INICIAR SESIÓNLeonardo’s POV
“Make her steal?” He asked, surprised, like the word itself was ridiculous coming out of my mouth. “How can you make someone steal?”
“She doesn’t have to steal,” I said. “I know for sure Victoria might be involved with other men, but we never pried into each other’s business. Something illegal though,
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
Amelia’s POVMaya arrived in a few seconds. She didn’t even knock on my door, she just pushed it open, the way she always does whenever something in her gut tells her I might need her in a hurry.“What happened to you? Are you okay?” She said immediately she entered, closing the door behind her, her eyes scanning me from head to toe like she was already bracing herself for bad news.I looked at her with a serious face at first, letting the silence sit heavy between us for just a moment longer than necessary. Then I squeezed my face like I wanted to cry, watching her expression shift into full panic, and the second I saw that, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I grinned. I couldn’t help my excitement any longer. I ju&zw
Amelia’s POVWhen I woke up, my bed felt more comfortable than ever.I tried to reach for my phone on the bedstand and couldn’t find it. My fingers patted the empty surface twice before I even registered how strange that was, how the whole shape of the room felt wrong beneath the fog of sleep still clinging to me. I sluggishly raised myself up from the bed, blinking against the morning light pouring in from a window that wasn’t mine, and for a moment I genuinely couldn’t remember this room.The bedsheet was wrong. Too crisp, too dark, nothing like the soft cream tones I kept in my own space. The wardrobe was too large, too masculine, carved from a heavy wood I didn’t recognize. The decor, the faint scent still lingering in the ai
Leonardo’s POV“Make her steal?” He asked, surprised, like the word itself was ridiculous coming out of my mouth. “How can you make someone steal?”“She doesn’t have to steal,” I said. “I know for sure Victoria might be involved with other men, but we never pried into each other’s business. Something illegal though, we can make her involved in something illegal.”“Ok, just so you know,” Christopher said, leaning back, arms folding across his chest, his eyes narrowing at me the way they do whenever he thinks I’m about to do something he’ll end up cleaning up after, “if you are caught with something illegal, you will lose most of your shares t
Leonardo’s POV“Amelia? Amelia Vance?”The question came out of him like a man trying to convince himself he’d misheard.“Yes. Amelia Vance. The daughter of Victoria Vance.” The words came out simple, because there was nothing left to soften them with.He stood up so fast his chair nearly tipped behind him.“How can you like Amelia? She is your contract wife’s daughter.” His voice climbed with every word, disbelief bleeding into something closer to panic. “You want to finally scatter what you spent years to build because of a feeling you might not even be sure of? Of all people to like, it’s your stepdaughter? Do you know how that sounds? What if you don’t really like her?”Enough, Christopher.I said it quiet, but there was steel underneath it, the kind of steel he’d learned over the years not to test.“I will not sit here and allow you to justify my feelings,” I said. “The people you are talking about, they don’t even care. I ha
Leonardo’s POVWith the way he’s been looking at me, I just need to tell him the truth.He’s been sitting across from me for the last five minutes, arms crossed, studying my face like he’s trying to read something I haven’t said out loud yet. He knows me too well for his own good. Years of building this company side by side does that to two men. It strips away the ability to hide anything, even the things you’d rather keep buried.“I don’t like that woman Victoria.” I said.The words came out heavier than I meant them to, like they’d been sitting in my chest for days waiting for permission to leave.He looked at me, confused, his brow pulling together in that way it does when something doesn’t add up for him.“You aren’t even supposed to like her, it’s just a contract.” He said, like he was reminding a child of the rules of a game.“I don’t want the contract anymore.” I replied.I watched the words land on him.







