The rain came fast that night. Thick drops drummed against the tall windows of the Rossi mansion, tracing crooked lines down the glass as thunder rolled somewhere far beyond the hills. The house seemed darker than usual, and Amira felt the storm in her chest long before it touched the sky.
She had been sitting in the art studio for almost an hour after Leonardo left. The room smelled faintly of turpentine and faded roses — Elise's roses. Every brushstroke on the walls whispered fragments of a life Amira could never be part of. She rose slowly, her legs numb, and forced herself to leave before the walls swallowed her whole.
Down the hallway, she caught sight of Leonardo's office door. It was still slightly open, light spilling out in a thin golden line. She hesitated. She knew she shouldn't — he had made it clear before that his world was built behind locked doors. But curiosity was louder than reason.
She stepped closer.
Leonardo stood by the desk, his back turned to her, phone pressed to his ear. His voice was low but tense — not the usual calm tone he carried like armor.
"I told you, this deal can't wait another week," he said, his accent sharper when frustrated. "I don't care what the board thinks. The merger stays as planned."
A pause. Then, quieter, "No one needs to know about the marriage. It's… complicated."
Amira froze. No one needs to know about the marriage.
Her pulse quickened, but she forced herself to stay still.
"Just keep the press away until after the announcement," Leonardo continued, his tone weary now. "She doesn't need to be dragged into this."
She.
It could've meant her. Or Elise. Or both. Amira didn't know which possibility hurt more.
The call ended. Silence filled the room. Then Leonardo turned slightly, sensing her presence.
"Amira." His voice was calm, but his eyes flickered with something between surprise and guilt. "How long have you been standing there?"
She took a step inside, the floor creaking under her weight. "Long enough."
"Long enough to what?" he asked, slipping his phone into his pocket.
"To know that this—" She gestured vaguely between them, "—is more business than marriage."
He exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I told you that from the start."
"Did you?" Her voice broke slightly. "Because sometimes, you look at me like I'm more than a contract. And then… then you remind me I'm nothing but a name on a paper."
His gaze softened. "You're not nothing."
"Then what am I, Leonardo?" she demanded. "A distraction? A replacement for her?"
He didn't answer. The silence between them felt heavier than thunder.
Finally, he said, "I didn't marry you because of Elise."
"Then why?"
"Because I needed someone who wouldn't ask questions," he admitted quietly. "Someone who could stand beside me long enough for the company to stabilize."
Her chest tightened. "And when it does?"
He hesitated. That was her answer.
Amira laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "I should've known better."
"You agreed to this," he said, his voice suddenly firm. "You signed the contract. You wanted this marriage as much as I did."
"I wanted a chance," she shot back. "Not to be treated like I'm invisible."
Rain hammered harder against the windows, lightning flaring briefly across his face — he looked tired, worn, human. For the first time, she saw the cracks behind his perfection.
"I didn't mean to hurt you," he said finally.
"Then stop pretending you can't."
He stepped closer, and she instinctively stepped back. But he didn't stop until the distance between them was gone. She could feel his breath, smell the faint trace of his cologne.
"You think I don't feel anything?" he asked quietly. "That I can live beside you, watch you smile, and stay untouched?"
"Then why do you keep pushing me away?"
"Because wanting you feels like betraying her."
The words hit her like a slap. She blinked fast, but the tears came anyway. "You can't live in two worlds forever, Leonardo."
He looked down at her, his jaw tight. "Maybe not. But it's the only way I know how to survive."
Lightning cracked again, the sound of thunder shaking the walls. The tension between them finally broke like the storm outside.
Before she could stop herself, Amira whispered, "You're not the only one surviving."
For a moment, neither moved. Then, without thinking, Leonardo reached for her wrist, pulling her gently but firmly closer. His voice dropped, hoarse and low.
"Tell me to stop," he said.
But she didn't.
He leaned down, his forehead touching hers, both of them caught between pain and longing. The world outside vanished — only the rain, the thunder, and the fragile sound of two hearts learning the wrong rhythm.
"I can't do this," Amira breathed, but her fingers clutched his shirt anyway.
"Yes, you can," he whispered back. "You already are."
Their lips met — soft at first, then desperate, as if both were searching for something they'd lost years ago. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't pure. But it was real.
When they finally broke apart, the silence was deafening.
Amira's tears mixed with the rain leaking through a cracked window. "This isn't what we agreed on."
"No," Leonardo said quietly. "It's not."
He reached up, brushing a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "But maybe agreements were never meant to define everything."
She looked at him for a long moment — this man who had everything and nothing at once. Then she stepped back, shaking her head.
"You need to figure out who you're mourning, Leonardo," she said softly. "Her… or yourself."
Before he could answer, she turned and walked out.
He didn't stop her this time.
The hallway felt endless. Her bare feet were cold against the marble floor. Somewhere behind her, she could hear the low rumble of thunder and the faint echo of her own heartbeat.
In her room, she sank onto the bed, gripping the edges of the sheets like they could hold her together. The tears came again, quiet but unstoppable.
This was supposed to be a simple arrangement — a transaction. But feelings were never simple. They were messy, unpredictable, and dangerous.
She remembered the way he looked at her before the kiss — lost, human, broken. It was the first time she realized he wasn't the untouchable CEO the world saw. He was just a man who didn't know how to love without hurting.
And she was the woman foolish enough to fall for him anyway.
Outside, the storm began to fade. The rain slowed to a soft drizzle, and dawn crept quietly over the horizon.
Amira stood, pulling the curtains open. The city lights shimmered in the distance, fragile but alive. Somewhere out there, the world was moving on — but inside her, something had changed forever.
She didn't know what tomorrow would bring. Maybe more silence, maybe another fight. But one thing was certain — the walls she'd built around her heart were beginning to crack.
And if she wasn't careful, Leonardo Rossi might just be the one to break through completely.