Chapter 1417: Intermission 5: The Stalking Girl (9)

Ella’s POV

Did I love Mr. Leon?

Honestly, if someone asked me that question directly, I don’t think I could even pretend to deny it anymore.

I loved him.

A lot more than I probably should have.

At some point, those feelings had quietly grown into something so embarrassingly deep that even I couldn’t ignore them anymore. Trying to deny it now would’ve been pointless. My heart already made the decision long ago. My brain was just late catching up to it.

Still, it wasn’t like my feelings came out of nowhere.

Mr. Leon was ridiculously handsome.

That alone already caused enough problems for my heart.

His face was attractive in the kind of effortless way that almost felt unfair. He didn’t even have to try. There were people who spent hours trying to look appealing, and then there was him, casually existing while making everyone else look like background characters. His body only made it worse too. He wasn’t just handsome in the face. He had a well-built figure that naturally drew attention without him needing to show off.

Honestly, looking at him for too long felt dangerous.

My eyes always wandered back to him before I even realized it. Sometimes I’d catch myself staring and immediately look away like I committed a crime. It was honestly pathetic. Charl would probably laugh at me if she saw how obvious I was being.

Actually, she definitely would.

Naturally, I was drawn to him.

Far more than I wanted to admit.

At first, I tried convincing myself it was admiration. Then respect. Then maybe simple attraction. Somewhere along the way, all those excuses completely collapsed on themselves, and I was left realizing I had fallen in love with him without even noticing when it happened.

That realization was terrifying.

As much as I wanted to tell him how I felt, fear always stopped me before I could even think seriously about it.

Rejection scared me.

It scared me more than I wanted to admit.

Compared to the women around him, I didn’t think I stood a chance at all. His women were all unbelievably beautiful. Beautiful to the point where standing beside them almost made me feel invisible. Comparing myself to them felt less like a competition and more like volunteering to lose.

Honestly, calling it unfair still wouldn’t cover it.

There wouldn’t even be anything to compare.

Just from appearance alone, I already knew where I stood. At best, maybe I could call myself average. Mediocre if I was being generous to myself. Looking at them and then looking at me felt like comparing polished jewels to some random pebble you accidentally kicked on the road.

Actually, even that comparison felt a little too kind toward me.

I didn’t think I could ever measure up to them.

And deep down, I didn’t think I would ever be enough for him either.

That thought stayed in my head constantly, quietly eating away at me whenever I got too hopeful.

I was weird too.

At least, that’s how I saw myself.

My personality didn’t feel graceful or elegant like the others around him. Sometimes I overthought things too much. Sometimes I acted awkward. Sometimes I got nervous over the dumbest little things imaginable. Meanwhile, the women around him always looked so composed. So confident.

Then there was me internally panicking because Mr. Leon looked in my direction for longer than three seconds.

Honestly, my heart was useless.

Charl kept telling me I was worrying too much.

"You should just follow your heart," she said before, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Easy for her to say.

Actually following through with that felt ridiculously difficult. Lately, I even started noticing changes in my own behavior that felt embarrassing. My thoughts wandered too much whenever he was around. My chest tightened whenever he got close. Sometimes I caught myself imagining things and immediately had to stop before I died from embarrassment on the spot.

Living like this was exhausting.

At the same time, tonight felt different somehow.

Maybe something inside me had finally decided to stop running away.

I thought I had finally managed to face my feelings properly.

Although... I definitely never imagined my first time would happen like this.

Still, I believed everything was going to be alright.

Charl was here with me, after all.

That alone helped calm me down a little.

I took another swig of wine into my mouth.

The moment the taste spread across my tongue, I almost froze.

This wine tasted expensive in the most ridiculous way possible. Smooth, rich, refined, almost delicate. It honestly felt like my tongue had to handle it carefully, like if I wasn’t gentle enough, I’d somehow ruin the flavor just by tasting it too aggressively. Drinking it almost made me feel nervous.

Imagine bullying a drink because your taste buds got too excited.

"That’s really good," Charl said while holding her glass carefully. "I think this might be the best wine I’ve ever had. Although... this has to be insanely expensive. You said this costs more than a thousand gold coins, right? Honestly, if I had to choose, I’d still go with Leonamon since it’s cheaper."

I quietly nodded in agreement.

That was true.

Even though this wine tasted unbelievably luxurious, I still preferred Leonamon overall. Leonamon wasn’t really comparable to this kind of wine in terms of flavor, but that didn’t make it worse. Honestly, out of all the modern drinks available right now, Leonamon still felt like the best choice to me. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Probably because it was affordable too.

Being delicious while not destroying your wallet automatically gave it bonus points. My loyalty could absolutely be bought with reasonably priced drinks. Pride was important, but so was surviving financially.

"Well, considering nobody makes this anymore, I want to learn more about it," Mr. Leon said. "Maybe we can replicate it somehow."

He looked genuinely interested while saying that.

Actually, interested wasn’t even the right word.

His eyes carried this focused look, like he had already started planning things in his head the moment he tasted the wine. He always became like that whenever he discovered something new. Curiosity seemed to light something inside him.

"You really are innovative, Leon," Charl said with a small laugh. "You seriously never stop adding products to your company, huh?"

"Well, I don’t think that’s a bad thing," he replied casually. "I want to understand as many things as possible. If I want to properly see everything through, then I need to keep learning in more ways than one."

That mindset of his...

Even though he already knew so much, he still wanted to learn more. Most people would’ve stopped already after reaching his level. Meanwhile, he kept moving forward like he still had endless things left to discover.

Honestly, the more I learned about him, the harder I fell for him.

At this point, loving him almost felt inevitable.

We continued drinking together for a while after that.

The atmosphere felt warm and comfortable.

Then slowly, something started happening to me.

At first, it was subtle.

A strange warmth spread through my body little by little. My skin started feeling hotter than before, and my breathing gradually became uneven. Heat pooled inside me in slow waves that made it difficult to focus properly.

My head felt slightly dizzy too.

The wine probably played a part in it, but this felt different somehow.

My chest tightened softly.

Even the air I breathed out felt warm.

While trying to process what exactly was happening to me, I turned my head slightly toward the side.

And the moment I did, my eyes widened.

Charl and Mr. Leon were already kissing.