Leo didn't hesitate. He didn't look at Sienna, and he didn't think about his "Golden Son" reputation. He vaulted over the boulder and threw himself onto the edge of the slope, his powerful hands digging into the dirt to anchor himself.
"Lili! Don't let go!" Leo's voice roared over the wind—a raw, desperate sound she had never heard from him before.
He slid down toward her, his face contorted with a fear that shattered his professional mask. He reached out, his long arm straining as he gripped her wrist with a force that was both painful and life-saving.
"I've got you," he gasped, his eyes locked onto hers. In that second, the CEO was gone. Sienna was forgotten. There was only the girl he had almost kissed in the hallway. "Lili, look at me. Just me. I'm not letting you go."
With a surge of strength, Leo hauled her up the embankment, his muscles straining against his jacket. When they finally reached the flat ground of the trail, he didn't pull away. He pulled her straight into his chest, wrapping his arms around her so tightly she could hear the frantic thudding of his heart.
He was shaking. The untouchable Leo was trembling.
"Don't ever do that again," he whispered into her hair, his breath hot against her cold skin. "Do you hear me? Never."
Lili sat there, buried in his warmth, her own heart racing. For a moment, she forgot about Sienna. She forgot about the heartbreak. She felt the truth in his touch—he cared. He cared more than he was supposed to.
"Leo! Oh my god, is she okay?" Sienna's voice cut through the air, sharp and uncomfortably loud.
Lili felt Leo's body stiffen instantly. The warmth vanished. He slowly released her, his face hardening back into a mask of stone as he stood up. By the time Sienna reached them, he was already brushing the dirt off his trousers, his expression unreadable once again.
"She's fine," Leo said, his voice returning to that cold, distant professional tone. He didn't look at Lili as he helped her stand. "She just slipped. We should head back to the lodge. The weather is turning."
Sienna looped her arm through Leo's, her eyes narrow and suspicious as she looked at Lili's disheveled hair and scratched palms. "Yes, darling. You really shouldn't be so reckless, Lili. You put Leo in quite a dangerous position."
Lili looked at Leo, waiting for him to say something—to defend her, or to explain that hug. But he just turned away, leading Sienna back down the trail without a backward glance.
Lili stood in the snow, her wrist still stinging from his grip. He had saved her life, and for a few seconds, he had looked at her like she was his entire world. But now, the wall was back.
She followed them down the mountain, her heart heavier than before. She knew he was hiding something, but as long as Sienna was by his side, the secret stayed locked away behind his eyes.
The lodge was silent, save for the whistling wind rattling the windowpanes. After the accident on the cliff, the group had retreated to their rooms, shaken and exhausted. But Lili couldn't sit still. The memory of Leo's frantic heartbeat against her chest was a fire she couldn't put out. She needed the truth.
She climbed out of bed, her palms still stinging from the rocks, and crept down the hallway. She saw a sliver of light spilling from the library.
She pushed the heavy oak door open. Leo was sitting in a leather chair, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He wasn't reading. He was staring into the dying embers of the fireplace. His jaw was tight, his shoulders hunched as if he were carrying the weight of the entire mountain.
"Why?" Lili whispered, her voice trembling.
Leo didn't jump. He slowly turned his head, his dark eyes shadowed and tired. "Lili. You should be resting."
"Don't do that," she said, stepping into the room. "Don't act like the cold CEO. On that cliff... you weren't acting. You held me like your life depended on it. And then, the second Sienna showed up, you turned back into an iceberg. Why are you doing this to me? To us?"
Leo stood up, his tall frame looming in the firelight. For a fleeting second, his expression crumbled—a flash of pure, agonizing longing crossed his face. He stepped toward her, his hand reaching out as if to touch her cheek.
Then, he stopped. He remembered the merger. He remembered his father's threats. He remembered the cold reality that his life was a trade-off for his family's empire.
His face hardened into a mask of stone. "You're imagining things, Lili."
"I'm not!" she cried, a tear finally escaping. "I know what I felt. I know how you looked at me."
Leo turned his back to her, his voice dropping to a harsh, icy edge. "It was an adrenaline rush, nothing more. I would have saved anyone in that position. You're a friend of my brother's, and I have a responsibility to keep you safe under my roof."
"Is that all I am? A responsibility?"
Leo gripped the edge of the mantle so hard his knuckles turned white. "Yes. My life, my choices, and who I choose to stand next to... it's none of your business, Lili. You're a student. Go back to your books and your college life. Leave the adult world to me."
Lili felt like she had been slapped. The cruelty in his voice was a physical pain. "Fine," she choked out, her voice thick with heartbreak. "I'll stay out of your business."
She turned and bolted from the room, her sobs muffled by her hand.
The Witness in the Shadows
Lili didn't see the figure standing in the darkened hallway just outside the library door.
Luca stood perfectly still, his back pressed against the wall. He had come down to get a glass of water, but he had heard everything. He had heard the desperation in Lili's voice and the brutal, cold dismissal in his brother's.
Luca's heart sank. He knew Leo better than anyone. He knew that "none of your business" was Leo's way of protecting a secret. He had seen the way Leo looked at Sienna—like she was a business contract—and the way he looked at Lili—like she was the air he breathed.
Luca stayed in the shadows long after Lili's footsteps faded away. He watched through the crack in the door as Leo slumped back into his chair and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking in the silence of the room.
"You're a liar, Leo," Luca whispered to the darkness.