Page 32 of Corrupted Union

“Good. We can go into my office.”

“Just—hold on.” Leo holds up a hand, observing the room. “Why was Henry invited to dinner and I wasn’t?”

“Because Henry is a potential match for Francesca,” Emilia explains. “You didn’t need to be here because you’re never going to be a match for my sister.”

Leo turns to me, flat out ignoring Emilia. “Can I talk Francesca for a moment?” When Marco hesitates, Leo says, “Just a moment. There’s something I need to tell her.”

“Anything you have to tell her,” Emilia says, crossing her arms, “you can say in front of all of us.”

Leo shrugs. “Fine. Fran, you don’t want marry that guy. Henry isn’t trustworthy.”

I stand up straighter. I want to ask what he means by that, but Marco is already pushing him out of the room. “That’s enough, Leo,” he says.

“How?” I call out. Leo turns back to me with a smirk as Henry says, “You believe him?”

I ignore Henry, my eyes only on Leo. “How?”

“Uh … he just isn’t, ok?”

“A great argument,” Henry mutters sarcastically.

“Don’t you trust me?” Leo asks me.

I don’t know what to think. Marco finally manages to get Leo out of the room, leaving behind Henry, Emilia, and me.

I turn to Henry. “Do you know what he could have meant?”

“No idea.” He looks at me straight on with a sincere expression. Is Leo just jealous, or is he telling the truth, and he knows something I don’t?

Emilia waddles over to Henry. “Don’t mind Leo. He’s just annoying all of the time.”

Henry chuckles. “I don’t. I’ve spent time with Leo in the past, so I know how he can be. Especially when it comes to women.”

That makes me look up, “What do you mean?”

“He likes to use them for his own benefit and then toss them to the side.”

Is that what Leo is doing to me? Trying to make me like him, only for him to hurt me in the end? But he’s seemed so charming. Maybe that’s exactly it—he uses his charm to hurt women.

And yet … there’s something about Henry that I don’t quite trust. I know he lied about the lilies. I never told him they were my favorite. He told me lilies were his favorite flower, which could explain why he gifted them to me. It still seems strange, though, that he’d say I told him something I know I never did.

“Exactly,” Emilia exclaims, looking exceptionally pleased. “I always knew Leo couldn’t be trusted.”

I turn away from them, my stomach in knots. Emilia notices and places a hand on my back. “Are you ok, Fran?”

“I’m just tired.”

Emilia looks at me with knowing eyes. “Ok. Let’s call it an evening. Nice meeting you, Henry.” She shakes his hand.

“You, too. May I talk to Francesca in private for a moment?”

“Only if my sister wants to.”

“Ok,” I agree, and Emilia leaves the room. “What is it?”

He grabs my hand again, his skin smooth compared to Leo’s. Almost as if he’s never gotten his hands dirty before. “I just wanted to let you know I’m looking forward to doing this again. I really like you, Francesca.”

My lips part. How is it that after being ignored most of my life, I’m suddenly caught between two incredibly handsome man? Maybe it’s LA. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s something else altogether.

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