Chapter 93
I was shocked and curious. "You two... talked?"
Seeing Leo nod, I couldn't help but press further. "What did you talk about? Did he say something awful to you? Tell me, I'll stand up for you."
"No," Leo reassured me. "He wasn't exactly friendly, but he didn't give me too hard a time. We mostly talked about you."
"About me?"
"Yeah, he asked how I knew you, and what we'd been doing together."
Leo spoke while watching my expression carefully.
"Then we got to talking about why he insisted on moving in. He said it was to take care of you. I felt like he was telling the truth."
I let out a cold laugh. "Your instincts are wrong. He's not doing it to take care of me—he's doing it to ease his own conscience."
Leo frowned slightly. "Why?"
I told him what I'd learned this morning.
After hearing it, Leo's brow furrowed deeply.
"What if Sophia was lying?"
I shook my head. "Even if she exaggerated, Leopold definitely helped cover up the evidence. Otherwise, the news about my injury wouldn't have been suppressed."
Leo smiled and explained, "That might not have anything to do with Leopold."
"After you got hurt, tons of netizens flooded the Grand Theater's official page with comments. The theater couldn't handle it, so they blocked all the search terms."
"There's no guarantee Leopold didn't have a hand in that." I still didn't believe it.
Leo sighed. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "Actually, your ex told me something else."
Seeing his hesitation, a bad feeling crept over me.
"Tell me."
Leo deliberated for a moment before saying, "He told me that you once deliberately drugged him at Percy Manor and sent Sophia to his room. Is that true?"
My spine went rigid. "Why would he tell you that? Did you know each other before?"
That was the only explanation I could think of.
Leo knew Amelia, so knowing Leopold wasn't impossible either.
But once I thought that way, my heart began to sink uncontrollably.
If Leo really knew Leopold, then why would he get involved with me and agree to play along? Had they coordinated this from the start, both of them playing me while laughing at how stupid I was behind my back?
The more I thought about it, the colder my back felt.
Leo noticed something was wrong and quickly explained, "Cindy, don't overthink this."
"The reason he told me was because I mentioned how we'd been spending time together, and it made him feel insecure. So he brought that up to salvage his pride."
The breath I'd just released caught in my chest again. "To salvage his pride, he gets to trample my dignity!"
"Don't be angry."
Leo's voice was tight. "I have a question. You don't like being around Sophia, so why would you help her and drug your ex? Are you still not over him?"
"I didn't drug him. Sophia drugged him herself."
Maybe because I'd been holding it in too long, or maybe out of trust, I couldn't help but tell him the truth.
Once I started, those long-suppressed words came flooding out.
"Sophia and I had an agreement—I'd let her come to the Percy Manor, but I didn't expect her to drug Leopold."
"Plus, she told me it was sleeping pills, but it turned out to be an aphrodisiac."
"When she got caught later, she pushed all the blame onto me. Leopold didn't hesitate for a second before believing her."
Leo looked completely surprised. "Why did you make a deal with Sophia? Did she threaten you?"
"No."
I clenched my fists and shook my head gently.
Leo kept digging. "Then why?"
I couldn't tell him it was, so I could leave Silverlight City.
Even though Leopold and I had broken off the engagement, Donovan's health was unstable, and Leopold had no intention of letting me go.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you afraid I'll tell your ex? Don't worry, I won't. As long as you don't want me to, I won't tell anyone."
I felt conflicted.
Ever since learning that Leopold and Sophia were true love, I'd been holding in this frustration.
Then getting manipulated by Sophia and humiliated by Leopold—I'd buried all those emotions.
Now, I was truly suffocating under the weight of it all.
But I couldn't say anything.
Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to leave tomorrow.
"None of that matters anymore. They'll end up together eventually anyway."
"So if I give them a little push, what's the harm?"
Leo's jawline tensed. "How can you think like that?"
"Stop asking. I don't want to talk about them anymore."
I held my head in my hands, completely resistant.
Leo had to back down.
"Fine. When you're ready to talk, we'll talk."
After that, I didn't say another word, just lay on the sofa with my head in my hands.
Leo tried to talk to me a few times, but I ignored him.
Eventually, he gave up.
Only after he went to shower did I lower my hands.
What else could I do but give them a push?
To protect Sophia, Leopold was willing to use my life as a bargaining chip.
If he found out about my leg injury, he'd definitely steal my chance to join the Royal Ballet Company without hesitation and hand it straight to Sophia.
I absolutely refused to be a lamb led to slaughter.
Leaving Silverlight City was my only option!
The next day.
Knowing this might be the last time I'd see Leo, I specially ordered breakfast service.
Soon, the staff brought breakfast to the door.
Seeing the lavish spread, Leo looked somewhat surprised.
"You ordered this?"
I nodded. "I happened to be hungry. Want to eat together?"
Leo immediately sat down and started helping me with everything.
The meal was harmonious.
During the meal, Leo casually mentioned, "My phone pushed a news notification this morning saying today is the Percy Group's anniversary."
I sipped my porridge and nodded at his words. "Right, their eightieth anniversary."
Leo looked slightly stunned. "The Percy Group has been around that long."
Seeing him somewhat moved, I quickly consoled him. "Your bar is doing well. Once you make more money in the future, you can invest in other industries. Who knows, you might be the next Leopold."
The corners of Leo's mouth curved into a shallow arc. "You have that much faith in me?"
I smiled back. "Of course. I have excellent judgment."
I thought Leo would tease me.
Instead, he smiled and said, "Then I'll take that as a blessing."
After breakfast, I even walked him to the elevator lobby and specifically reminded him to be careful around Leopold in the future.
Leo sensed something was off and immediately grabbed my hand. "Something's not right with you."
I forced a calm smile. "You're the one acting weird. I walk you out as a courtesy, and you read into it like this. I won't walk you out anymore."
Only then did Leo backtrack. "My bad. From now on, you walk me out every day."
To avoid being seen through, I reluctantly nodded.
After seeing Leo off, I returned to the room, grabbed my already-packed bag, and messaged Ethan while walking.
We'd agreed to meet at the airport in two hours.
But as soon as I walked out the hotel entrance, Leopold's car blocked my path with aggressive force.
The car had barely stopped when the rear window automatically lowered, revealing Leopold's inscrutable face.
"Get in."
I frowned tightly. "I'm not getting in."
"Lucinda, don't make me kidnap you in broad daylight."
My heart tightened.
This was exactly something Leopold would do.