18: Barrier In Between

Anxiously pacing back and forth outside the operating room, Leo's usual neat and clean look is now in disarray.

His gray-colored suit got stained with blood down to his pants.

He can't relax nor sit because his dear love's life is in danger. Raiver loss a lot of blood. Shards of broken glass pierced his back causing a deep wounds.

His heart got shattered at this sight.

After kicking out the trio out of his premise, ambulance came flooding in.

They spared no time and immediately loaded Raiver and his child in the ambulance then went straight ahead to the hospital.

Leo did his best to comfort his son Andrei who kept on crying.

Fortunately, his baby didn't get hurt. Andrei just needed some comforting for all the mess that happened.

Leo hugged his son gently. A tear can be seen from his eyes threatening to fall. He gritted his teeth.

If only he got there on time this wouldn't happen. Leo decided to put Ashten's into his blacklist and ban them from entering any of his properties.

Leo already knows how vicious this family are. When Leo and Raiver were still married, Ashten's would not leave them alone.

They would come and go from his house to demand help in the form of financial support.

Leo put up with it because they are his wife's adoptive family. He can't resist them. And even if he could, Raiver will be sad for opposing his family.

Seeing as how the family came in his house it seems like he needs to display who is the master and slave.

Leo in his distress form, held his phone and dialed secretary Ale, his most trusted right-hand man and his most capable secretary.

"You called Sir?", Ale immediately replied to his boss.

"Ale", Ale got his spine chills. The hair from the back of his hair stood up.

His body slightly trembled from how deep and scary Leo's voice sounded. His boss is obviously in his demon mode.

'Who the h*ll angered the demon king?!', Ale's forehead began to produce big cold sweats. He could feel the freezing aura that is leaking from his phone.

"I want you to blacklist Ashten's. It doesn't matter if it is their relative or what. Every Ashten is now banned from getting near towards Raiver and my son. Be it my properties, banquets or anything. I don't want to see them unless necessary"

"Even in our malls?", Ale asked for confirmation.

"Even there", Leo coldly replied.

Ale took a big gulped and loosen his tie. Even if he can't see his boss' expression, he could tell that he is about to kill someone.

"Consider it done Sir"

"Good", Leo then ended the call.

He then turns towards one of his body guards who is holding the sleeping Andrei.

Leo sighed in relief seeing his son stopped from crying. The guard held the little thing gently as if holding a precious and fragile gemstone.

Without a doubt this guard is experienced with handling a baby.

Clearly, Leo doesn't have any parental experiences so he doesn't know how to hold the baby properly. Heck, he didn't even know what to do to make his little prince stop from crying.

Then the door to OR opened. Leo ran towards the doctor, who back a few steps away.

The way Leo came in striding to the doctor's point were like a soldier heading for the war.

The doctor unconsciously held back his mouth to scream for help. It feels like Satan came to the mortal world to punish this puny being.

Leo's dangerous aura enveloped the doctor.

Pressuring the doctor to say something good.

Leo looked at the doctor impatiently. Sensing this, the doctor gulped his saliva before speaking.

"The patient is already stable. The glass shards fortunately did not damage any nerve on his back. Though he lost a lot of blood from excessive bleeding, he is safe now. The patient is now sleeping and is monitored for now. He will be transferred to a VIP suite", Leo heaved a relief sighed again.

Raiver is safe now. His love got hurt because of his own family. Such family existed to torment his beloved.

He will not leave them alone.

Based on what Raiver's maid statement, Raiver seemed to erase his family's existence from his memories.

Altering it into orphaned child.

Raiver must only have bad and undesirable memories about Ashten's that he chose to forget about them.

Leo could understand how his existence got altered in Raiver's hall of memories. But the Ashten's?

He already knew that this family's greed for money is undescribable. But he never knew that there will be much more things that he didn't know.

He needs to investigate this further. He needs to know how deep is the feud between Raiver and the Ashten's.

For the first time, Leo felt that he still didn't know his ex-wife completely. He bit his lip.

It is his responsibility as a husband to know everything about his wife and his condition with the surroundings but he failed.

Resulting into collapsed marriage and hurting him. Leo can't blame anyone but himself.

Four days have passed and Raiver is still asleep in the hospital bed.

Everyday Leo could be seen sitting beside Raiver. He only leaves the room whenever he is really needed to go outside for an urgent meeting. He never leaves Raiver's side for the fear of losing him again.

He would rather not go to work than to lose him again.

Leo is not dense. He can feel that Raiver is distant to him.

During Raiver's welcome home party, Raiver went to the veranda to take a breath of fresh air.

It seems to Leo that Raiver was overwhelmed by the happiness and affection of the Gruigels towards him.

Although Raiver welcomed the hospitality of the family, all of them could feel that he doesn't like to be touched nor let anyone to close with another person other than baby Andrei.

There, Leo took the chance to get closer with Raiver and starts a conversation.

But when their marriage life got mentioned as well as Leo's regret on what he did to him, Raiver immediately shuts him down and walked away.

And during the dance, Leo tried to invite Raiver to a dance to which he flatly rejected.

Even Leo's grandfather, the head of Gruigels, was rejected for a dance.

Whenever he tries to take a step over the boundary and make a move, Raiver like a fortune teller moves away before Leo could even do a thing.

It's like Raiver is putting a barrier between them. He never let their skin touch nor spits sweet words.

It's very awkward between the two.

Everyone can feel the awkward atmosphere between Raiver and the family.

Although they understand where Raiver's hesitation come from, they also felt sad because they know deep within them that they are also at fault.

So, Leo decided to take things easy. He plans to get Raiver's love slowly. To revive the lost love between the two.

He proposed to Raiver that he should stay at his home together with their son. He reasoned that he missed their son's early life after birth. He also added that he didn't get to see Andrei's ultrasound as well as to prepare for his room, clothes and everything that the baby needs.

Although he said those things as a cover to get close to Raiver again and make him fall for him again, he is also sincere that he wanted to be a good father towards their son.

Raiver agreed to Leo's proposal and let him do the things that he wanted to do.

After all, no one is in their right mind to reject such free housing as well as the benefits of living with a rich man.

Raiver will not worry about money nor food. He is sure that Leo will it to him even his money if he ever asked for it.

The only thing Raiver needed to do is the downfall of his clone's family. The chaos between the second sexual gender would come next time.

However, Raiver and Leo sleeps in different room. Their room were connected through the adjusted door to the baby's room. Leo prepared everything.

Leo is contented with their set up. At least he would get a chance to make Raiver fall for him again. He just needs to make an opportunity.

Right now, Raiver is in defensive mode and wouldn't let anyone in.

Leo sighs and look at his son's sleeping face and Raiver's.

Leo is about to go and get some pillows for Andrei when the surroundings came into halt.

Everything seemed to stop, like the time stopped. Every living creature on this planet stopped from moving as well as the planet's rotation.

The door to where Raiver was brought, opened.

Lea came striding in with one meter steel stick.

Raiver, who is sleeping peacefully, opened his eyes and he sat up like nothing happened.

"What's up Lea?", Lea then smiled and bowed down before Raiver.