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Chapter 2
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2026-08-07 16:53:04Leonardo’s POV
I heard the soft click of heels against marble and turned from the balcony.
She was younger than I’d pictured and far more striking. Amelia stood just inside the entryway, one hand still gripping the strap of her bag, dark hair loose around her shoulders, eyes wide with something that looked like nerves dressed up as politeness. There was an innocence to her, an unguarded quality I hadn’t expected to find in Victoria’s daughter. Victoria had mentioned her only in passing. My daughter, Amelia, she’ll be arriving today.
Now, watching her hesitate in my own entryway, I found myself curious in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
I crossed the room toward her, the city still bright behind me through the glass. Three years. That was the length of this arrangement three years of playing husband to a woman I barely knew, all because Marcus Whitfield, my newest investor, had made it clear that he didn’t trust a single man past forty with his capital. Men who don’t settle down don’t know how to commit to anything, he’d said. ‘A wife tells me you understand responsibility. That you’ll see things through.’
I hadn’t liked the ultimatum. But I liked what Whitfield was offering even less to walk away from, the kind of investment that would let me expand past every border I’d been quietly testing for years. So I’d done the practical thing. I’d married well, married strategically, the way I did everything else. Victoria understood the terms. She wanted the money and the name; I wanted the deal closed and the appearance of a settled life. It cost me nothing I valued and bought me everything I needed.
I hadn’t expected her daughter to be part of the arrangement I actually noticed.
“You must be Amelia,” I said, offering her a small, polite smile as I closed the distance between us. “Victoria told me you’d be arriving today.” I extended my hand. “Welcome. I suppose that makes me your stepfather now.”
She went very still. For a moment I thought she might not take my hand at all, there was something almost startled in the way she looked at me, like she’d seen a ghost instead of a man. Then her mouth curved into the ghost of a smile politely, and she reached out to shake my hand.
The moment our palms met, I felt it a current, faint but unmistakable, passing between us. Her hand trembled slightly in mine, and I told myself it was nerves, the ordinary discomfort of meeting a stranger who now shared her mother’s last name. But I didn’t let go as quickly as I should have. There was something in her eyes when she glanced up at me uncertain, that made me want to hold on a bit longer, just to see what she’d do.
I don’t know what unsettled me more: that she seemed to feel it too, or that some part of me didn’t want to be the one to break the contact.
The elevator chimed behind her before either of us could say another word.
Amelia’s POV
The doors slid open, and Victoria stepped out.
“Amelia.”
Her voice cut through the moment. She’d appeared from God knows where, heels clicking against the marble, her smile fixed in place for Leonardo’s benefit even as her eyes flicked toward me with a warning only I would recognize.
“You made it,” Victoria said, looping her arm through Leonardo’s with practiced ease. “Let me show you to your room, sweetheart. You must be tired from the drive.”
I said nothing, only nodded, and followed my her down a long hallway lined with art that probably cost more than the apartment I’d grown up in. I could still feel the warmth of Leonardo’s hand pressed into mine, even with the distance now between us.
The moment we were out of his earshot, Victoria’s grip on my arm tightened.
“Behave yourself,” she hissed under her breath, her voice low and cold. “This is a three-year contract marriage, Amelia. Three years. I intend to use every single day of it to secure enough money to finally live the way I deserve.”
“But I didn’t do anything,” I said quietly. “I only just walked in. He was simply introducing himself, that’s all.”
Victoria opened a door at the end of the hall, gesturing inside with false warmth. “Settle in. Dinner is in an hour. Wear something appropriate.”
Then she was gone, her heels fading down the hallway, leaving me alone in a room bigger than anything I’d ever had to myself.
I waited until I was certain she was gone before I pulled out my phone and called Maya.
“You will not believe this,” I whispered the moment she picked up.
“What? What happened?”
“Leonardo is my new stepfather.” I pressed a hand to my chest, still trying to steady my own heartbeat. “Maya, it’s him. The man I’ve had a crush on for years. I’ve only ever seen him in magazines and news clips, but now he’s standing in the living room. In person. Real, right in front of me.”
There was a long pause on the other end. “Wait. Wait, seriously? That’s him?”
“That’s him.”
“Amelia.” Maya’s voice sharpened with disbelief. “What are you going to do?”
I sat down slowly on the edge of the massive bed, staring at my own reflection in the mirror across the room. For a moment I didn’t answer, turning the question over in my mind the way I turned over every plan I’d ever made for myself quietly, carefully, without anyone noticing until it was already done.
“I’m going to take him from her,” I finally said.
“Amelia…”
“Quietly,” I added, before she could argue. “She won’t know. Not until it’s already done. I have three years, Maya, well, less than that, if I’m smart about it. I just need to get close to him before she figures out what I’m doing. Before she throws me out like she always threatens to.”
Maya exhaled slowly. “This is dangerous. You know that, right? If Victoria finds out…”
“I know what she’s capable of,” I said quietly. “Better than anyone.”
Neither of us said anything for a moment, the weight of that truth settling between us.
“Just be careful,” Maya finally said. “Please.”
“I will.”
I hung up, set the phone aside, and finally allowed myself to breathe. I sat there a while longer, staring at the ceiling, letting myself feel the full strangeness of everything that had happened, the house, the ride up into a life I’d never imagined, the sight of the one face I’d longed to see for years suddenly close enough to touch.
It didn’t feel real yet, even though I knew it was. Some part of me kept waiting to wake up in my old room.
By the time I’d freshened up and changed, a soft knock came at my door, one of the staff letting me know that dinner was ready. I smoothed down my dress and made my way to the dining room, where the table had already been set with a quiet, expensive elegance I wasn’t used to, crystal glasses catching the light, silverware arranged with more precision than I’d ever seen outside of magazines.
