There was stunned silence for a full minute, both moms looked at her in stupefaction.
“You did what?’ Aunt Evelyn finally asked. She was the first one to recover.
“But why?” Her mom piped in. She looked at Leigh trying to take it all in before her gaze narrowed and zeroed in on Rocky.
Leigh knew what’s going through her mother’s head.
“I want to live close to school.” She said, exonerating Rocky from her mom’s accusing eyes. She wanted to come clean, but not at the expense of Rocky.
“This is more convenient. It is also closer to the University.” Clearly her mom would not understand.
“I wanted to live like a normal college girl would.” Leigh finally replied in a meek voice. It was not often she blatantly disobeyed her parents. She knew that like any other parents, hers only wanted the best for her.
“Don’t tell me you’re working?” A scandalized look appeared on her mother’s forehead. She looked so horrified that Leigh had to look at the floor before mumbling her reply.
“It’s just a part time job, mom.” She defended.
“She’s working as a waitress in an Italian restaurant near the university.” Rocky snitched, making her wonder how he got wind of that bit of information since they had not been in contact with each other for months.
Leigh saw her mom’s stricken look and thought she needed to explain herself.
“I am enjoying myself, mom. Besides, I am earning my keep.” She admitted.
Her mom looked upset. In turn, Leigh glared at Rocky, who looked like he was enjoying every moment of her discomfort.
“I don’t understand. Do you want more money? Your father and I can raise your monthly allowance. All you have to do is ask.” Her mother looked flustered.
Just by looking, Leigh could guess the thoughts that ran wild on her mother’s head and felt stifled. Leigh shut her eyes tight, willing herself to calm down. All her life she had been cosseted, pampered and spoiled by her wealthy parents. As her parents' only child she grew up under their protection and was treated like a breakable glass.
It was a huge relief on her part when she stepped into college and both parents did not argue when she told them she was moving out.
She was ecstatic because they are finally letting her go and she could live independently, away from their restricting presence. But her happiness was short-lived when she later learned that the reason her parents approved of her living away from them was because Rocky would be coming with her.
Their parents thought that living together away from their parents’ protection would be for their best interest as they prepare for married life.
Leigh scoffed in her head, but did not say more.
“Auntie Leslie, Leigh works because she does not want to depend on your family’s money all the time. She wanted to be independent like me.” At last, Rocky volunteered, taking pity on her.
Leigh nodded. She knew she could count on him to understand.
Rocky never had to prove himself. Even when they were still in high school, Rocky was a business whiz. At a young age, he had invested furiously in stocks and reaped high yields making him the youngest billionaire in the country.
It was also one of the reasons he was quite popular in school.
Automatically, Leigh’s eyes shifted to Rocky to bestow him a grateful smile, but the smirk that met her gaze caused her expression to freeze. Leigh knew that smirk. With his nature, she was sure that he would make her pay one of these days for saving her.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it, Leslie.” At last, she found an ally in Aunt Evelyn.
“I think it is good for Leigh to prepare and equip herself. The role of being Rocky’s wife and heiress to your billions can be a bit overwhelming. She needs the practice to be able to put up with Rocky’s future status..”
Leigh almost rolled her eyes. That is not what she wanted.
“B-but, what would Leigh need except to keep her and Rocky’s home happy? We all know that we only allowed her to study for the degree. It has always been the idea that Rocky will manage both our companies in the future.” Leslie Michaels said, making Leigh grit her teeth in annoyance.
Their parents, since she and Rocky were born, had already agreed among themselves to marry them off to each other. She and Rocky grew up with that thought in mind.
Leigh did not want to become a full time homemaker like her mom and Rocky’s mom. She wanted to be something more.
Sensing that she only had the time now to get her opinion across and to clear the misconceptions of the years passed, Leigh squared her shoulders and started appealing to their moms.
“Maybe I was born to manage Michaels’s enterprises, too?” She wanted to give them the idea that she did not want to be a sit-at-home wife in the future and would have wanted to work her a*s and build a name for herself in the corporate world.
Both mothers looked at Leigh simultaneously, their expressions of growing horror made her feel their rejection even without them voicing the words out.
“She can work alongside me.” Rocky put an arm around each mom’s shoulders, giving off the aura that what Leigh said was nothing out of the ordinary - that it was alright by him to have a working wife by his side.
But that is not the point here. Leigh’s chest heaved with rebellious thoughts.
She never wanted to work as Rocky’s wife or any other man’s wife in the near future.
“Leigh is a good communicator. She can always do my correspondence for me.” Leigh felt disgusted, but she could not outright refute because she saw the effect Rocky’s words had.
At his suggestion, both mothers’ eyes grew wide, clapping their hands in excitement. They found his idea brilliant! It was like he had told them the secrets of the universe.
Eyes glowing in excitement, the two moms clapped their hands in glee.
“Oh, like your secretary. That’s great! You can work together and make a happy home together. You can even bring your babies with you at work.” Auntie Evelyn enthused, making Leigh groan at the picture they were painting in her head. The idea of a demotion not sitting well with her. From an heiress who is set to inherit the company to a secretary who will work for a boss like Rocky Bolton.
