The Inheritance Clause by Flora Ferrari

Chapter Six

Amelia

I can barely believe what I just saw. Leo and that beautiful older woman leaving the house hand in hand...I thought I had him figured out. I thought I knew what he wanted. But maybe I read it all wrong. Maybe I believed what I wanted to believe. I thought he knew that I wanted to explore things with him. But now, I’m the one here alone. Now, I’m the one who looks like a fool.

I’m holding back tears as I head back to my bedroom. I know now that I have to go. He’s never going to want me the way I want him. I have to leave this house and never return because I can feel my heart breaking more with each step I take.

Love is cruel. Love is painful. I never expected to be this floored by it, but it’s taken over my life. I’ve been kidding myself for too long that a man like Leo would ever want me. He wants someone like that beautiful woman who just took him out for dinner. I’ll never be rich or beautiful or as gifted as I need to be to entice a man like Leo. Why have I tortured myself for so long, convincing myself that I stand a chance when I’m just someone’s maid and nothing more?

I feel sick to my stomach. I’m so angry with myself. I need to pack a bag and get the hell out. I have no idea where I’m going to go or what I’m going to do, but anything has to be better than staying here, knowing I’ll never be loved the way I want to be loved.

The world outside this house seems so daunting to me. This is all I’ve known since leaving the orphanage, this place. I’ve been consumed by my love for Leo for so long. Am I really going to be able to leave and pretend I’ve never felt any of it? I don’t know how I’ll manage it. I’ve spent so long wishing that Leo would feel the same, and now that I know he doesn’t, I don’t know who I am anymore. I feel like leaving this house will be like severing an artery or cutting out my own heart. I can’t live without Leo. But the misery I’ll feel if I stay is nothing compared to what I’ll feel if I leave this place.

My eyes are blurry from the tears now. I’ve never felt more alone. Leo’s iron grip on my heart has made it feel impossible to breathe.

That woman will never love him the way I do. She will never be able to give him her entire heart the way I can. I’ve got so much to give. I thought I’d managed to make him see that. I thought he understood me when I told him to marry someone who wants to give him everything. All that woman wants to do is take from him, I could see it in her eyes.

But now she’s already got her claws in. I’ve missed my chance, and there’s no coming back from this now. I have to accept that I’ve lost now. I’ll never be happy again, but I’ll have to find some way to survive this.

I stumble into my bedroom, sniffing as I pack my bags. I want to be gone by the time Leo returns home. Otherwise, I’ll lose my nerve and stay. That’s a level of suffering that I can’t put myself through. Not after I’ve been rejected this way.

I have so many paintings, and I have no idea how I’m going to take them with me. I don’t even know where I’m going, I don’t have anywhere to put them. But I know there’s one painting I can’t leave behind. One that will remind me of the man I’ve loved from afar for so long…

I lay it down in my bed one more time, tears streaming from my eyes. I painted it the day I met him. I stayed up all night making it into a masterpiece, modeling it perfectly after my muse.

The painting of Leo captures his essence completely. His intense stare. His strong jawline. His handsome face and rugged edges. The man I fell in love with at first sight. It’s the best thing I’ve ever painted, and I know I can’t leave it behind. I have to take some piece of him with me.

“Leo…” I whisper, staring down at the picture with a heavy heart. “Give me a sign that I shouldn’t give up...give me a sign that I should stay.”

But of course, nothing happens. Because this was never meant to be. This isn’t my fairytale ending, as much as I wish it was. He doesn’t want me, and he never will. It’s time to let go. It’s time to stop wishing for the impossible.

“That’s a very impressive painting.”

I whip around, my stomach sinking. Dan is standing in the doorway of my bedroom. He’s smirking, but his eyes are dark and angry in a way I’ve never seen them before. I don’t know what he wants, but I wish he’d leave.

“Not now, Dan,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself. I don’t have the strength to deal with him right now. He steps into my room, his eyes stormy.

“Well, when?” he growls. “Because to me, it looks like you’re going somewhere.”

I glance at my packed bags and realize he’s got me sussed, figured it all out. He picks up the painting of Leo before I can stop him.

“Don’t touch that,” I hiss desperately, but it’s too late. He has it in his grasp as he glares at me.

“So this is why you’ve been playing so hard to get this whole time,” he sneers. “You’ve been saving yourself for the boss? How sweet.”

“It’s just a painting,” I say, but we both know that’s not true. He tosses it back onto the bed, advancing on me.

“No more games,” he bellows.

He grabs my arm hard and I cry out, but he doesn’t let go. His grip is iron clad on my wrist. “You’re a frigid little virgin, aren’t you? You think you’re saving yourself for the one, so you won’t give a guy like me a chance. You don’t really think you can do better, do you? I’m just as good as anyone. I’m sick of your attitude, thinking you’re above me. Well, you’ll regret rejecting me now. I’ll show you exactly what you’ve been missing.”

