Prologue – Leo Whitewood
I first noticed her when she was ten.
And I was thirteen. Bloodied, bruised, broken by a world that never cared whether I lived or died.
She never really noticed me. I was just a quiet boy with torn shoes and hollow eyes, hiding beneath the school's oak tree like a shadow trying not to drown.
But she...
She glowed.
Crystabella Brooklyn had laughter in her voice and springtime in her smile. Her emerald eyes burned like sunlight through broken glass, and for the first time in my life, I felt something warm.
She was silk and stars and everything I was never meant to touch.
And from that moment on, she became mine.
Even if she didn't know it.
Even if she chose someone else.
Even if the world handed her to a man who didn't deserve her.
I watched her grow. Watched her become a woman wrapped in elegance and privilege. She gave her heart to Romano Grayson, the golden boy with a diamond smile and a darkness he hid too well.
She saw him.
Not me.
Never me.
Not the boy who faded into shadows just to stay near her.
Not the man who built an empire with blood and ash just to stand in her light.
I kept my distance, but I never let go.
I carried her in my veins, in my nights, in every obsession that shaped the monster I've become.
I protected her from threats she never knew existed.
I destroyed anyone who dared to harm her.
And now?
Now she's standing at the altar of a lie.
Wearing a ring that means nothing.
Promising forever to a man who already betrayed her with her best friend.
But I'm not that boy anymore.
I'm Leo Whitewood.
The man she never noticed.
But the only one who has ever truly loved her.
And I'm done waiting.
She belongs to me now.
And I'll make her see it.
Even if I have to break the world she believes in.
Even if I have to pull her from every lie she's wrapped around herself.
She will be mine.
And I'm walking down that aisle now.
Not to bless her union.
But to end it.
This is where our story really begins.
Chapter One – Something Shifts
Crystabella's POV
The champagne flute slipped slightly in my hand.
It wasn't from the alcohol. I'd barely taken a sip. And it wasn't the music, though the strings of the quartet stirred something strange inside me.
It was him.
A man I almost didn't recognize at first. The boy I once knew had vanished, replaced by someone taller, colder, powerful in ways that made my stomach twist.
Leo Whitewood.
The name hit my chest like a weight.
And suddenly, I couldn't breathe.
His eyes locked on mine from across the ballroom. Steady. Intense. The kind of look that made me feel like I'd been seen through. It wasn't polite curiosity. It wasn't nostalgia.
It was possession.
I turned my gaze away quickly, heart thudding. He hadn't even spoken to me, and yet my entire body had reacted like a flame had been lit beneath my skin. I reminded myself to breathe, to keep my composure. I was engaged. I was standing beside Romano Grayson, heir to the Grayson fortune, the man I was going to marry.
And yet, I couldn't stop thinking about Leo.
Romano was called to the podium for a speech. I followed him with a smile, playing the part I had perfected, the supportive fiancée. The ring on my finger sparkled under the lights, an emerald-cut diamond that matched my dress. To the world, we were flawless.
To me, we were falling apart.
I glanced to my left. Alice stood just a few feet away, laughing too loudly at something Romano had said earlier. Her hand touched his arm for just a moment too long. I told myself it was nothing. I had told myself that too many times.
Cracks were forming. Thin, sharp, impossible to ignore.
And then Leo moved.
He crossed the ballroom without hesitation. People stepped aside for him without realizing it. His presence pulled space toward him. I felt him before I saw him again. The heat of his stare. The awareness creeping into my bones.
He didn't speak right away.
He just stood beside me.
I didn't look at him, but I felt every inch of him. He leaned in, just enough for his words to reach my ear.
"You're trembling."
My breath caught. I hadn't noticed I was.
His voice was low. Calm. Dangerous.
"That ring," he said quietly, "it doesn't belong to you. And he doesn't deserve you."
I finally turned to face him, lips parting to speak, to protest, but his hand touched my waist. Gently. Firmly.
"You feel it too," he said. "Even now. Especially now."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I whispered, though I didn't even believe my own voice.
He stepped back then, slowly, eyes still locked on mine.
And then he was gone, swallowed by the crowd. Leaving behind a silence in my chest I hadn't realized was there until it returned.
I stood beside Romano, smiling like nothing had happened. But everything had.
Because Leo was right.
Something had shifted.
I should have felt happy tonight. Every woman in the room probably thought I had it all. The perfect dress. The perfect ring. The perfect man.
But perfection can be paper-thin. And tonight, it was starting to tear.
Romano barely looked at me anymore. He was charming a senator's wife, wearing his usual smile. A few minutes ago, I had seen him lean close to Alice, whispering something that made her blush and look away.
I told myself I was imagining it. Like I always did. Like I had to. Because if I questioned everything, it might all fall apart.
And yet… I already felt it. Slipping.
I turned slightly, scanning the crowd. My heart skipped when I saw him again.
Leo stood near the back, watching me. No expression. Just that steady stare, like he was waiting. Or warning me. I couldn't decide which.
Our earlier exchange echoed in my mind, every word louder than the music. His presence still filled the space around me.
And somewhere deep inside, something responded.
Not fear.
Not doubt.
Recognition.
My fingers brushed the ring on my hand.
And for the first time, it felt cold.
Leo hadn't returned just to be seen.
He had come to change everything.
And part of me was afraid.
Not of him.
But of how much I wanted him to succeed.