LOGINLeo’s POV
“Come here, baby. Let daddy make you feel good.”
The words left my mouth low and rough, thick with want, and the effect they had on Ryker was immediate.
The look in his eyes nearly ended whatever self control I had left. I pulled him closer between my legs, till there was no space for me to move.
I gripped his hips tightly while my forehead rested against his stomach for a brief sec
Leo's pov I made my way back up the staircase after what felt like the hundredth failed attempt to reach either Vanessa or Ryker .Nothing.Every call went unanswered.Every message sat there unread.Every second that passed made my chest tighten a little more.And I couldn't reach the one person who actually needed a warning.I shoved my phone into my pocket and headed toward the bedroom Catherine and I were supposed to share.Even thinking that sentence made me feel sick.I pushed the door open and stepped inside.To my relief, it was only Catherine.Not her mother.I genuinely didn't think I had the energy to survive another round of her mother screaming herself hoarse at me.Catherine sat at the edge of the bed.Her arms were folded tightly across her chest.When she looked up at me, her eyes were red and swollen.She'd been crying.Great.Just great."I'm surprised you're still here," she said.Her voice was heavy.Not angry.Not exactly.There was something underneath it.Somet
Ryker's pov I don't get it, Vanessa. I really don't. Why? Why do I have to leave?She looked at me as if I should automatically understand everything from the look she was giving me alone. Her hands landed on my shoulders, firm and pleading at the same time."Ryker , listen. I wouldn't make you leave if it wasn't important."I pushed her hands away gently and dragged both palms over my face."That's the thing. I don't understand.""You don't know the dynamics of Leo's family." She said gently.At the sound of his name, something inside me snapped."Leo. Leo. Leo." I laughed bitterly. "You know that's all I can fucking hear about today? Everything revolves around him."Vanessa flinched."He got married to Catherine, Vanessa," I continued. "He's with her now. There's no problem. I'm not her. I'm not a threat or anything. They're married, and they're going to stay married because I don't plan to steal him from her. You of all people should know that."She stared at me.I could see it.T
Leo's pov I had successfully made the video.I sat staring at my phone screen as the uploaded video continued collecting views by the second.Thousands.Tens of thousands.Hundreds of thousands.The internet was eating it up exactly the way the media team predicted.Every carefully rehearsed word.Every controlled expression.Every calculated smile.Every lie.Especially the lies."I'd like to address what happened during my wedding ceremony."I could practically hear my own voice playing in my head."The name I called out at the altar was simply the name of someone I had spoken to recently."Lie."I had also had a bit too much to drink."Lie."It was an unfortunate slip of the tongue."Lie."I deeply love my wife."The biggest lie of all."I would never intentionally hurt her or embarrass her."Lie.Lie.Lie.Lie.Every single word that came out of my mouth had been carefully manufactured.Packaged.Polished.Presented to the public as truth.That was what media control meant.Lying
Ryker's povTen minutes had slowly turned into several hours.The room had long since gone quiet, the sounds of students moving between classes fading until only distant footsteps occasionally echoed through the hallway outside.I sat there staring at the floor.Then at the desk.Then at the wall.Then back at the floor.My brain kept replaying the same things over and over again.I groaned and buried my face in my hands.What was my life?Seriously.What was my actual life?A few days ago, I had been worrying about how to get over the one person I loved more than life itself.Now somehow I was apparently the mystery person whose name had been called at a billionaire's wedding.Wonderful.Absolutely wonderful.I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling.For once in my life, I wished things would just go smoothly.No drama.No heartbreak.No emotional disasters.Just one normal week.Was that too much to ask?Apparently it was.Because every time I thought things couldn't poss
Ryker's povI was losing my mind.There was no other way to describe it.I paced across the empty classroom so many times that I was beginning to wear an invisible trail into the floor. My thoughts kept circling the same question over and over again until it felt like it was carving itself into my skull.How?How could he do that?How could he stand at the altar in front of hundreds of people and say my name?My name.Not Catherine's.Mine."Ryker."Derek's voice came from somewhere behind me.I ignored him.I couldn't stop moving.My chest felt tight. My breathing felt wrong.Everything felt wrong."He said my name," I muttered.I dragged both hands through my hair."At the altar.""Ryker, you need to sit down.""No."I turned sharply and started pacing in the opposite direction."Who does that?" I demanded. "Seriously, who does that?"Derek remained leaning against one of the desks.His expression was careful.It somehow annoyed me even more."He married her."I laughed.The sound c
Ryker's POVI was in a very good mood.I'm not even sure why.Since Oliver and Chris walked in on me and Ronaldo that morning, I'd had this strange sense of comfort sitting inside my chest.It wasn't happiness exactly.It wasn't excitement either.It was just... peace.For the first time in what felt like forever, everything felt quieter.The constant ache that had been clawing at my chest for weeks wasn't gone, but it wasn't screaming anymore.It was resting.And I'd take that, any day over the usual chaos.I adjusted my bag on my shoulder as I made my way across campus.Students hurried in every direction.Some were heading to classes.Some were sitting beneath trees.Others were gathered around food stalls laughing loudly.Life move
Ryker's POVI made my way back to my room with my whole chest aching for him.The campus path was nearly empty now, lit only by scattered lamps and the distant glow of dorm windows. My footsteps sounded louder than usual, almos
Leonardo's POVCatherine was fast asleep beside me, her breathing soft and even, one hand resting across the sheets where my body had been moments ago.I stared at the ceiling.Sleep would not come.
Ryker's POVStudents were still crowding the hallway near the school cafeteria, all of them buzzing like bees around sugar. Some sat on the floor with wrapped gifts in their laps.Some leaned against the walls pretending not to care wh
Leonardo's POVI pulled the apartment door open, and the first thing I saw was Catherine springing up from the couch like she'd been waiting there for hours."Oh my God."She rushed toward me before I could even step inside. Her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, nearly knocking the breath out of







