L
eonardo’s POV
The moment Bella and Alessandro walked out, the tension in Alex’s office thickened like a storm cloud ready to explode.
“Why the hell did you let her go with him?” Alex snapped, turning toward me with eyes that mirrored fury and confusion.
“Exactly,” Luca chimed in, arms crossed tightly. “I don’t trust him with her. Have you forgotten who he is? Alessandro Knight isn’t just some old friend. He’s the boss of the Spanish Mafia. He could kill her in seconds if he wanted to.”
I leaned back in my chair and exhaled slowly. “He won’t.”
Alex arched a brow. “He won’t?”
“No,” I said firmly. “He won’t hurt her. Hell, forget hurting—he won’t even raise his voice at her.”
“And how exactly can you be so damn sure?” Luca asked, scoffing. “You’re acting like you’ve known the guy since childhood or something.”
I gave him a tight smile. “Oh, boy... just have some patience.”
“Yay, yay, whatever,” Luca muttered under his breath.
Alex didn’t bother rolling his eyes. “Explain.”
He always did prefer getting to the point.
I straightened and folded my arms over my chest, my tone calm but deliberate. “You guys know I observe things. I don’t just react—I watch. And if you had watched them—really watched them—you’d see it too.”
They both stared at me, confused but listening.
“Have you ever looked at the way Alessandro sees her? The way he held her when they reunited? It wasn’t like a man seeing a girl he’s into. No. It was like an elder brother seeing the sibling he thought he’d lost forever. Full of protectiveness, relief... love. Pure, unfiltered love.”
Alex’s jaw flexed.
“And it’s not just him,” I continued. “Bella... the way she ran to him, the way she hugged him without hesitation—she doesn’t do that with any of us. She looks at him like he’s home. Like he’s family. Her real family.”
The silence in the room deepened.
“She looks at him like she’d kill for him,” I added quietly. “Or die for him.”
“That’s the part that hurts,” Luca admitted after a moment. “She’s never looked at us like that. Not once.”
Alex didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. His silence was loud enough.
“You guys tell me,” I said, leaning forward. “Since she’s come here, has she ever shown us any emotion other than anger or irritation? Most of the time, she’s... empty. Her face, her eyes—they’re void. Like she’s trained herself to feel nothing.”
Alex still said nothing. Luca exhaled.
“And I know, I know it doesn’t make sense to trust someone you haven’t seen in years—or maybe just met. But with Alessandro, it’s different. It’s instinctual. She trusts him. Completely. And so does he. He played our role in her life before we even entered it.”
YOU ARE READING
The Hidden Pain
Fiksi Remaja"Blood may bind them, but secrets could tear them apart." --- Separated at the age of two. Raised in shadows. Loved by no one. She spent her life behind walls she built to survive-walls no one has ever dared to break. Until the day her stepfather di...
