Chapter 153: Chapter 153 Unfortunate
"I regretted it so much..." Stella’s voice trembled as she lowered her gaze, fingers tightening around the hem of her dress. "My best friend... she scammed me, Leo. If it weren’t for her lies, I wouldn’t have—" Her voice broke, and she sniffled delicately, like a carefully rehearsed scene. "I shouldn’t have run away..."
Tears shimmered at the corners of her eyes as she looked up at him with fragile innocence, her lips trembling just enough to seem believable.
Bella watched quietly, her chest tightening.
She didn’t speak. She didn’t blink much either.
Only sat beside Leo, her hands gently folded on her lap, trying to appear unaffected but her heart felt heavy and irritated for reasons she couldn’t even describe.
Leonardo slowly leaned back in his chair, his posture stiffening. His long fingers tapped once on the table. Then again.
His expression didn’t change much but Bella noticed the subtle twitch in his jaw, the way his eyes lost focus for a second, and the slight shift in his breathing.
He didn’t like crying. Especially not in public. Especially not when it felt... calculated.
The soft sound of Stella’s sniffles continued, but Leonardo didn’t offer a tissue, didn’t say a word of comfort. He simply turned his face slightly, staring past her shoulder as if trying to silence the noise in his head. And finally, he said flatly—
"That’s unfortunate."
Three cold words.
Spoken like a man bored of the performance.
Bella’s lips parted slightly in surprise. Even she hadn’t expected him to sound that disinterested.
Stella blinked, her lashes trembling, clearly thrown off.
Leonardo didn’t offer her another glance. His fingers found his glass of water, and he sipped slowly, as if the conversation had ended.
Bella lowered her gaze, hiding the small smile that was starting to rise.
So he really doesn’t care anymore, she thought.
Stella carefully masked her irritation just as the waiter approached with a polite bow and set down the menus. She smiled sweetly like nothing was wrong, brushing a strand of curled hair over her shoulder. But inside, her stomach twisted. Because the moment the menu hit the table, Leonardo’s attention was no longer on her but on her.
Bella.
He didn’t even glance at Stella. Instead, his gaze drifted lazily toward the girl sitting beside him, a small curve of amusement tugging at the corners of his lips. Bella was sitting up stiff and straight, pretending to be dignified, yet her sharp glares at Stella were hard to miss. She didn’t even blink when Stella smiled at her. In fact, Bella looked like she was ready to bite.
It was such a contrast from the usual sunshine Bella who tripped over stairs and offered cookies to guards.
Leonardo leaned his elbow on the table and rested his chin lightly against his hand, silently watching her act all high and mighty with a pout that didn’t match her fake attitude.
Cute, he thought.
She looked over the menu with furrowed brows, lips pressed together like she was trying to appear unimpressed by everything, but the moment her eyes landed on something she liked—he could see it.
Her whole face lit up like a sparkler.
And when she didn’t like something? She scrunched her nose with the most adorably expression.
He almost laughed.
"Bella," he called her softly.
She turned to him slowly, trying not to break character, her brows still raised like a proper little queen. "What?"
"What would you like to have?" he asked smoothly, his tone calm, but there was a playful sparkle hiding in his storm-gray eyes.
Bella blinked. Then, just like that, her act crumbled. Her eyes widened a little, her lips softened, and her shoulders dropped. "Really? I can choose anything?" she asked in a whisper.
He nodded once, his gaze steady. "Anything."
Her lips curled upward before she could stop herself, her small fingers gripping the edge of the menu tighter as she leaned in to examine the choices again.
Stella watched all of this from across the table. Her perfectly manicured nails dug into her designer clutch resting on her lap. Her eyes darted between their faces—the way Leonardo was leaning ever so slightly toward Bella, and the way Bella’s eyes sparkled like a child in a candy store. That gentle look in his eyes... That used to be hers.
If Bella hadn’t replaced her in that marriage, she would’ve been the one sitting here.
The thought made her lips twitch.
"I’ll excuse myself for a moment," Stella said sweetly, standing up. Her voice was soft, pleasant, like a note on a piano.
Neither of them looked up.
Leo didn’t even acknowledge her words. Bella simply nodded vaguely without even glancing up from the menu.
Feeling like a ghost in her own memory, Stella turned and walked away, her heels clicking on the floor as she made her way to the restroom. The sound echoed loudly—perhaps louder than she intended.
***
At the table
Leo was leaning forward again.
Watching Bella’s lips move as she mumbled out the name of a dish that caught her attention.
She looked up at him shyly, as if asking for approval.
And Leonardo, usually cold, unreadable, and bored of dinners like these, found himself saying softly—
"Get that. I’ll have the same."
***
"Mom!! That girl has completely seduced Leo!" Stella hissed into her phone as she stood inside the lavish restroom, gripping her clutch like she wanted to crush it. Her reflection in the mirror showed a woman who was smiling a minute ago but now looked like she was ready to explode. "He isn’t even paying attention to me! He didn’t even glance at me when I arrived... but I told him. I told him I’ll bring my friend to his company tomorrow, just like you said..." Her voice dropped lower, frustration tightening every syllable. "Yes... yes, we’ll do it exactly as planned," she whispered.
And then she hung up.
The silence inside the restroom felt thick.
Her fingers moved automatically as she reached into her clutch and pulled out her lipstick, uncapping it with a soft click. She leaned close to the mirror, staring at her own reflection—her glossy black curls, her designer red dress hugging every curve, her lips perfectly outlined. But beneath all that, her face had changed. Her expression twisted slightly—jaw tight, eyes cold.