CHAPTER 413: CHAPTER 413 CONVINCING

Bella’s cheeks burned, and she gave an awkward smile. "Is it too much."

"No," Jace said honestly. "It is perfect. Scarily perfect."

Jay nodded vigorously. "I swear, if I saw you in a hallway, I would greet you like, ’Hey bro, morning coffee’."

Bella covered her face with her hands, mortified. "Please stop."

Leo, who had been calm until now, suddenly stepped closer. His hand rested protectively between Bella’s shoulders.

"Stop staring at her like that," he said with a quiet glare, his voice low and sharp. "She is uncomfortable."

Jay blinked. "I am not staring like that. I am just shocked."

Leo did not budge. "It does not matter. Keep your distance."

Bella looked up at him helplessly. "Leo, it is fine. They are just teasing."

"No," Leo repeated, standing even closer to her and blocking half her body from view. "They do not need to check you from every angle."

Jace chuckled under his breath. "He is jealous even when she looks like a boy. Amazing."

Jay threw his hands up. "Of what. I am literally saying she looks like a dude."

Leo shot him a look.

Jay quickly zipped his mouth shut.

Bella sighed softly, tugging Leo’s sleeve. "Let us go. We are getting late."

Leo only hummed, still staying close enough that Bella could feel the warmth of his arm brushing hers.

As the four of them walked toward the car, Jay muttered to Jace, "I swear, he is so whipped that even Isaac is not safe. It is creepy for my brother to act like this when Bella is dressed as a man. It feels like my bro is gay."

Jace nodded his head, his eyes flashing with an emotion.

The six-seater car waited outside the mansion, its doors open as the morning sunlight slipped across the seats. Jay and Jace pushed each other lightly before finally settling together in the middle row, still whispering about Bella’s disguise like they had discovered a new species. Meanwhile, Leo climbed into the very back with Bella, guiding her in first before sliding in beside her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Even when he sat, his arm brushed her shoulder, refusing to give her even a centimeter of space.

Jay twisted in his seat to look at them. "Bella. No, seriously. How. How do you pull off being a guy so well. It is kind of cool. It is like you are acting in a crime drama."

Bella scratched her cheek shyly. "Is it... convincing."

"Convincing." Jay exclaimed, waving his hands. "You look cooler than half the guys in the office."

Jace nodded. "If I did not know you, I would believe the disguise. Your walk, your posture, everything."

Bella’s face flushed with shy pride.

But beside her, Leo’s expression slowly shifted into something else. A small frown formed between his brows as he glanced at his phone, which had just buzzed.

He unlocked it and saw a message from F.

F: Sir, I have some information related to her. She is meeting a middle-aged man. He looks suspicious, and she even gave him a bundle of money.

Leo’s jaw tightened.

He typed back:

Leo:Send me the man’s photo.

A moment later:

F: Sir, I only have a photo from the back.

(Attached: PNG)

Leo opened it. The image loaded slowly. A blurry shot of a short, fat man walking away, shoulders round, posture lazy. Leo stared at it with cold sharpness, absorbing every detail. Something about the body shape tugged at his memory, but the angle was too poor to confirm anything.

He responded with controlled calm.

Leo: Is she behaving suspiciously.

The reply came quickly.

F:Yes sir. She is acting strange. Thankfully the boss is around, so she behaved politely for now. But she seems like she is planning something against you and your wife.

Leo exhaled slowly through his nose, the sound quiet and controlled. His fingers tapped the screen once.

Leo: Well done.

Without hesitation, he transferred ten thousand dollars to F. The screen pinged.

F: SIR—?

Leo replied without emotion.

Leo: Keep your eyes on her.

He locked his phone, the small click sounding loud in his ears. His gaze shifted to Bella’s soft profile. She was adjusting her glasses in the cutest possible way. Her disguise made her look like a casual boy, but her nature remained soft, kind and trusting.

Beside them, Jay leaned over the seat again. "Bellaaa, show me your voice. Do the Isaac voice again."

Bella cleared her throat and said with a straight face, "Good morning, sir."

Jay gasped. "No. No. You are too good at this."

Jace laughed quietly.

Leo did not smile.

Bella’s breath caught when Leo’s hand slipped under the loose fabric of her disguise jacket. His fingers brushed the side of her thigh in a slow stroke, close enough that a warm shiver ran through her. She startled, her eyes widening as she looked up at him.

Leo’s face was unreadably serious, his jaw tight, his gaze fixed ahead. But his hand never left her. His thumb rubbed small circles through the fabric.

Bella’s heart fluttered helplessly, her cheeks warming.

Jace turned in his seat. "Bella. No. Isaac. Seriously. How did you manage everything alone before. Disguise, work, danger...All of it without help."

Bella opened her mouth to answer, but Leo’s hand shifted again, sliding lower along the side of her leg. The touch made her stumble over her words.

"I. I. I..." Bella stammered, her voice cracking as her face turned bright red.

Jay leaned over. "Are you okay. Why do you sound like you swallowed a pebble."

Bella shook her head quickly, trying to regain her composure. "I am fine. I just."

But Leo leaned closer, his voice a low murmur meant only for her.

"Stay close to me," he whispered, his thumb brushing a warm line along her outer thigh.

Bella’s breath hitched. Her eyes darted to him again, her heartbeat loud in her ears.

Jace blinked. "Why is she turning pink."

Jay whispered loudly, "Maybe she is overheating in that disguise."

Bella covered her face with one hand.

Leo spoke calmly, his voice steady even though Bella was practically melting beside him. "She is fine."

"What fine..." Jay began loudly, ready to argue, when something unexpected happened.

He froze.

Completely.

His words died halfway in his throat, and a small squeak escaped him instead.

Because at that exact moment... something touched his thigh.