"You smiled too much back there," Leonardo said coldly, fixing his cuff like nothing happened. "You joke too much these days. You forgot who you are."
Jay got up, fuming. "Yeah, I smiled. So what? I smiled because Isabella is safe! with me, she laughed. With me, she wasn’t trembling in fear. And you—you show up with your ice-cold face and ruin it all!"
Leonardo didn’t respond, but the tightness in his jaw said everything.
Jay stepped forward, his eyes sharp. "Do you even care that she was bleeding? That she almost died saving your life? You haven’t said thank you. Not once. And after all that—you used to scold her like she was your servant, not your wife."
Leonardo’s eyes turned dark. "She disobeyed my orders. I told her to stay inside."
"She saved you!" Jay shouted. "You could’ve died out there, Leo! She took that bullet in her shoulder—for YOU! And all you did was yell at her and treat her like some... nobody!"
Leonardo stayed silent, his breathing deep, his fists clenched.
Jay’s voice turned softer, but it hurt more. "You’re not just cold anymore, bro. You’re empty. You used to protect people you cared about, but now... I don’t even know who you are."
The office went quiet.
For a second, just a second... Leonardo’s expression changed. His eyes lowered, as if something inside him shifted.
But the wall came back just as quickly.
"She’s fine now," he said stiffly.
Jay shook his head in disappointment. "Yeah, her body is. But her heart? Her mind? You don’t even see how scared she is of you, do you?"
He turned and walked to the door. "You’re not the only one who’s hurting, bro. But hurting everyone else won’t heal you."
Jay left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Leonardo stood alone in the silence.
**
Isabella’s eyes lit up the moment she saw Lina walk into the room.
"Mom!" she smiled brightly.
Lina walked closer and gently sat beside her on the bed, brushing her hair back softly.
"How are you, sweetheart?" Lina asked in her calm, gentle voice.
Even though Lina was known for her cold and strict personality, she wasn’t like that with everyone. She had a soft spot–a very rare one for the people she truly cared about.
And Isabella... she was on that list.
Isabella nodded quickly, her voice low but cheerful, "I’m okay now. Just... a little sore, that’s all."
Lina held her hand, her touch was warm. "You scared us. Last night when Jay told me what happened, I almost rushed here barefoot."
Isabella giggled softly. "You didn’t have to... but I’m really happy you came."
"I’ll always come if it’s about you," Lina said with a small smile, the kind that only showed up when she truly meant it. "You’re our family."
Isabella blinked in surprise. Her heart skipped a beat. Family? That word meant so much to her. It wasn’t something she heard often.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away, smiling shyly. "Then... I’ll heal up fast. So I can bake cookies for my family."
Lina chuckled. "That’s a deal."
After Lina left the room, Isabella leaned back on the pillows with a soft sigh. Her body still ached, but her heart felt a little lighter after talking with her.
She looked around, then down at herself. Her hair was messy, and she felt sticky from sweat and medicine. "Ugh... I really need a bath," she whispered to herself, frowning.
But then she remembered what the doctor said earlier.
"Make sure your wound doesn’t touch water. Don’t move too much. Keep it dry."
She puffed her cheeks, thinking hard. "How do I take a bath without touching water?" She stared at her own arm like it had betrayed her. "So useless," she muttered.
She tried to sit up slowly, dragging herself to the edge of the bed. Every small movement sent a dull throb through her body. But she was determined. She reached for a towel and stared at it like it was her last hope. "Okay... sponge bath time," she mumbled with a heroic face.
But just as she stood up and was about to hobble to the bathroom, the door creaked open.
Leonardo.
He stopped at the door, eyebrows raised as he saw her struggling with the towel in one hand and using the wall for balance.
"What do you think you’re doing?" he asked in that deep, sharp tone of his.
Isabella flinched like a guilty child caught stealing cookies. "N-nothing! Just, um, I... I want to clean up."
"You can’t take a bath," he said, stepping closer. "Doctor said not to."
"I know!" Isabella pouted, hugging the towel to her chest. "But I smell bad..."
Leonardo stared at her for a long second, then sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair.
"Sit down," he ordered quietly.
"Huh?"
"Sit." He pulled a chair toward her.
Isabella slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, unsure what was happening. She watched him disappear into the bathroom, then return with a warm bowl of water, a soft cloth, and a clean towel.
Her eyes widened. "W-wait, you...?"
"I’ll help," he said simply. "Only the parts that need it. Don’t argue."
Isabella’s cheeks turned red. "Y-you... you don’t have to—"
"I know I don’t have to," he interrupted coldly, dipping the cloth into water and wringing it out. "But you’re helpless and I don’t want you passing out in my bathroom."
Isabella bit her lips but slowly nodded, sitting still like a statue. Her heart was beating fast—not from pain, but something else. She watched his strong hands move gently as he carefully cleaned her arms, avoiding the wound.
His touch was firm, but strangely... gentle.
"Don’t get used to this," he said without looking up, still wiping her neck. "I’m not doing this again."
"I know," she whispered, her eyes soft. But deep inside, something in her chest bloomed quietly, like a flower secretly growing toward the sun.