Supreme Mars novel Chapter 67

It was Marie's voice that finally pulled Leo out of his stupor.

"Hello? Earth to Leo? Earth to Leo?"

Leo looked down and saw Marie holding her fist below Leo's chin like she was holding an invisible microphone.

"Mr. Cohen! Mr. Cohen! You're about to share a bed with my sister!" Marie's eyes held a playful glint in them. "What are your thoughts on that?"

Leo rolled his eyes at Marie's antics. "That's enough, Marie. I'm not in the mood for your games." When Marie continued to hold the invisible mic near his chin moments later, Leo sighed. "Look, I don't know, okay? I have no idea what to do."

"Holy shit." Marie's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Seriously, Leo? My sister literally just told you to share a bed with her tonight. And you have no idea what to do?" A playful smirk formed on Marie's lips. "Did you skip Sex Ed in school?"

Leo gave her the stink eye. "I just don't think it's a good idea, that's all." Leo shook his head. "This isn't right."

Marie snorted. "And it's right to leave them to their loneliness? Gee. I can't fault you for that logic right there." Marie's words dripped with sarcasm.

Leo stared at Marie blankly. "Uh... What's wrong with that, exactly?"

Marie let out an exasperated sigh. "You know, for a smart man, you sure are pretty dense when it comes to human interactions, Leo."

Leo frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Marie smiled. "Did you really think Emilia was throwing a tantrum just because she wanted to sleep with both her parents?" Marie arched her brow challengingly.

Leo's brows shot to his hairline. "Wait, you mean she was faking it?"

"I wouldn't say faking it," Marie said, pausing in thought. "More like she has an ulterior motive behind her tantrum."

"What motive?"

Marie rolled her eyes. "She wanted you and my sis to grow closer, duh!" Marie held his gaze. "Kids can tell these things, you know? I bet Emilia noticed the rift between you and my sister and decided to take matters into her own hands."

"That's a little unlikely, isn't it?" Leo looked at Marie skeptically. "She's only five."

"Leo." Marie was looking at him like he was some kind of naive child. "My sis was kicking ass in the international math Olympiad when she was five." Marie snorted. "Emilia is my sister's daughter. She's smarter than you know."

Leo pondered Marie's words in silence. Admittedly, it seemed more and more likely that Emilia's tantrum was part of her matchmaking plans.

"Seriously, Leo." Marie chuckled. "You really are so dense when it comes to relationships." Marie shook her head. "My sis is the same. You're both so damn obtuse."

Leo studied his sister-in-law, waiting for her to continue. Seconds later, she did. "You were gone for five years, Leo. And then, all of a sudden, you, a complete stranger, just reappeared in Lydia's life." Marie sighed. "And yet she accepted you." Marie levelled a serious gaze at Leo. "She did it because of Emilia. You and your infinitely dense brain might not know this, but Emilia is the glue between you and Lydia. She's the foundation of your marriage. Without Emilia, your marriage would fall apart because there's nothing holding it together."

Leo sighed and shook his head.

"Let me ask you something, then." Marie looked at Leo until she was sure she had the man's attention. "Think back to all your interactions with my sister. Does it feel like you're a married couple?"

Leo shook his head.

"Now that won't do, will it?" Marie gave him a sad smile. "Also, married couples share the same bed." Marie stepped forward and patted Leo's shoulder. "You should think about what I've said, Leo. You're gonna have to do better than this if you want to win my sister's heart, okay?"

"Roger that," Leo said with a nod. A moment later, he didn't think that was enough to express his gratitude towards Marie, so he clicked his heels together and gave Marie a salute. He was a soldier, after all. This was the best way he could think of to show his respect. And in all honesty, this all felt like he was about to go on another mission, like he was about to charge into a hail of bullets, except this time, he wasn't doing it for his country—he was doing it for his heart, and for the woman he loved. "That's right, Leo Cohen," he thought. "There's no going back now. Time to forge on and get this done." A smile formed on his lips when he suddenly remembered a famous saying by Captain Farragut that conveys his sentiments perfectly: Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

Squaring his shoulders, Leo marched up the stairs and headed towards his personal battlefield. Outside the master bedroom, he paced back and forth, taking one calming breath after another until he felt confident enough to reached for the door handle.

Lydia and Emilia were already in bed when he walked in, both dressed in their sleepwear—Lydia in a pale violet silk night gown and Emilia in a pair of Pikachu pajamas—waiting for him to join them.

"Daddy!" Emilia beamed at Leo from the bed and began patting the spot beside her. "Over here! Over here!"

Leo stood at the foot of the bed, studying Lydia's face for any signs of resistance to Emilia's request. When he saw none, Leo walked around to the other side of the bed and lay down.

Technically, this didn't count as him and Lydia "sleeping together."

After all, Emilia was cushioned between them.

"Daddy? Will you tell me a story?" Emilia was giving him puppy dog eyes again, which he found utterly irresistible. "I'm sleepy, but I want to hear a story from you."

Smiling, Leo nodded. "Okay."

On the other side of the bed, Lydia had already taken out a children's bedtime story book.

Unfortunately, the book seemed to be an unwelcome sight for Emilia tonight. "I don't want to hear the stories from the book," Emilia protested. "I want to hear Daddy's story!"

Leo froze but then quickly broke into a grin. "Sure. I guess I'll tell you my story then."

Lydia closed the book and put it away before returning her gaze to Leo. Surprise and anticipation glimmered in her beautiful eyes. Admittedly, she wanted to hear Leo's story as well.

