He Gave Her the Ring I Wanted. I Gave Him Hell. Chapter 07

He Gave Her the Ring I Wanted. I Gave Him Hell. Chapter 07

I walked over to the window. Leo was still sitting on the bench, rose petals scattered all over the ground. 

Did he know? 

Did he know Sophia was vile enough to do something like that? 

If he knew, he chose to stay silent. 

If he didn’t, then he couldn’t even see through the person sharing his bed. 

Either way, it made me sick. 

The next day, as I stepped out of the police station. 

Leo was standing right across the street. 

His voice sounded raspy. “I’ve been kicked out of the Family.” 

I looked at him. “What does that have to do with me?” 

His eyes were bloodshot. “We both got what we deserved. Can’t you just let it go now?” 

“Angie, we can move to another state.” 

“Over these eight years, I really did… slowly fall in love with 

you.” 

“The apartment is full of your ghost.” 

I cut him off, entirely out of patience. “You just miss having a 

maid around for free.” 

“When you put your hands on me, when you watched people 

tear me apart online, when my mother’s life hung in the balance, where was your conscience?” 

“Leo, stay away from me.” 

He lowered his head, sinking into a long silence. 

“No, I can’t.” 

I didn’t waste another breath on him, hailing a cab to leave. 

As the city view rolled past the glass, my mind finally found 

peace. 

My phone buzzed with a text. 

I deleted it and blocked the number. 

Inside our old text history, the word “wait” came up over 

three hundred times. 

I wasn’t waiting anymore. 

Two weeks later, I filed for a transfer to our West Coast branch 

in Los Angeles. 

My mother supported the choice and came along with me. 

On the day of our flight, Leo rushed to the airport to intercept 

1. us. 

“Where are you going?” 

“Why didn’t you tell me? Angie, please don’t leave. I know how good you are now.” 

“I’m ready to give you everything.” 

He tried to shove credit cards and property deeds into my 

hands. 

I kept my hands back. “Leo, it’s too late.” 

My mother took my hand, and we walked through airport 

security. 

Watching the New York skyline shrink into the distance, I 

rested my head on her shoulder. 

“Things will get better.” 

She patted my arm. “Yes, they will.” 

When we touched down in LA, the air felt wonderful. 

The Santa Monica office wasn’t too big, so the workload was 

manageable. 

I rented a place right by the water, where the balcony opened up to a view of the Pacific. 

My mother loved to sit out there and catch the sun. 

The days went by quietly. 

Until Sophia’s court date arrived. 

I didn’t show up, only catching a glimpse of her on the news- 

her hair chopped short, looking utterly hollow. 

She got two years. 

Later, word reached me that Sophia’s parents had gone to 

Leo’s family home, screaming and hitting him. 

They claimed he had lied to both sides, ultimately ruining their 

daughter. 

None of it mattered to me anymore.