Chapter Ten : A Dangerous Proposal

The city glowed like a sea of shattered glass, stretching endlessly beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse. The silence felt heavier tonight, pressing against me as I wrapped my arms around myself.

I wasn’t cold.

I was unraveling.

The message on my phone still burned in my mind.

You don’t belong in his world. Leave before it’s too late.

The words kept circling, taunting, daring me to make a move. Someone wanted me out. And they weren’t afraid to make that clear.

A shift in the air behind me sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t turn around.

I didn’t need to.

Leon was there.

I felt his presence before he spoke, the raw energy of him always impossible to ignore.

“You’re thinking of running, aren’t you?”

His voice was quiet, but not soft. There was no softness in Leon Castello. Only power wrapped in control, a control he never let slip.

I turned to face him. He was still dressed from the day—charcoal suit, crisp white shirt, the first two buttons undone like he’d loosened them only moments ago. Dark eyes locked onto mine, assessing, waiting.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if I did?” I asked, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

Something flickered across his expression. Amusement? Frustration? I could never tell with him.

“Easier?” He took a slow step forward. “For who?”

I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. “For you. For your company. For whoever sent me that message.”

His jaw tightened.

I waited for him to deny it, to say that no one would dare threaten me under his protection. But Leon didn’t waste words on false reassurances.

Instead, he studied me like I was a puzzle he hadn’t quite solved. Then, finally—

“Come with me.”

I frowned. “Where?”

He didn’t answer.

He just turned and walked toward his office.

For a moment, I hesitated. I should’ve stayed put, demanded answers instead of following him like some obedient wife.

But I wasn’t obedient.

And Leon had never been predictable.

So, I followed.

Leon’s private study was a place I’d never been allowed before.

The moment we stepped inside, I understood why.

Dark wood, sleek black shelves lined with books, expensive whiskey decanters reflecting the soft glow of the pendant light above. But it wasn’t the luxury that caught my attention.

It was the desk.

Or more specifically—the locked drawer he was opening.

The sharp click of metal sent a ripple of unease through me.

Leon pulled out something small, something old.

A photograph.

He held it out to me, his face unreadable.

I took it, my fingers barely steady as I turned it over.

And then—

I gasped.

It was me.

Not from the wedding. Not from any event since I’d entered his world.

This picture was old. Years old.

I was younger, standing in front of a coffee shop I barely remembered, wearing a jacket I hadn’t seen in forever.

My breath caught in my throat.

My fingers clenched around the edges of the photograph as I slowly lifted my gaze back to him.

Leon’s voice was low, steady.

“You weren’t supposed to find out this way.”

The air left my lungs in a sharp exhale.

“What the hell is this?” I whispered.

His expression didn’t change. “It’s the truth.”

I shook my head, disbelief crashing over me. “You knew me before we ever met.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Yes.”

The room spun. I forced myself to take a breath. “You planned this marriage from the beginning.”

His silence was louder than any confession.

I took a step back, the weight of realization pressing down on me. “Why?”

Leon studied me, his dark eyes holding mine hostage. “Because I wanted you.”

The words sent a jolt of something sharp through me.

“You don’t marry someone just because you want them,” I shot back, my voice unsteady. “There’s more to this. What aren’t you telling me?”

For the first time, something flickered in his expression. Something raw.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

Leon exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. He looked at me like he was weighing a choice, deciding whether I was ready for the truth.

Then, finally—

“You were never supposed to belong to Daniel.”

My stomach dropped.

My mind raced back to the past, to Daniel, the man I had almost married. The man who betrayed me in the worst way possible.

I had thought meeting Leon was fate. A whirlwind that swept me into his world.

But it wasn’t fate.

It was orchestrated.

By him.

I took another step back, needing space, needing air. “You—” My voice broke. I swallowed hard. “You pulled me into this.”

“I saved you,” he corrected, his voice sharp.

I let out a hollow laugh. “Saved me? You manipulated me.”

Leon’s jaw clenched. “You think Daniel would’ve let you walk away? That he wouldn’t have come after you?”

My blood ran cold.

Because deep down, I knew the answer.

Daniel was powerful, ruthless in a way that most men weren’t. If Leon hadn’t taken me under his protection, would I have ever truly been free?

I didn’t know.

And that terrified me.

I looked back at the photograph in my hands, my younger self smiling at a world that was never as simple as it seemed.

“How long?” I asked. “How long have you been watching me?”

Leon didn’t hesitate. “Years.”

The truth hit me like a storm.

Leon Castello had known me long before I ever met Daniel.

This marriage wasn’t just about power.

It was about something much deeper.

And suddenly, I wasn’t sure if I was playing the game—

Or if I was the one being played.

Leon stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, his gaze a challenge. “I don’t regret any of it.”

I swallowed hard. “And if I do?”

His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. Something darker. “Then maybe it’s time you learned what it really means to be my wife.”

A chill raced down my spine.

Because for the first time, I wasn’t sure if I had married a man—

Or if I had married my greatest enemy.