The CEO Gets What He Wants
Chapter 56
After Leonardo went home, he was suffering from a headache throughout the night.
Meanwhile, Henrietta was busy looking for the contract in the house.
After flipping through the house for a long time with no luck, she couldn't help but grumble to Milana, “Leonardo is starting to scheme against me. Why can't he just die already?”
“Die? If he dies now, can we still get the compensation for the demolition? The amount is hundreds of thousands! Have you ever seen that much money throughout your life?” Milana was helping her mother look for the contract. She then frowned and whispered, “Even if he were to die, he can only do so after we get the money.”
“I only stayed with him and lived a tough life because of you.” Henrietta brought a stool and searched the top of the shoe cabinet.
After an hour of searching, they still couldn't find anything.
Henrietta went into the bedroom grumpily and came out again. She only went to the dining room to eat the takeaway her daughter bought after making sure that Leonardo was asleep.
As she was peeling the crawfish, Milana asked, “Mom, do you think a man like him could have married a goddess or something when he was young? Why is he hiding his ex-wife's identity from us?”
“Are you stupid? After his ex-wife divorced him, she ended up having a good marriage. A woman like that is most afraid of people finding out about her ugly past.” Henrietta wasn't ready to give up yet. She was determined to keep looking for the contract so that she could find out about the woman's name.
Milana ate a crawfish and started peeling a second one. “I've flipped through all the magazines and newspapers to look at every rich housewife in the city. I haven't found one that looks like Avery.”
“Avery's biological mom is so heartless. It has been over twenty years since she abandoned Avery. How could she not come and visit her daughter even once?” Henrietta clicked her tongue.
The next day, Leonardo headed out.
Milana followed her mother's instructions and tailed Leonardo. I didn't get to follow him yesterday, and I've missed out on a good chance to see who's actually Avery's biological mother!
Leonardo hailed a taxi and went to a regular cafe.
Milana was keeping a close eye on him when she called her mother and said, “Mr. Rumpley isn't meeting his ex-wife. Instead, he's here to see Avery.”
“That shameless b*tch!” Henrietta was enraged. “Is he going to give the compensation money to her? No, this won't do! I can't let her get anything!”
In the cafe, Avery kept her head lowered as she stirred her cup of cappuccino.
It had been a year or so since she noticed her father was distancing himself from her, and she had trouble accepting it. Even though she had been back to Ackleton all this while and knew that her father was there, she was still adamant about not returning home.
“I heard that you've broken up with Zayne. Is that true?” Leonardo asked directly.
“Yes. That's right.” Avery lifted her head slightly and saw how her father looked older than he was supposed to.
As his daughter, she was heartbroken. Even so, she kept her feelings to herself because she was afraid that her father would leave her again and refuse to see her. I don't even know why Dad hates me so much.
With his trembling hand, Leonardo took out his medical report and put it on the coffee table.
“This...” Before Avery could finish her sentence, she saw the cover of the document.
She then grabbed it and had a look. After taking a deep breath in horror, she asked, “What's this? How could this be?”
Leonardo's days were numbered. After barely surviving cancer five years ago, he was now diagnosed with lung cancer.
“My lung cancer is terminal,” Leonardo uttered. Shortness of breath and chest pains were the symptoms that had caused him a lot of suffering. “The reason I didn't want to see you before this was because I wanted you to learn to live independently. I wanted you to learn how to live your life without having a father. I'm sure you've adapted well. Ever since you lost your mother when you were little, you've always been better than all the kids your age. You were polite, filial, and sensible...”
Avery held the medical report in her hand, and tears streamed down her cheeks without prior warning.
“I'm about to die, and you're still the person I worry about most.” Leonardo pretended to act relaxed and flashed a half-smile before continuing, “In your life, nothing is more important than your marriage. Ery, since you've broken up with Zayne, I was thinking if I could find you a good husband before I die. I would like to help you because I want you to be happy.”
Avery kept silent and listened to whatever he had to say to her.
“Also, the old house is getting demolished, and I'm thinking of saving up some money for you. Just in case your marriage goes south, you would have some money for yourself. Of course, I don't mean to wish for that. I know the man marrying my daughter is going to be loyal,” Leonardo added.
Avery then saw that the medical report was dated a year ago. That was when Dad started distancing himself from me.
“Dad... This is a serious illness. How could you hide it from me?” Avery was on the verge of breaking down. He should've gotten it checked earlier on. What if it was curable?
Half an hour later, only Avery was left in the cafe.
Leonardo didn't want her daughter to get too sad, so he had given her an excuse before he left.
At that moment, her coffee cup was accompanied by a medical report and a note on each side.
Avery's eyes were swollen from crying. She kept staring at the medical report, and her tears just kept rolling down her cheeks. I don't get it. Why don't good people deserve better?
After leaving the cafe, she called her father and said, “Go to the hospital, okay? What if there's a chance it's curable?”