Principeesa Is So Gorgeous, and She’s No Longer Yours Chapter 05

Principeesa Is So Gorgeous, and She’s No Longer Yours Chapter 05

Arthur looked utterly confused.

“What’s your deal? Why are you snapping at everyone for no reason?”

Leonardo sounded increasingly impatient, his tone turning icier still.

“I don’t have time to bullshit around with you.”

“Answer me one more time—do you know where your sister went?”

Arthur twisted to glance over at me. I gave a small shake of my head and mouthed silently:

I don’t want to talk to him.

Don’t tell him I moved out.

Though Arthur couldn’t figure out why I’d suddenly pulled away like this, he covered for me anyway.

“Mom’s birthday is coming up, so I brought her home to stay a couple days.”

“What’s this all about, anyway?”

A breath of relief seemed to slip out from Leonardo’s end of the line.

“The butler said Charlotte left with some guy. I thought she was throwing one of her tantrums and running away from home…”

Arthur’s brows drew together, irritation edging into his voice.

“What’s that supposed to mean? So what if my sister’s throwing a little fit?”

“She’s the Moore crime family’s Principessa—she’s allowed to be petty if she wants.”

Leonardo froze, completely tongue-tied. After a beat, he stammered, “That’s not what I meant…”

He never finished his sentence; Elena’s voice calling for him drifted through the background noise.

The line went dead not long after.

Arthur cursed under his breath at how quickly Leonardo had come and gone, then shot me a curious look.

“What’s going on with you? You used to cling to Leo nonstop back in the day.”

I hesitated for a long while, but chose not to tell him the whole truth, brushing it off with a vague excuse.

My parents had always been emotionally distant ever since I was little, but Arthur had always treated me with unwavering kindness.

He and Leonardo had been childhood best friends.

I feared if he learned Leonardo had gotten intimate with me only to lead me on then dump me cold, he would fly into a rage and do something irreversible.

It was only now that I’d fully woken up to what a terrible person Leonardo truly was.

I didn’t want Arthur ruining his own life over someone worthless.

As for his lifelong friendship with Leonardo… I thought it was better for him to see Leonardo’s true colors on his own, rather than me badmouthing him a thousand times behind his back.

All the anxiety gnawing at me on the drive home faded the second we pulled into our driveway.

Mom and Dad were away on business trips, so the house was empty.

After our hours-long drive, the household staff had already fully cleaned my bedroom—a space I only occupied once every few months.

The sweet, faint scent inside chased away the last of my restlessness the moment I stepped in.

Arthur wore a proud, pleased grin, seeking my praise.

“So? You love it?”

“If anything bugs you, I’ll fix it immediately.”

This was what family really felt like, I realized.

You never had to fear being a burden.

If someone truly cared about you, they wouldn’t delegate every small gesture of kindness to other people.

I slept two solid, peaceful nights at home.

Aside from that frantic phone call to Arthur, Leonardo never sent me a single message.

That changed once I headed back to university. My student union was hosting a farewell party for graduating seniors that year.

The older students had always been generous and welcoming to underclassmen like us.

Right after my last class, I hailed a taxi and rushed over to the venue.

I never expected Leonardo to show up—he’d already graduated more than a year ago.

Several rounds of a party game had already wrapped up inside the private lounge, and the crowd was rowdy and hyped, since Leonardo had lost this round.

Someone called out excitedly over the chatter.

“Alright, Leo—truth or dare?”

Even amid all the noise, his lazy, drawling voice cut through clearly.

“Truth.”

A cheer erupted around the room. The person pressed further.

“Alright, here’s the big one. If you had to pick one—your one that got away, or your actual girlfriend. Who’re you choosing?”

Silence stretched on, the atmosphere growing awkward and tense as Leonardo held off answering.

A few people muttered that the question was out of line. The questioner hurried to backtrack, trying to offer Leonardo an easy out.

After a long pause, Leonardo finally spoke, firing a question right back at the guy.

“If your company rang the opening bell on the Nasdaq and started pulling in US dollars hand over fist, would you dump all your long-term European clients just to drop the euro entirely?”

Everyone read between the lines loud and clear: Everyone could read between the lines loud and clear—he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.