or not. She didn't understand his behavior. Was he angry with her, because of the way she had acted the other night? But even though, he was never that ignorant before. What was going on here?
As they were ushered outside to the waiting room so that the other awaiting patients could come inside, Leila had to wait for the nurse to write down a note of every pain-killer, anti-biotic and iron-supplement she could ever need. She also added the link to her boss's YouTube channel so she could watch videos regarding pregnancy and handling newborns.
Was it really that hard to take care if a child?
The ride back home was silent. David and her father were sitting in the front, while Leila had to suck it up and occupy the backseat with her hyper-active mother. She tried to ignore her way-too-loud remarks by staring out the window, but even that wasn't of much help.
"Goodbye, David! Bye, Leila!" Samar waved back at them as they both stood on the pavement after being dropped at their hotel, watching the car retreat. Leila had to transfer to the passenger seat, so she did it without uttering another word. In fact, they both hadn't said anything to each other ever since that day at the motel. Leila went back to her daily ritual, only going out for food and smelling some fresh air. David was nowhere to be seen. They used Emily as their messenger, and as much as Leila hated to use the poor girl in that way, she didn't really have much of a choice. She didn't want to face him again, not now, not ever.
Leila was so glad that day when she had woken up to Emily's giddy voice calling for her in the morning. She had given her a long, soothing hug and asked her to sit down and recite everything that she had done during Christmas break. Emily was glad to find someone who was actually interested in hearing her and eagerly started telling her about every place she had traveled to, sparing no details to be told. Leila was finally back to her normal self. They started laughing about random things like weird cultural food and how Leila couldn't cook to save her life. The latter promised to learn to cook her one of the authentic meals she had grown up to back home, and Emily - after way too much pursuing - finally agreed.
"We need to talk." For a second, she had thought she was imagining things, but when she glanced to the side, David was already looking at her. Like she had expected, his face was expressionless as always.
"What do you want to talk about?" She asked neutrally, diverting her eyes from his face. "I'm really not in the mood to argue right now, so -,"
"I'm going on another trip," David stated, gripping the steering wheel more tightly, trying to contain his emotions. Leila mentally rolled her eyes. Of course, that would be it. Whenever didn't David Gareth go on a business? That was nothing new to her.
"Okay!" She replied, sounding very carefree, as if it didn't bother her. He wasn't worth her bother. If he were planning to continue being that ignorant towards her, then so be it.
"Is that it?" David asked, his face masked with disbelief. He probably didn't expect that from her. Leila was snoopy. She loved to know everything about everyone. She was always sticking her nose down people's private business. David had already complained about it a lot of times, but she never really cared. Whatever actually made her listen to him at that moment, she didn't really care.
She nodded again. "Yes."
"You should learn to reply in full sentences. It's impolite to ignore people, you know."
There we are. He's going to start pointing out my flaws again. Such a gentlemanly move of his.
"Says who?" She muttered under her breath, and thankfully he didn't seem like he have heard her. Or at least that's what she had believed.
She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, David. I'll pay attention to that next time," She sassed.
"What on Earth is wrong with you today?" He yelled, finally losing his grip. "You're acting like everything is just perfect between us."
"Us?" She scoffed. "What? You expect me to do what, exactly? You want me to act like I care? Well, take that for example. You're a schizophrenic pedophile who's not worth more than the dirt on my shoes. You are disgusting and unbearable and no one in their right mind would stand to stay under the same roof as you for one millisecond. Is that what you want, David? Because I will gladly take the honor of doing it."
David sighed and shook his head. Leila huffed in response and slumped back in her seat. "Thought so."
"I'm sorry," He rasped and she fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was not that easy.
"Apology refused," She snapped. "Now, shut up and keep driving or I swear I'm going to storm out of the damn car right now."
The rest of the drive went in silence. The tension was so thick that Leila could almost swear she could touch it with her hands. Once David had parked the car and killed the engine, she bolted out of her seat and walked through the doors, up the stairs and into her room without uttering a word.
"Leila," Emily greeted and paused through her job of changing the bed sheets. Leila dropped her bag on the vanity table and sat down on her chaise, burying her face in her hands.
"Gosh, I'm so sick of this," She mumbled, squeezing her eyes furiously. She heard Emily sigh and her small shadow roamed over herself as the girl went to sit down next to her.
