NEXT MORNING
The mont Bella’s phone call ended. She looked like soone waiting for a long-lost friend to arrive, her lips curved in a soft smile, her fingers fiddling with the hem of her pink dress, and her legs tapping against the floor like she couldn’t sit still.
From the other end of the couch, Leo leaned back with a deliberate calm, one arm draped lazily over the armrest, his legs crossed as though he was completely unbothered. His phone rested in his palm, but his gaze kept straying over the screen to where Bella was sitting, her excitent practically radiating across the room. Every ti she glanced at the clock or checked her phone, sothing sharp flickered in his eyes.
Jay, lounging nearby with a drink in hand, caught the change instantly. "Bro, can you stop being a walking freezer?" he muttered, squinting at Leo. "Bella’s friend is coming. He’s holess! He might need help. Why are you acting like soone stole your favorite toy?"
Leo’s gaze slid to him, cool and steady. "I’m not," he said, voice deep and smooth, before looking back at his phone. But his thumb wasn’t even scrolling anymore.
The minutes stretched, and Bella’s anticipation only grew. Her smile deepened every ti her phone lit up, and she kept glancing toward the door. To her, this was a reunion. To Leo, it was sothing else entirely—sothing that made him watch her every small movent with the focus of a man reading an opponent’s next move.
Finally, the doorbell rang. The maid hurried to open it.
And then he stepped in.
The man was tall, his fra lean but strong, dressed in a perfectly fitted black jacket over a crisp shirt, dark jeans that weren’t cheap, and shoes that had clearly seen the inside of a high-end store. His ssy blond hair looked like it had been styled by accident, yet it sohow worked perfectly with the striking shade of icy blue in his eyes. The kind of face that could make strangers turn twice.
The mont his gaze found Bella, his steps faltered, and his eyes widened slightly. He had clearly known her as the hacker with quick fingers and quicker wit, but seeing her in person was sothing else. The soft pink dress, the long flow of her warm brown hair, and those honey-brown eyes—it was enough to make his lips twitch into an awed smile.
"Is holess nowadays so gorgeous??" Jay blurted, blinking as if reality had just hit him in the face.
From the couch, Leo’s eyes narrowed. His fingers curled more firmly around his phone, the muscles in his forearm shifting. He didn’t move, but the stillness in his posture carried weight, like a predator waiting for the right mont to act.
Bella didn’t notice. She lit up like sunshine after rain and ran toward the man without a second thought. "Knight!" she called, careful not to use his full userna in front of Leo and Jay.
Before Leo could even process, she had thrown her arms around him.
The man chuckled, his voice deep and velvety, the kind of tone that could fit perfectly into a late-night radio show. "Don’t call Knight—it’s Jace," he murmured, returning the hug with a warmth that made Leo’s jaw flex.
And from the couch, Leo’s grip on his phone tightened just enough that it looked like, any second now, the device might snap in two.
The mont Bella’s fingers curled gently around jace wrist to tug him toward him and Jay, sothing inside Leo short-circuited. His mind went blank for a second, and it felt like a low, steady ringing filled his head. He didn’t even understand it—why his chest felt heavy, why his pulse suddenly beat in his throat.
She stopped near Jay smiling like she wanted everyone to get along. "This is Leo, and that’s Jay," she said softly, her voice warm enough to lt stone. Then she turned toward the blond man beside her, her smile still bright. "And this is my friend Jace."
Jay grinned and imdiately stuck out a hand. "Hey!!" His gaze road over Jace’s perfectly ssy blond hair and those unnervingly sharp blue eyes. "Man... you look like you stepped out of a magazine."
Jace chuckled lightly, his voice deep, rich, and smooth enough to make Jay blink. "Hey, Jay," he replied. His tone had that easy, confident warmth of soone used to making people like him on sight.
Then Jace turned, extending his hand toward Leo. "Hey, Leo."
Leo’s jaw tightened. The na sounded too casual, too familiar, rolling off this stranger’s tongue. His eyes, already cool, sharpened. "It’s Leonorado for you," he said flatly. He clasped Jace’s hand, his grip iron-tight, the kind that spoke volus without a single word. The air between them seed to drop a few degrees, and Jace’s brows lifted faintly as if he’d noticed the silent challenge.
Bella’s stomach knotted. She could see the way Leo’s expression hardened, the way his eyes stayed locked on Jace as though testing him. Her palms felt clammy—she didn’t want Jace to think he wasn’t welco, or worse, that Leo disliked him entirely.
Leo’s grip lingered that fraction of a second too long before letting go, from the unyielding stare in his dark eyes.
"Oh, you look so fine, man—how did you end up being holess?" Jay asked in genuine shock, his brows climbing high as Bella gently nudged Jace toward the couch and made him sit.
Leo’s eyes followed every movent, his expression unreadable, though the sharpness in his gaze could’ve cut glass.
Jace leaned back comfortably, a soft laugh escaping him. "Hey, being holess doesn’t an I’m in so terrible state," he said with an easy grin, his voice deep and smooth. "You know how expensive rent and buying a house is nowadays? I just decided not to bother. Living under the bridge is free." He chuckled again, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Bella smiled faintly, but Leo... Leo’s gaze stayed fixed on Jace like he was running a background check with his eyes alone.
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