Feeling suffocated at the picture they painted, Leigh could not hold back anymore, and told them boldly.
Leigh almost regretted her words when she saw how they wiped the sparkle that glowed in their moms’ eyes. Almost.
She hated to break into their excited bubble and see the disappointment in their eyes, but Leigh figured if she did not step her foot down now, there wouldn’t be any chance for her to argue with them and insist on what she wanted.
“Mom, Auntie Evelyn, I want to work. I want to run Michaels’ enterprises. I did not pursue a degree just to become a housewife.”
Everyone froze. By now, both mothers are sporting a frown.
Hurt crossed her mom’s features. Even Aunt Evelyn’s face is scrunched up in distaste.
Both their mothers were born into immense wealth and affluence. They do not have to work their entire life because their family could very well support them and their whims.
They took up a degree not to work and build a career, but for adornment, to raise their value in society and in their husband’s eyes.
She looked guilty so she avoided meeting their gazes. Her action made both parents suspicious.
“Tell me, Leigh, did you and Rocky have a misunderstanding? Did you fight?” As she uttered the words misunderstanding and fight, Leigh’s mom’s face turned ashen, her voice becoming small.
Leigh wanted to pull her hair out in frustration, as she very nearly gave in to the need to stomp her foot and yell her guts out, hearing both mothers cry pitifully in her face.
She loved them dearly but her mom and Aunt Evelyn could be insufferable at times.
Looking wildly around her, Leigh encountered Rocky smirking that her blood boiled. Rolling her eyes at him, she tried to placate the two women.
“Mom, Aunt Evelyn, Rocky and I did not fight.”She told them the bold-faced lie.
Yes, she and Rocky did not fight, but there had been a wall so thick wedged between them that never seemed to go away with the passing of time.
It would be impossible for them to live together. If she wants peace, one of them has to move out. And since the house was bought by Rocky’s parents as a gift to them, it was only fair that she left to let Rocky stay in peace in his house.
But of course, she could not tell that to both parents without them twisting her words.
“I want to finish college like any normal kid would.” Leigh told them.
She did know where she plucked out the courage to say this, but it was half the truth, anyway.
She heard a hiss coming from behind, so she turned around. Seeing Rocky gave her an idea.
“Look at Rocky. He was hounded by girls day in and day out. I don’t think that he could live in peace like that.” Leigh told them, taking a dig at Rocky’s lifestyle to the astonishment of both their mothers.
“Are girls today that shameless that they have to pester a guy for attention?” Aunt Evelyn said.
“A guy who is already committed to someone.” Leigh’s mom added that their conversation shifted to girls these days and how blatant they have become in pursuing the man they liked, especially rich, off-the-market men.
Then they talked about their husbands and the women around them working every trick in the handbook to lure their men away, but so far none succeeded, or none that they knew of.
Leigh smiled secretly after she succeeded in changing their topic. From her preference to work and live independently, it shifted to girls and Rocky in particular.
Rocky shot her a warning look when his mother cut the momentary silence in alarm.
“Don’t tell me that is the reason why you moved out? Did you two break up?” Aunt Evelyn screeched, making Leigh groaned in her head.
“What? No!” Leigh cried in protest. What surprised her was the knowledge that she was not alone. Another voice, a male one cried the same with her, surprising both their mothers. Not used to Rocky’s hard voice when speaking with her, Aunt Evelyn looked affronted. Leigh could feel where this would go, so she decided to retreat to the second floor of the house to rest. But before she leaves, she sees Rocky quietly grab Auntie Evelyn into a hug in silent remorse. Auntie Evelyn, like Leigh and her mom standing at five foot two, only comes up to Rocky’s shoulder when they stand together. They looked cute especially when Auntie Evelyn opened her arms wide to receive Rocky’s embrace. She was on the stairs when she witnessed the sweet moment between mother and son causing Leigh and her mother to exchange a look of happiness and indulgence. Leigh shook her head, sighing to herself. For all his bad-boy image, Rocky is a sweet boy to his mother. “Mom, aunt Leslie, can you let Leig
Leigh's trip down memory lane left her tired. She did not realize that she had gone off to sleep. By the time she came through, it was nighttime. She slowly opened her eyes, feeling a weight on her waist. She was laying on her side, facing the window. She realized it was already nighttime when she saw darkness spread through the skies, mottled with splotches of orange and red. She checked her watch and noted that she had slept for hours!She tried to get up from the bed, but the weight on her waist stopped her. She groped around her waist to check what was keeping her down and almost cried in horror seeing a man’s large hands.Alarmed, she threw the hand that was nestling comfortably on her waist and bolted from the bed. Then she twisted her body around to glare at the man sleeping beside her. “What the h*ll, Rocky!” She lashed out.The noise she created did not bother Rocky, who was still sleeping soundly on his side of the bed. A chagrined look crossed her face when she reme
