Chapter 210 Cold Welcome

Chapter 210 Cold Welcome

Leon's POV

“I'm in love with Bianca McIntyre,"
I let out a dry laugh as I whispered the words out loud in her dark guestroom.

Sitting here all alone, with her perfume torturing me and my heart skipping at every phone call, I couldn't help but think.

Maybe this was my ultimate punishment for all those years I lived cold-heartedly, swearing never to love another human being again.

After Hilda divorced me all those years ago, I had closed my heart off completely, treating relationships as simple, transactional arrangements.

But now, here I was, many years later, helplessly in love with Bianca, the one woman I knew I could easily ruin if I wasn't careful.

Like it or not, I knew how severely it would damage her reputation if word got out to the public that we were together.

We lived in a deeply traditional, patriarchal society. If the media found out, a few trashy bloggers might gossip about me and call me names, but the full, ugly brunt of the shame would fall entirely on Bianca's shoulders.

They would brand her a gold-digger, an opportunist who moved from the son to the father.

She had already lost her parents, her family business, and her home courtesy of Marcus's incompetence.

I was not ready to make her lose the only thing she had left, her pride, her career, and her reputation.

So no matter how much I loved her, and no matter how desperately I wanted to claim her publicly, I knew I had to keep quiet and protect her image at all costs.

My phone vibrated again in my pocket.

I pulled it out, looking at the glowing screen. The caller ID showed Hilda's name.

I stared at the screen for a full minute.

For a tiny, fraction of a second, an old habit made me wonder if she was calling about a sudden health emergency.

But then reality slammed back into my mind.

She didn't have cancer. She was never dying. She was just a greedy, manipulative woman who had spent months playing me for a fool to fund her own lifestyle and that of her boytoy who was also my former best friend.

I hit the red button, ended the call, and immediately blocked her number permanently.

There was nothing tying us together anymore.

Yes, I had spent years lying to Marcus about his parentage, but now that the truth was out, he had to deal with it like an adult.

Hilda was not his biological mother. All she and I shared was a failed marriage from a lifetime ago. While I had no intention of stopping Marcus from seeing her if he chose to, he was an adult who could make his own choices, I was never going to let Hilda use him as a back door to get back into my life ever again.

I stood up from the bed, preparing to leave her room, when something on the bottom shelf of her open wardrobe caught my eye.

Curious, I walked over, crouched down, and reached into the corner.

I pulled out a small, opened the lid and found a set of brand new silk hair ribbons, three different pastel colors neatly rolled together.

She must have dropped them behind the wooden lip while packing her vanity supplies.

“I have a legitimate excuse to see her,” I thought to myself, staring at the box in my palm.

I looked at my watch. It was already past nine o'clock at night. I knew she wanted her space, and I knew I risked looking like an absolute psychopath hovering over her new house at this hour, but I couldn't help myself.

The desire to see her face, even for two minutes, completely overruled my logic.

I hurried out of her room, went to my suite, threw on a plain black t-shirt over my trousers, grabbed the box of ribbons, and took the stairs straight down to the garage.

Thomas was standing near the staff lounge, checking his phone.

The moment he saw me heading toward the sports car, he stepped forward. "Mr. Steele, do you need me to drive you somewhere?"

"No, Thomas," I said, unlocking the car. "I'll make this trip myself. Take the rest of the night off, and take tomorrow off as well."

"Thank you, sir. Drive safely," Thomas said, bowing his head in surprise.

I backed the car out of the garage and hit the main road.

On the way to her neighborhood, I spotted a florist that was still open. I pulled over, walked inside, and bought a fresh bouquet of dark red roses. I knew she loved fresh flowers in her room, and I wanted her new house to feel warm.

Ten minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of her new property. I grabbed the flowers and the small box of ribbons, walked up the stone steps, and knocked softly on her front door.

A few seconds passed, and then the door pulled open.

"Bianca—" The smile on my face completely froze.

Bianca stood in the doorway, wearing a simple silk robe that accentuated her curves in the most sinful ways.

Damn!

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly and I blinked, dragging my eyes up to her face.

I swallowed. "I... I noticed that you forgot these back at the estate. I brought them over." I held up the small box, then gestured to the bouquet in my other hand. "I also brought these roses. I realized I haven't officially welcomed you to your new house yet."

Bianca didn't even look at the flowers. "Technically, it's your house, Leon, since you insisted on paying for all of it with your money. And also, you didn't have to drive all the way over here just to bring those ribbons. I don't want them."

I blinked, completely stunned by the hostility in her tone. "Okay... I am sorry for showing up unannounced, Bianca. But I really missed you. I haven't seen you all day, and I just wanted to drop by, say hi, and see how you were settling in."

"You saw me at the office today," she said, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"Barely," I replied softly, stepping a little closer. "You stayed inside your private office all day, almost as if you were actively avoiding me."

"I was working," she shot back, raising her chin. "Do you have a problem with me doing my job?"

"Bianca, what is going on?" I asked, my brow furrowing in genuine concern as I looked at her pale face. "Listen, I am sorry I showed up like this. I know you said you needed your space, but I really, really wanted to see you and just talk, okay? Nothing else."

Bianca looked at me for a long, painful beat. She didn't address a single thing I said.

"I'll just take the ribbons now," she said flatly, reached out and grabbed the small box from my hand, tossing it directly into the stainless steel trash bin sitting just to the left of her entryway door.

My jaw dropped.

"Is there anything else, Mr. Steele?" she deadpanned.

"No... there isn't," I stumbled over my words, completely lost. "But Bianca, what is going on? Why are you—"

Before I could even finish my sentence, she grabbed the door knob.

"Goodnight, Mr. Steele," she said and slammed the door shut in my face.