"I'm not going to ask if you're okay, because I already know that," She started gently. "I know how you're feeling. It's like you're trapped between a rock and a wall. You don't know what to do next. You're hurt and confused. You feel like life is already over for you."
Leila slowly pulled her hands away and turned to look at her. Emily was smiling genuinely. "How -,"
"I've been through almost the same situation before," She admitted in a sad tone and sighed. Leila's mouth gaped in shock. Truth be told, she had never cared about Emily's life before, or why she was even hired to work there when her family was already rich enough to go on a Euro trip. She had been so selfish, only caring about her own personal problems.
"What happened?" She asked concern clearly evident on her face.
"Well, it's not my place to tell," Emily replied. "You will eventually find out for yourself."
Leila nodded, even though her mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts. She concluded all the valid possibilities of what could have happened to Emily that hurt her that much.
"Now, if you excuse me. I have some other chores to do," Emily announced and stood up. She quickly finished preparing the bed for her and went out the door, gently closing the door behind her.
Leila sighed and strolled towards her bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress and leaned over to grab her phone. She checked the incoming messages and missed calls, but there was none. She pulled her feet up and tucked them underneath her. A thought popped in her head and she opened her default search engine. Typing David's name into the bar at the top of the screen, she pressed search and waited for the results to load.
He was born in Kentucky. His family moved to LA when he was ten, just after the huge outbreak of Gareth Co. He graduated from California's University with a degree in technology. He got his PhD in wireless communication and took after his father's career. The soon-to-be CEO of his father's company, David had connections with other sponsors almost everywhere on the globe. There was a mention to his family spending their summer breaks in the southern east of Egypt, which quite baffled her. She still had no clue what linked his family with hers to do such a deal, apart from her matchmaker of an aunt, of course.
She scrolled down the page, skipping much unnecessary information regarding his field of work. Leila wasn't interested in that. She wanted to know more about his personal life, although searching the web wasn't the best source to do so. Most of those sites couldn't be trusted. They might have made up a lot of stories just to attract bloggers or journalists. But at least she was able to know more about her without getting a headache from her many unanswered questions to him.
There was no mention of her, as she had expected. Everything was done secretly for some reason that Leila couldn't put her hand on. There was no bonding time or any interactions between them pre-marriage. It was all rushed in a blurry haze that she barely remembered. The ceremony was all held through Skype, but Leila had refused to attend. She was very angry at her parents for selling her off to some stranger. She was a married woman, yet she lacked knowledge about a lot of details, a series lot of them.
Leila's finger froze at one trivia that her eyes accidentally caught. She scrolled back up quickly and stopped at that one line that got her a mini-heart attack.
Married (September 2008 - May 2009)
Leila's eyes went through the words over and over again. Her mind refused to register that fact in her mind. She refused to believe. It couldn't be. That was just plain impossible.
She went back to that memory when she had asked Marissa if David had been in love before. Marissa had told her that he had never been in a serious relationship before. Could she have been lying to her that whole time? Or was that website really desperate for attention?
She returned to the homepage once more and her fingers trembled as she wrote: David Gareth's marriage into the search bar. She gulped as her finger hit the search button and waited impatiently for answers. There were no photos for a ceremony or any celebrations, though there were a few photos that mentioned David with a veiled woman walking down the street. She pressed the see more button and watched in utter shock as more proof loaded before her eyes, confirming her inner doubts. A lot of other photos featuring the both of them went by in front of her blurred eyes. She gulped down the lump that was beginning to rise in her throat.
There was one line underneath one of the photos that read: David and Susannah Gareth at the official opening ceremony of the company's latest branch in New Zealand.
"Oh, God!" Leila whispered and her eyes widened. She stalked the links until she found herself at what seemed like a twitter page. The name Susannah Gareth smacked her in the face from its spot below a pitch black icon. She had a massive amount of fans and thousands of tweets. But what shocked Leila further were the contents of those tweets.
We are very sorry for all members of the Gareth family. Those times must have been too hard for them.
Susannah was a great woman. The world isn't fair.
The world had lost a spectacular person.
I love you, Suzann. May you rest in peace.
