Chapter 190: I was just a pawn.

Chapter 190: I was just a pawn.
Leonardo

Her fingers twisted together, and for the first time, I noticed how nervous she looked. That, more than her words, pulled at something low in my gut—something close to worry. I was just about to ask if Aurora was alright when she finally spoke.

“She’s… not around,” Lucia said carefully.

I stilled, cocking my head just enough to catch a glimpse of Aurora’s office door standing closed down the hall. “What do you mean she isn’t here? Where did she go?”

“She, uh… stepped out,” Lucia replied, her voice tight.

A few employees passed behind me, their chatter low and clipped, the usual end-of-day rush. I barely heard them. My attention stayed fixed on Lucia. “Stepped out for what?” I pressed, arching a brow.

“For a meeting,” she answered after a beat.

“What meeting?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted, shaking her head. “She didn’t tell me about it. Just said it was very important.”

My brows dipped, confusion threading into irritation. “But she told me there’d be a late shipment and some reports she had to finalize before tomorrow morning,” I said slowly, my gaze sharpening on her, “and that you’d be staying late to help her out.”

Lucia’s eyes went wide. “She… she said that?” Her voice held an edge of shock, like I’d just told her something impossible.

The pieces began to fall into place in my head, sharp and unwelcome.

Lucia cleared her throat quickly, her posture stiffening. “I mean—yes, that’s… also true. But she stepped out for a bit, and she’ll be back. Until then, I’m supposed to be doing all the work.” She forced a tight smile, the kind that didn’t reach her eyes.

I shook my head slowly, the weight of the thought that had been gnawing at me finally settling in.

“She’s seeing someone else, isn’t she?” The words slipped out low, almost a growl meant only for myself.

Lucia’s head snapped up. “What? No!”

“I’m gonna kill him.” I muttered under my breath, the tension coiling in my chest like a vice.

“What?” she gasped, chasing after me. “Leonardo, wait—Aurora isn’t seeing anyone!”

“Stop,” I snapped, my voice sharp enough to slice through the hall’s noise.

Anger churned in my chest, an unfamiliar, bitter taste coating my tongue. She’d been hiding something. From me. My Aurora. The one person I thought I knew better than anyone. And all I could hear was the relentless echo: Was I not enough?

“Stay out of this,” I bit out, the words clipped.

I strode down the hall, the box of cinnamon buns still in my hand, now feeling heavier, colder, like a mockery of the thought that had sent me here in the first place. Every memory lined up—her keeping her phone close, the late nights, the way her smile never quite reached her eyes anymore.

Fury burned hot in my veins.

“Leonardo, wait!”

Lucia darted in front of me, forcing me to stop just short of colliding with her.

Our eyes flicked toward a couple of employees passing by, their pace slowing briefly before they continued, whispering to each other.

“Wait,” Lucia said, lowering her voice urgently, “come with me.”

“Lucia?” My tone came out like a warning, low and dangerous.

“It’s about Aurora, okay?” she pressed, already turning toward her office.

I exhaled sharply through my nose, my eyes narrowing as I still clutched the box of buns in my hand.

With a curt nod, I followed, each step a slow simmer of restrained fury.

Lucia shut the door quietly behind us, and the soft click felt like a match being struck.

I stood there, fists clenched around the box of cinnamon buns, watching her hesitate like she was debating whether to speak or not.

“Look…” she started, her voice tentative, “I’m not the one who’s supposed to be telling you this, but…”

My patience snapped as she hesitated for a while. “What is it, Lucia? Don’t waste my time. I—”

“Aurora has been hanging out with Eleanora for some time now,” she blurted, the words tumbling out in a rush.

I froze. “…What?”

She nodded quickly, wringing her hands. “Yes. She isn’t cheating or… seeing someone else. She loves you way too much for that,” she added under her breath, almost like she didn’t mean for me to hear it.

Normally, that last part would’ve hit something deep in me, would’ve made my chest tighten the way only Aurora could. But I was too stunned, my thoughts stalling over the one thing that didn’t make sense.

Eleanora.

My voice rose, sharp and demanding. “Why the fuck would she be meeting with Eleanora? And why didn’t she tell me?!”

Lucia flinched at the edge in my tone. “Well… she thought you’d overreact. Tell her to stay away from Eleanora. She didn’t want that, so she kept it from you.”

I stood there, silent, the words sinking in like acid. She’s scared of me?

I hated that. Hated that she thought I’d cage her instead of trusting her to make her own choices. But it wasn’t my fault I knew what Eleanora was capable of. That woman wasn’t to be trusted. Not for a second.

“Where did they go?” I finally ground out.

Lucia shook her head. “I don’t know. She didn’t tell me. Just said Eleanora was planning a surprise for her or something.”

“Oh fuck…”

The curse slipped out before I could stop it. I dropped the box of buns on Lucia’s desk, already digging out my phone.

One ring. No answer.

Second call. Straight to voicemail.

Third call. Nothing.

“Damn it! She isn’t picking up.”

My boot connected with the leg of a chair, the metal groaning as it skidded across the floor. Pain shot up my leg, feeding the fire in my chest.

“Fuck…” I snarled low, shoving the phone back into my pocket.

I turned to Lucia, my voice calm and iced with rage. “She got us.”

Aurora

I woke up to the stench of damp concrete and something metallic—iron, maybe blood—burning the inside of my nose.

A groan tore from my throat before I even realized it, my head pounding like someone was hammering nails into my skull. The world swam in shades of murky grey, the dim light barely scraping over the room’s edges.

I tried to sit up, but my arms jerked uselessly. Rope dug into my wrists, coarse fibers biting my skin.

Panic shot through me.

What…?

I forced my sluggish brain to work, to claw through the haze. The last thing I remembered… I was with Eleanora.

Eleanora.

My breathing hitched, uneven and sharp.

But if I was with her… then how the hell did I end up here?

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to retrace every moment, every word, until the pieces started to click into place. My heart lurched.

“No… no, no, no…” The words slipped out in a tremble, barely louder than a breath. I shook my head, denying the thought even as dread coiled tighter in my chest.

Footsteps.

I froze, the sound echoing in the silence.