All Chapters of The Alpha's Forbidden Heir: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Leon’s father didn’t wait for anyone to sit. He launched right in.“Anyone care to explain why we’re all here on a Tuesday afternoon instead of, I don’t know, finishing the seating chart?” Alessandro’s voice was deadly flat the kind that told Leon he already suspected the answer, and hated the fact that he had to ask.Adrian stood up straight, neatened his jacket, and slipped into that measured calm he wore in every business meeting Leon’s family had ever dragged him to. “Sir, I wanted to speak to you directly. Leon and I have been talking about postponing the wedding.”Silence landed. Thick, awkward, crushing.“Postponing.” Alessandro practically spat the word. “We’ve postponed this wedding twice already, Adrian. Two years of delays, your mother and mine both tearing up their schedules every few months because the date keeps moving. Now you’re after a third?”“It’s not open-ended.” Adrian kept his tone steady, though Leon could see just how hard he was working at it. “Leon wants to f

Across the City Adrian sat on the edge of his bed with his phone still in hand. The bedroom felt heavy and dim, just a little light from the lamp next to him. He'd already changed out of his suit, but his tie was still stretched out on the dresser. His jacket hung on the back of the chair. It was late. He should have been getting ready for sleep by now, but Rafael’s words kept circling in his head. I just wonder sometimes if Leon actually wants this wedding at all. Adrian pressed his palm to his face. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he mumbled. He tossed the phone onto the mattress, where it landed beside him. He leaned forward, put his elbows on his knees, and just stared down at the carpet. Leon had said yes. They’d been engaged for years. Leon never told him he didn't want the wedding he hadn’t said anything like that. But he never seemed all that excited either. Adrian kept picturing Leon in the living room earlier, standing there with tense shoulders and his fingers twisting toget

Day OneLeon started with the drawers. They were easy not full of anything that could knock the wind out of him. If he touched the important things first, he wasn’t sure he’d finish.He opened two suitcases on the bed: one big, one small. His hands shook as he folded his shirts and tried to stack them in neat piles. Every so often, he’d pause and listen for footsteps in the hallway. He slipped a folded sweater into the bag as if he was hiding top-secret contraband, not just packing for a trip everyone downstairs had already agreed to pretend made sense.He tried to keep it light. That part nearly broke him figuring out what a year meant in shirts, socks, shoes. Which version of himself he could bring into another family’s house without looking like he hoped to stay forever. He left the wedding photograph on the nightstand. Couldn’t look at it long enough to decide if he’d take it or not, so he called that a decision, too.His hands wouldn’t quit shaking when he reached the bottom d

Maria led them up a wide staircase to a suite at the far end of the house, opening double doors onto a room bigger than Leon's entire bedroom back home, pale cream walls, tall windows overlooking the gardens, a bed large enough to comfortably sleep three people who had no interest in sharing it with each other. "I'll have your things brought up shortly," Maria said, setting a stack of fresh linens on the dresser. "If you need anything at all, Mr. Leon, you ring that bell by the bed and someone will come." "Thank you, Maria." Leon managed a smile, though his eyes had already caught on the single bed, the single obvious fact of it, and the way Damian had gone suspiciously quiet beside him. Maria left, closing the door behind her, and the silence that followed stretched long enough to become its own kind of statement. "One bed," Leon said finally. "I noticed." "You didn't think to mention that this was part of the arrangement." "I didn't think about it at all, honestly." Damian ru

Damian stood at the mirror in the adjoining dressing room, fastening his cufflinks with quick, practiced movements, while Leon lay curled on his side on the bed, watching him through the open door without quite meaning to. "You're staring," Damian said, not looking up. "I'm resting my eyes in your general direction." A faint smile tugged at his mouth as he shrugged into his jacket. "I have meetings until at least six. Marco's handling the Genoa contract details, but I need to be there for the final sign off." "I'll survive an afternoon without you." Leon shifted, pulling the blanket higher. "I have Maria, apparently. And your grandfather's porridge, which I still haven't managed to eat." Damian crossed back into the bedroom, straightening his collar. "About this morning." "I don't want to talk about it." "Leon." "I mean it." Leon sat up slightly, arms wrapping around his knees. "I already know what he thinks of my family. I don't need to hear it explained to me twice before ni