Apologies and Confessions

Today Morning

Leo turned around in his sleep and his hands landed on the empty space beside him. He then slowly sat up and stretched his arms. His eyes found the clock on the wall and he let out a groan.

'11 already?'

He looked at the other half of the bed and sighed. If she was awake already, why didn't she wake him up? But he had a good night of sleep after a long time and was feeling refreshed and full of energy. He finished his routine, showered and dressed up in an hour.

He walked out of the bedroom but couldn't find Mili at the dining table or in the kitchen. He continued into the living room and heard a melodious laugh. Following that melody he saw Mili, lying on the couch, reading a book as before. Just hearing her laugh made Leo smile and forget everything else as he leaned against the wall and observed her.

In a white tank top and denim shots, showing off her smooth long legs, Mili looked every bit a cool beauty she was. Her eyes were trained into the book and Leo was surprised to see her reading with such a passion. She appeared very calm and at ease when she was reading.

'Reading? That's not her. I never knew she was into books. A new hobby?'

And calm? That's definitely unlike her. Mili was anything but calm. She was the most busy and active girl he's ever known.

As Leo stood there mesmerized by her beauty, Mili noticed his burning gaze on her. She become self-conscious and sat up straight, her cheeks flushed pink.

"Hey." He greeted her as he walked to the couch. He crouched down to her level and pulled the book out of her hands and placed it aside. He then took both of her hands into his and looked straight into her deep eyes.

"W-What?" Mili asked surprised.

"I'm sorry" Leo said without any delay. "I'm sorry about yesterday, I was-"

"Don't bother." Mili pulled her hands out of his grip and stood up. And Leo was completely taken aback, but what scared him more was the distance in her voice. Before he could say anything else, she took her book and walked away.

Her cold actions left him paralyzed and he could only watch as she disappeared from his sight. He realized that there was no pain worse than being ignored by your loved ones. He thought that maybe he should give her some space for now and she'll come around eventually.

Hours passed by and at 1'o clock on the clock, Leo grew hungry and strolled into dining hall. He became depressed when he saw Mili already eating, and alone. But when he saw what she was actually eating, he grew irritated.

She was chewing sandwiches and French fries as if they were the only tasty thing available. Leo doesn't have anything against fast food, but it's not real meal either.

"Eat something real for once, will you?" He grumbled unhappily as he pulled the sandwich out of her hand and took the box of fries from the table. "It's not healthy eating these, all the time."

Ignoring her death glare, Leo threw everything in the trash bin at the corner. But that just made Mili more furious and she bolted to her feet. Rage was clearly visible in her eyes but Leo decided that he won't back down this time as crossed his arms and looked her straight in the eyes.

"I'll eat whatever I want. Don't act like you care." Mili spat those words like venom.

"What?" Leo was thrown off by her words. His strong posture crumbled instantly. "I do care, Mili. Why are you-"

Mili snorted. "The only thing you care about is your work."

"That's not-"

"Go back to your work, see if I care" She screamed, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. She immediately turned around, as if she didn't want Leo to see them as she ran towards the bedroom.

"Wait, Mili…" Leo ran after her but he was too late as she slammed the door on his face. He called her a few times but no response came from the inside. He sat against the door outside, wondering how it all came to this.

Right now many questions were circling in his head, more questions than answers. And time just flew by, sun bid farewell and moon was on duty.

NOW

After practically begging for hours, Mili finally let Leo into the room. But now, she was acting as if he was invisible. She won't let him talk nor answer him, completely ignoring him without any mercy.

Leo wanted to clear things with her and reconcile quickly, but she won't even listen to him and her cold attitude was sending chills down his spine.

Drained and dejected he settled on the window sill and turned his attention to the sky. It was calm, clear and peaceful. The crescent moon, the faint chirping of the crickets, distant noises of vehicles, the occasional cold breeze, everything was complimenting each other to conceive a soothing darkness.

