Chapter 163

Leonardo stood by the back entrance. Samantha soon appeared, asking, "Why are you looking for me so urgently—" Before she could finish, Leonardo pulled her into a crushing embrace, his arms locking around her so tightly she could barely breathe. "You're not allowed to die."His voice rumbled against her, low and uncharacteristically shaken—as if letting go might make her vanish. Samantha couldn't help but laugh, gently patting his back like comforting a frightened child. "That was acting. Not real. Did the performance get to you that much?" Leonardo didn't answer immediately. His grip loosened slightly, but he still refused to release her. Perhaps it had. When he watched her collapse onstage, he'd felt something visceral—his heart seized by a terror so acute it might as well have been real. That despair of losing her felt possible. He looked down at Samantha in his arms. Traces of fake blood still streaked her fair skin. Rough fingertips brushed her cheek, wiping away the remnan