Leon's whole world had crashed at the exact moment that those words came out of Paul's mouth. His feelings were akin to glass shattering as he couldn't even process the information that he had just received.
Tears rolled down his face as suddenly Leon started remembering again. He remembered that their car was attacked while they were traveling to the airport. He remembered how his father was fighting all the bad guys at once but one of them was able to strike him down with his blade.
They carried him and his mother out of the crashed car and held a knife at their throats demanding his father give them everything. He remembered how he had cleverly used his speed to create a dust cloud to aid his father in his fight just before he was knocked out, but... but... when the dust had settled...
"YOU..." Leon shouted as he turned his grief into anger.
Paul was shocked to see such a change occur in his son, the son who had never raised his voice against him his entire life.
"YOU RAN AWAY!! YOU LEFT US TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF THOSE MEN!" Leon shouted as the sounds of his mother's cries continued to ring in his ears.
"What are you saying, Leon? I didn't run. I saved you." Paul said as he tried to calm his son down. He believed that Leon was just going through a denial phase and he was looking for someone to blame.
Paul tried to get close to his son and hug him as he tried to console him, but Leon freaked out as soon as he came close. Using both his legs and feet, Leon tried everything in his power to push the man away who he kept seeing in his memory, running as far away from the assailants as he could while the dust cloud that he created had kept them busy.
Paul couldn't use force against his own son so he just tried to calm him down by saying things such as "It's not what it looks like" and "let me explain", but it all fell on deaf ears as Leon used the opportunity to sprint out of his room and run as far away as possible.
Paul sat on his son's bed completely shocked by what just happened. He was expecting Leon to act out a bit considering how heavy the news was and how close he was with his mother, but he never expected his son to blame him.
Paul was also mourning the loss of his lovely wife as he wasn't in the most stable of conditions either. He quietly let his tears flow while he called for the butler.
"Benson!" Leon shouted.
Within an instant, the butler had arrived at the door. It was so fast that one could argue that he never left in the first place, but Paul was too emotional at this point to question anything.
"Don't let Leon go out of the bounds of the facility," Paul ordered.
Benson quickly bowed to his master's request and vanished from the door. Leon was racing through the facility which was the same warehouse where the Dark Raven tournament took place. He raced through several hallways at top speed and finally reached one of the exits. He opened the door and ran out.
There was a thunderstorm occurring outside, but Leon didn't care, he just wanted to get as far away from the man who betrayed him as possible. He was about to reach the fence that marked the boundary between the warehouse and the public area when suddenly a figure he knew very well and respected appeared in front of him.
"Young master, what are you doing?" Benson asked in his same polite voice.
Leon just stared into the eyes of the butler who he had accepted as part of the family and shared everything with. He knew that the butler hadn't done anything and yet he felt disgusted to associate himself with anyone that linked back to his backstabbing father.
Leon couldn't hold back his tears anymore as he started crying once again. At this point, this was the only thing he could do; Benson was loyal to his father, and he most likely instructed him to bring him back inside. He fell to his knees as he punched the muddy ground with anger and frustration.
Benson could see how broken Leon was and approached him slowly. This time Leon didn't resist as he allowed him to approach him. Benson bent down so that he and Leon were at the same eye level.
"It's going to be okay, young master. Your mother has gone to a much better place." Benson said as he tried to console Leon.
Hearing those words made Leon lose what little determination he had left and he hugged Benson tightly while letting loose and crying his eyes out. Benson hugged him back and the two stayed in that position for quite some time in the rain while Leon continued to cry.
Eventually, Leon was able to compose himself, and Benson made him agree to come back inside. Benson tried to get Leon to face his father but he kept saying he never wanted to see that man's face in his life ever again.
Several days pass by and Leon continued to mourn the loss of his mother while avoiding his father at all costs. Paul was empathetic at first as he knew that his son was going through a rough time and if he wanted to be left alone he would grant him his wish.
However, days continued to pass but there was no sign of Leon changing his attitude toward his father. Benson continuously tried to get Leon to talk with his father and let him explain things to him, but Leon didn't want to hear any of it.
"Who knows what lies he may come up with in order to protect his image because that's what he actually cares about. If he had cared for his family, he would have stayed and fought instead of running away like a coward." Leon said to Benson who was trying to get Leon to open up to his father again.
Soon enough, Paul hit a breaking point as he had had enough of his son's stubbornness. He walked over to his son's room and opened the door. Leon quickly jumped out of bed as his father opened the door and before he could do anything, he started to feel a sudden pressure around him. It was so strong that it made Leon fall down to his knees.
Paul had released a bit of his aura to make sure, his son didn't have the energy to talk back to him. It was quite inhuman and Paul himself didn't approve of this action but he wouldn't tolerate disrespect from anyone, even his own son as he had an image to maintain.
He walked over to his son who was still struggling to try to lift himself off the ground even though he knew it was pointless. He crouched down so that he was face to face-with his son. He could feel the anger and hatred that was emanating from Leon's eyes as he sighed.
"Listen, Leon. I know that you think that I ran away instead of facing those men, but that is not true. I didn't run away. I stayed and fought all of them. I... I killed all of them. Your mother was just unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire. Please, son, believe me. You know I would never abandon you or your mother." Paul said as he stared directly into Leon's teary eyes.
He contained all of his aura and removed the pressure from Leon. Leon could finally freely move and breathe again. He took a couple of seconds to take a deep breath and restore his breathing after which he looked straight into his father's eyes.
"Lies, all lies! I saw you running away! Nothing you can do or say will change that fact!" Leon said as he showed complete determination and anger toward his father.
Paul couldn't believe how much his son had changed, but he had also had enough of this. If Leon wanted to deal with things with anger then so would he.
"Fine! Believe whatever you want, but know this you are still my son!" Paul said out loud with a little bit of anger.
Leon was a bit taken aback by his father's sudden change in tune as before he could even respond, his father continued.
"And I won't tolerate misbehavior by anyone, even if it is you. If you want to leave this place so badly, then fine; you can leave once you are old enough to apply for military school. However, until then, you are to still listen and obey everything I say. You will be homeschooled from now on and anything you need will be provided to you by Benson." Paul said.
After saying this, Paul stood up and left the door leaving Leon alone to ponder over what his father has just said. Leon was absolutely speechless as he had never seen this side of his father before and his actions today had cemented the idea in Leon's brain that Paul really was at fault.
Leon now only had one goal in mind, to become strong, pass the entrance exam, and leave his father once and for all.
Paul on the other hand had tears running down his face as he stood beside his son's closed door. He never wanted his family to break apart the way it did and he just wanted to get his old son back again.
After silently crying for a couple of minutes, Paul finally wiped away his tears as he turned around to look at his son's closed door one last time before heading to his office.
"I love you, son," Paul said as he walked away.
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