The Heir's Redemption; Leonid Triumphs Over wealth

CHAPTER 8

"Let me help you with your tie; you look great now. Your hair doesn’t look like it was chewed by mice anymore, and your beards look different too." Amelia stated. "Don’t say anything; it’s okay; you don’t have to thank me."

Leonid gazed at his reflection in the mirror, admiring his appearance. He couldn't recall the last time he looked so great. She had assisted him with washing his hair, despite the fact that it was with her feminine products. His hair, which cascaded down his shoulders, was gleaming and sparkling. The fragrance was enticing, and Leonid resisted the temptation to grab a strand of his hair and smell it.

"I am still going to say thank you for grooming me; it was a good thought and also a good thing to do, but now the ladies will keep on flirting with me," Leonid said, winking at his wife from the mirror.

He wanted to tease her, and he sure did because she frowned at him and said, "There are women flirting with you?" She questioned.

"You should know since you were always stalking me."

"I don’t stalk you; I just happen to know." She defended. "And what happened at the car wash was really embarrassing."

At the mention of the car wash, Leonid's eyes shot wide open. He couldn’t believe she knew about that. Their eyes locked in the mirror. He knew she was not going to believe him since the wristwatch was found in his pocket, and he wondered what she was thinking right now. That he was a thief, or he married her for her money so he could steal from her. Leonid opened his lips to speak, but the words of his wife cut him short.

"Ethan is getting out of hand as the day goes by. I wish I could teach him a lesson, but he is richer and more powerful than me. He would use that against me."

A surprised reaction appeared on his face, with his cheeks turning a little red. He felt so good that Amelia was on his side and not on the side of Ethan. She knew he was not the thief they had claimed he was.

"He was always like that, always trying to manipulate others. I knew since I left him to get married to you, he was going to always come after you." She paused to stare at Leonid. "Why do you look so surprised?"

Leonid blinked rapidly. He raised his hand to his mouth and forced a cough.

"I am not surprised; I am glad that you believed I was not a thief."

We've been married for 3 years now, dummy; why won’t I know who you are?" She scoffed, storming her feet on the ground, and walked away from him.

Leonid watched her walk over to her shelves. She took out a silver bag, holding it to her chest. She glanced at him, and his lips curled into a smile.

"Does this match my dress?"

"Yes, you are putting on a silver dress, and you decided to ask."

"Was it a silly question?" She inquired, a frown crossing her face.

Her hands were by her sides now, and she was walking towards him. Leonid raised his hand in defense. "I didn’t say it was silly; I only said you knew..."

Before any more words could leave Leonid’s lips, Amelia ran over to him and stepped on his foot. Her heels dug in and pushed onto his skin, and pain shot into Leonid's legs. He yelped, snatching his legs away from hers in a swift motion. Amelia lost her balance and fell to her knees. Leonid was holding his leg and blowing some air on it to relieve the pain.

"That was so mean!"

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"I had a great day at work today; an employee found a company that we could partner with. They scheduled a meeting on Friday; I will have to attend it; after all, the company needed investment."

Amelia was talking, narrating about her work. They were in her car; Leonid was behind the wheel while Amelia sat beside him. She was talking as he drove into a parking lot; he was not paying attention to what she was saying. His mind was racing; her parents had asked them to come to the restaurant for dinner. Leonid found it really suspicious, seeing that her parents were something he always tried to avoid but failed.

"Nid? Are you alright?" Amelia asked as she glanced at him, concern written all over her face.

He nodded. "I am alright."

"Nervous?"

"No." He denied

"Then why are you gripping tight to the sterling wheels? We have arrived. You've already parked the car; we have to get going. I can see my parents waving at me already."

His hands removed from the sterling, he looked out through the window and through Amelia's words. He could see her parents waving at them—no, at her. He got out of the car and opened the door for Amelia like a gentleman. Amelia's parents watched with scorn on their faces. Leonid and Amelia walked into the restaurant. Amelia walked ahead of Leonid and greeted her parents. Kissing them both on the cheeks, she hugged them.

"You really have gone thinner, like your father said." Mrs. Harrington spoke, and her Italian accent was visible.

Like my father said?"

"Hello H…"

"Don’t talk to us; you are only here because of Amelia." Mr. Harrington interrupted him.

Leonid gulped down nothing in particular and sat down.

"So what did my father say about me?"

"I said you were thinner; Leo is not taking care of you enough."

"Yes, he is not taking care of you enough." Mrs. Harrington supported

"How do you know that, Mom? You don’t live with us." She asked.

"I don’t need to live with you to know; I saw it in your body." Mrs. Harrington explained. "Since your father also said the same thing, I know it is true."

Dad, have you been stalking me?" Amelia asked.

"No," he answered.

"Then how do you know I was thinner?"

"I just happened to see a picture of you on your website."

"Seeing my picture on my website can’t tell if I got thinner or not; you were investigating me, right?"

"Something like that." He admitted. "I just wanted to know how you are doing without you screaming at me on the phone that you are alright."

"Geez! I never scream on the phone."

"You are worse than a banshee when you are on the phone."

"That’s not true." She said this, turning to stare at Leonid. "Nid, do I scream on the phone?"

Leonid was jolted into awareness. "Not really."

"Not really?" She asked.

He nodded.

Amelia shook her head. "I don’t scream on the phone; Mom is a witness."

Actually, I am not a witness; you do scream on the phone."

Amelia frowned. "I don’t remember screaming on the phone; are you all ganging up on me?"

Mrs. Harrington held up her hand. "That is not why we are here; we are here to discuss something important."

"I am going to order a bottle of champagne." Mr. Harrington said:

"What are we celebrating?" Amelia asked.

"We got the business deal we have been trying to get." Mrs. Harrington announced

Amelia smiled. "That is awesome news; congratulations!"

"Congratulations," Leonid said.

The smile on the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Harrington disappeared. Leonid knew that they had not been paying much attention to him, but he knew that he was going to be lectured sooner.

"Thank you." Mrs. Harrington said, glaring at Leonid.

"Since you have gotten the business deal, can you unfreeze my account as a celebration of your win?" Amelia asked.

"No." Both her parents spoke in unison.

"Is that why you got him all decked out?" Mr. Harrington asked.

"I’m not all decked out," Leonid said.

"You shaved and shampooed, didn’t you? You never shave?"

His voice was loud, and it attracted the stares of other diners. Amelia knew her father was deliberately trying to embarrass Leonid, so she kicked his leg under the table to get him to stop.

"Your hair is different too."

"It is different. All right? It is no big deal, Dad. He always looks good even without this appearance."

"He always looks like a homeless person. If it is not because of your money. Actually, for our money, he won’t have a roof over his head." Mrs. Harrington said

"That’s not true."

"It is. He won’t be able to live a luxurious lifestyle."

"He had a home before I married him."

"You call that a home?"

"It is a home," Amelia answered. "As long as a family lives there, it is always a home."

Mr. Harrington's gaze bounced from Amelia to Leonid. "Getting him all groomed up isn’t going to change the fact that he is poor. So poor that he can’t take care of you properly."

Amelia shook her head vehemently. "Dad stop; he isn’t all decked out because of that. Can we please celebrate the celebration in peace?"

"Fine."