Leandro’s POV
The panic on her face said it all. She cared. She didn’t want me dead, even though I was supposed to be her family’s enemy.
I could see it in her eyes — the hesitation, the worry, the guilt. I didn’t know why, but I could feel it. She was still here because she didn’t want to lose me. Not yet. Maybe she was confused about what was happening between us, but I knew what I felt. I’d felt it from the very first moment she touched me. She cared.
And yet, for the past week, she’d been avoiding me. Every attempt I made to contact her was met with silence. Every call, every text — ignored.
The lack of contact drove me crazy. I had tried everything to get in touch with her, but she’d been slipping away. I was starting to wonder if the space between us was permanent.
Why was she ignoring me? Why had she suddenly pulled away?
The last time I’d seen her, when I was bleeding out, she hadn’t looked like she was pushing me away. She’d looked like she cared. I could see it. I’d felt it. So why the hell was she shutting me out now?
Then I got the news. I got the photographs.
Her arms wrapped around him, the affection she was showing Elio. It made my stomach churn. Every single picture felt like a knife to my chest.
Seeing her with him like that — it was too much. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to put my hands around his throat and strangle the life out of him. How dare he touch her, how dare he call her his? She’s not his. She’s mine and she has to know it.
And yet, here I was, standing in her bathroom, watching her panic as if I was about to get us both killed. It was maddening.
She gestured for me to hide — again. I could see the fear in her eyes. She was scared for me, scared for us. And it almost felt too much to handle.
“You need to go, Leandro,” she whispered frantically, her hand pressing against my chest, urging me to move. “Please. Elio’s coming. He’s going to find us.”
I didn’t move. I didn’t want to.
I could see the way she was trembling. She was adorable when she was scared, but I wasn’t going to run. Not this time. She’d been shutting me out, but I wasn’t going to let her send me away.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I told her, my voice low, calm, and almost too deliberate. “I’m here because I need to see you. I don’t care about Elio.”
Her eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked like she might say something more, but before she could, we heard the knock. Heavy, deliberate. Elio.
He was here. And the tension in the room exploded in an instant.
I saw Isabella freeze, her body stiffening as her worst fear was realized. She didn’t want me to face him. She didn’t want him to know I was here. But I wasn’t running. I didn’t wait for her to speak.
With a single motion, I opened the bathroom door — directly into the line of fire. The instant the door swung open, Isabella screamed, and Elio’s eyes locked on mine. His hand moved quickly to his waistband, drawing the gun with terrifying precision. He pointed it at me, his eyes full of rage and confusion.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he growled, pointing the gun straight at me, his jaw tight with fury.
I stayed still, waiting for the inevitable. Elio hated the Morettis. And now here I was — standing in his family’s den, surrounded by enemies. If he knew who I really was, this would be over. But Isabella stepped forward quickly, her body positioning itself between me and Elio, her hands raised in an attempt to protect me.
“Elio, stop,” she said, her voice rising, but still trembling. “He’s helping me. He’s just… he was helping me get the gum off my high heels. That’s all.” Elio didn’t move. His gaze shifted between the two of us, but the anger didn’t fade. He didn’t believe her. He knew something was off. He was too smart to be fooled by a lie that was so weak.
His grip on the gun tightened, and I could feel the tension rising to a boiling point. This could go sideways any second. Then, to my surprise — or maybe it was shock — Isabella stepped forward, tilting her head up toward Elio.
And then she kissed him.
It wasn’t a passionate kiss. It wasn’t even a real kiss. But it was enough to take him by surprise. I saw the flash of shock in his eyes as she pulled away.
In that moment, I couldn’t breathe. My chest tightened, and I could feel a rage stirring inside me that I couldn’t control.
What was she doing? Why the hell was she kissing him? To protect me? Or was it something else?
Her hand went up to Elio’s chest, pushing him back slightly, her eyes never leaving mine. She eyed me to go, begging almost. I was about to protest, but she glared at me. She wanted me gone. She was protecting me, but she was doing it in a way that made me feel like a fool for even being here.
But I couldn’t leave. I wouldn’t.
Before I took a step forward to pull him away, Isabella pushed my body away. She gestured for me to go as she pulled Elio into the restroom, kicking me out. I was about to knock, demanding her to come out. Then I heard the door locked.
I stood there for a second longer, still not believing that she locked herself with Elio inside. But all I could think about was how wrong it felt. How wrong it was to see her with Elio — even if it was only a kiss for show.
I needed to see her once more, I needed to stay. Even if it killed me.