His innocent wife is a dangerous hacker.-Chapter 555 What the hell is wrong with you?

The welcome dinner was held in a private glass dining hall carved into the mountainside, the entire wall behind the table opening to a sweeping view of the dark forest valley below. Soft amber chandeliers cast warm light over polished stone floors and long tables dressed in deep cream linen and muted gold cutlery. The air carried quiet conversations, low laughter, and that subtle, controlled tension that always appeared when powerful families gathered in one place.

Bella sat beside Leo, her hand resting lightly around his arm under the table. She could feel the rigid set of his shoulders, the careful stillness of his jaw.

"Leo," she whispered, her lips barely moving. "At least smile a little."

His jaw shifted almost imperceptibly. He did not smile. Not even a little.

Around the table sat people.

Alessandro and Lina sat across from them, composed and watchful, their expressions unreadable. Beside Lina sat Nonna.

Hazel sat diagonally from Bella, her posture perfect, her sleek black mask still firmly in place. Only her eyes were visible, electric blue, cool, assessing. The candlelight caught the small mole near her brow, softening her otherwise unapproachable beauty.

Beside her lounged Nicolas. Relaxed. Smug. Completely at ease in a way that made Leo’s knuckles tighten beneath the table. His dark hair was artfully disheveled, his black shirt immaculate, his smile permanently fixed at the corner of his mouth like he knew something no one else did.

Next to him sat his mother, Valeria Vale. Former supermodel. Current force of nature. Her silver blonde hair was swept back in a sleek chignon, her posture so perfect it seemed physically impossible to slouch. She wore minimal jewelry but carried herself like she was still walking a runway. Her pale eyes swept the table with quiet calculation, cataloging weaknesses and strengths with equal, unhurried interest.

Beside her sat Richard Vale, Nicolas’s father. Quiet. Controlled. His presence was less flashy than his wife’s, but no less formidable. Authority radiated from him in subtle waves, the set of his shoulders, the sharp gaze, the way he listened more than he spoke.

On Hazel’s side of the table sat her parents.

Jenna, Hazel’s mother, was elegant in a softer, warmer way. Her dark hair was highlighted with blonde, and she watched Hazel with a quiet, contained warmth that spoke of years of careful love. She caught Bella’s eye once and offered a small, genuine smile.

Beside her sat Kevin Moretti, Alessandro’s younger brother, Hazel’s father. Broad shouldered and sharp featured. He surveyed the table with a faint, unhappy set to his jaw, as if he would rather be anywhere else.

Leo exhaled slowly beside her, a long, controlled breath.

Then, almost imperceptibly, the corner of his mouth lifted. Not a smile. Not even a smirk. Just a slight relaxation of that rigid jaw.

Bella squeezed his arm under the table once. A quiet victory.

Across the table, Valeria noticed instantly. Her pale eyes flickered with amusement.

"New marriages always look like this," she said smoothly, lifting her crystal glass. The wine caught the amber light, swirling gently. "Like they are speaking a language only they understand."

Leo hummed. A low, noncommittal sound.

He did not look at her. He did not acknowledge the observation. His gaze remained fixed somewhere beyond her left shoulder, his expression settling back into that careful, unreadable mask.

Valeria’s smile didn’t waver. She took a slow, deliberate sip of her wine, clearly accustomed to being ignored by men who thought silence was power.

Beside her, Nicolas snorted softly into his glass.

"New marriage. It’s almost a year, I guess." Nicolas swirled his wine lazily, that insufferable smirk playing on his lips. His voice carried deliberately, confidently, like he was commenting on the weather. "I wonder why there’s still no baby yet." He tilted his head, feigning thoughtful concern. Then his eyes slid to Leo, sharp and mocking. "Leo, did you get yourself checked? You know... in case your sperm is weak?"

He laughed. Loudly. The sound bounced off the glass walls, jarring and ugly against the soft clink of cutlery and murmured conversation.

The table went silent.

Not the comfortable silence of pause. The kind of silence that happens when everyone simultaneously realizes something terrible has just been said and is waiting to see who reacts first.

Hazel’s electric blue eyes snapped to Nicolas, sharp enough to draw blood. "Nick!" Her voice was low, but it cracked like a whip. Genuine anger flashed across her visible features, her composure fracturing for the first time that evening. "What the hell is wrong with you?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Nicolas waved a dismissive hand at her, still smirking. "What? It’s a valid question. We’re all thinking it."

No one was thinking it.

Across the table, Valeria’s perfect posture stiffened almost imperceptibly. Her pale eyes cooled to something arctic. Even she, for all her polished detachment, seemed to recognize her son had just walked off a cliff.

Richard Vale set down his fork with deliberate care. His expression remained controlled, but his jaw had tightened almost imperceptibly.

Jenna’s warm smile had frozen on her face. Kevin Moretti’s unhappy expression darkened into something far more dangerous.

Alessandro’s eyes had gone flat and cold. Lina’s hand had stilled near her glass.

Nonna looked at Nicolas with an unhappy expression.

But it was Leo’s reaction that froze the room. His face became utterly, terrifyingly still, the stillness of a predator that has just identified a threat and is calculating exactly how many seconds it will take to neutralize it.

Beneath the table, Bella’s hand tightened around his arm. But this time, it wasn’t a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Her fingers were rigid, her knuckles white against his sleeve.

When she looked at Nicolas, her warm brown eyes had gone cold with anger. A quiet, controlled, devastating anger that made her look suddenly, startlingly dangerous.

"You," she said slowly, her voice soft but carrying clearly across the frozen table, "should not have said that."

Nicolas’s smirk faltered, just slightly. He hadn’t expected her to speak.

Hazel looked at Bella in surprise.

Leo still hadn’t moved. His gaze remained locked on Nicolas, unblinking. His breathing was slow.

Bella could feel the tremor in his arm now. Not fear but restraint. He was holding himself back with every ounce of his control.

And everyone at the table knew it.