Book two

Leo’s POV

I tossed and turned in the bed. My head pounded hard. My eyes felt heavy and everything looked blurry. A woman’s fair skin pressed against me. A strange chill crawled through my chest. I could not understand what had happened. The last thing I remembered was drinking glass after glass with my friends until everything went black.

This night was supposed to be my first real night with Bella after our engagement. Instead I woke up in complete confusion. I whispered into the quiet room, “You were incredible last night, my love. I’m sorry I drank so much. I wanted everything perfect for you.”

I pressed my lips against the shoulder beside me. She moaned softly. For one moment I tried to believe it was Bella. I kissed her again. “You always make me feel alive.”

But something felt wrong. Her scent was heavy and strong, not Bella’s light floral smell. My body froze. I sat up slowly. Fear started crawling under my skin. “Babe, did you change your perfume?”

She stayed quiet at first. Then she answered, “Of course I did. I did it specially for you.”

That voice did not belong to Bella. My stomach twisted tight. I sat up higher. “Who are you? You are not Bella.”

She turned around. My whole world shattered.

“Ciara?” I grabbed my head with both hands. “No… how did you get here? You are Bella’s best friend!”

She did not look sorry. A cruel smirk curled her lips. “I love you, Leo. Bella cannot take care of you like I can. She does not deserve you.”

Her words hit me like hard punches. I jumped out of the bed and pulled on my pants with shaking hands. “How could you do this to Bella? How could you do this to me?”

Ciara laughed softly. “Last night you could not keep your hands off me. You kept whispering my name.”

I felt sick. “I thought you were Bella. I was drunk. I never meant any of it.”

She sat up without shame. “Too late, Leo. Bella already saw us.”

My heart slammed against my chest. Bella saw? The thought made me panic. I grabbed my shirt and ran to the door. Ciara called after me, “Are you leaving me for her?”

I did not answer. I stormed down the hallway. My only thought was Bella. I needed to find her. I needed to explain before she left me forever.

I reached her room and stopped. My hand shook against the door. How could I make her believe me when I barely believed myself? I knocked softly. “Bella, please open the door. I’m sorry. I was drunk. I didn’t mean it.”

No answer.

I knocked harder. “Bella! Please talk to me. It is not what you think.”

Still nothing. Panic grew bigger inside me. Bella always answered me. She never ignored my voice. I turned the knob. The door opened.

The room was silent and empty. Her suitcase was gone. My legs felt weak. I stepped inside. “Bella?”

Then I heard the faint sound of running water from the bathroom. Relief washed over me for one second. She must be in the shower. Maybe she had not heard me knocking.

But my eyes caught something on the table. A small sparkle. I walked closer with shaky steps. My heart stopped.

Her engagement ring.

I reached out with trembling fingers and picked it up. It felt cold in my hand. My throat tightened until I could barely breathe. “Did she see? Did she really see us?”

Tears blurred my vision. The ring slipped from my fingers and clinked on the table. I caught it again. “No, no… Bella, please don’t leave me. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

I sank onto the bed. My body felt heavy with despair. I slammed my fist against the floor again and again until my knuckles bled. The pain outside was nothing compared to the pain tearing me apart inside. Bella was gone. The woman I loved had walked away because of me.

I stumbled to the bathroom door and pressed my palm against the wood. “Bella, please open the door. It is not what you think. I thought it was you. I swear on my life, I thought it was you.”

My forehead rested against the door. My body trembled. “Please believe me. Please.”

I waited, praying for her voice. But only silence answered. The silence felt louder than any scream. I twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

The shower was still running. Steam filled the air. But Bella was not there. She had left the water on and walked away from me. She had left the ring behind. She had left everything behind.

The sound of the water mocked me. It echoed in the empty room like a cruel reminder that I had lost her. I dropped to the ground. My body trembled uncontrollably. My heart felt ripped out of my chest.

“Bella…” I whispered again and again, but she could not hear me. She was already gone.

I stayed on the cold floor for a long time. The guilt pressed down on me. Bella had trusted me completely. She had chosen me when I had nothing. She had loved me with her whole heart. And now, because of one drunken night and one terrible mistake, she had walked away.

I picked up the ring again. It felt so small and heavy in my hand. This ring was supposed to mean forever. Now it was only a reminder that I had destroyed our future. I thought about how Bella must have felt when she saw Ciara on top of me. The pain she must have carried when she pulled off this ring and left it here.

Tears kept falling. I could not stop them. I had hurt the only person who ever believed in me. I had broken the woman I wanted to marry. The thought of her crying alone somewhere made my chest ache even more.

I forced myself to stand up. My legs felt weak but I walked back to the bed. I sat there holding the ring tightly. I needed to find her. I needed to make her listen. But deep down I knew she might not want to see me again. She had made her choice by leaving the ring and walking out.

The running water finally stopped. The sudden silence felt worse. I looked around the empty room. Bella’s things were gone. Only the ring and the wet bathroom remained. Proof that she had really left.

I whispered her name one more time. “Bella… come back. Please.”

But the room stayed quiet. She was gone. And the weight of what I had done sat on my chest like a heavy stone. I had lost the woman I loved. Now I had to live with that guilt every single day.