Leon's POV
She said, "Okay."
Two syllables. One fragile word.
It cracked something in my chest wide open.
But I didn't let the relief show too fast. Not yet. I knew better than to celebrate a ceasefire before the bullets stopped flying.
"Okay?" I asked, brow arched. "Is that Nova 'okay' as in, 'I might not stab you with a letter opener'? Or Nova 'okay' as in, 'you get five minutes before I toss you out the window'?"
Her lips twitched. "You've got three. Use them wisely."
Progress. Sarcasm was better than silence.
I stepped inside the suite. It was small, sterile nothing like the home we shared. She hadn't even unpacked her overnight bag. A subtle detail, but it hit me in the gut.
She hadn't planned to stay gone.
"You really don't travel light," I murmured, nodding at the lone duffel on the floor.
She crossed her arms. "I packed what mattered."
I almost asked if that included the photo of us from the gala framed, no less that used to sit on her vanity. But I bit my tongue. There was a war coming in this conversation, and I needed to pick my battles.
"Look," I said, slowly. "I'm not here to win you back with soundbites. I'm here to tell you the whole truth. Even the parts I'd rather bury."
Nova's eyes narrowed. "About Camilla."
A beat of silence. Then I nodded. "Yeah. About her."
She sat on the edge of the bed, back straight, gaze leveled. "Start talking, Hale. And don't skip anything."
God help me.
I sat across from her, elbows on my knees, fingers laced tight.
"Camilla and I met eight years ago. At a charity auction."
Nova's eyebrows raised. "You bought her?"
I snorted. "She bought me. Outbid everyone for a dinner date. Wore a red dress and a smug smile like she'd already won something worth having."
Nova didn't flinch, but I could feel her judgment sharpening like a blade.
"She was smart. Strategic. Everything I thought I wanted her. We dated on and off for a few years. Then I proposed. Because I thought that was the next step. She said yes."
"And?" Nova prompted.
"And six weeks before the wedding, she ran off with the CEO of a rival firm."
Nova blinked. "I'm sorry… what?"
"Yeah." I gave a humorless laugh. "Guess I wasn't enough excitement for her. Or maybe she just wanted a better seat at the Fortune 500 table. Either way, she torched everything on her way out."
Nova leaned forward slightly. "Why the hell would you meet with her again after that?"
"Because she threatened to leak the contract. Said it would make a great 'exclusive' if I didn't pay her off. She wanted hush money, Nova. Blackmail."
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Her voice was icy.
"I didn't want you dragged into it. I thought if I handled it quietly, we'd be safe."
"You thought," she snapped. "But she still leaked it. And now I'm trending under the hashtag #WifeForHire."
Oof. That one I'd seen trending too. Brutal.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't erase public humiliation, Leon. It doesn't erase the look my sister gave me when she texted, 'Is this why you ghosted Christmas? Because you were too busy playing pretend for a paycheck?'"
My spine straightened. "I didn't know it got to your family."
"You didn't think it would?" Her voice cracked. "You're not the only one with people who matter."
"I know," I said softly. "And I'm not going to pretend I handled this well. But I didn't go to Camilla to be with her. I went to shut her down."
Nova stood and walked to the window, arms folded tightly. Her reflection glared back at me in the glass.
"So what now?" she asked. "You think we go back to… what? Date nights with paparazzi and pretending to smile through board dinners?"
"No," I said firmly. "No more pretending. No more contracts. No more loopholes. If we do this… it's real."
She turned. "And if I say I can't trust you?"
My jaw clenched. "Then I'll earn it back. One day at a time. One damn apology at a time if I have to."
"Even if it takes years?"
I swallowed. "Especially if it takes years."
Her silence wasn't rejection this time.
It was consideration.
A long, weighty pause.
Finally, she said, "Fine. Then you can start by showing me the real Leon Hale. No suits. No rehearsed lines. No PR gloss."
I stood. "Deal."
"And," she added with a sly glint in her eye, "if you lie to me again, I'm changing your contact photo to a clown emoji and leaking your skincare routine to Reddit."
I chuckled despite the tension. "So you do think I have good skin."
She rolled her eyes. "Shut up."
Nova's POV
I didn't forgive him.
Not fully.
But I let him in.
That night, we sat cross-legged on the hotel bed eating takeout from paper cartons. I asked about his childhood. His mother's illness. His first business failure.
He told me everything.
Raw. Real. No shields.
And somewhere between bites of cold noodles and stories about his father's ruthless empire, I saw him.
Not the CEO. Not the image.
Just Leon.
Messy. Flawed. Mine.
Maybe.
"So," I asked later, when the city lights dimmed behind us, "what happens to Camilla now?"
He looked at me with the coldest fire in his eyes. "I've already started legal proceedings. She broke NDA, engaged in blackmail, and distributed forged legal documents to the media. Her career's finished."
"And the press?"
"We'll handle it. Together."
I raised a brow. "We?"
He reached for my hand. "Unless you're planning to bolt in the middle of the night again."
I smirked. "I packed light. Remember?"
Leon's POV
We returned to the penthouse three days later.
It felt different.
Not cleansed, exactly but aired out. Like the truth had forced out the ghosts.
Nova moved through the space with quiet grace. She didn't say much, but she was present. That was enough.
For now.
I'd given her time. Space.
Now I had to give her reason.
Reason to believe this wasn't a house built on lies.
Reason to believe in us.
I scheduled a press conference. Not to save face but to burn the mask completely.
When the reporters gathered, mics outstretched like weapons, I stepped into the chaos and said:
"My wife isn't for sale. She never was. The contract was a business mistake but the love I have for her isn't. If you're here for gossip, leave. If you're here for truth, sit down. Because this story's just beginning."
Nova watched from backstage.
I saw her smile.
And that was all the validation I'd ever need.
Nova's POV
Later that night, when the house was finally quiet, I curled up beside him on the couch.
He was barefoot. Hair a mess. Reading a book he never finished.
And for once… I didn't feel like a liability in his world.
I felt like I belonged in it.
Leon looked at me.
"I'm not good at this," he murmured.
"At what?"
"Being vulnerable. Being honest."
I touched his cheek. "That's okay. You don't have to be perfect. Just… don't lie to me. Don't hide things."
He nodded. "I won't. Not anymore."
I leaned in, kissed him softly.
This time, there was no audience.
No contract.
Just us.
And maybe, just maybe that was enough.
For now.