Fake Mate Beta Rises to Alpha Heiress (Natalie and Landon) novel Chapter 327

Chapter 327 I Loved Him Even More

Leonardo’s POV:

I hung my head, shoulders slumping a little, unable to argue with her.

She was absolutely right.

“I’m so angry!” Natalie said, standing on her toes to bump her forehead against my chest. Her lips accidentally brushed my collarbone. Fueled by her temper, she opened her mouth and bit my shoulder.

“Ouch!” I winced, sucking in a breath. She bit down hard, her sharp canines digging in painfully. But I endured it, refusing to push her away.

“I’m sorry…” My voice was hoarse, thick with exhaustion and regret. “I truly am.”

She stated, “Sorry doesn’t fix it! You don’t even know what I’m angry about.”

“I do,” I muttered.

“Then tell me,” she said.

I paused, then found myself actually following her lead, reflecting on my actions. “You’re angry I deceived you, that I hid my… condition. You’re angry I didn’t give you a choice, that I made the decision for you and said those hurtful things first.”

I really felt like I’d messed everything up. I was so afraid of hurting the person I cherished most, and yet I’d managed to wound her in my own way.

“Only half right!” Natalie pinched the tense muscle of my shoulder. “More than hiding things, I’m angry that you have so little faith in me. You didn’t even consider facing the problem together, solving it together. Your first instinct was to push me away!”

“Because…” Any pretense of calm composure was gone now. I looked down and saw the tears glistening in Natalie’s slightly reddened eyes. That completely unraveled me. Her tears pierced my defenses more sharply than any claw.

“Because I didn’t want you to be afraid of me! I didn’t want you to ever look at me with disgust!” I had finally spoken the truth.

All that talk about selfishness or rationality… it was merely an excuse. What I cared about most was always Natalie’s opinion of me. If there was a chance she might one day despise me, I’d rather leave her with the best possible memory and preserve the happiness we’d had intact.

“How could I ever be disgusted by you?” Natalie’s voice softened, filled with heartache. “Because you’ve been hurt? Or because Victoria let you down over it?”

“The thought that I might hurt you, even the possibility… it sends my heart straight to hell. I can’t think straight. So tell me.” My voice held a humble plea, like a lost child’s, “What am I supposed to do?”

Natalie’s POV:

Looking at him like this, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry from sheer heartache.

At this point, my anger was completely gone.

In other areas, Leonardo might be a self-reliant Alpha, an unshakeable pack leader, the ruler of a business empire. But in matters of the heart, when facing his deepest fears, he was just a confused, anxious pup-more lost than I was. He carried an unshakable fear of himself, so of course, he couldn’t maintain perfect confidence in front of the one he loved.

Back when we first met and fell in love, Leonardo had simply been hiding it all too well- perfect, powerful, flawless. He’d almost convinced me he was truly unbreakable.

Now I was starting to understand why I’d been so angry. It was precisely because I’d never imagined that Leonardo, when facing emotional shadows, could be more “vulnerable” than I’d ever known. He could even depend so much on my reaction and choice. That gap between perception and reality had been hard to accept.

But… now that he was actually showing me these vulnerabilities, this clumsy, self-punishing brand of “selfishness,” I found I couldn’t stop loving him for it. In fact, I loved him even more.