Only you in my love

Michelle continued to blush as she sat stiffly at the dining table. She picked up a slice of toast, tore off a piece and popped it into her mouth. She kept her head lowered, too shy to look at the person seated across her.

Aware that she was feeling embarrassed, Leon said nothing and merely took a snapshot of their breakfast using his phone.

He then sent the photo to Wynn.

Wynn typed, "A poor man's breakfast! Didn't you say that you would never eat fried eggs?"

Leon answered, "I don't want to eat it when it's cooked by other people. Michelle cooks the best fried eggs."

"And so?" Wynn asked.

"Are you an idiot? This is the breakfast that Michelle prepared for me."

"So? This is not the first time she's made you breakfast. Why did you send me a picture just now?"

"Something about it is different," Leon insisted.

Wynn was slower with his reply. "I... I don't see it."

Leon taunted, "What a pity! Why can't you understand?"

Wynn was confused, and didn't reply.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot that you don't have a girlfriend. You don't know what it's like to have breakfast that's cooked just for you," Leon mocked.

Wynn started to tap his phone furiously.

He knew that Leon had to be smirking, and he wanted to beat that smirk off his friend's face. 'How shameless! He sent me a photo just to show off his girlfriend?'

Leon was smirking as he fired off another message.

"You still haven't improved after many years? I'm starting to worry about you."

After a pause, a voice message popped up in the chat. In his haste, Leon accidentally tapped on it.

"Fuck you, Leon! You're a real bastard, you know that? Whether I've improved or not is none of your business! And I like to take my time. Do you really need to show off your "

He immediately clicked on the file again, cutting off Wynn's hysterical tirade. He knew that his friend was still cursing him on the other end of the phone.

'How could I not show off?

I have a girlfriend, and Wynn doesn't.'

Leon didn't want Michelle to know that Wynn had already known about their relationship. He looked up from his phone and across the table to check on his girlfriend's reaction. Michelle looked back at him with a dumbfounded expression. She was still chewing on half of her toast.

"Sorry. Did that scare you?" he asked.

"Was that Wynn? He just called you a bastard." It was her first time hearing someone refer to Leon as a bastard. Michelle was surprised but also a little upset.

'How could anyone call Leon a bastard?

Bastards are bad guys, but Leon is not.'

"Why was Wynn scolding you?" Michelle frowned in concern. "Are you two fighting? If you are, it's better to talk face-to-face-the earlier, the better. Or else, it will be harder and harder to make up afterwards. You two are good friends so you can be honest with each other." Leon reassured her, "Don't worry. It's just that he has been single for quite some time. Without a girlfriend, he sometimes gets hotheaded like this."

"Really?" Michelle asked doubtfully. "Men turn out to be like Wynn when they don't have girlfriends?"

"More or less," Leon replied vaguely.

"Oh, I see!" Michelle nodded in understanding. She felt as if she had obtained new knowledge.

Ever since she met Leon, it was as if he had opened her eyes to a whole new world.

Some of the knowledge was strange, but overall, she was very interested to learn.

With a smile, Michelle continued to tuck into their breakfast. Because they were sharing a meal, she ate slowly, hoping that Leon would eat more.

"Michelle, why are you so..." ...easy to deceive?' Leon didn't want to say what was truly on his mind so he added, "...cute."

Michelle had given up on stopping him from calling her cute. 'It's fine if he doesn't praise me for my beauty. Being cute is also good as long as he likes me.'

She grinned back at him.

A phone started vibrating, making a buzzing sound on the table. Tim had just sent a message to Michelle. They both heard the noise and looked at their respective phones. Leon looked away after quickly confirming that it wasn't his phone that buzzed. Michelle picked up hers and saw her neighbor's thank-you message.

She replied, "You're welcome." She thought that was the end of it, but Tim started praising her because he found her porridge delicious.

Polite by nature, she had no choice but to send another reply. But Tim sent another message, forcing her to keep responding to him.

Too focused on their chat, Michelle ended up ignoring Leon.

The man tried to sneak glances at her screen, but he couldn't see who she was texting. Suppressing his annoyance, he smiled and asked, "Who are you chatting with, Michelle?"

"Tim." She lifted her head for a second before looking back at her phone. She didn't see the change in her boyfriend's expression after she admitted that she had met with her neighbor before coming to see him.

"He is everywhere!" Although Leon was smiling, his jaw was clenched. "So he's your new neighbor? And you gave him the breakfast?"

"Yes." Michelle nodded. "On his first day after moving to our community, he helped me carry some packages. My parents then asked him to have a meal with us."

Straining to keep a smile on his face, Leon loosened his grip, letting his spoon fall off one side of the table. The clang of metal against the floor finally caught Michelle's attention.

"Leon?" Seeing that his spoon had fallen, she stood up and picked it up. "I'll get you a new one from the kitchen."

Leon raised a hand to stop her. "No, thanks. I'm full," he lied.

The temperature in the dining area suddenly dropped. Michelle gradually realized that he was angry, but she didn't know what she had said to provoke his ire.

'Last night, he got angry because I didn't wear the bracelet that he gave me.

Why is he mad this time?'

She couldn't figure it out so she shut up and looked at him with teary eyes.

When she looked at him with such sad eyes, Leon couldn't bring himself to stay angry with her.

His heart softened, and he sighed. He got out of his seat and walked up to her. Michelle thought that he would hold her, but he didn't. He just stood in front of her like a stone-cold wall.

After a pause, Leon asked slowly, "Don't you know why I am angry?"

"No." Michelle's voice came out muffled. She lifted her gaze slightly to focus on his angular chin. Seeing it reminded her that she applied shaving cream for him earlier. He had shaved using the electric razor she had bought for him.

Thinking of that warm scene gave her courage, so she replied, "Leon, can you tell me why you're angry?"

"Okay." Leon raised a hand and flicked her on the forehead. As soon as he did that, he started rubbing the spot gently as if he couldn't bear to leave her in pain.

His actions were familiar and intimate, and it made Michelle smile brightly.

Leon smiled back at her. "Michelle, I'm not the person you think I am. I'm not as gentle as you say. I'm actually a very bad guy. I don't like it when my girlfriend pays too much attention to other men. And I hate it when my girlfriend gives away a gift that I have given her or a gift that she has planned on giving me.

Even if I have to destroy it myself, it can't be given to others."

The way he spoke was like usual-unhurried and gentle, not harsh or frightening.

It magnified the intense feelings behind his statement.

Seven years ago, Leon had said those words to Valerie. Back then, he saw the fear in her eyes. Just now, he deliberately told the same thing to Michelle.

He wanted to know if his current girlfriend would also be afraid of him.

The real him.000☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