Chapter Four
Leon
I jog down the stairs, heading to the dining room. My gaze shifts toward the entrance door, and it meets Mr. William and George walking in.
"Honey. You're back. How was your day? I hope the meeting didn't stress you?" Mom asks and stands from her seat to approach Mr. William, taking off his suit. George pulls out a chair for him to sit. Mom hangs his suit behind him and takes her seat beside him.
"The meeting didn't take long, just a little issue came up. And I was not in a good mood, but seeing you now lightens me up."
I grin and roll my eyes. What the hell is he rumbling?
"What's up, Old man? You're back," Jay says.
"As you can see I'm back unless you are blind."
"Come on, Papa John, that's my line to say. Stop acting like me," he says, and smirks.
"Oh -oh! Can you hear your son, he is very naughty."
"You know I'm the master of word play you can't beat me in my own game."
"Yeah, I'm aware young master," he chuckles softly.
"Leon, join us. I prepared your favorite," I glance through the dining table. Yuck! I hate scrambled eggs.
I pretend to like it because Arnav refuses to eat Mom's food after the danger we faced. I only ate it because I didn't want Mom to feel bad. Arnav started hating His Mom after that incident that happened twelve years ago; he is being unreasonable.
"Why do you care if he is not having dinner? It's not like he is a kid," Jay murmurs.
"I can hear you," I tell him, and sit opposite Jay.
"Whatever," Jay mutters.
The maids dish the food. I pick up the utensils.
"Wait, everyone! Are we actually having a family dinner? Like, for real, is this happening? And Leon, don't tell me you're eating with us. It's never going to end well, you know, right?" Jay looks at me and raises his brows.
I didn't want to eat in the first place and here is Jay trying to provoke me. If I add fuel to this fire I might escape eating.
"And who do you think you're to give me orders whether to eat or not," I retort, my voice cold.
"Jay, Leon, that's enough Where are your manners? Both of you will have dinner together with us as a family should and that's final," Mom orders.
"Amazing. For the first time, we are dining together, and no one cares to invite me for dinner. Don't worry, I won't take it to heart," Arnav says and takes his seat at the other end of the table facing Mr. William.
The air falls into an awkward silence. I clench my jaw and shrug.
"Oh, Cherry, I know I'm not welcome here by you. So sorry to disappoint you, there is nothing you can do about that," he says and gnashes.
I drop my utensil and face Arnav.
"And what are you doing here? The last time I checked, you used to hate Sky House so much. Why on earth have you been clingy?"
"I guess you have forgotten that Sky house will be mine soon, when I take over the company. Mind you, as of today, you will see my face every day here. I'm moving in," I lean back in my chair and run my hand through my hair. He continues, "Oh, Dad, I forgot, Leon and I shared a room. Can you believe that we're making progress in our relationship?"
I wipe off my lips with the napkin.
"That's great son," Mr. William says.
"Cherry I guess your plan isn't working, my brothers and I are getting along."
Now I regret not taking pictures of his nude. Only if I did, he wouldn't be running his filthy mouth right now. I take a look at mom, her eyes flicker.
"So what? I can have you kicked out if I want," Mom says. This is the first time Mom talked back at Arnav.
"That's enough Arnav, let's eat in peace. Since you're here, have a bite of this pancake," Jay says, passing him the plate of pancakes.
"You're nothing but a bitch that seduced my father," Arnav's gaze turns cold as he speaks.
"What did you just call me?" She stands from her seat and walks over to Arnav's seat. She raises her hand to hit him but he grabs her hand.
"Don't you dare mess with me because you will be sorry; I know all your evil tricks; there is no point in talking to you."
I rise to my feet and stride briskly toward them and jerk his hand off Mom. He scoffs and walks off leaving us standing.
"Enough! I've had enough," Mr. William groans. "David, dispose of all the food," he orders and leaves the dining room.
I enter my room, slam the door, lean behind it, and inhale deeply. I don't think I can survive another hour in this house. I shouldn't have come back. I should've just…..shit! I'm sure it isn't a coincidence that we all came back to Sky House the same day, but no one knew I was coming back, not even the media. I know Mr. William has been keeping tabs on me since the day I left Sky House. Could those two creeps be monitoring me as well? I know what both of them are capable of. Jay won't dare to; only Arnav could pull such strings, and the timing was just too unusual.
All Arnav wants is to provoke me because he feels I'm a hindrance to his inheritance. Bastard, I have my own fucking money. I never understood why we fight each other until Mom shed light on it. If she had not told me about Arnav's plan to kill me because of the inheritance. I left because she insisted that I leave to save my life. I wasn't afraid of him; I didn't just want Mom to be heartbroken.
Fuck! I can't stand that bastard, if I spend any more time here, we might end up killing each other. I rake through my hair and sit on the edge of the bed. My phone chimes, and I unlock the screen to see a text. I read the ID sender, it's from my best friend and manager, Christian.
Chrispsycho: Mama's boy, why haven't you shown your face? You've got some pimple?
Me: Shut the fuck up.
Chrispsycho: Man, come down to the
studio, you need to check this beat out. It's really dope.
Me: Will be there in 20s.
I rise to my feet and scrutinize my look in the vanity. I almost forgot why I came back, and yeah, this is great. All I needed was a distraction. I grab a car key from the shelf and make my way to the garage. The garage door opens automatically as I walk closer, a variety of cars are parked. I don't have to think too much about which car to pick, I've been a fan of sport car. I press the key, the car beeps, I enter and drive out.
I tune in to one of my hit songs, tapping the steering wheel, vibing hard. I crank the volume up—this is how music is meant to be enjoyed, especially when it's mine. I once told my fans on a podcast to do the same. Social media went wild after that, calling me a menace, predicting an emotional breakdown. I didn't give a damn. I watched the chaos unfold and answered their noise with another hit.
Humans are strange creatures.
I stop at a traffic light. A knock sounds against my window. I glance sideways and spot a girl on a scooter. She lifts her helmet, and her hair spills down her back. Her lips move, but the music devours her words.
I roll down the window halfway.
I turn the volume off and lean closer, studying her.
Is she a fan? Did she follow me? No one even knows I'm in D.C.
"Sorry," I say lazily, "this isn't the right time to sign an autograph."
I start to roll the window back up.
She grips the edge of the glass. "Are you crazy?"
That gets my attention.
I shove the door open and step out of the car, stopping a safe distance behind her. She stiffens but doesn't move.
I don't touch her.
I pull out a pen, twirl it once between my fingers, and wait.
Slowly, she turns around on her own.
I scribble my signature across the fabric of her T-shirt and step back.
"Done," I say, clapping once. "You got what you wanted. Can I go now, my queen?"
She smooths her hair, bites her lip, and looks up at me—eyes sharp, unreadable.
"You really think I wanted that?" she scoffs.
She hangs her helmet on the scooter and steps closer. Before I can react, she flips me clean onto my back.
The air punches out of my lungs as I hit the ground.
She leans over me, fury blazing in her eyes.
"Next time," she snaps, "turn off your fucking music. You're distracting other drivers."
She mounts the scooter and speeds off.
Sirens wail somewhere in the distance as my vision blurs and the world fades.