The Contract Wife Tries to Leave - Chapter 40
He had intended to rescue her anyway, but seeing her earnest eyes stirred a mischievous urge within him. Leonid stood with his arms crossed, leisurely sucking on his candy, watching the woman.
The woman’s eyes showed a hint of confusion before shifting back to Kestner. Whatever Kestner had said must have surprised her, as she seemed taken aback. However, she skillfully hid her agitation and responded calmly. A deeper interest flashed in Kestner’s gleaming eyes.
Leonid, observing the entire situation, found himself moving toward them almost unconsciously. It must have been because Kestner annoyed him. Seeing that face, always pouncing on pretty omegas like a dog in heat, made him want to see it contort in frustration.
“What are you doing in a place that demands silence, James? You’re not some common thug.”
Leonid extended his arm and wrapped it around the woman’s waist, pulling her close to him. He controlled his pheromones so well that there was no scent at all, almost like a beta. Her waist, fitting perfectly in his hand, felt so fragile that it seemed like it could snap with a bit of pressure.
Calling the woman his fiancée was, of course, intentional.
* * *
“Uh… fiancée? Who?”
Surely not this woman?
James Kestner pointed at Johanna with a look of disbelief. Johanna was too distracted to be offended by his words or behavior. Her heart was pounding wildly as if it had been struck by a bomb. From the moment Leonid Neubitz approached and wrapped his arm around her waist, her heart had already malfunctioned.
He even did the unimaginable by putting a candy in her mouth and calling her his ‘fiancée.’
Fiancée…
Even though she knew it was a term used to surface their relationship, her heart fluttered. It felt like she was in a sweet yet intoxicating nightmare, one that would lead to a cruel reality upon waking.
“I know your desire for omegas, James Kestner, but attempting to court another man’s fiancée is highly inappropriate.”
“No, a fiancée? Really?”
James Kestner couldn’t believe Leonid’s words. His face plainly showed his suspicion that this was all an orchestrated scam.
However, seeing Leonid standing so close to Johanna, he muttered, “Could it be true…?” Leonid Neubitz, known for his mysophobia and omega hatred, having someone, especially an omega, that close to him was irrefutable evidence.
He even poured out pheromones without hesitation. The reason an alpha would do that was obvious: to display possession over an omega.
“…You said you were a beta? Are you an omega?”
This time, James turned his attention to Johanna, his sharp gaze scrutinizing her for any suspicious signs.
Johanna, still slightly dazed, licked her dry lips and opened her mouth.
“That is…”
“Watch your tone.”
Before she could say anything, Leonid cut in abruptly. His cold rebuke was not directed at Johanna but at James Kestner.
“…W-What?”
James stammered, taken aback. As Leonid’s blade-like gaze struck him directly, he instinctively shrank back.
…It was always like this. Despite being the same alpha, Leonid Neubitz easily overpowered other alphas.
James had felt uneasy about Leonid since their academy days. Though he was born into a fairly affluent family and lived a comfortable life, standing before Leonid Neubitz made everything he had seem insignificant. That sense of deprivation made him shudder with resentment.
“Watch your tone, Kestner. How dare you speak that way to the fiancée of Marquis Neubitz?”
“…Ah, that… haha, yes. I was rude. My apologies, Lady. May I ask your name?”
Lady, indeed. The woman looked like she came from a life far below the middle class. James hid his disdain as he smiled kindly at the woman, determined to find out who she was that Leonid Neubitz would claim as his fiancée.
“…Johanna Lucerne.”
The woman glanced warily at James before answering a beat or two later. He had thought so from the moment he first saw her—those teal eyes were stunningly clear. They were like shallow, warm seawater.
Her appearance is exactly my type… James licked his lips in regret but quickly closed his mouth when he noticed Leonid’s sharp gaze.
“Miss Lucerne, is it?… That name sounds familiar…”
James Kestner’s muttering made Johanna feel a pang of guilt, so she pretended not to notice. Her father was the one who borrowed money, but the guilt and shame always fell on her.
She realized it was only a matter of time before this man discovered what kind of person her father was. But she wanted to avoid being exposed right here and now.
