Betrayed by Blood: My Second Life as a Queen novel Chapter 240

He had found her absolutely adorable back then, so he was always finding ways to tease her.

If he couldn't find a toy, he would fake cry.

If he missed out on a snack, he'd fake cry again.

He didn't even have to shed a real tear. A single, exaggerated sniffle was all it took for little Willow to launch herself at him like a tiny cannonball. Crashing into his arms, she would reach up with her tiny hands and earnestly wipe his eyes.

While aggressively drying his non-existent tears, she would press messy kisses all over his face, coaxing him with her sweet, childish voice: "Leo, don't cry. Willow has toys. Willow will give them to you."

Over time, the routine became so overplayed that even Leo felt his acting was atrocious. Yet, Willow never once caught on.

When he squabbled with the others, she would scrunch her little eyebrows and physically wedge herself between them, declaring fiercely, "Leo is a crybaby! Don't bully Leo! If you have a problem, take it up with me!"

Puffing out her tiny chest, she would pat her chubby little hands against her sternum, determined to protect him with everything she had. It was devastatingly precious.

Their past had been so impossibly beautiful. So how had things warped into this hellish nightmare when they grew up?

Leo knew exactly why.

It was him.

He had been an absolute monster, systematically grinding Willow's trust and love into dust.

It was all his fault. He was wrong. He wanted to apologize, to atone, but the window for redemption had completely slammed shut.

Enduring the agonizing pain tearing at his chest, Leo managed to scrape his voice together into something coherent. "Willow, I do have a condition."

A knowing glint flashed in Willow's eyes. Curling her lips into a smirk, she mocked, "Let's hear it."

Leo's heart shattered even further. "Willow, in three months, I'll be competing in The Apex Global Grand Finals... it's the last match of my career. Will you come watch me? That's my only condition."

Willow paused for a second, eyeing him suspiciously.

Truthfully, she had no idea what Leo was plotting anymore.

He genuinely looked like a man drowning in regret.

But how was that possible?

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