Chapter 3

Going viral brought me a massive wave of unexpected trouble.

Not only was I bombarded with hate messages from Leo's rabid fanbase, but the debt collectors also saw the headlines. Assuming I had bagged a billionaire sugar daddy, their collection calls and threats became twice as aggressive.

While I was drowning in stress, Leo showed up on my doorstep as if nothing was wrong.

God only knows how he tracked down my phone number and my address, but there he was, standing outside my rundown apartment door holding a giant grocery bag full of imported snacks.

"Hey, Elena, I'm here to pay back that favor," he said, grinning like a sly little fox. "Doesn't look too cozy in here. How about I rent you a luxury penthouse downtown?"

"I don't need your charity." I stood firm in the doorway, blocking his way in.

"Come on, don't be a stranger."

He slid past me effortlessly, stepping inside and casually looking around the cramped space. "I heard about what happened to your family's business. And your ex-fiancé is that Jason Harris from Harris Corp, right? Man, what a total scumbag, dropping you the second things went south."

He dropped the snacks onto the small counter and threw himself onto my creaky old sofa as if he owned the place.

"Alright, shoot. What do you need me to do? As long as it's within my power, consider it done."

Looking at his laid-back, carefree posture, an inexplicable wave of irritation washed over me. "I need you to stay as far away from me as possible."

"No can do," he replied, spreading his hands with an easy shrug. "A favor's a favor. How about this—want me to go beat the living hell out of Jason for you?"

I let out a bitter, exasperated laugh. "Who do you think you are? You think you can assault someone without facing consequences?"

"I can handle the fallout," he answered matter-of-factly. "My family has more than enough money to clean up my messes anyway. Besides, handling damage control is my big brother's absolute favorite pastime."

I realized then that trying to reason with someone whose brain was wired like this was an exercise in pure exhaustion.

Ignoring him, I turned back to my desk and resumed sorting through the towering piles of legal notices and debt settlement documents.

He went quiet, too, just sitting on the sofa watching me. The apartment fell dead silent, broken only by the crisp rustle of turning pages.

After a long while, he spoke again, his voice dropping into a much softer register. "Hey... it really hurts, doesn't it?"

I didn't look up from my papers.

"When my grandma passed away, I acted just like you," he said quietly. "Walking around pretending to be tough, pretending nothing could break me, when on the inside, everything was completely shattered."

He paused for a beat. "You know, if you wanna cry, you can just cry. It's really not that big of a deal."

My hands froze. Tears spilled over without warning, splashing onto the paper below and blurring the black ink into messy pools.

Ever since my father jumped, everyone had looked at me with pity, scorn, or cold disdain. Only him—a total stranger I had met two days ago—saw right through the armor I had built around myself.

I couldn't hold it in any longer. Burying my face in my arms, the sobs I had suffocated for weeks finally tore out of my throat.

Leo didn't crowd me or offer empty platitudes. He simply reached out and quietly slid a box of tissues across the table toward me.

When my crying finally subsided, he spoke up, "Done? Good. Now that the tears are out of the way, it's time to figure out a plan. You can't carry this entire mountain alone. Do you trust me?"

I raised my red, swollen eyes to look at him.

He grinned, showing off his sharp little canine teeth. "From today on, I'm your guy. Not in a boyfriend way, but as your ally. You do the scheming and strategizing, and I'll be your funding and your muscle. Deal?"

In that moment, the warm afternoon sunlight spilled through the grime on the narrow window, catching the bright, determined light dancing in his eyes.

Almost under a spell, I nodded.