Ella’s POV
Did I love Mr. Leon?
Honestly, if soone asked that question directly, I don’t think I could even pretend to deny it anymore.
I loved him.
A lot more than I probably should have.
At so point, those feelings had quietly grown into sothing so embarrassingly deep that even I couldn’t ignore them anymore. Trying to deny it now would’ve been pointless. My heart already made the decision long ago. My brain was just late catching up to it.
Still, it wasn’t like my feelings ca out of nowhere.
Mr. Leon was ridiculously handso.
That alone already caused enough problems for my heart.
His face was attractive in the kind of effortless way that almost felt unfair. He didn’t even have to try. There were people who spent hours trying to look appealing, and then there was him, casually existing while making everyone else look like background characters. His body only made it worse too. He wasn’t just handso in the face. He had a well-built figure that naturally drew attention without him needing to show off.
Honestly, looking at him for too long felt dangerous.
My eyes always wandered back to him before I even realized it. Sotis I’d catch myself staring and imdiately look away like I committed a cri. It was honestly pathetic. Charl would probably laugh at if she saw how obvious I was being.
Actually, she definitely would.
Naturally, I was drawn to him.
Far more than I wanted to admit.
At first, I tried convincing myself it was admiration. Then respect. Then maybe simple attraction. Sowhere along the way, all those excuses completely collapsed on themselves, and I was left realizing I had fallen in love with him without even noticing when it happened.
That realization was terrifying.
As much as I wanted to tell him how I felt, fear always stopped before I could even think seriously about it.
Rejection scared .
It scared more than I wanted to admit.
Compared to the won around him, I didn’t think I stood a chance at all. His won were all unbelievably beautiful. Beautiful to the point where standing beside them almost made feel invisible. Comparing myself to them felt less like a competition and more like volunteering to lose.
Honestly, calling it unfair still wouldn’t cover it.
There wouldn’t even be anything to compare.
Just from appearance alone, I already knew where I stood. At best, maybe I could call myself average. diocre if I was being generous to myself. Looking at them and then looking at felt like comparing polished jewels to so random pebble you accidentally kicked on the road.
Actually, even that comparison felt a little too kind toward .
I didn’t think I could ever asure up to them.
And deep down, I didn’t think I would ever be enough for him either.
That thought stayed in my head constantly, quietly eating away at whenever I got too hopeful.
I was weird too.
At least, that’s how I saw myself.
My personality didn’t feel graceful or elegant like the others around him. Sotis I overthought things too much. Sotis I acted awkward. Sotis I got nervous over the dumbest little things imaginable. anwhile, the won around him always looked so composed. So confident.
Then there was internally panicking because Mr. Leon looked in my direction for longer than three seconds.
Honestly, my heart was useless.
Charl kept telling I was worrying too much.
"You should just follow your heart," she said before, like it was the easiest thing in the world.
Easy for her to say.
Actually following through with that felt ridiculously difficult. Lately, I even started noticing changes in my own behavior that felt embarrassing. My thoughts wandered too much whenever he was around. My chest tightened whenever he got close. Sotis I caught myself imagining things and imdiately had to stop before I died from embarrassnt on the spot.
Living like this was exhausting.
At the sa ti, tonight felt different sohow.
Maybe sothing inside had finally decided to stop running away.
I thought I had finally managed to face my feelings properly.
Although... I definitely never imagined my first ti would happen like this.
Still, I believed everything was going to be alright.
Charl was here with , after all.
That alone helped calm down a little.
I took another swig of wine into my mouth.
The mont the taste spread across my tongue, I almost froze.
This wine tasted expensive in the most ridiculous way possible. Smooth, rich, refined, almost delicate. It honestly felt like my tongue had to handle it carefully, like if I wasn’t gentle enough, I’d sohow ruin the flavor just by tasting it too aggressively. Drinking it almost made feel nervous.
Imagine bullying a drink because your taste buds got too excited.
"That’s really good," Charl said while holding her glass carefully. "I think this might be the best wine I’ve ever had. Although... this has to be insanely expensive. You said this costs more than a thousand gold coins, right? Honestly, if I had to choose, I’d still go with Leonamon since it’s cheaper."
I quietly nodded in agreent.
That was true.
Even though this wine tasted unbelievably luxurious, I still preferred Leonamon overall. Leonamon wasn’t really comparable to this kind of wine in terms of flavor, but that didn’t make it worse. Honestly, out of all the modern drinks available right now, Leonamon still felt like the best choice to .
Probably because it was affordable too.
Being delicious while not destroying your wallet automatically gave it bonus points. My loyalty could absolutely be bought with reasonably priced drinks. Pride was important, but so was surviving financially.
"Well, considering nobody makes this anymore, I want to learn more about it," Mr. Leon said. "Maybe we can replicate it sohow."
He looked genuinely interested while saying that.
Actually, interested wasn’t even the right word.
His eyes carried this focused look, like he had already started planning things in his head the mont he tasted the wine. He always beca like that whenever he discovered sothing new. Curiosity seed to light sothing inside him.
"You really are innovative, Leon," Charl said with a small laugh. "You seriously never stop adding products to your company, huh?"
"Well, I don’t think that’s a bad thing," he replied casually. "I want to understand as many things as possible. If I want to properly see everything through, then I need to keep learning in more ways than one."
That mindset of his...
Even though he already knew so much, he still wanted to learn more. Most people would’ve stopped already after reaching his level. anwhile, he kept moving forward like he still had endless things left to discover.
Honestly, the more I learned about him, the harder I fell for him.
At this point, loving him almost felt inevitable.
We continued drinking together for a while after that.
The atmosphere felt warm and comfortable.
Then slowly, sothing started happening to .
At first, it was subtle.
A strange warmth spread through my body little by little. My skin started feeling hotter than before, and my breathing gradually beca uneven. Heat pooled inside in slow waves that made it difficult to focus properly.
My head felt slightly dizzy too.
The wine probably played a part in it, but this felt different sohow.
My chest tightened softly.
Even the air I breathed out felt warm.
While trying to process what exactly was happening to , I turned my head slightly toward the side.
And the mont I did, my eyes widened.
Charl and Mr. Leon were already kissing.
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