Page 31 of Savage Obsession

“You’re serious?” he finally says, his tone laced with disbelief. “You want me to bring you Bella?”

I glance up at him, taking a slow sip of my drink before answering. “Yes.”

Leon’s eyebrows shoot up. “You do remember that you’re married now, right? And that calling in your ex is probably the worst thing you could do?”

I grit my teeth, irritation flickering beneath my skin. “Don’t start.”

“I will start,” he counters, stepping forward. “Because you need to hear it. You want me to drag in your ex-mistress—who, by the way, still wants you—while your brand-new wife is settling into her new life here? Jesus, Aithan. What the hell are you thinking?”

I exhale sharply, setting my glass down with more force than necessary. “You think so little of me?”

Leon gives a humorless chuckle, shaking his head. “Brother, I think exactly what history has proven. Since your first wife died, you’ve screwed your way through every woman who so much as batted her lashes at you. Faithfulness hasn’t been your strong suit in a long while.”

His words sting because they’re true. My jaw tightens, and I roll my shoulders as if to shake off the weight of my past.

“That was before,” I mutter.

Leon’s eyes narrow. “Before what?”

Before her. Before Yelena. Before this marriage, that should’ve been nothing but a strategicalliance,but somehow became a war inside my own damn head.

“Before now,” I answer vaguely.

Leon studies me, his expression unreadable. Then realization dawns. He shakes his head, a slow smirk tugging at his lips. “You’re actually serious about her.”

I say nothing.

Leon whistles low. “I’ll be damned.”

I rake a hand through my hair, exhaling hard. “Look, I’m not bringing Bella in to fuck her, Leon. I need answers.”

He folds his arms again, watching me carefully. “What kind of answers?”

I lean forward, placing my elbows on the desk, my fingers steepled. “Yesterday, Yelena received an envelope. Inside were photos of me and Bella outside the restaurant.”

Leon’s smirk fades. “What?”

I nod. “Someone wanted my wife to see them. Wanted her to think I was screwing around.”

Leon’s gaze sharpens. “Was Bella in your arms?”

I nod again, bracing for the judgment I know is coming.

He lets out a slow breath. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”

“She ambushed me,” I say tightly. “Tried to convince me to keep seeing her. Said she didn’t care if I was married.”

Leon drags a hand down his face. “Of course she did. Bella’s been obsessed with you for years.”

I stare at him, unblinking. “It was a setup.”

His eyes meet mine, dark and calculating. “Damn right it was.”

A slow, simmering rage builds in my chest. Whoever sent those photos wanted to drive a wedge between me and Yelena. Wanted to make her question my loyalty before I even had the chance to prove it. And I’ll be damned if I let that happen.

Leon exhales sharply. “You don’t need me to bring her in. You could call her, and she’d come running.”

I shake my head. “No. I want her handled like I’d handle any other problem. I want her under my control, answering to me, not thinking she has the upper hand.”

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