Chapter 163
When those two familiar scars came into view, my denial instantly became a cruel joke.
"Who the hell are you? Don't come in here attacking Leo!"
Someone objected, yelling at me.
I ignored them, turning to look at Leo instead.
Since the bar wasn't officially open, the lighting around us was dim.
His face was half-swallowed by shadow, all sharp angles with none of his usual gentle warmth—just cold indifference.
"Leo, this was all just a game to you?"
Someone tried to pull me away, but Leo waved them off.
He withdrew his hand, leisurely fixing his cuffs while looking at me.
His eyes held no emotion whatsoever.
"What else would it be? Look at you, all shocked. Don't tell me you actually thought I was being real with you?"
My heart lurched, the pain almost physical.
"Why did you become like this..."
"Are my words that hard to understand?"
Leo finished adjusting his cuffs and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "From the very beginning, I saw you as my target. All the tenderness, all the effort—just tactics to hook you."
I stumbled backward, trying to physically distance myself from the damage his words inflicted.
After steadying my breathing, I clenched my trembling fingers and forced myself to ask, "Those two times you nearly died saving me—was that... tactics too?"
Leo showed no awareness of my fragility. He looked at me with utter coldness, a mocking smile playing at his lips.
"Of course. Otherwise, how would a spoiled little rich girl like you, used to power and adoration, ever fall for someone like me?"
The others chimed in.
"So you're that heiress. Pretty face aside, you're no different from any other girl."
"Right? Leo gracing you with his time—you should be grateful."
"Don't be a sore loser, acting as if feelings matter. That stuff's worthless anyway."
Their jeers wrapped around my heart like rope, twisting tighter and tighter.
I had to take deep breaths to keep it together.
"Since you were playing me all along, why not keep up the act longer? You could've gotten more out of me."
Leo froze for a second, like he hadn't expected me to say that.
I laughed coldly, pulling out my phone and transferring five hundred thousand dollars to his account right in front of him.
"For entertaining me this long, here's your final payment."
"From now on, we're even."
I turned to leave, catching a glimpse in my peripheral vision of Leo excitedly grabbing his phone to check the transfer, undisguised greed flashing in his eyes.
What an ugly look.
I couldn't stand to see anymore and walked out of the bar.
"Cindy, you look pale. Are you okay?"
The moment I stepped outside, Ethan rushed over to support me.
I shook my head slightly. "I'm fine."
Just another scumbag. Wouldn't be my first time.
"Ethan, take me back to Bayview Villas."
"Okay."
When the car stopped at Bayview Villas, Ethan wanted to walk me inside, but I refused.
"I'm tired. I want to be alone for a bit."
Ethan looked worried. "You're not in good shape. I'm afraid something might happen if you're alone."
"It won't." I forced out a weak smile, then remembered something else. "Ethan, about the Royal Ballet Company..."
"I'll handle that end. Don't worry." Ethan paused, then added, "But this time, I can't stall them much longer."
I understood what he meant. "Got it. I'll make a decision soon."
Back home, the strength I'd been forcing finally crumbled piece by piece.
But this time, I found I couldn't even cry.
Leaning against the wall, I slowly made my way to the couch and sank down.
I looked around—everywhere held memories of my time with Leo.
Even the air itself seemed to carry his scent.
Pain crashed over me like a tidal wave.
I could barely breathe.
Suddenly, there was a noise from inside the house.
I froze.
A chill crept up my spine from the base.
Who was in my house?
I held my breath, quietly reaching into my bag for my phone.
Then footsteps approached.
They seemed to be coming from the second-floor kitchen area.
My chest tightened. I'd just gotten my phone out, about to dial, when—
The kitchen door suddenly swung open.
A tall figure stepped out.
I felt all the blood rush to my head, my body practically launching off the couch.
"Cindy, you're back." That achingly familiar gentle voice drifted over.
I stiffly raised my eyes to look.
It was... Leo!
My grip on the phone went slack as the blood drained back down.
All the humiliation and anger from before came flooding back.
"Didn't we end things? What are you doing in my house? Get out!"
Leo looked stunned, like he couldn't understand my words.
"What are you talking about? When did we end things?"
Seeing his confused expression, I couldn't help wanting to laugh.
"Drop the act. Didn't we just settle everything at the bar?"
"We were always just using each other from the start. Now the game's over and we should both go back to our own lives."
"Leo, get your stuff out of my house right now. And don't come back!"
Leo looked utterly bewildered. "What bar? I never went to any bar, and I'd never say the game's over."
"Cindy, did you mistake me for someone else?"
Seeing his innocent expression, an icy chill spread through my chest.
I'd once firmly believed he wouldn't play me. But that conversation at the bar had brutally forced me to face reality.
Men's words were nothing but lies!
"Leo, are you all experts at saying one thing and doing another?"
"Just now at the bar, you mocked me in front of your friends. Then you turn around and come home acting like nothing happened, denying everything."
"Do you think I'm stupid, or do you think you're that good an actor?"
Leo quickly shook his head, his voice urgent. "I'm not lying to you. I got back here half an hour ago and have been in the kitchen making you soup the whole time."
"If you don't believe me, come look."
Soup?
I hesitated.
Leo took my hand and led me to the kitchen. Several plates of chopped ingredients and meat sat on the counter.
A pot on the stove was steaming, simmering my favorite beef stew.
I bit my lip.
The bar to Bayview Villas was a twenty-minute drive. Even if Leo had rushed back right after me, there was no way he could've done all this in ten minutes.
"You... really didn't go to the bar?"
Leo nodded emphatically. "I really didn't. I even sent you a message earlier telling you to come home early because I had something to tell you."
"Didn't you get it?"
Before I could answer, he pulled out his phone to show me.
The moment I opened WhatsApp, his expression changed. "Why is my WhatsApp logged out?"
My heart skipped two beats. I quickly grabbed my own phone.
In my message history, there really was a message from Leo.
Exactly what he'd said.
But earlier, blinded by rage, I'd assumed it was an old message and hadn't looked closely.
"If you didn't go to the bar, then who did I see there?"