Chapter 67: Chapter 67 Chaotic
It was late at night, and the house was quiet, blanketed in a soft silence. Isabella blinked her sleepy eyes open, her throat feeling dry like sandpaper. She reached out for her water bottle by the side table but it was empty. With a small groan, she sat up and slowly got out of bed.
Her arms were healing, but she still moved a little stiffly, walking like a tired little penguin wobbling across the floor. "Ugh, why is the kitchen so far..." she mumbled to herself, dragging her feet sleepily.
She was wearing her favorite comfy night set—an oversized white shirt with matching loose pants, both decorated with tiny pink strawberries. The shirt sleeves fell over her hands, and her hair was loosely tied in a bun, a few strands framing her face. She looked like a sleepy cartoon character who had wandered out of bed in search of treasure.
No one was around. Or at least, she hoped not.
She reached the kitchen, the cool floor tiles sending a shiver up her legs. She didn’t bother turning on the full lights, just flipped the dim counter switch. It gave enough glow to see without waking the whole house.
She opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of cold water. As soon as it touched her lips, she let out a soft "Ahhh" in relief, her shoulders relaxing. Then she drank more. And more.
It was only after the third sip she realized the silence felt... different. Like someone else was there.
She turned around slowly, water bottle in hand.
Her heart skipped.
It was Leonardo.
Standing there in the doorway.
Bare chest.
Sweat glistening on his skin.
Loose pants hanging low on his hips.
Her sleepy brain short-circuited.
She blinked fast, but he was still there, just looking at her with those unreadable eyes. She panicked and looked away but not before her eyes betrayed her and counted his abs.
One, two... eight?! Her stomach flipped.
Why was he shirtless? Why did he look like he just walked out of a boxing match?
He didn’t say a word. He just walked toward her–slow, steady steps echoing in the quiet kitchen.
Isabella clutched the water bottle like it was a shield, her eyes wide. Her heart thumped so loudly she was sure he could hear it.
He stopped just inches in front of her.
Her breath hitched.
"W-What are you doing...?" she whispered, her voice barely a sound. Her tummy twisted again, like butterflies were bouncing off walls inside her.
Leonardo didn’t answer.
He just leaned forward, his body heat brushing against her like fire.
She froze.
Then...
He calmly reached past her, opened the fridge, and grabbed a water bottle.
That’s it.
Isabella stood there, blinking like a broken doll.
He walked away without a word.
And she just stood there, gripping her bottle, feeling her ears burn.
Her face was red.
Her chest was tight.
"Oh my god..." she mumbled. "I’m so embarrassing..."
Isabella rushed out of the kitchen, trying to act normal, even though her heart was anything but.
But just a few steps outside, she stopped.
Leonardo was standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall, drinking from his water bottle. His head tilted back slightly, the muscles in his neck visible under the soft glow of the hallway light.
Her eyes, without permission, followed the slow drop of water that trailed down his throat... sliding along his Adam’s apple before disappearing past his chest.
She blinked hard, her heart doing tiny flips.
Was he not feeling cold? The house was chilly. She could feel the cold floor through her feet, yeah she forgot to wear slippers. And here he was, shirtless, like the winter night didn’t exist.
He didn’t notice her yet or maybe he did and just didn’t care.
Isabella quickly looked away, her face burning again. She hugged the water bottle to her chest like it could calm her racing heart.
And without wasting another second, Isabella turned and ran, her strawberry-printed pants swishing with every panicked step. Her bun bounced on her head as she muttered, "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." under her breath.
She didn’t dare look back.
Behind her, Leonardo lowered his water bottle slowly.
He had seen her.
The way she stared. The way her eyes widened. The way she froze like a rabbit caught in headlights.
And now, the way she was fleeing like her life depended on it.
A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
His eyes glinted with something unreadable, amusement... or interest?
He didn’t chase her.
But his gaze lingered on the hallway where she disappeared.
Once Isabella finally reached her room, she quickly shut the door behind her and leaned against it, her chest rising and falling like she had just escaped a lion’s den.
"Phew! That’s scary!" she whispered, pressing a hand to her fast-beating heart.
Her face was still hot, and she could feel her ears burning.
She slid down the door slowly until she sat on the floor, hugging her knees, her oversized shirt drooping over her like a blanket of shame.
