Chapter 808: Goody goody!
"So please, Leo. You aren’t supposed to be here. Don’t put yourself in more danger. I’m already thinking of ways to get you out of here. Just stay out of trouble until then."
Leo stayed still as he processed everything she spewed, his eyes stuck to Hera throughout. The more he listened to her, his brave front slowly cracked, as the softness within them peeked out. After getting abducted from the hospital, Leo had to adapt to the unforgiving and violent environment of the underground.
Although he hadn’t witnessed any type of violence in the mansion, he had heard many absurd things around. He believed all of them because it wasn’t impossible for the people in here to take the lives of another. Therefore, he had to toughen up to survive in this place. But after hearing everything she had said, he couldn’t help but welcome them into his heart.
"I’ve always wondered why she suddenly disappeared and whether I simply misread her. I thought she used me to kill some time and boredom," he mused, looking down as he let out a short, dry laugh. "It hurt me like hell when I found out she’s already married. And what hurts me even more is that the man she married is someone I couldn’t even compare myself to. My pride, my ego, and my self-esteem hit rock bottom as it only made me believe she used me and when she saw a whale, she grabbed it."
Leo chuckled as he shook his head. "My mind was vicious, and I was angry. But it’s not only her who made a mistake. Because of my own selfishness, I listened to Paula and believed her words because they brought me comfort. It gave me hope... but the lies only hurt her. It only opened up a healing wound, which she tried to mend quietly."
"Still, it’s nice to hear what her heart felt back then." His bitter smile stretched, nodding in appreciation. "I’ve already accepted that I won’t get proper closure and get the answers she never gave. Even though it came from another, it’s comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one who was in love back then. I’m glad that at least once in our lives, she loved me just as much as I did, and I’m glad that she regained her smile even though I am not the reason anymore."
A thin layer of tears instantly coated Hera’s eyes as she tried to swallow the rising tension in her throat. Hearing his sentiments clenched her heart, tempted to tell him her feelings were still the same. But alas, she had to bite her tongue until it slightly bled to not create more confusion and trouble.
’I am not Heaven right now,’ she told herself. ’I am Hera Cruel and as Hera Cruel, it’s more impossible to entertain these feelings I have for him.’
Considering Dragon was in the picture, if the man just had a hunch she had feelings for Leo, Hera could only imagine the worst that could happen to him. At this point, she was more scared of what he could do to Leo than to her.