Chapter 37 - Conscience
The next day.
Leo woke up early.
The room was dead quiet. Curtains drawn tight. Pitch black.
He blinked his sleepy eyes open, sat up, and padded in his slippers to pull the curtains back.
The sky was heavy today. Gray and overcast. His window faced the backyard of the mansion, where the trees had nearly gone bare.
Autumn again.
Leo worried it might rain. He grabbed his phone to check the forecast and noticed a message from Chloe, sent at one in the morning.
Chloe: [Leo, remember to come today at noon. I want to thank you properly.]
Chloe: [Thanks for looking out for me.]
Leo typed coldly: [Not going.]
No reply. She was probably asleep.
He checked the forecast again. Overcast, no rain.
The last time he'd gone to an amusement park was back in seventh grade.
After that, Luna stopped paying attention to him. He didn't want to be a nuisance, so he stopped going out.
Leo went to wash up, picked a hoodie and jeans from the closet. The temperature had dropped lately. Short sleeves wouldn't cut it anymore.
Dressed, he checked the time. Only eight-thirty.
They'd agreed on nine.
Half an hour to kill.
Leo cleaned up his desk, sat down, and looked up what was fun at the park today.
Done with the research. Ten minutes had passed.
His heart was pounding. He felt emotionally unstable, like something was wrong with him.
Grown up, and still getting giddy and restless over an amusement park trip.
Finally, nine o'clock. Leo was about to head downstairs.
He paused at the door, stood there a moment, and killed another five minutes before going down.
As if being five minutes late would make him look less invested.
When he came downstairs, Luna was already at the table eating breakfast.
Helen had made handmade noodles today. Tomato and egg broth. Savory and fresh.
Luna was wearing overalls with a thin white hoodie underneath, her hair in a high ponytail. She held a bowl bigger than her face in one hand and chopsticks in the other, head down, slurping away.
"Come eat. So good." Luna called out, then dove right back in.
Helen promptly brought Leo a bowl.
After breakfast, the siblings got in the car and headed for the amusement park.
Luna had brought a bag today. She glanced at Leo. The guy had nothing on him except his phone.
Perfect.
At the park, it was fall break and the sky was overcast, so it wasn't too hot. Packed with people. Every ride was mobbed.
Luna cleared her throat. "There are a lot of pickpockets at amusement parks. They steal phones. Want me to hold yours in my bag?"
Leo didn't think twice. He pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it over.
Luna sent him off to buy boba, thoughtfully handing him a hundred-dollar bill.
While Leo was gone, she quickly muted his phone and wrapped it in a couple of tissues.
Heh.
Let's see if that millionaire boyfriend of hers is willing to drop tens of thousands on a meal for her and her classmates.
---
The Grand Star was hopping today.
A big spender had booked the largest private room and set up six tables.
To flex her boyfriend's wealth, Chloe went all out. Fifteen dishes per table, including pre-meal fruit and post-meal dessert.
From noon on, classmates trickled into the private room.
Chloe sat in her car, glaring at her phone screen.
She'd woken up, seen Leo's message, and sent him several texts.
He still hadn't replied.
Chloe gnashed her teeth.
She pressed her lips together, waited a few more minutes, and ran out of patience. Her thumbs flew across the screen.
SleepyCeCe: [Leo, I always thought that even if I didn't say yes to you, even if we never became a couple, we'd still be good friends.]
SleepyCeCe: [The way you're ignoring my messages right now is really disappointing.]
SleepyCeCe: [Looks like I was wrong about you. You're not as mature as I thought.]
SleepyCeCe: [You're just a hotheaded idiot.]
SleepyCeCe: [I'm never talking to you again.]
She let out a satisfied breath, exited the chat, and opened her pinned WhatsApp conversation.
SleepyCeCe: [Babe, I'm at the restaurant!]
Top Donor: [Okay babe, have fun with your classmates, eat well. Send me the bill later.]
Top Donor: [I've got it covered.]
Chloe felt her heart melt into a puddle.
SleepyCeCe: [Yes yes yes, thank you babe, you're so good to me.]
Chloe let out a long breath, gathered her skirt, and got out of the car.
She'd hired a stylist today. Dressed to the nines.
The moment she stepped into the private room, the room went silent for two beats. Then came the cheers.
"So pretty, Clo!"
"The It Girl is stunning today. Killing me."
"An angel descended!"
Chloe gathered her skirt hem, basking in the spotlight.
Her best friend Mia stood to the side, filming her on a phone.
Chloe stuck out her tongue. "Okay, stop it. Any more compliments and I'll float away."
A boy wolf-whistled. "We're gonna keep going."
Chloe made a point of standing against the wall with the Grand Star logo and filmed a short clip.
Her last birthday party video had been posted too, and it had blown up. Her most popular video yet.
She was confident this one would go even bigger.
A sponsor had reached out a few days ago, then bailed at the last minute because her engagement had dropped.
Chloe still held a grudge over that.
After filming, Chloe finally sat down. She lifted her chin, swept her gaze around the room, and asked, "Is everyone here?"
Everyone looked around. Mia's lips curled into a wicked little smile. "Only Leo's not here."
The room went still for a beat, then the whispering started.
"Whoa, is Leo jealous?"
"Definitely. His family's got money too, but not on the same level as Chloe's boyfriend. So he's feeling out of his league."
"Whatever. If he doesn't come, he doesn't come."
"Right. Chloe's got so many guys chasing her. She doesn't need him."
"Honestly, Leo's family is probably just middle-class money. And his grades are bad. He'll just run through the family fortune and end up with nothing. He's not good enough for Chloe."
"Exactly! Chloe's boyfriend is so rich, Leo isn't fit to tie his shoes."
Chloe listened to the chatter, the corners of her mouth lifting just barely.
She bit her lip, planning to wait two more minutes before telling everyone to stop.
Then someone at the next table slammed their chopsticks down.
Loud. Everyone turned to look.
Ryder sat there, long bangs hiding his eyes. His whole presence was dark and brooding.
Mia demanded, "Ryder, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Ryder pointed at himself, then looked at Chloe.
A jolt of fear went through Chloe.
Ryder said, "Chloe, I always thought I was being paranoid about my feelings toward you. For Leo's sake, I've been respectful. I've humored you."
"And you?"
"Nobody else knows what Leo's done for you. But you know. If you had a shred of conscience, you wouldn't let them run their mouths about him in here."