"What was that? Why was he shirtless? Why did he walk like that? And why did I stare like some... some weirdo??" she mumbled, burying her face in her arms.
A small sound escaped her lips..a half-laugh, half-sigh.
Then silence.
Her room was quiet again, but her mind wasn’t.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him, those cold eyes, that calm face, the water running down his neck.
She groaned softly as she walked toward the bed, then flopped onto it and buried her face in a pillow.
"Get a grip, bella... he probably didn’t even notice you."
Still blushing from her midnight chaos, Isabella finally curled up on her bed, hugging Berry and Moonbeam.
With both of them tucked in her arms, she drifted back to sleep, mumbling a sleepy, "No more abs... please," before her thoughts melted into dreams.
⋆｡𖦹 ˚ 𓇼 ˚｡⋆
The next morning...
A soft beam of sunlight slipped through her curtains and warmed her face. Isabella blinked awake, slowly stretching her arms and this time, they didn’t hurt.
She sat up in surprise, gently rotating her wrists and flexing her fingers.
"They feel okay..." she whispered. "I think... I can finally do normal things again."
No pain, no tightness. Just a soft ache that was easy to ignore.
She didn’t even bother with her usual morning routine. Her messy bun was still clinging to her head like a sleepy crown, and her strawberry pajamas were all crumpled.
But she didn’t care.
She grabbed her laptop, pulled the blanket over her legs, and opened it with bright, eager eyes.
First stop—Bella Zone.
Her small digital store’s dashboard popped up. She refreshed the stats. A soft gasp left her lips.
"Three more orders last night...?" she whispered, her smile blooming like sunshine. "Thank you, universe."
Next, she tapped into a different tab, her fingers typing faster now.
Hackervese.
Her hacker profile flickered onto the screen with black and blue coding overlays, secret requests, encrypted message threads.
She checked her inbox.
New client request:
<Encrypted firewall breach tool needed. Budget: $10k >
Isabella smiled to herself and stretched her fingers.
"Well... I’ll brush teeth later," Isabella mumbled, waving a hand lazily as she focused back on her screen. "I’m just checking a few things..."
She leaned over her laptop again, fingers flying across the keyboard. Between code lines, stat checks, and replying to one short hacker request, time slipped through her fingers like sand.
An hour passed before she finally leaned back with a satisfied sigh.
"All done," she whispered, proud of herself.
But when she glanced at the wall clock—her eyes widened.
"Oh no! It’s way past my usual time!"
She scrambled off the bed like a panicked cat, nearly tripping over her blanket. Rushing into the bathroom, she grabbed her toothbrush with one hand and turned on the tap with the other.
"Why am I like this every time?" she mumbled with foam in her mouth, brushing at lightning speed.
After brushing, she splashed cold water on her face, patted it dry, and quickly changed into something simple but fresh. She tied her hair into a neater bun this time, though a few strands still slipped out.
As she looked in the mirror, she gave herself a small nod.
"Okay. Not too bad."
Then she walked toward the door...only to hear footsteps outside.
And that’s when her heart paused again.
Because the voice outside?
It was Leonardo.
And he was speaking quietly But the one thing she clearly heard was her own name.
"...Isabella..."
She opened the door slowly, peeking into the hallway and nearly forgot how to breathe.
Leonardo was standing there, dressed in a dark, perfectly fitted shirt, the kind that clung to his frame like it was stitched just for him. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the top two buttons were undone, just enough to show a glimpse of his collarbone and that annoyingly unfair flat stomach.
Isabella’s eyes betrayed her.
They went straight to his stomach. Again.
Her brain screamed in panic.
"No no no stop! Don’t stare! You’re becoming nasty! This is what happens when you watch too many romantic movies late at night!"
She quickly looked up, only to see Leonardo staring right back at her.
One of his eyebrows slowly lifted.
He had caught her red-handed.
Her lips parted, her throat dry. Her hands fumbled at her side.
"Y-You’re... you’re here for me?" she blurted, eyes wide, voice cracking like glass.
She looked like a deer caught in headlights.
Leonardo tilted his head slightly, and without changing expression, spoke in that deep, steady tone:
"Yes. Pack your bag."
She blinked. "W-What?"
His next words hit her like a thunderbolt.
"We’re going on a honeymoon."