Semua Bab A Lie That Ruined Me : Bab 21 - Bab 28

┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈ Leonardo ┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈ After Natalie left, I picked up yhe papers she signed and went through them, a faint smirk settling on my face. Three months. Simple. Necessary. I slipped the agreement into a folder and locked it away in my drawer. I turned headed for the bathroom. “Leo, is everything okay?" Linda asked, sliding off the bed. "We're done here,” I replied as I turned to the bathroom. "Just like that?” She scoffed. "We didn't even last an hour.” Her hands found my chest, her lips brushing against my skin, but I caught her wrist and pulled her away. “I've got business, Linda. Another time." She huffed in annoyance. I stepped away from her and walked straight into the bathroom, stripping off my boxers and tossing them into the hamper without a second glance. The shower came on, hot water pouring over me, washing away sweat, salt and everything else I didn't care to remember. Quiet. That was how I preferred it. Then I felt it; hand

❈─────≪ °❀° ≫─────❈ Natalie ❈─────≪ °❀° ≫─────❈We moved forward, his hand resting behind me.To everyone watching, it looked natural. Intimate, even.That was the goal.I stayed beside him, aware of every step, every glance, every whisper that followed us. I wasn't just Natalie anymore; I was ‘his’. Someone being assessed, measured, judged.We reached our table and sat. I adjusted in my seat, forcing my shoulders to relax even though my body refused to cooperate. My fingers curled tightly against each other beneath the table, trying to steady the nervous tremor running through me.The room was overwhelming. Not because of its size; but because of the people in it.Power. Wealth. Influence; All sat in this room. The kind of people who didn't just live in the world; they shaped it.And somehow, I was sitting among them.My gaze drifted across the room, scanning unfamiliar faces until it landed on something… familiar.Her.The woman from yesterday.She was seated across t

┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈ Leonardo ┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈The noise didn't stop, even inside my house.Silence filled the walls, but it was quiet. It wasn't quiet. It was the kind of silence that came after chaos; heavy, restless, unfinished.My phone buzzed again. And again. And again.I didn't touch it at first. I already knew what I'd see, but eventually, I picked it up.Headlines flooded the screen.*Leonardo's secret lover shot**Fake relationship turns deadly?**Sources claim girlfriend was a cover-up**Was the shooting planned*My jaw tightened.Planned?They were getting bold… and reckless. And worse… people were starting to believe it.I locked the phone and dropped it on the table as the door swung open.“Brought someone…” Lex said as he stepped in.My cousin sister followed behind him before I could respond.“Hey," she greeted, her tone lighter than the situation allowed.I stood up walking towards her, "Palmira, it's been a while,” I said.“It has," she said, closing the d

┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈ Leonardo ┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈I stepped out of her room, exhaling slowly as the door clicked shut behind me, softer than the tension sitting in my chest.She thinks I orchestrated the shooting. Predictable. Manageable.Misunderstandings could be shaped, redirected, and contained in ways the truth never could, and as long as control remained in my hands, perception would follow accordingly.Still… the way she looked at me lingered longer than it should have.Not fear, not entirely, and it wasn't trust either; it was something sharper. Something that questioned.I pushed it aside. Irrelevant.My phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling my attention. Alexandre's name flashed across the screen as I brought it out and answered without hesitation.“I have something," he said."Go on.”"A cousin," he continued.I paused, not out of uncertainty but to consider how best to use the opportunity presented. “Secure him,” I said.There was a moment of silence on the other en