Leo sighed and turned away from the window and fixed his gaze on Mili. Then he noticed something odd in the room. The book shelf beside the bed. It was fully stacked with books, and those were definitely not Leo's books. The last time he saw the book shelf, there were barely any books in it.

'Are they… Mili's books? Wow.'

Leo never knew she was that much into books. When did she develop such a passion for reading? Before, she would tease Leo for reading, saying she couldn't understand what was so fun about reading. He smiled, thinking what would she say if he asked her about it now? Maybe she would try to get away by saying that she was just using them to pass time.

Then he suddenly realized something. So it was like that…

She has been telling him all along but he just couldn't understand it.

'How did I not realize it before? Something so evident and obvious.' He was angry at himself.

Now there was no more time to waste, he needed to do something. With that thought, Leo left the room, while Mili was still glued to her book. Few seconds later, there were noises coming from outside as Leo was running back and forth around the house.

"What is he doing?" Mili whispered to herself, looking out through the doorway. "Whatever, I don't care."

After a while it became silent and Leo was nowhere in sight. Now Mili was curious as to what was happening, so she put her book aside and crawled to the edge of the bed to look out of the door. Just as she was about to peek, she heard footsteps approaching and she quickly jumped back and grabbed her book.

Leo entered the room and stood beside her. Mili pretended to be reading and kept her head in the book. Suddenly the book flew out of her hand and she looked at Leo, who has her book in his hands. He put the book in the book shelf behind him and turned to Mili, who was glaring holes in him.

He just smiled at her, and before she could say or do anything, he placed his hands under her legs and pulled her into his arms.

"W-What are you doing? Leo, put me down!" Mili screamed, but he ignored her and walked out of the room and past the dining table and into the open air balcony.

The scene in there surprised Mili. There was a thin mattress laid down on the floor covered with a white blanket and few pillows to the sides. Leo put her on the mattress and sat behind her with his legs on either side. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Leo, what are you doing?" Mili questioned, surprised by his actions.

"I'm sorry Mili." Leo mumbled. It was the same thing he's been telling since yesterday but Mili realized that it was different this time. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone."

She wasn't surprised but she felt like he was unlocking something inside her with his words and she felt vulnerable.

"I promise, I won't leave you alone ever again." Leo vowed to her.

"Don't." She muttered. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"What do you-" Leo was interrupted as his mobile ringtone blasted through the living room. He chose to ignore it, but before he could continue, Mili spoke again.

"You should answer it."

Leo shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Let it ring."

"It might be important." Mili insisted and Leo sighed.

"I'll be right back" He quickly got up and went into the living room. Mili wiped her eyes and sat there looking up at the sky.

A strong breeze blew by, making her aware of the cold weather. And her light clothing didn't help. She pulled her legs close and hugged them tightly, trying to warm herself as she rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes.

A moment later she felt warmth envelop her and her eyes snapped open. She turned around and saw Leo sitting behind her, with a thick blanket covering them both.

"Warm enough?" He asked, smiling at her. Mili nodded with a smile and pulled the blanket closer.

"You spoke to Roy in the morning?" Leo questioned.

Her smile faded away and she lowered her head. "Yes."

Leo let out a heavy sigh and spoke. "Listen, it's not what you think. That conference was planned before-"

"Its okay, you don't have to cancel your work appointments for my sake."

"That's not-"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine by myself."

"Is that so?" Leo grumbled.

He was getting really irritated with her attitude. She decides everything herself and doesn't listen to others at all. On top of that she was stubborn to the core and refuses to admit her own feelings, let alone express them.

Mili turned her head to the side. "I think I can manage another two weeks without you."

"Oh..." He snorted. "You sound like you are happy without me around."

Mili's head jolted up but she didn't answer. Leo knew he was hurting her, but he had to push her or she will keep everything to herself. But Mili stayed quiet, keeping her head low and away from Leo's sight. Her silence irritated him even more.

"You've changed, Mili." He dropped his hands from her waist and leaned back.

"I haven't." Mili replied rather firmly.

