CHAPTER 399: CHAPTER 399 CHOOSING HIM

She swallowed, her hands curling against her sides. "I... yes. I mean it. I..."

He moved closer.

Close enough that she felt his breath warm against her cheek, close enough that the faint scent of him, clean, sharp, dark, wrapped around her like hands.

His palm lifted, brushing her hair back with slow, deliberate care, and she felt the drag of his fingers down her cheek.

"You... choose me?" he repeated, as if each word was pulling something fierce and wild from inside him.

She nodded, her breath trembling.

And Leo exhaled.

A low, rough sound, like a man who had been holding something unbearable inside his chest for far too long.

His eyes, dark and stormy moments ago, now held a heat that made her legs weak. Not anger. Not fear.

Possession.

Desire.

Relief so deep it almost broke him.

He leaned in, his forehead brushing hers, his voice falling into a whisper that trembled with everything he had been trying to hide.

"Then don’t ever say you’ll leave," he murmured, his breath warm against her lips. "Because the moment you choose me, Bella, there is no going back."

He moved away from her as if he needed distance just to breathe, dragging his palm slowly down his face. His shoulders rose and fell in a deep, restless exhale, the kind that carried all the conflict twisting inside him.

"Don’t say this just because of me," he murmured, not daring to look at her. His voice sounded raw, scraped from somewhere deep. "Bella, you have no idea how dangerous my world is. You still have a chance to escape... to live the life you wanted. Get your peaceful home... marry a normal man..."

His jaw tightened, and the last words tasted like poison on his tongue. Just the thought of her smiling at some other man, holding hands with him, letting him kiss her, made his entire chest burn. For a moment he felt a violent stab of jealousy, sharp enough to choke him. He saw it in his mind like a nightmare drawn by his own imagination: a well-dressed man kissing Bella’s palm, taking her on dates, watching her blush because of him.

The image made him nauseous.

No. No. No. He couldn’t bear it. He couldn’t even let his mind wander that far.

Bella stared at him as if he had gone insane. She rushed to him without hesitation, her hands grabbing his arm, her eyes filling with wounded shock.

"Are you crazy?" she cried. "I told you I’m choosing you, and you’re talking about me marrying another man? Do you want to marry another woman?"

Her voice cracked, and tears spilled before she could stop them. Leo went completely still, stunned by how quickly her fear broke her open.

"No, I don’t," he said immediately, his voice trembling with urgency, as if the idea alone stabbed him. "I don’t want anyone else. Never."

"Then why are you pushing me away?" she whispered. "Why?"

He swallowed hard, feeling something inside him crumble. "Because you’re kind. And innocent. And you don’t deserve the kind of life I bring. You won’t enjoy this world, Bella."

She stared at him with pure disbelief, her tears bright against her flushed cheeks.

"I am enjoying my life," she said fiercely. "I’m happier than I ever was. And if you want me to leave, then fine. I’ll become an orphan again. I’ll lose the only home I got. The only mother, father, grandmother, and brother I ever found." Her voice broke. "I’ll lose you."

His breath faltered.

"Bella..." His voice softened to a painful whisper. "So you want to stay with me?"

She nodded through her tears. "Yes."

Something dark and powerful settled inside him the moment she said it. His eyes slowly lifted to hers, and he stepped toward her without even realizing it. She instinctively stepped back, her spine brushing the wall behind her, her breath catching when she realized she was cornered.

The corridor suddenly felt smaller.

Hotter.

His voice dropped into a low, dangerous growl that vibrated against her skin. "You think you can handle my world, Bella?"

She swallowed, but she didn’t look away.

"Once you’re in," Leo continued, stepping closer until the air between them thinned, "there’s no way out. I’ll destroy everything you are."

Her heartbeat trembled in her chest, but she didn’t take a single step backward. Her lashes fluttered once, a soft defiance settling in her eyes as she whispered, "Maybe I’m not as fragile as you think. Maybe I want to be destroyed by you."

Leo’s breath left him in a slow, stunned exhale. His hand lifted, gripping her chin with gentle but possessive fingers, tilting her face up so she couldn’t escape his gaze.

"You have no idea what you’re asking for," he warned, his voice thick with hunger and fear and longing. "I’ll take everything—your innocence, your light. You’ll be mine. Completely."

She leaned in, her lips barely an inch from his, her cheek brushing his breath.

"Then take it, Leo," she whispered, her voice trembling with devotion and daring. "Take all of me."

His eyes flickered with something primal, something wild, hungry, and no longer held back by fear or logic. For a heartbeat he only stared at her, his chest rising with a sharp breath as if the sight of her trembling lips and wet lashes snapped the last thread of restraint inside him.

Then he moved.

He didn’t glide or hesitate. He lunged, his hand sliding to the back of her head as he captured her mouth in a kiss so ruthless, so consuming that her knees nearly gave out beneath her. She gasped into him as his lips devoured everything she offered—every tear, every breath, every fear she had clung to moments ago.

Her hands clutched his shirt in a desperate fistful, and he pressed closer, his kiss deepening with a possessive hunger that left no space for doubt. His mouth moved against hers like he had been starving for years, like he finally had her where she belonged and he wasn’t letting go ever again. Warmth rushed up her spine, her breath tangling with his as she felt the raw intensity rolling off him, dangerous, protective, intoxicating.

There was nothing gentle in the way he kissed her.

It was a claim.

A warning.

A vow.

And Bella melted into him, her heartbeat thundering against his chest, her fingers shaking as they slid up to curl behind his neck. Leo’s body pressed into hers with a heat that left her dizzy, his breath hot against her mouth as he finally tore himself away just enough to look at her, his eyes burning, his lips parted, his chest rising sharply.