Chapter 27 – An Unbreakable Vow with the Heartless Tycoon

“Miss Summer, what’s the matter?” she asks.

“How sweet of you to see Dr. Meyer off at the gate,” Leonie says, “You seemed reluctant to part from him—the two of you made such a touching picture!”

Leilani crosses her arms; she refuses to tolerate Leonie’s scheming. Leilani has no patience Leonie after the other woman tried to frame her for drugging the candle.

“You eavesdropped on us?”

“Do I need to eavesdrop? It’s obvious what’s happening: you’re both a.d.u.l.terers!” Leonie says, “Dr. Meyer came to visit you under the guise of giving medical advice to Mr. Bamford, and you cooked his favorite dish for dinner. You’re both shameless—conducting your affair in Waylen’s own home!”

Leonie gives Leilani a smug, condescending glare.

“Sure, whatever you think,” Leilani says dismissively, “Now if you’ll please excuse me.”

Leilani isn’t in the mood to waste time with Leonie. She wants to try to persuade Francis Bamford to expedite the divorce, and she knows that timing is everything. The news that she’s unfit for pregnancy has shocked and upset him, and she may be able to use his outrage in her favor. Leilani tries to pass Leonie but the other woman blocks her path—weaving left and right so Leilani can’t get past her.

“So you’re the woman Dr. Meyer was talking about,” Leonie says, enjoying herself, “Is that why you saw him off—after his sad confession at dinner, you wanted to reassure him and pledge your love? What would happen if Waylen knew about your a.d.u.l.terous relationship with Dr. Meyer? Do you still think he’d still take your side if he knew you were a cheater?”

“Frankly, I don’t care,” Leilani says, “You can go ask him if you want to know.”

Leilani smooths her windblown hair. Though Leonie is half a head shorter than her, she blocks her path with an imposing manner. Leilani is unintimidated. She looks at Leonie with mild amus.e.m.e.nt, as if she finds the other woman a joke. This infuriates Leonie.

Leonie flushes with anger, “You think I won’t tell Waylen, but I will. Do you think he’ll take your side again, Leilani? You think you’ve beaten me, but you don’t even know who the real competition is. Waylen is deeply in love with my sister, Diana. You’re just a substitute and, to be frank, a vulgar s.e.x toy.”

Leilani stares coldly at Leonie. Leonie acts like a polished upper-class woman in the company, but in private she shows her true colors. Though Leonie’s information isn’t a surprise it does make Leilani uncomfortable in a way she can’t quite explain to herself.

“So what?” Leilani says lightly, “I’m still better than someone who desperately wants to be a toy but can’t even arouse Waylen’s interest.”

“You little—” Leonie grabs Leilani’s hair in anger, “How can you act so confident and unapologetic when you’re cheating on Waylen?”

Leilani slaps Leonie across the face with a swift backhand. Shocked, Leonie lets go of Leilani’s hair and raises her hand to cover her face. She looks ridiculous, frozen in a pose of astonishment and self-defense. She can’t believe that Leilani has just hit her.

“In the last few days, Leilani has changed dramatically,” Leonie thinks, “Though she’s been bolder ever since announcing the divorce, she’s been almost fearless since this morning. Ever since Waylen took her side she’s been like a woman reborn.”

In the past, Leilani was too meek to defend herself against Leonie’s bullying tactics. When Leonie deliberately fell down the stairs and blamed Leilani, she seemed unable to say a word in her defense. Leonie thinks about the rumors she’s heard in the last few days and Dr. Meyer’s announcement that Leilani is unfit to bear children.

“She must have some kind of disease,” Leonie thinks, “The maids seem to think Leilani suffers from some sort of mental illness which explains the sudden personality change. But if Leilani’s mysterious disease causes infertility, Francis Bamford will be livid. Leilani won’t keep the title of Mrs. Bamford for long if she’s barren.”

It takes a while for Leonie to tame her temper. As the second daughter in the Summers family, Leonie grew up spoiled by her maids and pampered by her parents. She’s not used to people refusing to give her what she wants, and she’s not used to being hit.

She rants and raves, waving her hands in Leilani’s face, “You! How dare you beat me?”

As she speaks, she pushes Leilani in the chest for emphasis. She pushes hard enough that Leilani staggers backward toward the edge of the fountain. Leilani quickly regains her footing, but from the corner of her eye, she sees human figures in the mansion’s doorway. She hesitates and then with a dramatic wave of her arms, she steps back and allows herself to fall into the fountain.

With a loud splash, she crashes into the fountain and lands on her back. She immediately sits up, shocked by the cold water. Though the fountain is shallow and the water only comes to Leilani’s chest, servants flock to the fountain to help her. They stumble over each other until a maid and a bodyguard seize her hands and pull her to her feet.

Leonie still has a red mark on her face from where Leilani slapped her. Leilani knows that Leonie will try to play the victim, manipulating the story to make Leilani look bad. By falling into the fountain when Leonie pushed her she’s evened the playing field.