Leo had briefly told everyone his story during the bidding event the other day, though he'd made no mention on the five years he'd been away. What had he been doing in those five years? What on earth had he been through?

Admittedly, Lydia had no idea. She'd hired someone to look into it, but the investigators she'd hired found nothing.

"Well, Emilia..." Leo sighed. "Actually, I nearly married another woman back then. A woman other than your mother." A wistful look formed on Leo's face. "But I suppose I got lucky." He chuckled. "Somehow, I met your mother." There was another chuckle. "I was half-dead when I met her though." Leo's eyes flicked towards Lydia's face. "She saved my life."

Silence filled the bedroom. Despite her sleepiness, Emilia was listening to her father's voice with rapt attention.

"I fell in love with your mother, Emilia," Leo continued. "And... even though we were forced to part ways, I couldn't forget about her. For years, I longed for her. Yearned for her. I couldn't forget about her. She was all I could think about." Leo let out a wistful sigh. "Ever since we parted ways, I made a vow to myself. I swore that I'd return to Emerdale one day and find your mom. I wanted to repay her for saving my life. And then..." Leo's eyes sought out Lydia's again. "And then I wanted to stay with her, and protect her for the rest of my life."

Lydia couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her lips at Leo's admission. She bit down on her lip and forced herself to keep listening. She was pretty sure Emilia had fallen asleep at that point, but she didn't tell Leo that. She didn't want Leo to stop talking. She wanted to hear everything.

"But I knew it was a foolish dream," Leo continued. "I know there was no way I could've protected her back then. Not when I was without money and status." Leo sucked in a ragged breath, then exhaled. "So, I took a different path." Leo chuckled. "A path that not many people would choose, actually." When Leo raised his gaze, a dark intensity swirled in his eyes, taking Lydia's breath away. "I joined the military." Leo paused. "I became a soldier."

Emilia's even breathing confirmed Lydia's suspicion that her daughter had in fact fallen asleep. Thankfully, Leo kept talking. He told her about his joining of the Wyverns, a Special Forces unit. He also told her about his comrades, and all the dangerous missions he'd been sent on.

Lydia hung on to his every word, frowning when he talked about the injuries he'd suffered during his missions.

When Leo began lamenting the loss of one of his comrades, Lydia's heart ached for him, knowing how much the loss of his friend and brother-in-arms had hurt him. Through his words, Lydia could feel his pain and his helplessness.

When Leo reached the part about him being hailed as the army's "God of War," Lydia's heart leaped in joy and her features softened.

It was when Leo began talking about his near-death experience that Lydia nearly lost it. Leo's brush with death occurred during the battle at Elview Mountain when nine of the country's greatest enemies infiltrated their borders. Leo had volunteered himself to take out the enemies.

Finally, Leo reached the part where he chose to leave the military service to look for Lydia. He was granted an honorable discharge for his excellent service and left the army to look for her. By then, Lydia's eyes were red-rimmed, and she was fighting back tears. Still, Lydia had hung on to her stubbornness and refused to let her tears fall.

"Thankfully, I managed to track down your mother," Leo said. "That was when I found out that you were born, Emilia. Both of you are my angels, and I'll treasure you both for the rest of my life. If..." Leo pulled in a deep breath. "If I could turn back time, I'd do it all over again." Leo held Lydia's gaze. "I'd fall in love with you all over again. And I would fight. Not for my country, or for the people of this world. But only for you and Emilia. I'd become your personal God of War."

Emilia's even breathing was the only audible sound in the room.

The orange glow of the bedside lamp highlighted Lydia's beautiful features, and Leo couldn't help but drink in the sight of her, allowing himself to drown in the beautiful creature that was Lydia Henderson. Even though Leo had stopped talking, he could tell that Lydia was still immersed in the story he'd just told her, like she was trying to put herself in his shoes.

Lydia had never been on a battlefield before. She had never wielded a gun, nor had she taken a life before. Even so, she knew how difficult it must have been for Leo to go from a normal man with no notable skills to Winbury's God of War. She couldn't even imagine how hard he must have trained, and all the trials and tribulations he had to face in order to get to where he was today.

The room plunged into darkness when Lydia reached over to switch off the bedside lamp. "So that was your story?"

"Shh." Leo pressed his finger to his lips. "Emilia is asleep."

Leo glanced down at the tiny body wedged between them, sighing when he noticed that Emilia was still fast asleep. Raising his gaze, Leo answered Lydia's question with a nod.

Leo had left out a lot of the gory details, but that was the gist of his story.

There were a lot of things he'd left out, of course: Dominic's going MIA and Sharon's devastation; the secret organization known as Phantom; the forming of the Seven Maestros of Winbury; meeting Nadine, and many others.

Warm and soft curves pressed up against his side, and a pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around his neck. Something cold and wet trickled down his cheek, and it took him a moment to realize that the tears weren't his.

Warm breath tickled the shell of his ear. "Thank you, Leo. Thank you for finding your way back to me. To us." Lydia pulled back, and Leo found himself instantly missing the warmth of her body. Lydia studied Emilia's sleeping form for a moment before she looked up at him again. "You've been through so much because of me. And for that I'm grateful."

Leo had a feeling that Lydia wasn't done talking yet, so he waited in the darkness.

"And now you're back... I want you to do something for me." There was a long pause. "Make me fall in love with you. Take my heart. Make me fall head over heels for you." Lydia's breaths came out in soft pants. "Make me... Make me believe in love again."

Lydia's eyes shone brightly in the dark room, chasing away the darkness in Leo's heart.

Leo nodded. "I will."