Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 258: Echoes of Memory

Chapter 258: Echoes of Memory

Viviana smiled as she couldn’t hold back her happiness. Her cramps made her clench her jaws and she noticed that no one else was smiling.

Right! They are all mourning.

She couldn’t smile anymore. Leander picked a handful of soil and placed it in her hand. She tried to kneel to put the soil in the hole, but Leander got behind her before that. He enclosed her hands in his, hence engulfing her in a hug.

Both of them poured the soil into the hole.

Leander was still hugging her from behind as Steve started shoveling more soil into the hole. It was then she noticed.

A rose inside the hole.

She was shocked and tried to look again to confirm. But the hole was already filled with soil. When she looked around and saw the same gloomy faces, and when she felt the cold hands of the man holding her, she realized something.

They won’t be this sad about Evander’s death. They would smile for her. But they are not.

She wanted to bang her head somewhere when she realized one important detail in this whole fiasco.

No one would have touched Evander without Leander’s permission. Leander won’t be this sad for Evander’s passing when he wanted him dead.

So, what is he dejected about? What made him sad enough to have gloom rule his eyes?

It should be...

I knew it... I knew something was different this time...

Her heart started to pound, and her bleeding got heavier as she got stressed.

"Leo?" she turned to look at him. Her eyes clouded with tears. She couldn’t see Leander’s face as the sky behind him was very bright. "Leo...?"

She wanted to ask him what she thinks was right. But everything went dark and she fainted.

Leander hugged her close to his chest. "I’m sorry," he whispered and carried her inside the house.

He didn’t know if she has figured it out. But she is too weak to handle the truth. She does not have to know the truth. She’s rational. Once she starts asking "how", she herself will realize that it was impossible.

-----

Viviana woke up when it was dark outside. She was in the bedroom on the first floor. It had a pretty similar arrangement to their bedroom upstairs.

Her hand inadvertently ended up on her belly. She wanted to know the truth but she knew if Leander is not telling her, no one else will. Not even the doctor could be trusted to tell the truth.

In the dim light, she saw a box on the table beside her. It had a pretty red bow on top and a card by the side. Viviana picked up the card first.

It was Leander’s handwriting.

[For when you miss me, Minnie]

There was even a pretty laborious attempt to draw a heart in the place of the "i"s in "Minnie". It looked more like two full moons than hearts, but it was obvious that the man tried his best to draw a heart for her.

It brought a smile to her face. She held the card to her chest and opened the box. There was a phone inside.

"He didn’t have to do that," she mumbled and picked up the phone.

The latest iPhone with a golden cover. She didn’t know if the cover was golden or... No, it was gold. Pure gold. And the beautifully twinkling white stones must be diamonds, she had a feeling. It can’t be cubic zirconia or Swarovski crystals if Leander bothered to get a gold cover for her phone.

Do people have gold covers for their phones? What’s his obsession with gold though?

Viviana sighed. She was happier with the card than with the phone. She looked at the card once more and that’s when she noticed that he has written something at the back of the card too.

[Call me]

With a smile, she turned on the phone. The phone had no security settings yet. She dialed Leander’s number and that’s when she found out that he had already saved his number.

It got her curious and she checked the contacts. There were almost twenty saved numbers including Katerina, Steve, Dr. Nathaniel, Mary, Martha, and Lionel.

She was surprised to see Lionel’s number there.

She called Leander. He picked up just within a few seconds. There was a lot of noise around him. It appeared that he was in a meeting.

"Is this a bad time? I’ll call later," Viviana said and almost ended the call.

"No, wait!" Leander stopped her.

Viviana waited as the noise around him calmed down.

"So... How do you like the phone?" Leander asked.

"Are you in a bathroom? I can hear the echo," Viviana chuckled.

She didn’t think Leander would leave the meeting and sneak into a bathroom to talk to her. Leander didn’t answer her and that gave her the answer.

"It’s the best phone there is. What’s not to like?" Viviana said. "Thank you for your gift."

"It’s not a gift. It’s a necessity," Leander said.

Viviana was touched. "Your drawing needs improvement though. You can’t even draw simple hearts," she smiled. "But Leander, I don’t think a phone is necessary."

"How are you feeling now?" he asked. "Ask for help before going to the bathroom. You’re fainting a lot. The doctor will check you to see if you need blood tomorrow. You must be very anemic."

Viviana pressed her lips. "Can I ask you something?" she asked.

She wanted to ask him if she had a miscarriage. But she still remembered the sneering when she told him that she cannot get pregnant. He can be pretty ruthlessly honest at times. She was afraid to ask him.

But she wanted to know.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Is the case gold?" she asked. "How much is this?"

She decided that such an important thing should be asked face to face; not over the phone and changed the topic.

"It is... Do you like it? It’s a limited edition; hard to get. But I know people. It didn’t cost much, just around a hundred grand, so don’t think too much," he said.

A hundred grand is not much? I’ve never bought covers even for a hundred dollars. How is a hundred grand not much for a cover?

She should be used to her husband’s antiques by now and not be surprised. She decided to let it go.

"Have you had dinner?" she asked.

"Not yet. Call Katerina and eat first," he said.

"Don’t feel like it," she said.

"But you will have to. Stay on the line and call Katerina."

"But~"

"No. You will have to eat. If you are not asking for help before getting down from the bed, I will ask Katerina to install a baby monitor in your room."

"No way!" Viviana scoffed. "I’m not a baby."

"But you need constant monitoring and you are worse than a baby."

"No, I can take care of myself pretty well."

Leander scoffed. He then put her on hold and within a minute, Katrina knocked and entered her room. Viviana wanted to roll her eyes.

"Do not end the call," Leander said.

"Fine!" Viviana scoffed. What a baby!

For the rest of the night, Leander was connected with her. He went to the meeting with the call still connected. He would often talk to her. He ensured that she ate.

He went to talk to his grandfather. She heard it again, his weird knocking pattern.

1-2 1-2-3 1-2

He muted the phone once he entered his grandfather’s room though. She didn’t know what they talked about. She almost fell asleep.

After a while, he returned to his room and laying on the bed, he chatted with her. He was talking about mundane things.

He surely was not grieving for his brother!

Viviana fell asleep with the phone to her ears listening to his voice.

She had a dream where she was on the beach with Leona. Leona was done chasing the crabs and sat beside her. She had found two flat rocks and she was trying to make fire with them.

It was a memory of a normal day she spends with Leona.

In this dream, Viviana didn’t feel the pain she feels whenever she sees Leona. She was at ease. Hugging her knees, she was looking at the sky.

"Your birthday is on the 29th , right?" Leona asked.

Viviana nodded.

*Tick* *Tick*

Leona knocked the rocks together twice.

"My birthday is on 25th July. 7/7," Leona said.

"7/7?" Viviana asked.

"Silly, 2+5 is 7, right? Twenty-five is two-five and hence 7," Leona shrugged.

Viviana didn’t understand anything but Leona was so sure and she accepted it. Leona was very controlling at times. And she was right too.

"I’m a Leo," Leona said.

Viviana looked at her. "I know. I call you Leo."

Leona laughed. "I knew you’d say that," she giggled. "But I was talking about zodiac signs. I am a Leo. A Lion," Leona said. "You’re a Libra."

Again Viviana didn’t understand much but she remembered thinking that the image of a lion suited Leona better. Leona bowed her head and tapped the rocks once again. There was a repeated pattern.

The sound of the crashing rocks echoed in the vast seas overwhelming the sound of the crashing waves.

1-2 1-2-3 1-2 1-2 1-2-3 1-2

Viviana woke up with a gasp. She patted her chest which was beating heavily.

What the...