Family ties

(38) Bye, mother

Leah's POV:

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me", She said as I take a seat opposite to her.

I look up at my mother to see she held a soft smile on her face.

I shrugged. "It's alright."

An hour ago I got a call from a number which turned out to be Susan, my mother, who requested me to meet her in a restaurant.

I assumed she didn't want to meet at either of my houses considering how she'll never get the privacy to speak freely to me as she said she wants to.

I was wary at first. Not because I don't like her, but because I don't know what to talk to her about.

"So", I sighed. "What did you want to talk about?", I asked crossing my arms.

She takes a deep breath looking down for a second before replying. "I'm leaving tomorrow." She said.

I raise my eyebrow. "Leaving?"

She nods. "I'm going back to London to my husband and son now that everything's over", She replied.

I nod slowly. "Okay."

She was about to say something when we got interrupted.

"Are you ready to order?", A waiter asked politely approaching our table with a pen and a pad.

Susan looks at me. "What do you wish to have?", She asked.

"Um.. Pepperoni pizza?", I said after a second.

She nods and orders a large pizza and two cokes. The waiter nods and leaves.

She sighed. "I wanted to see you privately before I left. Thought I'll have a conversation with you", She said softly.

I nodded. "Sure. Go ahead", I gesture at her.

She paused taking a second to herself looking nervous. "Leah I'm not proud of the choices I've made in my life. But know that whatever I chose to do I always thought at that moment it was right", She began with a gentle look on her face.

I sigh.

"Leaving you at David's doorstep was a stupid, selfish and outrageous thing to do...I know. But at that moment I didn't think of the consequences or..how I wronged your father, most importantly how I wronged you", She said sadly.

I look at her seriously. Was she trying to justify herself? I think she read the look on my face.

"I'm not trying to justify my actions", She immediately said. "I'm really not. All I'm trying to tell you is that I genuinely cared about you Leah. That's why I chose David to be your guardian", She said softly.

"Where was your care for 16 years?", I asked.

I was not rude or snarky. Just curious.

"I saw David on tv and papers all these years. His brand shot high up on fashion magazines and news. I googled him", She chuckled softly. "I saw two girls by his side in one magazine..called his two daughter family", She smiled a bit.

I nod slowly. That makes sense.

"You have your father, Sebastian's features. It's not that hard or presumptive for me to know.. you're our daughter. You match a lot with Wes and Charlie too, you know", She smiled softly.

I stared at her.

"I knew you were okay. I knew you were being taken care off, raised well, living an easy life and getting educated. What more could a mother want for her kid?", She said gently.