Chapter 45
Although she had a hunch, Seraphina was still taken aback by Valeno’s sudden appearance. The fact that he came alone, without anyone with him, was a real shocker “How did you get here?” Seraphina squatted down to ask Valeno “Where’s your family?”
Valero didn’t answer, just kept staring at her
So, left with no other option, Seraphina took Valerio into the house
Upon entering the room, they found Conway seated comfortably on the sofa Valerio’s eyes widened in surprise as they darted first to Conway and then to Seraphina. Conway mirrored his gaze, first looking at Valerio, then turning his attention to Seraphina
After a moment, both Valerio and Conway found seals on separate sofas flanking Seraphina, observing her while she was engrossed in a phone call
On the other end of the line was Karan, reporting that Valerio had slipped away unnoticed and she was now desperately searching for him
As she listened to the phone call, Seraphina rubbed her temples and cast a helpless look towards Valerio and Conway, who were seated right in front of her
After hanging up. Seraphina looked at Conway seriously, “Grandpa, your great–grandson dared to run away from home at such a young age Aren’t you going to discipline
him?”
Conway casually took a sip of water from the cup in front of him and said, “He came to find you. Besides, before he met you, he never did anything like this, so you should be the one to discipline him”
Seraphina bit her lip and laughed. “That’s not my job If you’re not going to discipline him, then if he gets lost, that’s a problem for the Reynolds family”
“The Reynolds family? Conway repeated.
“Grandpa, although I see you as my own grandpa, I’m not a part of the Reynolds family after all!”
Conway sneered and furrowed his brows
Seraphina felt a headache coming on.
She couldn’t shake off the little guy and the old guy was becoming more and more stubborn. Who had she pissed off to deserve this?
As Seraphina was thinking about how to discipline Valerio, the doorbell rang again
The moment she opened the door, Seraphina thought that she should move to a bigger house. How could such a small single room accommodate three people from the Reynolds family?
Leandro, dressed in a dark suit, looked at her coldly with furrowed brows
“Mr. Reynolds, what a coincidence Seraphina stepped aside. “Your family’s old man and little guy are waiting for you to pick them up.”
Leandro entered the room, his face devoid of any emotion. He called out “grandpa, and then his attention shifted to Valerio,
Valerio recoiled and quickly stood up, rushing over to Seraphina and clutching her leg tightly. He bowed his head and remained silent.
Leandro didn’t say much, just a simple command “Valerio, come out
Valeno clung tightly to Seraphina’s leg refusing to budge even when she tried to move His grip only tightened.
“Ten seconds” Leandro’s voice remained cold and hard, leaving no room for negotiation
Though Seraphina wasn’t intimidated by Leandro, she could still feel the intense chill emanating from him Valerio, who was clinging to her leg, seemed to feel it too. He trembled slightly but still held onto her tightly
“Hey!” Seraphina called out helplessly “d your dad is calling you!”
Only then did Valerio lift his head and look at Seraphina
His eyes were full of hope and longing It was clear as day but she had never given him anything
While Seraphina was still in a daze, Valeno suddenly lifted a piece of paper and handed it to her
When she saw what was written on the paper, her heart clenched
It read. Are you my mom?
For a moment, Seraphina seemed to be in a trance It wasn’t until she saw Leandro’s deep eyes again that she snapped out of it
Valerio was still hugging her leg tightly, waiting for her answer
Seraphina wanted to laugh, but she never did
Finally, she said slowly and coldly, “I am not.”
The anticipation in Valero’s eyes hadn’t had time to fade as he stared blankly at Seraphina
Taking a deep breath, Seraphina crossed her arms and looked at Valeno, then explained again, “I am not your mom. Do you understand?”
“Valeno Leandro’s cold voice echoed again
This time, Voleno finally let go of Seraphina slowly, lowering his head and dragging his feet towards the door.
Leandro silently watched Valeno until he came to his side. Only then did he look at Conway in the room and asked, “Grandpa, are you leaving?”
“You guys go first” Conway said. Tll come down later”
Without even looking at Seraphina, Leandro turned around and left with Valerio.
Seraphina watched their retreating figures, then turned to Conway and said, “Grandpa, with your grandson’s temper, I’m afraid your wish for getting him a wife won’t be easy 10 fulfill
Conway didn’t respond, only slowly stood up and walked over to Seraphina. He bent down and picked up a piece of paper from the floor.
Seraphina looked down and saw that it was the paper Valerio had just been holding
Only then did she notice that the paper was crumpled, and it seemed like it had been on him for a while since the writing was somewhat faded.
Conway looked at the paper, then quirked an eyebrow at Seraphina
Seraphina raised her hands and said, “I didn’t do anything“”
Conway horsted his hand, slapping the paper onto Seraphina’s forehead, then left without uttering a word.
Seraphina stood frozen until the sound of footsteps in the hallway faded Slowly, she took the paper off her forehead and gave it another glance
Turns out, she managed to piss off three men from the Reynolds family in one night.
Seraphina closed the door walked over to the trash can, and chucked the piece of paper in
At night, a sleek black Bentley cruised smoothly through Sunburst City
In the backseat Valerio sat between Leandro and Conway, his small head almost slumped down to his chest.
Leandro, engrossed in replying to emails on his tablet, seemed oblivious to Valerio.
The father and son had their own special way of communicating that didn’t involve anyone else, even Conway. But after several glances at Valerio, Conway couldn’t help coughing
Leandro, not even lifting his head, said, “What’s up, Grandpa?”
“I didn’t expect Valerio and Seraphina to hit it off so well, Conway said
“Hmm Leandro didn’t deny it. “But their relationship is over now”
“Relationships between people aren’t so easily ended.”
Upon hearing this, Leandro put down the tablet, fetched a pair of headphones from a drawer, and placed them on Valerio’s head
Valerio didn’t move or react
Only then did Leandro look at Conway. “He doesn’t like Seraphina per se, it’s just that she gives him a different vibe than other women. He’s yearning for a mother’s love. something he has never experienced, so he mistakenly thought that was what a mother felt like. You wouldn’t take a six–year–old’s views as facts, would you?”
“After all these years, Seraphina has changed completely, and you still can’t stand her?” Conway shot a glance at Valerio “You’re his father. You should consider him.”