Leila's heart constricted and her head started to buzz. Her breath was caught in her throat. With her tear-filled eyes, she scanned the page to find a few photos of Susannah with her late husband at a restaurant, in the airport, by the swimming pool that she had known so well. Leila covered her mouth with her hand and her body was trembling. She was crying, but she didn't even know exactly why. Her mind was in a whirlwind of emotions that she was even so tired of figuring out names for those feelings.
She exited the search engine and locked her phone before throwing it furiously on the mattress. She buried her face in her hands and let out slow breaths, one after one, muttering supplications under her breath to help her calm down.
He had a wife, once, in the past. Leila couldn't even compete with her. She was beautiful, no colored eyes or caked face, but she truly looked lovable. She looked sweet and caring, unlike her. That was probably why David couldn't accept her as her wife, because she could never be like Susannah. Not even close.
Just a moment later, Leila realized that her stomach was grumbling. She stood up slowly, trying to achieve stability once more. She made her way to the kitchen to grab a quick snack. She needed a break from all of those devastating news. Also, those hormones were making her hungry as hell.
She opened the door to her room and froze, shocked to see David in front of her. They had almost pumped into each other, not for her unusually quick retreat. "What the hell?"
"I was going to knock. I swear," David cleared out a bit shyly.
"What do you want, David?" Leila demanded her voice adamant. Her hand gripped the side of the door and she was ready to slam the door in his face at any moment then.
David obviously noticed that moved and he eyed her hand suspiciously. "I wanted to tell you something."
"Great!" She squeaked. "Then, go ahead. Say it."
"Are you not going to let me in?" He asked, sounding hurt. She didn't care. Whatever she had done to hurt GM could never be compared to how he had considered her. She was just a thing to him.
"No!" She barked. "If you want to say something, then say it now."
"You're going to come with me," David cleared out, ignoring her rude bluntness.
"Go where?" Leila asked warily, even though she already knew the answer to that question.
"On the business trip." David scratched the back of his head nervously. "That's why I mentioned it in the first place, anyway."
"So, if I weren't coming, you wouldn't tell me, right?" She questioned, ignoring the main subject. David looked confused, but he replied anyway.
"No, Leila, I wouldn't," He admitted. Way too much for a bonding attempt, Leila thought.
"Then I'm not going," She stated and went through closing the door, but he pushed it back open with his hand. The movement startled her and she took a step back.
"We're not done, yet," David said harshly. Should she be afraid?
"Yes, we are," She objected. "I already told you: I'm not going, David. End of discussion. Now step away from my door. I want to get some food."
She shoved him away, but he just didn't budge. Leila sighed. "You're not taking no for an answer, are you?" She asked. "Well, guess what? I'm as stubborn as you are. And when I say that I'm not going, and then I'm not going. Okay?"
"For your information, though, you're the last person I would want to get on the same plane as me. I'm not much of a fan of your company, but that was my parents' suggestion. I don't really have any choice."
"Then you only have to please your parents and I can rot in hell?" Leila snapped. "God, you really are an asshole."
"You're still coming." David turned and started walking away. "We'll set off at eight. Get ready before then," He called after her from the distance.
"Go fuck yourself," She yelled and slammed the door shut behind him.
- -
"How long is it going to take?"
"I don't know."
"You always say that."
"Because you always ask that. Now, shut up. I want to sleep," David snapped and sat back in his seat, closing his eyes and resting his intertwined hands on his chest.
"You've got to be kidding me," Leila hissed. "You've been sleeping all the time. I'm bored."
"Go find something useful to do. I don't care." He motioned for her to go away and stop bothering him.
"Screw you," She muttered and got up from her seat furiously, then a light-bulb was suddenly ignited in her brain and she paused, a Cheshire-cat grin crawling to her face.
"You know what? You're right," She said in a sing-song voice, loud enough for him to hear. "I think I'm just going to check on the bar, see what new brands they've got on board."
She walked out of the plane suite and started walking down the corridor.
One, two and -,
"Hey!" She heard a call from behind her. She stopped in place, trying to cover her smirk.
Turning around, she eyed him coldly, placing a hand on her hip in an attempt to look slightly intimidating. "What?"
"Where do you think you're going?" David asked in an accusatory voice, grabbing her by the forearm. Leila protested by slapping his hand away.
