Alexa’s teeth ground together. Fucking Bella, she thought, her nails digging into her palm. I hope you get diabetes from all that sugar you love so much, and I hope you grow so fat that Leo abandons you like everyone should have from the start.
Her lips twitched into a mocking smile at her own thought. She smoothed her hair, fixed her lipstick with quick, angry strokes, and grabbed her handbag.
As she stood, her hand brushed instinctively over her belly. The fabric of her fitted blouse stretched faintly around the gentle curve, small but visible now under the café’s golden lights. Anyone paying attention could tell she was pregnant.
Outside, the air was cooler, carrying the faint scent of coffee and city dust. Leo and Bella were just stepping out, talking quietly. Bella held a small bag of pastries.
"Leo! Isabella!"
The familiar, honeyed voice made them freeze.
Bella blinked and turned first, confusion crossing her face. Leo’s hand stilled mid-motion, his jaw tightening almost imperceptibly before he turned around.
Alexa approached with a slow, confident stride. She was smiling too sweetly, too deliberately. Her makeup was flawless, every line and highlight sculpted to perfection. She had dressed carefully in a silk blouse and fitted skirt that accentuated her curves. Her hair fell in dark, glossy waves that she flipped back with practiced grace, exposing the slender line of her neck and the glittering earrings that caught the light.
"Long ti, isn’t it?" she said lightly, her voice dripping with charm. "How are you both?"
Leo’s gray eyes t hers, cold, flat, and unreadable. He gave a thin, humorless smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "Alive," he said dryly. "Thanks for asking."
The tension between them thickened until even the quiet street seed to hold its breath. Alexa’s expression faltered for a brief mont.
Even the way he talks has changed, she thought bitterly. And ’thanks’? Since when does he say that word? She knew perfectly well his reply was a mockery.
Bella, standing beside him, sensed the shift imdiately. Without even realizing it, she stepped a little closer to Leo and gently caught his wrist. It was a small, almost shy gesture, but it made Leo glance down at her, his expression softening just slightly.
That simple act—her hand resting on him as if it belonged there—made Alexa’s smile weaken. The charm on her face cracked for half a second, her eyes darkening as sothing ugly stirred inside her.
Her fingers tightened around her purse, but she forced a small laugh. "You two seem... close," she said, her tone light but the bitterness beneath it impossible to miss.
Bella didn’t reply. She only smiled politely, her hold on Leo’s wrist tightening a little. And Leo, sensing it, slid his hand to cover hers, anchoring it gently as if to reassure her.
Their closeness carried a quiet understanding that words could never capture.
And in that mont, Alexa, beautiful, poised, and painted in perfection, looked at them both and felt the ugliest thing a person could feel: jealousy and hatred tangled together.
"Haha, I’m just asking, you know," Alexa said lightly, her fingers brushing over the small curve of her belly as her lips curled into a smirk. "You two have been married for nearly a year, if I rember correctly... and you’re still not pregnant?" She let out a small tsk, pretending sympathy, though the gleam in her eyes betrayed her.
Bella blinked, startled, and her eyes dropped to Alexa’s hand. "You’re... having a baby?" she asked softly, her voice touched with surprise.
"Of course." Alexa’s laugh ca sharp and theatrical. "Archer loves so much he can’t get enough of . It just happened accidentally." Her smirk deepened as she looked straight at Leo’s face, watching carefully for even the slightest flicker of jealousy.
In her mind, she had already rehearsed this scene. She thought she knew n well enough to predict them. A man would always feel sothing when the woman who once adored him suddenly belonged to soone else. He’d feel that sting, that disbelief. That was how it worked in the dramas Alexa had mastered so well. She expected Leo’s gaze to darken, his calm composure to waver—just enough for Bella to notice.
But it didn’t.
He didn’t even blink.
"Congratulations," Leo said evenly, his voice smooth and detached, like ice sliding down steel. "I hope you turn out to be a good mother."
Alexa froze, her practiced smile stiffening. The emptiness in his tone stung more than anger ever could. He sounded indifferent. As if she were nothing. As if the life growing inside her wasn’t even worth a reaction.
Her jaw tightened, but she forced a brittle laugh to cover it. "What about you, Bella?" she asked suddenly, tilting her head, the false sweetness seeping back into her voice. "You’re still not pregnant?"
Bella’s eyes widened slightly. The question hit like a slap—personal and cruel. She faltered, unsure what to say.
And that only encouraged Alexa further.
"Is there no love between you two?" she added, her smile curving into sothing venomous. "Or perhaps... you’ve never really—" She let the sentence trail off, the aning hanging between them, her eyes glinting with satisfaction.
But the satisfaction lasted only a heartbeat.
"Shut up."
Leo spoke softly, but the calm in his tone carried an authority that made her go rigid. His eyes turned icy, stripping away her pride and exposing the fear beneath it.
"This is personal," he said, every word slow and deliberate. "Between and my wife. If you dare say another word of nonsense, believe , I have the ability to destroy you."
The soft curve of his smile turned razor-sharp, his presence dark and heavy like a storm closing in. Then, without sparing her another glance, he took Bella’s hand and pulled her gently to his side, holding her closer.
Alexa stood there, her breath caught, her nails biting into her palm. The sight of his hand wrapped protectively around Bella’s made her chest twist in silent fury. She could barely breathe as she watched them walk away, side by side, Leo’s tall fra shielding Bella from the crowd.
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