“Waylen, Mr. Bamford, Mrs. Bamford, I—” Leonie is eager to vent her grievances before Leilani can get a word in.

“It’s not Leonie’s fault,” Leilani interrupts, “I hit her first and that’s why she pushed me into the water.”

Leilani’s soaked clothing clings to her body and drips water onto the ground. She maintains a neutral expression, neither embarrassed and humble nor haughty and arrogant.

Leonie is baffled. She was surprised when Leilani managed to regain her balance after she pushed her. She was even more stunned when Leilani faked the fall and threw herself into the fountain, but as soon as she saw the Bamfords’ she understood Leilani’s plan.

“Why has this bitch just admitted she hit me?” Leonie wonders, “I thought she was going to try to blame me as the aggressor, but now she’s taken the blame. What am I supposed to say now?”

Leonie doesn’t know what to do or how to act. Leilani’s honesty has surprised her, and she’s not sure how to regain control of the situation.

“It’s all my fault,” Leilani continues, “Leonie misunderstood when she saw me with Dr. Meyer. I was too inarticulate to explain myself to her, so I slapped her in a fit of rage.”

Leonie widens her eyes in surprise and shakes her head desperately. Leilani has managed to bring up Dr. Meyer first, and Leonie is scared she’ll lose the chance to accuse Leilani of a.d.u.l.tery.

Waylen narrows his eyes, “What did she see you doing with Dr. Meyer?”

Leilani looks at the ground and answers, “Dr. Meyer was a distinguished guest personally invited by Mr. Bamford, but he had to leave suddenly. You and Mr. Bamford were in the study and Mrs. Bamford and Leonie were in the kitchen preparing medicine, so as a part of the Bamford family, I thought it was my duty to send him off. It seemed rude to let such an important visitor leave without a proper farewell.”

She pauses and looks up from the ground, “Besides I wanted to thank him personally for being my nanny’s attending doctor. I walked him to the gate to say goodbye. Somehow Leonie got it into her head that I’m having an affair with him. Naturally, I was outraged that she’d suggest something so shameful and I slapped her. As a member of the Bamford family, it personally upsets me to hear people tarnishing the family name with filthy rumors.”

Leilani casually glances at Leonie. She’s decided to use Leonie’s tricks against her. Before, Leonie always played the victim, but now Leilani is paying her back in kind.

“That’s not true!” Leonie splutters, “You! You! You—”

Leonie is too furious to speak clearly, and her face is flushed a bright red. Leonie knows that the Bamford family cherishes its reputation. Leilani is implying that Leonie has tarnished the reputation by imagining that Leilani is part of a scandalous affair.

Leilani looks at Waylen calmly, “Everyone knows that I only have eyes for my husband. How could I even look at another man when Waylen is so perfect? It makes no sense for me to even think about a.d.u.l.tery when I’m so happily married. I wonder, Leonie, are you questioning Waylen’s charms?”

Waylen raises his eyebrows. If she’s happily married, this is the first he’s heard of it. Besides, he saw the whole process clearly from the door. Leilani stumbled toward the fountain, regained her footing, and then voluntarily threw herself into the fountain the next second.

Waylen squints at Leilani. He was surprised that she confessed, and he’s even more shocked that she’s flattering him, but she’s no longer the woman she once was. The new Leilani refuses to suffer indignities in silence, and she has become as sharp and cunning as a fox.

Waylen stares at her with a calculating expression as if he sees through everything she has said. She can’t tell what he plans to do about it, and she shivers.

“How could I question Waylen’s charm?” Leonie says, “I just feel sorry for him. He deserves better than to have an a.d.u.l.terous wife, and I’d hate to see him become a cuckold.”

Leonie emphasizes the word “cuckold.” Everyone knows what Leonie is implying.

“What? A cuckold?” Leilani says, “That’s ridiculous! You worry too much about my relationship, Leonie.”

“That’s enough,” Mr. Francis Bamford says, “Dr. Meyer is my guest and my doctor and Leilani’s nanny’s doctor as well. It’s only proper that Leilani saw him to the door.” He adds warningly, “The Summers won’t gain a good reputation by spreading false rumors about my family.”

Leonie bites her lip, ashamed and frustrated by Mr. Bamford’s words. Although it was dark, she could still see the way Dr. Meyer looked at Leilani and she perceived his reluctance to part from her at the gate.

“But Mr. Bamford, what if I have evidence?”

“What’s the evidence?”

“Dr. Meyer gave birth control pills to Leilani. If he doesn’t have a special affection for her, why would he risk prescribing the pills for her? Everyone knows that no one dares to prescribe unauthorized medicine for the Bamford family. I suspect he gave her birth control pills because he can’t stand the thought of her having Waylen’s baby.”

Leilani’s heart misses a beat. It’s true that no doctor would dare to prescribe unauthorized medicine to the Bamford family, especially not birth control pills. It will not look good for her and Charles if the pills are found out.

---