"Finding something useful to do. That's what you wanted, right?" She wondered devilishly.
"That is far from useful," He stated the obvious. "I'll go with you."
"Aw! Thank you, David," She snarled. "How heart-felt of you to do that." She ignored his glare and went on walking, feeling his aura following closely behind her. She was nervous and she didn't even know where they were going, but she didn't care. As long as he was suffering, nothing else mattered.
"How about we go get some food?" Leila suggested, pointing to one of the glass double-doors with a restaurant sign on it. "I'm starving. I feel like I haven't eaten anything in a year."
"What's wrong with you and the food lately?" David questioned wryly. "You've been eating like a pig."
Leila looked offended. "Excuse me, have you been pregnant before?"
She saw him roll his eyes and continued walking without saying anything else. A doorman opened the door for them and Leila mumbled a shy thank you, then a waiter came by and greeted David as if he were some late USA president, then guided the two of them to a round, clothed table at secluded corner at the back of the room. He handed them the menus and walked away, giving them some time to decide.
Upon flipping the booklet open, Leila's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. The names made her mouth water for sure, but the digits were unbelievable.
"I'm not hungry anymore," She announced and closed her copy, placing it neatly on the table. David looked up from his menu with curious eyes, his brows raised.
"You just said that you were starving," He declared in confusion.
"I know. I changed my mind, though. I'm not really that hungry," She admitted and stood up, readying herself to walk out. David didn't follow her.
"Leila, sit down," He demanded calmly, pointing to her chair. Slowly, she went back to her seat as if nothing ever happened, ignoring the waiter's curious eyes as he was striding over to write down their orders.
David ordered for her, some weird unreadable meal that he had chosen. The waiter announced that their plates will be ready in fifteen minutes and David nodded in approval, handing the waiter a tip which he gladly received.
After they were back on their own, David turned to angrily stare at her. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He hissed.
"Did you see the prices?" Leila wondered, her voice vulnerable. David was taken aback by her response. He expected her to say she had mood swings, or that she didn't like the food, but that ... was just unexpected.
He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. "You do realize I'm going to pay for whatever you get, don't you?"
Leila nodded, staring down at her lap. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I should be a spendthrift," She admitted.
"You think that's expensive?" David asked. "Wait until we arrive to our destination."
"I think I'll just stay at the hotel. I can't handle long walks or getting seasick or something," She rambled and checked her watch. It was already five in the afternoon. They had been on that plane for what? Six hours?
"I see money is quite an uncomfortable discussion to you," David commented in amusement, holding his chin up with his hand.
"Like you don't know that already." Leila rolled her eyes, silently praying that their food arrives quickly so she doesn't have to continue this talk.
"How long have you been through that?" He asked.
Leila looked up at him. "Through what exactly?"
"Through those ... financial problems?"
"For as long as I remember." Leila shrugged. "I don't really know when it started, but whenever I looked, there was always a money-related problem. It wasn't really that big before. We could get a lot of things easily. Yes, our house isn't really that big, but we had a lot of clothes, appliances. We went to private schools with cool, self-centered people who believed that they were the best creatures God has gifted the world with. But then Dad started asking for loans to pay the bills, loans that he knew he couldn't repay, and I had to drop out of school so I could save enough money for college tuition instead. I had to focus on my studies, because if I didn't, then I had to pay extra to attend the college I wanted. I worked hard for it and I finally got accepted. I finished my bachelor and was ready to start with the major, and that next thing I know is that they sold me for money."
Leila was thankful that the waiter had appeared in the distance, carrying two trays with steaming pots and finger-sized appetizers. He served their plates and disappeared. Leila took the chance and started filling her mouth with food so she wouldn't have to speak further.
"What were you planning to major in?" He asked casually, his fingers inspecting the weird structures on his plate.
"Oncology," Leila replied. "It's the science of studying tumors, just in case you don't know," She explained quickly when she saw his confused expression.
To say that David looked surprised was an understatement. The man was stunned. His jaw dropped in disbelief.
"What?" She asked.
David quickly composed himself. "Well, that's great, Leila." He cleared his throat. "No, actually. It's more than great. How about you go back into college when we return to LA? I can pay for your tuition, if you want to, of course."