A moment passed by without anyone moving. It was like being caught in a tableau for a few tense moments. It was Auntie Evelyn who recovered first.“What is happening here? Are you finally making up or making out?" Aunt Evelyn asked in her no-nonsense, straightforward way, breaking the silence around them. Then, before Leigh could deny anything, her mom added, "Are we intruding?" Looking quite horrified in the process. Leigh could feel heat rush up to her cheeks all the way to her hairline at the suggestion. She thought she already made herself clear earlier, but it appears both mothers are not buying her explanation. They still think about what they believe. She opens her mouth to correct the misassumption, but right about the same time, Rocky moves, bolting up from his lying position on the floor like he just got out of a trance. The sudden movement caught Leigh off-guard and caused her to lose her balance. Without anything to hold on to break her fall, she prepared herself
The sound of Rocky’s laugh grated in her ears. Leigh walked faster. She did not want to hear any more sound coming from him. The more she walked away, the better her mood became.Leigh stopped at the first door she passed by and tried on the lock. It was closed. She continued walking and tried opening the next door she saw. It was also locked. She walked further into the hall and found another one which turned out to be locked, too. When she reached the end of the hall, she pulled her suitcase up and let the handle go in resignation. All the rooms on this floor were all locked. It was like the owner did not want her here. No room was prepared for her.She turned her head around to shoot a piercing glare at Rocky’s room before angrily grabbing back the handle of her suitcase. Then, she made a three-hundred-sixty-degree turn and stomped back angrily to where she started - back in Rocky’s room. ‘Rocky planned all of this!’ Her mind seethed. When she reached Rocky’s room, she re
Leigh propped her hands on the bed and leaned back so as not to give too much pressure on her injured foot. Then, she scooted near the headrest. She wanted to lie down for a while. It was this time that the door to Rocky’s room opened, disrupting her from the motion of laying down. She watched Rocky run toward his bathroom. When he emerged he was holding a clear zip-lock pouch full of ice and a towel. He sat on the bed near her feet and very gently raised the injured one, wrapping a towel underneath before putting the ziplock pouch on the reddened sole. “It’s for the swelling.” Leigh nodded and let him apply the iced package to her foot. She felt instant relief and sighed. “You have to put on the ice every two to three hours to alleviate the pain.” He told her when he saw her nodding her head off. She could not help it. His tender ministrations and the silence around them make her sleepy. It was a relief from their usual bickering. After almost fifteen minutes, Rock
“Please stop the car,” Leigh asked Rocky, but to her annoyance, he ignored her and continued driving towards school. “Rocky, please I need to get out of the car.” “Why? The school is still far away.” Rocky turned his head sideways to glance at her briefly before returning his gaze back to the road. Annoyed, Leigh crossed her arms over her chest and mumbled. “I can’t be seen in your car.” She admitted. She did not want to say it, but knowing Rocky, he would ignore her unless he knew the hows and the whys.“Why” Are you afraid to be seen with me?” Rocky looked shocked. Leigh smirked. Of course, everybody wanted to be seen with him. Being with Rocky meant instant celebrity status in school. But she was not just anybody. She was Leigh Michaels who wanted to keep a low profile in school, not like Rocky. Maybe, it is also the attitude. Rocky has a don’t care vibe attached to his face that makes people especially girls do anything for him.Rocky shook his head no. “It’s cold.
The blaring sound of her phone’s alarm woke Leigh up. Groggily, she checked the time before swinging her feet on the side of the bed to the floor where her slippers were waiting. She slipped on the furry house slippers, stood up, and yawned. “Good morning, Leigh!” Sam greeted her. She opened her eyes, sniffing the air around them. It smells like coffee. “Where did you get those?” She asked when Sam handed her a cup of their favorite Arabica blend, not sure when she managed to sneak out first thing to get those. “Oh I didn’t get these. Someone sent it.”Surprised, she took a whiff of her coffee before she turned her head back to Sam to ask, “Who?” Sam shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s Rocky?” A look of disbelief crossed over Leigh’s face. “Rocky would never know my favorite blend nor would he make an extra effort to sneak in here to give us this.” She was trying to act logical because that is how she knew him. “But what if it does come from him? I think he alr
Leigh stiffened at the mischievous glint she caught in Rocky’s eyes when they met hers. Then, she watched in horror when he started walking in her direction. Leigh felt like a mouse caught in a trap. She did not know whether to jump up from her seat and leave the cafeteria or stay and let Rocky approach her. She braced for the worse, mentally preparing herself for a word match with him, but to her dismay, it did not happen. When Rocky pushed himself to his full height and started walking, Leigh was sure that he would approach her. He was looking at her, but when the distance between them closed, she felt his eyes pass through her. She remained frozen in her seat, waiting for Rocky’s slowmo approach, expecting him to stop by her table with Adam Fowler. Then, to her consternation, he brushed past her when he reached her side and continued walking until he stopped at the center of the cafeteria where his usual table was located, ignoring her and the others who gawked at him