CHAPTER 225: CHAPTER 225 WARNING

"P-Poof—" Casper choked violently on his whiskey, spraying droplets across the table. Zion shoved tissues at him with a disgusted grunt, wiping his sleeve.

"B-Babies?!" Casper gasped, eyes bulging. "You didn’t tell me Bella was pregnant?! Oh my god, Leo, did you knock her up on your wedding night? And—and wait, if she gave birth, why didn’t you call us?! Do you have a secret baby hidden somewhere?! She looked normal at Alexa’s wedding—was it fake stomach?!" His voice grew shrill with each question.

"Idiot," Zion muttered, shaking his head.

"Pulshies." Leo chuckled lowly, his lips curving as he swirled the last of his whiskey. "She calls them babies. Her little plush toys. She guards them like treasure."

Casper froze, then slapped the table, laughing so loudly heads turned in their direction. "Oh my god! Pulshies?! I thought you were finally a father!" He doubled over in laughter, wiping tears from his eyes. "Leo—the great Leonardo—sharing his bed with toys?!"

Zion smirked, watching his elder brother carefully. "And yet," he said, his voice carrying amusement, "you sound like you don’t mind it."

Leo’s gaze sharpened, but he didn’t deny it. Instead, he took a slow sip of whiskey, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips as a memory of Bella curled up with her snowball plush filled his mind.

"Mind?" His voice dropped lower, enough to make both Zion and Casper fall silent for a second. "I think they suit her. She looks... soft when she’s with them."

Alan tilted his glass, hiding his expression as his eyes lingered on Leo with something unreadable.

"Yes! She’s soft and strong!! You got a good wife, Leo," Casper said, shaking his head with something like admiration. "If I were in her place, I would’ve frozen during that accident. But she was really brave... saving Alexa’s parents, even though Alexa treats her like trash."

Leo’s jaw flexed, his whiskey glass half-raised but untouched.

"How’s Alexa doing now?" Casper asked, turning toward Alan.

Alan’s eyes darkened, his voice flat. "She’s fine. Living with Archer now. He gave her his card, and she’s been flaunting his money everywhere." His lips twisted as if even saying it left a bitter taste.

"That dude is insane," Casper muttered. "After knowing what she’s like, he still loves her? Can’t believe her luck."

Alan gave a humorless laugh, his gaze sliding toward Leo. "Yeah... she’s always been lucky in everything... except—"

His unfinished words hung in the smoky air. Zion raised a brow, understanding without needing it spelled out. Casper shifted uncomfortably, suddenly aware of the silence pressing down.

But Leo?

Leo had tuned them all out. His mind was already elsewhere. Not on Alexa. Not even on Alan’s strange tone. Only on Bella—on her skittish glances, her nervous fidgeting, the way she rushed to close her laptop when he walked in. Something was off with her. She was hiding something.

And that thought... unsettled him.

After a while, Leo stood up with deliberate calm. He didn’t say goodbye—just adjusted his black shirt, downed the last of his drink in one slow motion, and left the bar.

The night air was cool against his skin, but his thoughts were burning. He was halfway down the steps when someone suddenly bumped into him.

"Ah!" Stella gasped, clutching her arm dramatically as her friends lingered by the entrance. Her face lit up when she realized who it was. Leo. Alone. No guards.

Her eyes swept over him greedily—the height, the lean muscle, the sharp cut of his jaw, and that sinful Adam’s apple that bobbed when he swallowed. Heat coiled in her stomach. God, she would give anything to touch him, to taste that cruel mouth that had broken so many hearts and lives.

"Hey! Are you okay?" she asked in a voice drenched with fake concern, her hand daring to reach toward his arm.

Leo barely flicked his cold gray eyes at her, his expression dark and unreadable. "Watch where you’re going." His voice was deep, gravelly, laced with annoyance.

He brushed past, but Stella wasn’t ready to let him slip away so easily.

"Leo..." she tried again, her fingers brushing his wrist.

He stopped dead. Slowly, he turned his head, his eyes like sharpened steel. His voice was low, dangerous, and it cut through her false bravado like a knife.

"Shut up. Don’t call me that." He stepped closer, the heat of his body overwhelming, his lips curling into something colder than a smile. "Or I’ll shoot you."

The intensity of his words wasn’t a joke. Everyone in City A had heard the stories—Leonorado, the man who dealt with traitors like snapping twigs. Ruthless. Merciless. Beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.

Stella froze, her pulse spiking in terror. Her friends, who had been watching with dreamy eyes from the entrance, whispered nervously among themselves.

Leo didn’t wait for her response. He pulled his wrist free with ease and strode toward his car, his tall figure swallowed by the night.

Stella stood rooted in place, her breath shaky.

As breathtakingly handsome as he was, she knew the truth: Leonorado was poison. A man you could crave with your body... but never survive with your heart.

Stella’s hands trembled where they hung at her sides, her chest rising and falling as she watched Leo’s car pull away into the night. His warning still echoed in her ears—low, sharp, deadly—but instead of breaking her, it only made her want him more.

That man.

That cold, ruthless, unbearably handsome man was supposed to be hers. Everyone knew it. If Bella hadn’t been dragged in as a replacement bride, she would have been the one standing beside him. She would have been the one living in his mansion, sleeping in his bed, enjoying the power of being Leonorado’s wife.

Her nails dug into her palms until they hurt, but then—slowly—her lips curved into a smile. A cruel, glittering smile.

Because she still had a chance.

He might have pushed her away tonight, but she wasn’t going to give up. Not when she knew what she wanted. Not when she had already teamed up with Alexa.

The thought of Alexa made her grin widen. Their plan... yes, once it unfolded, Bella wouldn’t be standing beside Leo for long. And once Bella was gone, nothing—absolutely nothing—would stop Stella from sliding into the place she always believed belonged to her.

Her heart thudded faster, but this time with excitement. She could already picture it: Leo’s sharp eyes softening for her, his powerful presence standing at her side, his world finally within her grasp.