Alexa’s face crumpled. Tears cut tracks through the blood and dirt on her cheeks, carving pale lines through the gri. Her breath ca in ragged gasps, her chest heaving against the chains.
"She doesn’t fight him," Leo continued, his voice soft, almost gentle, which made it so much worse. "She doesn’t sche. She doesn’t lie. She just loves. That’s all she wanted, you know. A family. A ho. Soone to hold." He stopped in front of her, looking down, his shadow falling across her like a shroud. "And you had all of that. You had a husband who would have done anything for you. A son who needed you. A life that people dream about. And you threw it away."
He gestured to the projector, and her eyes were dragged back to the wall, helpless to look away.
On the screen, the woman was walking down a red carpet, Archer’s hand on her back, the baby in her arms. She was wearing a light pink dress, modest, elegant, her hair swept up, her smile soft and a little shy. Fans reached out to her, calling her na, and she waved at them like she couldn’t believe they were there for her, like she had never expected to be seen.
"Look at her," Leo said. "Already winning hearts. Already loved. And Archer—" He pointed to the screen, where Archer was watching his wife with sothing like wonder, his hand resting on the small of her back, his body angled toward her like she was the center of his world. "He’s falling for her. It’s only a matter of ti before he forgets you existed at all."
Alexa sobbed, the sound ugly and raw, tearing out of her throat like sothing with claws. Her body shook, chains clinking, her face wet and swollen and broken.
Leo turned away from her, walking back to the projector. He watched the images flicker for a mont, the woman playing with the baby, Archer laughing at sothing she said, the three of them curled up on the couch together under a soft blanket.
"You should have changed," he said quietly, his back to her. "You had a child. A husband. A chance to be sothing other than what you were. You could have been happy. You could have been loved. You could have had everything you ever wanted."
He looked at her over his shoulder. His eyes were cold, rciless.
"But you couldn’t let go. You had to keep reaching for sothing that was never yours. And now—" He gestured at the chains, the blood, the dark basent walls, the single bare bulb that cast more shadows than light. "Now you have nothing."
Alexa’s body shook with silent sobs. Her face was wet, her eyes swollen nearly shut, her mouth open in a shape that might have been a scream if she had any air left to scream it.
Leo watched her for a mont longer, his expression unreadable. Then he turned off the projector.
The room went dark again. The only light was the dim bulb hanging above her, casting long shadows across his face, carving hollows under his cheekbones, making his eyes look black.
"Enjoy your new life," he said softly. "You’ll have plenty of ti to think about what you lost."
He walked toward the door, his footsteps echoing in the silence, each one a countdown to sothing she didn’t want to face.
Behind him, Alexa’s voice cracked through the dark, thin and desperate and utterly broken.
"Leo."
He stopped. Didn’t turn.
"I loved you," she whispered. "I loved you first."
He stood there for a mont, still as stone. Then she heard him exhale slowly.
Sothing in her snapped.
"I hate you, Leo!" Her voice rose, cracking, splintering. "I hate you! You gave my husband to so random bitch who can’t even compare to ! Not even to my toe! She’s nothing. Nothing. And she’ll never be . Never."
Leo didn’t move.
"You think you’re winning now?" She laughed, the sound ugly and raw. "Just wait. Just wait. You’re so ruthless. So cold. One day Bella will leave you. She’ll find soone warm, soone who smiles, soone who doesn’t make her afraid to breathe. And you’ll watch her love him. You’ll watch her kiss him. You’ll watch her give him everything she gave you—and you’ll be alone."
Her voice dropped, venomous.
"You destroy innocent won like . You took my son. You’ll never have a child of your own, Leo. Never. Because won like Bella? They leave n like you. They always leave."
She watched his hands curl into fists at his sides. The knuckles went white.
"And you know what?" She smiled, even though her lips were split, even though blood dripped down her chin. "She’ll find soone who doesn’t need to control her. Soone who laughs with her instead of at her. Soone who doesn’t keep her locked away like a doll."
She saw his back go rigid. His whole body was stone now, carved from ice.
"You will destroy yourself, Leo. Your hate will eat you alive. And Bella will find a real man. A man who loves her the way she deserves. She’ll marry him. Have his children. Grow old with him. And you—"
She stopped. His hands were clenched into fists.
"Bella will see who you really are," she whispered. "A psycho. A monster. And she will run."
He moved.
She didn’t even see it. One mont he was at the door, the next his hand was around her throat, his fingers pressing into her windpipe, his face inches from hers.
She couldn’t breathe.
She smiled.
His eyes were wild now, dark, storming. His jaw was tight, his teeth clenched. His hand—God, his hand was so powerful. So warm. She’d dread of his hands for years. On her waist. Her face. Her throat.
His fingers tightened.
Her vision blurred at the edges. Her lungs burned. But inside, sothing was singing. Finally. Finally, he was touching her. Finally, she had broken through.
"Leo," she gasped, her voice barely a whisper, her lips stretched into a smile. "Before I die. Fulfill my wish."
His eyes flickered. Confusion? Disgust? She didn’t care.
"Sleep with ."
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