Chapter 4

Violet's Pov

"Conrad?" I called again in shock.

He did not reply, instead, he clapped his hands and the door opened.

A woman carried a tray of food into the room. She placed it in front of me and left quietly without uttering a word.

I looked up at Conrad in surprise and confusion.

"Eat, you must be hungry." He said.

I wanted to deny and reject the food but then, my stomach rumbled reminding me that I had not eaten anything since the night before and I bit my lips in embarrassment.

Conrad looked at me and smiled. I felt my face flushed red and I quickly looked down.

"Thank you," I muttered quietly.

"You are welcome." He responded.

I picked up the spoon and started eating. The food was delicious and I could not bring myself to stop after the first spoon.

Conrad watched me in silence as I ate. I felt his gaze boring into me but I did not look up.

I had many questions to ask him and I knew I was going to need strength for whatever answer he was going to give me so I decided to finish eating before asking anything.

"Are you satisfied? Do you want more?" Conrad asked.

"No, I'm satisfied. Thank you." I answered.

"Alright," Conrad said nodding his head.

He clapped his hands again and the woman who brought the food came in again. She took the plate and left without saying a word again.

I found it odd but I did not ask any questions.

I waited for her to leave before finally facing Conrad.

"What happened Conrad? Why did you disappear?" I asked concerned and hurt at the same time.

Conrad was my boyfriend back in high school and he was Leonard's best friend. Things were going well for us until Conrad suddenly disappeared.

I was heartbroken and Leonard was the one who had stood by me. That was why I ended up with Leonard despite everything that was against us.

I was angry at Conrad. If he had not left, I wouldn't have ended up with Leonard and my life would not be a mess right now.

"My father was framed and sent to prison and he later died in prison," Conrad explained.

I was taken aback. I never knew that Conrad went through something like this.

"Was that why you ran away? Why didn't you tell me?" I asked angry.

"Because when I came back to tell you, I caught Leonard kissing you!" He replied, his temper also spilling.

"What?" I asked shocked.

Then my mind went back to that day. I had missed Conrad badly and Leonard was also missing him. We were consoling each other when we suddenly kissed.

I remember hearing the shuffling feet of someone running away that day. That day marked the beginning of my relationship with Leonard. It was now I knew that the person who saw us that day was Conrad.

I covered my face with my hands and shook my head.

"It's not what you think Conrad, that day was a mistake but at least, you would have confronted Leonard and me and we would have explained. He was also missing you that period." I explained.

Conrad scoffed at my explanation.

"Missing me? Please! His father was the one who made my father go to prison!" Conrad revealed.

My eyes widened in shock.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know my father worked for Leonard's father. Leonard's father was accused of drug smuggling but Mr. Derek begged my father to go on his behalf that he would use his connection to bring my father out quickly and also take care of me but he didn't fulfill his promise and my father died in prison." Conrad explained.

At this point, my head was reeling. Everything was almost too much to bear.

"So what happened? How did you survive?" I asked quietly.

"When I ran away for fear of Mr. Derek killing me because I knew the truth, I was fortunate enough to be adopted by a wealthy couple. They took care of me and made sure I got everything I wanted. I was grateful and I'm still grateful to them but I never forgot what Leonard's father did to me and I vowed revenge." He revealed.

I nodded my head. I was finally understanding him.

"So what have you been up to?" I inquired.

"Three years ago, I came back and planted a spy in Leonard's company. I was going to expose them for the drug smuggling and all the evil they had committed." He answered.

I knew he wasn't finished so I waited for him to continue. His voice became strained with barely controlled anger as he spoke this time around.

"I had everything! All the evidence.

Everything was enough to convict them but they used someone else again! And this time, it was you! Leonard took advantage of my father's death and his father's influence to take you away from me and at the end of the day, he sacrificed you again for his selfish gain! You ruined my plans, Violet. The moment you decided to take the fall for Leonard, you scattered everything!" He accused bitterly.

I stood up immediately when I heard him. So everything Leonard went through was caused by Conrad?

"You caused it! You made me end up like this! You ruined my life!" I threw the accusation at him.

"No, I didn't! You should be grateful to me Violet, I saved you from that bastard! Take it or leave it, he was going to use any other means to get you out of the way just to please his father who never liked or accepted you in the first place!" He retorted.

I felt like I was poured cold water. I instantly became calm and quiet.

Conrad was right. Leonard was a selfish bastard! He was more concerned with retaining his position as CEO and he was ready to sacrifice everyone and anyone.

Mr. Derek had never liked me from the onset and he never bothered to hide it. He felt like I was too low to be married to his son.

He had wanted Leonard to marry Francess who was Leonard's best friend from their high society. He believed that he would gain more from having Francess as a daughter-in-law than a nobody like me with no father.

It was a tough battle. My mother on her end also did not approve of the marriage but Leonard and I refused to give up on each other.

I had already lost Conrad at that time so I was not willing to lose Leonard also. When Mr. Derek and my mother saw how determined we were, they grudgingly agreed for us to get married.

My mother accepted but she made me know that I was on my own. She avoided me and Leonard after the marriage while Mr. Derek on the other hand never wasted any time reminding me that I had married way above my social ladder.

"Violet? Are you here?" Conrad's voice brought me out of my reverie.

I turned to him slowly and shook my head.

"Yeah. So what do you want from me now? Why did you kidnap me?" I asked Conrad.

H sighed deeply and sat down.

"I'm sorry for the kidnapping but there was no other way to get to you." He explained. "And I need your help to take down Leonard. I know you want to get back at him for what he did to you and take back your son. I'm willing to help you." He opened up.

"So you are proposing a deal?" I inquired.

"Yes, let's work together to bring down Leonard and his father," Conrad answered.

I didn't need to think twice. I finally had the opportunity to deal with Leonard.

"Alright, we have a deal!" I agreed.