Chapter 166
I knew Sophia was stubborn, but I never imagined she'd be this obsessive.
I was seeing other men because I wanted to move on from Leopold and start fresh—not because I wanted to trap him with a baby.
But that logic? Sophia clearly wasn't ready to process it.
So I kept my mouth shut.
Leopold didn't immediately pull away, but the way he looked at Sophia carried a silent, brutal coldness.
"Leo, I only made one mistake, but my love for you is real. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have saved you three years ago—"
"Shut up!"
Sophia's words had just grabbed my attention when Leopold cut her off with ice-cold finality. I couldn't help glancing his way.
He wasn't looking at me. His gaze bore down on Sophia with an undeniable authority that left her too scared to even cry.
"Sophia, we settled our accounts a long time ago."
"Don't come bothering me and Lucinda again, or don't blame me for forgetting old times."
Sophia shook her head frantically. "Leo, don't do this to me. You promised—you said you'd take care of me for the rest of my life. Have you forgotten?"
Leopold remained unmoved. "That's in the past. No one stays trapped there forever."
His words made me freeze.
"Someone get Ms. Guise out of here."
Teddy immediately reached out to help Sophia up.
"Don't touch me!" Sophia clutched Leopold's pant leg with a death grip, refusing to let go. "Leo, I've known you longer than Lucinda has, and my feelings for you run deeper than hers. You can forgive her, so why can't you forgive me?"
"Besides, she's already been with another man, and she's carrying some bastard's baby!"
"If I'm not good enough for you, then she's even less worthy!"
Every word felt like a blade stabbing into my chest.
My hands balled into fists, but I couldn't refute a single thing.
"Sophia, say one more word and I'll make sure you never speak again!"
Leopold's earlier coldness transformed into blazing fury, his eyes practically setting the air on fire.
The atmosphere went deathly silent.
Anyone could see Leopold had truly lost his temper.
Sophia was clearly terrified. She quickly released her grip, staring at Leopold with timid eyes.
Tears pooled in her lashes, making her look pitifully vulnerable.
But Leopold didn't spare her a glance. Instead, he grabbed my hand tightly, his eyes locked on mine.
"Don't be upset. I'll arrange a new room for you—I guarantee no one will bother you."
I'd been about to say it wasn't necessary, but thinking about the possibility of Sophia showing up again in one of her episodes, I agreed.
Leopold's mood instantly shifted from stormy to sunny. He led me forward, not looking back at Sophia once, as if she were nothing but air.
After moving to the new room, Leopold—ignoring Brady's protests—forcibly dragged him over to examine me.
"Leopold, I'm a surgeon, not an OB-GYN. Why are you calling me?"
Leopold remained stubborn. "You're the only one I trust. Figure out the rest yourself."
Brady looked thoroughly exasperated.
When he entered and saw me inside, he paused, then lowered his voice to ask Leopold.
"Isn't Sophia the one who's pregnant? Why'd you bring Lucinda?"
"Mind your own business and do what you're supposed to do." Leopold tossed out that icy response before coming to my bedside.
I put down my phone, deliberately avoiding his gaze as I addressed Brady. "Come back later. I need to go out for a bit."
Brady nodded. "No problem—"
Before Brady could finish, Leopold cut in. "Absolutely not. You just had a scare—having the doctor check you over will give us peace of mind."
I gave him a cold look. "Not necessary."
Leopold's brow furrowed as he softened his tone. "I'm not trying to control you, but the baby's still in early stages. If something happens—"
I cut him off coldly. "Then I'll miscarry. No big deal."
Leopold's expression darkened instantly, his jet-black eyes threatening to unleash a storm.
"You... really don't want it that badly?"
I turned away, voice flat. "That's right."
The timing couldn't be worse.
My own life was a complete mess—how could I possibly give it any happiness?
Better to just—
Leopold grabbed my chin, forcing me to face him, his eyes boring into mine.
"Lucinda, what do I have to do for you to keep it?"
His eyes were darker than midnight, the faint light in them impossible to read.
But if you looked closely, it was easy to get lost in them.
I looked away again. "Nothing you do will matter."
Leopold's gaze dimmed, the earlier glimmer fading away.
Then he lowered his eyes, concealing the turbulent emotions beneath, his voice dropping. "Cindy, if you're angry, take it out on me, but don't take it out on the baby. Please?"
Hearing him go on and on about the baby ignited my fury. I shoved him away hard.
"Leopold, I'm reminding you one more time—this baby isn't yours!"
"Even if you want to play daddy, I won't allow it!"
"What?" Brady, who'd been watching from the sidelines, looked shocked. He stepped forward and grabbed Leopold's arm. "Leopold, the baby's not yours?"
Leopold shook him off impatiently. "It's mine."
I immediately denied it. "It's not!"
Brady looked between us, scratching his head in distress.
He gave up trying to figure it out and turned to me instead.
"How long will you be out? I need to know if I'll have time to get someone to examine you."
At that, I softened my tone. "I'm not sure exactly, but I'll give you advance notice. Is that okay?"
Brady nodded. "Works for me."
With that, he jerked his chin toward Leopold. "I've got patients to see. I'm out."
Leopold shot him a glare, then tried to persuade me again.
I beat him to it. "Leopold, I'm not your plaything. Whether you regret it or feel guilty, there's no future for us."
"I don't accept that."
Leopold crouched by the bed, gripping both my hands, his voice tinged with pain. "I was wrong before. You have every right to be angry."
"But I really am Leo, and I am your baby's father. You can't deny that."
I stared at him hard, enunciating each word. "You are not Leo."
Just then, my phone rang.
After glancing at it, I told him to let go again.
Maybe my tone was too cold—Leopold didn't insist this time.
Once he released me, I grabbed my phone to answer.
"Ms. Wipere, I've got results on what you asked me to investigate yesterday. Last night, I caught Mr. Percy on camera leaving the Percy Group Building. He got into a black sedan, and when he got out, he'd transformed into a different person. Then he walked straight through the gates of Bayview Villas."
My eyes widened. "Do you have video?"
"Yeah, I'll send it to you."
I hung up and opened the video.
When I saw Leopold exit the car as Leo, I nearly dropped my phone.
Leopold came to my side again. "You've seen the proof now, haven't you?"
How did he know I'd sent someone to investigate him?
Suddenly, it clicked. I demanded furiously.
"You knew I had someone following you! You let him get that footage on purpose!"
Otherwise, the video wouldn't have captured his face so clearly.
"I just wanted you to believe that I am Leo. But I never intended to play you. Back then, I could tell you were going to give up on me, so I had no choice but to create a fake identity."
Searing pain exploded in my chest.
I thought I'd escaped the fire, only to fall into another tiger's den.
I couldn't help the sarcasm in my voice. "If your identity was fake, how could your feelings be real? The person I fell for was Leo—the one who spent every day with me, who protected me at every turn. Not you."
When Leopold tried to explain, I bit out. "Even if you are him, he isn't you."