"I'd rather not," Leila suggested as the waiter came back with bowls of soup and tehini. Leila stared at it in surprise. "You ordered all this."
"Nah! It's a must. You know, appetizers and so," David pointed out, grabbing a handkerchief from the bottom of his tray. "You've never been to a fancy restaurant before?"
"The fanciest I've been to was Chili's. I was fifteen back then," Leila admitted dreamily as if she were reminiscing the good old days. "It was my birthday. We had a small party there."
"When is your birthday?" He asked as he grabbed his spoon to taste the vegetable soup. He blew at it before taking a mouthful, humming in admiration.
"You ask way too many questions," Leila complained and proceeded with hers. She had never liked soup, but she thought why not give it a try? It looked really appealing at that moment.
Damn those hormones.
Still. She didn't want to answer that question nonetheless.
"Fine!" David swallowed. "Let's continue the game we started on the plane the other day. I ask you a question and you ask me one in return."
He looked cute like that, dressed in normal clothes and just eating normal food, no longer in any of his suits or surrounded by business paper. She had earlier noticed how his mood swings had subsided. He was acting like him, like his normal self, like when he was with Zoe that day at the zoo.
Leila sadly sighed, knowing that good things never stay.
"What do you say?" David urged impatiently, like a child waiting for his mother to agree on his field-trip.
"Okay!" Leila laughed sheepishly and took a sip of her bowl. It tasted really good. Now she really doubted it might be a boy.
Of course, she wasn't going to tell David that.
"Come on, now," David motioned for her to continue. "Answer my question first."
"It's on the fifth of January. Are you satisfied now?" She teased and quickly changed the subject. "My turn, wh-,"
"Hold on!" He held his hand up for her to stop, and she paused mid-sentence. Her second attempt to cover it up had miserably failed. "But that was only three weeks ago or something."
"Err-, yeah, kind of." She started fiddling with her spoon. Damn it, Leila! Why do you have to make everything so obvious?
"There is no kind of here, Leila. Why the heck did you not tell me?" David groaned in frustration.
Leila shrugged, picking up one pickle from her side plate. She was already full and the main course didn't arrive yet. "You didn't really seem interested in knowing that," She blurted as if it were nothing.
"Seriously, Leila?" David grumbled, sitting back in his chair. "That's ridiculous."
"Get over it! It's not the end of the world, David. I'll live." Leila eyed him with a flat look. "Stop overreacting over nothing."
"But that's not nothing." He pulled himself up to face her. "It's your freaking birthday. Of course I should be overreacting."
"David!" Leila called like he was a five-year old. She leant over the table to be closer to him. "You see, looking back at the past month's events, I'm pretty sure celebrating my birthday is not my top priority right now. I just realized that my asshole of a husband took advantage of me, got me pregnant and didn't even bother telling me about it. So, why don't you just suck it up and continue eating?"
David blinked, and for a second she saw his hurt expression through his eyes, but it quickly faded away. He cleared his throat and straightened his back, focusing on the half-empty bowl in front of him. The waiter has finally come back with the main course. Quickly, he picked up the appetizers and served their plates. A cloud of steam blurred her vision, but once it disappeared, Leila gasped in amazement. That meal, whatever it was called, looked just perfect.
She immediately picked up her silverware kit and started digging her way through the chicken breasts and spaghetti Carbonara that was served in front of her. David did the same. The rest of the meal went on in silence. None of them uttered a single word. Even though there was too much they both should have said, no one dared take the upper hand. The urge to ask him about the true story of Susannah had been eating her alive she couldn't deal with so much curiosity and she had to clench her jaw so hard to stop herself from saying something stupid.
They both ignored the thick tension seeping through the air and concentrated on the piece of heaven placed on the table. The waiter offered them dessert, but Leila turned him down instantly. She was so full that she almost barfed down every spoon she had taken. They stood up from the table and Leila hurried to the restrooms to wash her hands, leaving David to pay the waiter for the meal.
When they returned, the tension could still be sensed between them. David sat down on his chair to take a nap, while Leila searched the bookshelf for something readable.
She settled for something a bit more modern: The Devil Wears Prada. She had always been obsessed with the movie, but never read the book. She turned off the lights, letting David sleep in peace. She crawled under the covers on the comfy bed and started reading under the light of her phone.
- -
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