His innocent wife is a dangerous hacker.-Chapter 599 Family reunion?
Bella crossed her arms again, still pouting even though a smile was already threatening to break through the stubborn expression on her face.
"Don’t ever stop talking like that, okay? Ever. I don’t care what drama is happening, what secrets you’re keeping, or what stress you’re under. You don’t get to disappear on me. Deal?"
Jay’s expression softened immediately.
He looked at her, and something in his eyes shifted. Gratitude. Affection. The quiet warmth of found family. The kind of bond that didn’t need blood to exist.
"I’m sorry, Bella," he said quietly. "We both got so stressed. And I’m very bad at hiding things. Like, catastrophically bad." He gestured at himself helplessly. "That’s why I had to avoid you and Bro. One look at my face and you both would have known something was wrong."
Bella raised one eyebrow slowly.
"You think?"
Jay nodded with complete seriousness. "I know. You would have taken one look at me and been like, ’Jay, why do you look like a guilty golden retriever?’ and I would have crumbled immediately."
She laughed, the sound warm and bright.
"That’s... actually very accurate."
"See? I know myself."
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, squeezing like someone who had been holding too much tension for too long.
"I’m sorry for disappearing," he murmured. "I’m sorry for worrying you. And I’m sorry for making you eat meals with only Leo’s brooding for company."
Bella hugged him back just as tightly.
"Apology accepted," she said. "But only if you promise to never do it again."
"I promise."
"And you have to make up for lost time by being extra annoying for at least a week."
Jay pulled back, already grinning.
"A week? I can do a month. I’ll be so annoying you’ll beg me to go back to brooding silently in a corner."
Bella swatted his arm.
"Don’t test me."
Jace watched them from the bed, a soft smile on his face. For this moment, things felt almost normal.
Almost okay.
Jay suddenly grabbed Bella’s hand and tugged her toward the door.
"Come on. Let’s go find your brooding husband and annoy him together. I have at least seventeen jokes about this whole situation that I need to test out."
Bella glanced back at Jace.
"You coming?"
Jace stood slowly, a real smile curving his lips.
"Wouldn’t miss it."
The three of them left together.
Meanwhile, Leo had finished his meeting and returned to the room expecting to find Bella waiting.
The room was empty.
He checked the bathroom first.
Nothing.
Then the balcony.
Still nothing.
He even opened the closet door briefly, staring inside like she might be hiding there just to surprise him.
Nothing.
Leo sighed quietly and ran a hand through his hair before heading toward the dining room. The meeting had been long and tedious. Shipment issues. Territorial disputes. The usual mafia nonsense that made him want to throw certain people out of windows.
He sat down at a small table near the window and pulled out his phone.
Emails.
Shipment schedules.
Inventory reports.
A strongly worded message from someone who clearly had absolutely no idea who they were threatening.
He scrolled through them calmly. Scanned. Deleted several without bothering to read them fully.
Then suddenly—
Arms wrapped around him from behind.
Warm.
Enthusiastic.
Squeezing like a python that loved you very much.
Leo didn’t move.
He didn’t tense.
He didn’t even look up from his phone.
"Jay," he said flatly.
"Broooo!" Jay’s voice was muffled against Leo’s shoulder, absolutely delighted. "I missed you sooo much! It’s been DAYS! I haven’t annoyed you properly! My soul was withering!"
He proceeded to press loud, exaggerated kisses against Leo’s cheek. Big dramatic smacking ones.
Leo’s face went through several stages very quickly.
Disgust.
Horror.
Resignation.
Then more disgust.
He pushed Jay away firmly, grabbed a napkin from the table, and began wiping his cheek with the focused determination of someone removing toxic waste.
"What is wrong with you?" he demanded.
His voice carried that particular tone of long-suffering annoyance reserved exclusively for Jay.
Then he noticed.
Bella was standing a few feet away near the entrance. She was absolutely losing it.
Her hand was clamped over her mouth, but her shoulders shook with silent laughter. Beside her, Jace stood with a small amused smile, watching the scene like it was premium entertainment.
Leo’s eyes narrowed slowly as he stood up.
"You," he said, pointing at Bella, "are enjoying this far too much."
Bella’s laughter escaped before she could stop it.
"I have no idea what you’re talking about."
Jay, completely undeterred, attempted to hug Leo again.
Leo held him back with one arm like someone fending off an overly affectionate puppy.
"Jay. Stop."
"But bro—"
"No."
"I have SO many jokes stored up!"
"Keep them stored."
"You don’t even know what they are!"
"I don’t want to."
Jay gasped dramatically and clutched his chest.
"You wound me. Right here. In the heart place."
Leo looked toward Bella, who was now leaning against Jace for support, tears of laughter streaming down her face.
"Explain," Leo said flatly.
Bella just shook her head, still laughing too hard to speak.
Jace shrugged mildly.
"Family reunion?"
Leo sighed.
It was the deep, long-suffering sigh of a man who had accepted that chaos was now a permanent part of his life.
Jay immediately seized the opportunity to sling an arm around Leo’s shoulders.
"Come on, bro. Let’s sit. Let’s talk. Let’s reconnect. I want to hear about your meeting. Did you threaten anyone? Did anyone cry? Tell me everything."
Leo allowed himself to be guided back to the table mostly because resisting Jay was exhausting and clearly pointless.
Bella finally managed to calm down enough to walk over and slide into the seat beside him. Under the table, her hand found his and squeezed gently.
"I missed you," she whispered.
Leo’s expression softened immediately. Just for her.
"Missed you too."
Jay plopped into the chair across from them, grinning like he had just won a prize. Jace sat beside him.
"So," Jay said, rubbing his hands together eagerly, "what did I miss?"
