Chapter 52

Chapter 52


Leonardo Cooper

I adjust my shirt, trying to regain some composure after the slap and the kiss that still burns on my lips.

His taste lingers, mixed with the rejection that dripped from his harsh words. I can still feel the weight of his gaze when he turned his back and walked away.

It won't be easy, but I won't give up. Gabriel knows me. Deep down, he knows that my persistence is part of who I am. And I'm going to get him out of here. Even if it's the last thing I do.

I walk back to the Royale's ballroom. The lights continue to flicker, bodies dance on stage, glasses clink among the customers. Everything remains the same, except for me.

I sit on the high bar stool, facing the counter. The leather of the seat creaks under my weight, and my eyes don't leave him. There he is, gliding through the tables with the same feline grace as always, tray in hand, a professional smile plastered on his face.

But I know that behind this facade is the Gabriel I knew and lost.

My gaze follows his every move until I notice a presence on my left. A strong scent of woody perfume invades my space before the voice speaks.

— What do you want, Alexandre? — I shoot back, without turning my head.

He picks up a glass, orders a shot of whiskey, and only then answers, with the tone I hate so much in him: firm, but without losing his mocking charm.

— I came to understand what you're doing behind Gabriel's back.

— I came to fix a mistake — I reply, swirling my glass by the base.

Alexandre smiles sideways, takes a sip, and shakes his head slightly.

— It could be... but maybe your mistake is too late to be corrected. Gabriel hates you, Leonardo.

I bring my hand to my chin, running my fingers through my stubble. I swallow hard before admitting:

— I was an idiot. I let that plague Adrian manipulate me.

Alexandre raises an eyebrow, more interested than he should be.

— Adrian... The same boy you were obsessed with? Who almost lost his sanity because of you? And then you left him as if he had never existed?

I let out a heavy sigh. His name still has the power to sour everything.

— Don't get involved in this, Alexandre. This is a scar that never healed. And it's none of your business.

The man beside me slams his glass on the counter harder than he should and stares at me seriously.

— I'm nobody to judge you, Leonardo. But I won't allow you to do to Gabriel what you did to the others. When he showed up here, he was in pieces. I took that boy in like a father. I gave him shelter, food, respect. Even though he was my employee, I always treated him with dignity. He only came back to this place because he had no other place to go. So no, I won't see you play with him.

I look at him in silence. These words affect me because deep down, they are true. Alexandre always had this instinct to take care of the boys as if they were his own. But Gabriel never belonged to anyone. Not to me, not to him.

— I don't want to play with anything. I'm just trying to fix what I destroyed.

Alexandre rises from the stool with a slow movement. Staring at me firmly, he leaves a warning that weighs more than any veiled threat:

— It may be that your intention is good now, but what you did to him... It doesn't fade. You accused him of being a thief, Leonardo. And he doesn't have a weak memory.

I stand there, watching Gabriel collect an order, with no idea that I'm about to grapple with the consequences of my own mistakes. And that the forgiveness I seek may never come.

— Leave him alone, Leonardo. It won't do any good to keep pushing — says Alexandre, in a lower tone, but still full of firmness.

His patience starts to irritate me. The calm way he speaks, as if he knows what's best. As if he had any right to put himself between me and Gabriel.

I take a deep breath, feeling the heat rise through my body. My jaw clenches, my fingers grip the glass tighter.

— I won't leave him alone — I growl through my teeth. — And I won't give up either. It doesn't matter how much you try to dissuade me, Alexandre. This isn't about you.

He takes a step back, as if expecting an even more violent verbal attack, but doesn't lose his balance. On the contrary, he spins the glass in his hands and lets out an ironic laugh.

— You don't understand, do you? Forcing this reconciliation will only push him further away. Gabriel isn't a broken toy that you glue together and put on a shelf. He bled. And guess who pushed him off the cliff?

My jaw grinds. I listen, but refuse to accept that what he says is the definitive truth. Yes, I hurt Gabriel. Not with my hands, but with my choices.

With the doubt. With the damn accusation. But I'm here now. And that has to mean something.

— What I did was unforgivable, I don't deny it. But my mistake doesn't define the end of this story — I retort, staring at Alexandre with a determination that even the alcohol can't blur. — You don't know what exists between us. You didn't live what we lived. This doesn't die easily.

He smiles sideways, and for a moment, he almost seems to feel sorry.

— What you had turned to smoke the moment you threw him against the wall with unfounded accusations. Gabriel lost his footing and, very nearly, lost himself.

I close my eyes for a brief moment, trying to control the anger that threatens to overflow. When I open them again, my voice is lower, but no less intense.

— I won't back down. I won't pretend it doesn't matter. Even if he hates me, I'll keep fighting. Because I still see the man behind the pain. And because I love him, even if it's too late.

Alexandre doesn't answer immediately. He looks at the ballroom as if searching for an answer in the midst of the lights and sounds muffled by the music. Then he turns his gaze back to me and speaks with more sorrow than anger.

— You speak beautifully. But love without respect is obsession. And if you cross that line again, I'll rip you out of here myself.

The warning hangs between us like a thread about to break. I stare into the bottom of the empty glass and, for a second, reflect on whether I really have the right to reopen the wound.

But I'm already too far in. I committed to the idea of winning back what I destroyed. There's no going back.

— Do what you think is right, Alexandre — I say finally, returning the glass to the counter. — But don't expect me to back down. Not this time.

I get up from the stool with firm steps, leaving his uncomfortable presence behind. I follow through the ballroom, watching Gabriel move among the customers.

With every forced smile, shifty look, the wall I built between us becomes more evident. A wall that I'm now going to tear down, brick by brick, with or without help.

I don't want compassion. Much less immediate forgiveness. I just want the chance to show that there is still truth in what we feel. That behind his anger, there is a suffocated love, waiting to breathe again.

And as long as he's there, in this environment that only hurts him, I'll keep knocking on the door that I closed myself. Because if there's a thread of hope between us, I'll pull it with all my might until he looks into my eyes again with desire and not with resentment.

Even if he hates me, I'll prove that I haven't given up on him. That no matter how many mistakes I made, my fight has only just begun. And no one, not even Alexandre, will take me out of this battle.