"Yes, you have." Leo shot back, equally strong. "You won't even talk to me. Always reading those stupid books and.. and..." He paused to collect his thoughts. "And eating that junk food all the time. I feel like you don't even care about me anymore."

'I don't care about him? I don't care?' Mili felt anger rising inside her.

That was the breaking point and she snapped. She jumped to her feet and turned to him, throwing the blanket away.

"I don't care about you? I DON'T?!" She yelled at him as loud as she could. "What about me? What do you know anything about how I felt while you were away. You've left me here all alone and now you are saying that I don't care about you." Her eyes are tearing up, and she was hurt and angry.

"I eat junk because I don't feel like cooking for myself. Heck, I barely feel hungry anymore. And yes, I read, so I can get my mind off you and forget that I'm alone." Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face.

"You say I've changed? What about you?" She muttered, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. But the tears wouldn't stop. The lock has been broken and these emotions were beyond her control now.

"You never call me and when I do, you are always busy with work or in a meeting. How do you think I felt then?" Her voice was shaking and her face was a mess with tears running down her cheeks.

"All alone, in this huge house, scared, sleepless…" She pressed her hand on her eyes, forcing them shut, to block the tears from flowing out. She took a deep breath and pointed at him. "You have no right to say that I don't care. What do you know about anything I've been through these past few months?"

Leo grabbed her hand and pulled her down. He sighed, wrapping his hands around her and held her tightly.

"I hate you. I really, really hate you!" She pounded on his chest, trying to push him away but Leo tightened his grip around her and Mili eventually gave up.

"Enough, enough." Leo rubbed her back as she crumpled his shirt in her tiny fists.

"I hate being alone." she cried. "You are the only one I have, so don't leave me alone."

Hearing those words, Leo remembered something which he forgot over the years. He squeezed his eyes shut as a lump formed in his throat.

He swallowed the lump and cleared his voice before he spoke. "You are the only one I have too. And I promise, I won't let you feel alone anymore, never again."

He tightened his grip around her and Mili buried her head in his chest and fastened her hands around him. Leo held her in his embrace as Mili let out all the anger and sorrow through her tears. It pained him to see her cry. He couldn't forgive himself for what he put her through all this time.

Her words still echoed in his mind. 'You are the only one I have.'

How did he forget that? How could he? He felt like such a fool to let her feel alone. The girl who left everything for him. He slowly raised her head and wiped the tears away with his thumbs.

"Mili." he called, but she refused to open her eyes. "You look like a bad ghost cosplay."

Leo let out a small snicker and Mili eyes flew open as she glared at her husband. Her reaction made Leo lose his control and he began laughing at her. Mili gritted her teeth in anger and pushed her head forward and smacked it into his.

In less than a second, Leo's laughter turned into a whimper as he clutched his forehead in pain."Oww- That hurt!"

"Serves you right." Mili grumbled and turned away, wiping the tears off her face and fixing her hair.

"Good to know that you are still as feisty as ever." Leo chuckled and pulled her back into his embrace. "Sorry about the comment. You are not a ghost, but an angel, my angel."

Mili fought the faint smile forming on her face, but when Leo touched his forehead to hers, she closed her eyes and let her lips curve up. Suddenly a light growl was heard and Mili's face heated up.

"Someone's hungry." Leo said chuckling and Mili turned her head to the side with a pout.

Leo stood up and stretched his hand to Mili. "Come on. Let's feed your hungry stomach"

"Shut up!" Mili glared at him and Leo let out another small chuckle. "There's nothing to eat, Unless you want to eat MY kinda food." She smirked, hinting to the junk food she collected.

Leo took her hand and pulled her up abruptly, making her jump into his arms. "Then why don't we cook something first?" Leo replied with a smirk of his own.

"You'll cook?" Mili raised her eyebrow, looking at him with a doubtful expression.

"I said WE. And I'll help." Leo replied with a grin. Mili giggled lightly as she pulled him along with her.