He lets out a bitter laugh, shoving off me like I’ve scorched him. “Right. Just like you didn’t marry me so you could play the perfect wife in my bed and pass on information until the time was right.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“Isn’t it?” His voice is ice. “Then how is it you just so happened to disappear at the perfect moment, right before the attack? It doesn’t take a genius to do the math, Sora. I might not be the brightest man, but I’m no idiot.”
“I went to my family for help!” I shout, my voice cracking. “I thought they’d protect me—” I stop myself, the words catching in my throat like thorns. I can’t tell him about the baby. Not now. Not when he’s looking at me like I’m a traitor.
Leo’s face twists, reading the hesitation like it’s a confession of guilt. “Protect you from what?” he demands. “From me?”
“I was scared,” I whisper, the truth slipping out before I can swallow it. “I didn’t know who I could trust.”
His laugh is sharp and humorless. “You trusted them, though. You always did.”
“I don’t trust them anymore,” I snap. “You think I’d be here if I did?”
“You shouldn’t be here at all,” he growls. “Not unless you came to die.”
The words hit like a punch to the gut, and I flinch. Not because I think he’ll kill me, but because I know part of him truly wants to.
“You wouldn’t,” I breathe, my pulse fluttering erratically as I call his bluff.
“And why not?” he demands, his voice flat and deadly.
“Because they locked me up!” I shout, desperation surging. “They wanted to control me, Leo! They never cared about me, not really. ButIcare aboutyou. I came back to warn you. You have to believe me.”
His mouth twists. “I don’t have to believe anything that comes out of your lying mouth. My men are dead. My home is gone. And your family did this. So no—I don’t owe you trust. I don’t owe youmercy.”
I take a step back, trembling as my spine finds the cold brick once more, and Leo follows, his expression menacing as he brings his face mere inches from mine.
“But I’ll give you mercy. Just once,” he hisses.
He grabs my arm, dragging me through the ruins. I stumble over bricks and broken glass. My legs are too weak to fight. He pulls me through what used to be the foyer and shoves me toward the crumbled doorway.
“Go back to your family,” he says. “Tell them I’ll see them soon.”
I shake my head, choking on a sob. “I can’t.”
“Why?” he snaps. “Because you want to stay and pick through the wreckage?”
I press my lips together, biting back the truth. I want to scream it at him, to tell him everything, but it won’t change his mind. Not now. Especially not now. If I told him I was carrying his child, he would only throw it back in my face, tell me I’m lying or trying to trick him somehow. I can’t give him another weapon to cut me down with.
But as the silence stretches between us, I can see the conviction growing in his eyes.
“If I ever see you again, Sora… I won’t hesitate.” Leo’s voice is low, venomous.
And as he turns to walk away, it feels as though my heart is ripped from my chest, determined to go with him.
“Leo,” I whisper, one last, broken plea. But I don’t even know what I’m asking for anymore.Forgiveness? Protection? A reason to stay alive?
Leo turns his head to look at me over his shoulder, disgust written plainly across his face. “Go ahead, Sora, try to trap me longer. Feed me more of your pretty lies. I’m done believing them.”
“I don’t care what you believe,” I say, voice shaking. “I just wanted you to live.”
For a moment, there’s silence. Just the soft hiss of dying flames.
Leo’s shoulders drop, as if the fight has left him, and he sounds almost pained as he delivers his parting words. “The next time our paths cross, Iwillkill you.”
My heart shatters, clean and final, as he turns and walks away, leaving me standing in the rubble alone.
