Unspoken Language

Sofia's POV

The moment I heard the vault door unlock, I sat up fast.

My heart pounded as the locks clicked and shifted. The silence felt heavier than before, like it had settled into my skin. I stared at the door, not sure what to expect—another guard, another threat… or maybe nothing at all.

Then he walked in.

Leandro.

His black shirt clung to his frame, a little wrinkled, his dark hair slightly messy like he’d been through hell and back. His eyes landed on me, and something in them shifted—like a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding finally slipped out.

“You’re back,” I said, my voice quieter than I intended.

He gave a single nod, saying nothing right away. We just looked at each other, the silence between us full of things neither of us knew how to say.

I stood slowly and took a step toward him. Then another. But I stopped a few feet away. I wanted to reach out—to touch him, to make sure he was real—but I didn’t. I couldn’t. He was still my boss. Still the man people whispered about in fear. And I didn’t even understand what I was starting to feel around him.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

His jaw ticked, but he gave me a short nod. “I handled it.”

“Was it… your brother?”

His eyes darkened instantly.

“Yes,” he said flatly. “Aurelio.”

I blinked. “But—why would your own brother try to hurt you? Why would he go that far?”

Leandro’s lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Because he’s not a brother. He’s a parasite with a superiority complex and a desperate need for relevance.”

I stayed quiet, unsure of how deep the wounds really ran between them. This wasn’t just a family fight. This was something darker, something that had clearly festered for years.

“But no one even knew you had a brother,” I said. “Why is he such a secret?”

Leandro looked at me for a long second. His walls went up again, brick by brick, and I saw it happen.

“I don’t want to talk about him,” he said.

I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Maybe I didn’t understand it all, but I respected the boundary. Barely. Because deep down, I wanted to know everything about him.

“I just needed to know you’re okay,” I whispered.

His eyes met mine again. “I am now.”

The way he said it made something flutter in my chest. I told myself I was imagining it. That it didn’t mean what I hoped it did.

“You’ll have to stay here tonight,” he added. “We’ll leave in the morning. The situation is over. It’s safe now.”

I tried not to show my disappointment. I didn’t like the vault. It was too quiet, too still, too closed in. But I understood why. It was about safety.

“You’ll stay too?” I asked.

He hesitated, then nodded. “I will.”

He stepped toward the bed, unbuttoning his shirt slowly. I tried not to look, but of course I did. The man moved like he owned the world, even when he was tired. Even when he didn’t say a word.

“You should sleep,” he said. “You look like you need it.”

“So do you,” I said, a small smile slipping out.

He didn’t smile back, but I thought I saw a flicker of something in his eyes—something softer.

He dropped his shirt, stepped out of his shoes, and sat on the edge of the bed. I climbed in carefully from the other side, staying far enough away to keep things polite. Even if my body had other ideas.

He lay down next to me a moment later. Not touching. Just close enough that I could feel the heat from him under the blanket.

My eyes stayed on the ceiling, tracing patterns I’d made up just to distract myself. But it didn’t work.

All I could think about was him.

How close he was.

How part of me wanted him closer.

“You were brave today,” he said after a moment.

I turned my head slightly. “I didn’t really do anything.”

“You stayed. You waited. You didn’t panic or fall apart. That matters more than you think.”

I swallowed hard. Coming from him, that meant something.

“Do you think… he’ll come after me?” I asked, barely above a whisper.

Leandro’s tone changed completely. It dropped into something hard, deadly. “If he so much as tries, I’ll kill him.”

The calm way he said it should’ve scared me. It didn’t. It made my chest ache. Because I believed him.

“I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me,” I said.

“You won’t,” he said, turning slightly toward me. “You’re not just anyone, Sofia.”

I froze. My heart was already doing flips, but now it felt like it had stopped entirely.

I didn’t know what to say. So I asked, “Why me?”

He looked at me for a long moment. Then finally said, “Because you make me feel something I don’t have a name for yet.”

My breath hitched.

This man—this powerful, feared man—was lying in bed beside me, saying things I never expected to hear. And I didn’t know what to do with it. Didn’t know what I wanted.

But I knew I didn’t want the night to end.

I turned toward him. Our legs brushed under the blanket, and this time, neither of us moved.

“I should sleep,” I whispered, my voice shaking slightly.

“Then sleep,” he murmured, voice suddenly soft.

But he didn’t move either.

Instead, his hand reached out and found mine under the blanket. His fingers brushed gently across my knuckles, slow and thoughtful. Not possessive. Not pushy.

Just… warm.

He didn’t pull me closer. He didn’t try anything else.

He just stayed there.

And somehow, that meant more than anything else he could’ve done.

My eyes fluttered shut, even as my heart kept racing. Not because I felt fully safe.

But because—for once—I wanted to trust him.

And maybe… I already did.