13
1223 Words
ESMERALDA'S POV
The first thing I remembered was the sound of glass shattering.
It echoed inside my head even after everything had gone quiet.
A gunshot.
Another one.
Screams.
The sharp smell of coffee mixed with smoke.
Me running through the back door and crashing into strong arms while my entire body trembled so hard I thought my bones would crack apart.
Even now, hours later, sitting in the silence of an unfamiliar penthouse, I could still hear it.
I curled my knees closer to my chest on the enormous cream-colored couch and stared blankly at the skyline outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Chicago glittered beneath the dark sky like nothing terrible had happened tonight.
Like the world had not almost ended for me.
My fingers tightened around the mug of tea sitting untouched in my lap.
I still couldn’t believe it.
I still couldn’t believe him.
Leoandros.
Out of all the people in the world… it had been him.
The same man I ran way from.
My supposed husband.
Everytime I said it the word sounded foreign.
The same man who had shattered my heart without ever truly touching it.
The same man I had loved so quietly it destroyed me.
My breathing turned uneven as I remembered the moment I saw my life flash in front of me.
I had been looking at the odd van that sat idle in front of the cafe I tried not to look at it too much. Then seven men jumped out all big I wonder how they fit in such small space, they raised their gun another yelled near the entrance.
Then suddenly—
Chaos.
Violence.
Gunshots all around me.
And through my blurry vision, the back door came to mind and I ran.
Like a tiger was at my back.
Vases in front of me shattered.
Pushing the door I ran out still as fast as before.
I could still hear the gunshots.
When I crashed into Leoandros.
Hsi scent hit me before I looked up.
Sea blue eyes stared at me.
Tall.
Cold.
Powerful.
Dressed in black like sin itself.
Leoandros stood there like he owned the city.
Like danger itself answered to him.
I remembered his hand grabbing my wrist.
“You are becoming difficult to retrieve, wife.”
That voice.
God.
Even after years, I still felt the butterflies.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Why did he affect me this way?
Why did my heart still react to him like it belonged to him?
A soft sound pulled me from my thoughts.
Footsteps.
I looked up immediately.
Leoandros stood near the hallway leading deeper into the penthouse. His dark coat was gone now, leaving him in a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms.
He looked devastating.
Sharp jaw.
Sea blue eyes.
I always preferred say sea blue instead of blue.
Made it better.
Dirty brown curls slightly messy like he had been dragging his fingers through it.
He watched me silently for a moment before walking closer.
“You should sleep.”
My throat tightened.
Even his voice felt dangerous.
“I’m fine,” I whispered.
“You’re shaking.”
Only then did I notice he was right.
My fingers trembled violently around the mug. The wedding sat lightly on my left ring finger.
It still seemed like a dream.
I wanted it to be a dream.
Leoandros crouched in front of me slowly, his gaze never leaving mine. The intensity in his eyes made my stomach knot.
“I had the doctor check you,” he said quietly. “You’re physically unharmed.”
Physically.
The word nearly made me laugh.
Because inside?
Inside I was a mess.
I swallowed hard. “What happened?”
His jaw flexed.
“Wrong time. Wrong people.”
That sounded like a lie.
No.
Not a lie.
A carefully chosen answer.
I stared at him. “Did those men come because of you?”
Silence.
That silence told me everything.
Fear crawled up my spine.
Leoandros noticed.
“I handled it.”
"You are my wife now Esme, I protect you"
That wasn’t comforting.
Not when he said it so coldly.
Not when there was blood on his cuff earlier.
I looked away from him, suddenly exhausted.
“I should go home tomorrow.”
The air changed instantly.
I felt it before I looked at him.
When I finally did, his expression had hardened.
“No.”
My heart skipped.
“No?”
“It isn’t safe, you need to stay here with where I can keep you safe.”
“You can’t keep me here.”
His gaze darkened.
“You think I married you then dragged you out of gunfire just to let you walk into danger again?”
The intensity in his voice stunned me into silence.
For a second neither of us moved.
Then slowly, his expression softened.
Just slightly.
Enough to confuse me.
“You’re staying here for now.”
The old Leoandros never explained himself.
Never cared enough to reassure.
But this version of him?
This version looked at me like he was afraid something might happen to me.
And somehow that terrified me more.
Because I didn’t know what it meant.
He stood up.
“There are clothes in the room beside yours,” he said. “Everything should fit.”
I blinked. “You bought clothes for me?”
A strange look crossed his face.
“They’ve been there a long time.”
Before I could ask what that meant, he turned and walked away.
Leaving me staring after him with my pulse hammering violently inside my chest.
-
The next morning, sunlight poured through the massive windows and warmed the luxurious bedroom around me.
For a few seconds, I forgot where I was.
Then reality hit.
Leoandros.
The shooting.
The penthouse.
I sat up slowly, pushing tangled hair from my face.
The silk sheets slipped against my skin as I moved, and only then did I glance down at myself.
The nightgown.
Soft ivory silk clung delicately to my body, thin straps resting on my shoulders. It felt expensive. Too expensive.
My cheeks warmed.
The closet attached to the guest room had been filled with women’s clothes.
Dresses.
Shoes.
Sweaters.
Even jewelry.
Everything somehow my size.
It had unsettled me deeply.
I climbed out of bed quietly and walked toward the bedroom door. The penthouse was silent except for faint sounds coming from somewhere downstairs.
My stomach tightened nervously.
I stepped into the hallway before slowly making my way toward the kitchen.
The moment I entered, I froze.
Oh.
Oh God.
Leoandros stood near the kitchen island with his back partially turned toward me.
And he was nearly naked.
Just low-sitting gray sweatpants hung dangerously on his hips.
Nothing else.
My breath disappeared instantly.
Sunlight spilled across his skin, making his tattoos look ethereal, illuminating every hard line and muscle of his body. His broad shoulders flexed as he reached for a coffee mug, tattoos disappearing beneath the waistband of his sweats.
His back.
His arms.
His chest.
Dear God.
Heat flooded my face so fast it hurt.
I should look away.
I knew I should.
But I couldn’t.
Because this was Leoandros.
And somehow he had become even more devastating with age.
Like sin sculpted into a man.
Then he turned.
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