He tries to lean in and kiss me, but I manage to shove him away, my eyes blurring with tears.

“I don’t want you. I want him!” I cry out. “I’m not frigid just because I don’t want to be with a creep like you!”

I know immediately that I’ve said the wrong thing. Dan’s eyes darken and I know that I’m in trouble now. He backs me up against the wall and there’s no escape.

“You’re nothing,” he snarls. “He’s never going to want you. You’d be lucky to have a man like me, but you threw that in my face, didn’t you?” He presses his hand against my shoulder, pinning to me the wall. “You’ll regret that.”

“Get the hell off her.”

My mouth drops open in shock as I look over to the doorway. Leo is standing there, his fists clenched. If there’s a storm in Dan’s eyes, there’s a hurricane in Leo’s. I’ve never seen anyone look so angry.

Dan glares at Leo.

“Stay out of this,” he snarls. “This is between me and Amelia.”

“I warned you,” Leo snarls. He wastes no time and advances on Dan, grabbing him by his shirt and tossing him like a rag doll away from me. Dan only just manages to stay on his feet, his eyes thunderous as he turns back to Leo.

“You can’t do that. You’re my boss,” Dan exclaims. Leo steps forward and punches Dan straight in the face. I gasp in horror, unable to believe the scene unfolding in front of me.

“That’s right. I’m the boss,” Leo snarls. “And I’ll do whatever I want in my house. Especially defend Amelia from a prick like you. You don’t have a leg to stand on there.”

Dan is barely standing anyway after that punch. He’s holding his nose now, whimpering as a trickle of blood streams from his nose. He deserved it completely, but I don’t want there to be any violence. I just want to get out of here. It doesn’t even matter that Leo has come to my rescue. He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t want me…

“You stay away from my woman,” Leo snarls. “She’s mine, do you hear me? Mine.”

My heart freezes. Did he just put a claim on me? Did he really just say that I belong to him?

I’m so confused. He was out...with that other woman. He showed his cards the second he left with her. So why is he now implying that I’ve got it all wrong?

I don’t know what to think, except that I want Dan out of here. I need him to leave. Leo looks into my eyes, seeing my fear, and it’s like he can read me. He whips around to look at Dan once more.

“You’re fired,” Leo growls. “I want you out of here, away from Amelia. You’re sick. I don’t ever want to see your face again.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Dan snaps, blood streaming from his nose steadily. He looks crazed in this state, like a complete mad man. “You don’t have a claim over her.”

“Don’t test my patience,” Leo growls. “If you don’t leave right now, I’m going to rearrange your entire face. Don’t think I won’t.”

Dan hesitates. I hope he’ll leave. I don’t want any more fights. I want this to be over. When Dan finally stalks toward the doorway, I know that I’m finally safe. I’m trembling, unable to process what just happened, but I feel so much better now that Dan is gone. I’ll never have to see him again, and that’s all thanks to Leo.

Leo...I can’t believe he’s back. He came at just the right time. Did he leave his date to come back for me? I don’t understand what’s happening. As he steps toward me and cups my face in his big hands, I feel at a loss, completely overwhelmed.

“Are you alright?” he growls. I nod with uncertainty.

“I...I think so. What are you doing here? I saw you leave with that other woman…”

“There are things you don’t know about right now,” he says trying to contain himself. “But all you need to know is that that woman is not my lover. I have no interest in her whatsoever. My father set up a date without my knowledge and I felt I couldn’t not go, couldn’t not follow his last wishes. I’m also a gentleman, and I didn’t want to be rude. I came straight back when I learned of her true intentions weren’t pure. But my biggest reason for coming back is you. I came back for you.”

I stare up at Leo in disbelief. I don’t understand how we’ve ended up in such a complicated scenario, and I still don’t truly understand what he intends. I know this all has to do with the inheritance clause, and I’ve got myself right in the center of the mess of it. But I can’t pass up a chance to be with Leo. The hurt I was feeling before is slowly disappearing with his hand on my face and his confession.

He’s here for me.

How can I refuse him now when the tables seem to be turning?

“Come with me to my office,” he says in my ear. “We can talk this over in private.”

I nod, his hand still caressing my cheek. I’m powerless to say no. I’m always powerless when it comes to Leo. He removes his hand and leads me out of the room. I abandon my packed bags and paintings, and walk down the corridor with his hand on the small of my back, past the other staff who have come out of their rooms to investigate the commotion. I watch Rachel’s expression as the scene unfold, her anger evident as I come one step closer to getting what we’ve both wanted for so long.

Him.