Victoria and Leonardo were seated at either end of the long table, already deep in easy conversation, something about a business associate, a dinner party next month. Victoria laughed at something Leonardo said, the sound polished and practiced, the same laugh she used on every man she’d ever needed something from.
I took my seat quietly, murmured a soft greeting, and let the conversation wash over me without really hearing it.
My eyes drifted, unbidden, to Leonardo, the way his hand rested against his glass, the low, even rhythm of his voice. I’d studied that face so many times in photographs that I’d memorized every angle of it. But watching him now, animated and speaking, laughing faintly at something Victoria said, felt like I’d been told the wrong story about him.
“Amelia.” Victoria’s voice pulled me back. “Leonardo asked how you’re settling in.”
“Fine,” I said quickly, offering a small, smile in his direction. “Thank you for having me.”
Leonardo studied me for a moment, something quiet and unreadable passing behind his eyes, then gave a small nod and returned his attention to Victoria, letting the conversation move on without me.
I exhaled softly, grateful for the reprieve, and let my gaze drift down to my plate.
Three years, I thought. I only need to be patient.
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Forbidden Touch: Taming my stepfather Chapter 53
Leonardo’s POV“Speak,” I said.“Sir, I was running my usual review of the east corridor this afternoon.” He cleared his throat. “I almost skipped it. At 2:53, someone enters Miss Amelia’s room. The door was open. She had just stepped out with her friend. The person stays inside for about three minutes, then leaves. Quickly. Looking at the floor.”Three minutes. Long enough to cross a room, put down a piece of paper, and walk out again.“Who?”“One of the household staff, sir.” A hesitation. “I didn’t want to name her over the phone.”“Name her.”“Helena. From housekeeping. She joined the team last spring.”I s
Forbidden Touch: Taming my stepfather Chapter 52
Leonardo’s POVShe stepped inside, and I closed the door behind her.The click sounded louder than it should have. I stayed where I was, one hand still on the handle, and made myself look at her properly. She wasn’t flushed the way she’d been in the painting room. She was pale. Her fingers were curled around a small square of paper, and the knuckles had gone white.That was not the face of a girl who had come to tell me something sweet.I nodded once, slowly, the way I do when I’m reading a room. I opened my mouth to ask her to sit.“Someone left this in my room.”She said it before I could speak. She held the paper out to me with a hand that would not stay still, and I took it.It had been folded and unfolded so many times that the creases had gone soft. I carried it to the lamp. The handwriting was small and slanted and careful. Whoever wrote it had taken their time.I know where you slept last night. I
Forbidden Touch: Taming my stepfather Chapter 51
Leonardo’s POVI looked at her.I’ll tell you in your room.She had leaned toward me when she said it, her voice so low I almost had to read it from her lips. It was something she did not want to say here.“I hope there’s no issue,” I said, keeping my voice level.She didn’t answer right away. She bent a little closer over the table, as if the walls themselves might lean in to listen.“I’ll tell you everything,” she said softly. “In your room. After dinner.”Everything.The word settled in my chest and refused to move.I had a hundred questions, and every one of them was on my tongue. What was it? Why not here? Why not now? I swallowed all of them. Not with the staff standing
Forbidden Touch: Taming my stepfather Chapter 50
Amelia’s POVA horn blared somewhere outside.My eyes snapped open. For a second I didn’t know where I was. The room was dim, the lamp was low, and my neck ached from the way I’d slumped against the headboard. Something crinkled in my hand.The note.It was still there, folded and creased, my fingers wrapped around it so tightly it had gone soft at the edges. I had fallen asleep holding it. I had fallen asleep waiting for Leonardo.The horn sounded again, and I was off the bed before I could think. I ran to the window and pulled the curtain aside. Headlights swept across the compound, and the black car rolled through the gate, slow and steady.He was back.My heart did something stupid. It jumped, then stumbled, then started racing for no reason I could name.Calm down. Calm down, Amelia.I rushed to the mirror. My hair was flattened on one side. I smoothed it down and tugged at my top. I turned left, then right, then
Forbidden Touch: Taming my stepfather Chapter 49
Amelia’s POVI couldn’t stay still.I paced from the window to the bed, from the bed to the door, then back to the window. My bare feet slapped softly against the floor, the only sound in the room besides my own breathing. It was too loud. Everything felt too loud.Who could have put that note on my bed?My eyes kept drifting to it, that small folded piece of paper, innocent-looking, like it hadn’t just tilted my whole world. I turned away. Looked back. Turned away again.Should I call Maya? Tell her everything?No. She just left. She was sitting right here, on this very bed, laughing about something silly, not even an hour ago. Could she have…No.Maya would never do that to me. Never.I pressed my palm to my forehead and shut my eyes. The thought wouldn’t leave, though. It crawled back in, quiet and cold.Someone in the house.It had to be. Nobody else could have walked into my room without being stopped. No
Forbidden Touch: Taming my stepfather Chapter 48
Amelia’s POV“Something like what?” I asked, sitting up a little straighter, the warmth from a moment ago giving way to something more cautious.“Since you have come this far with him within a few days of Victoria’s absence, you need to be careful when she is around.” She said it slowly, deliberately, like she was choosing her words with more care than usual.“I know, but then Leonardo will not allow her to hurt me.” I said, though even as the words left my mouth I could hear how much I wanted them to be true more than I actually believed them.“Still, be extra careful. Play your game very well.” She said, holding my gaze for a second longer than necessary before leaning back, her tone shifting lighter again, the way it alway&z
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