Chapter 78
After deciding to move into Balch’s villa, Seraphina took a very serious tour of the house.
The whole house has eight bedrooms, twelve bathrooms, and Seraphina can enter most areas, but there are still two rooms that she can’t open.
She knew very well what was in those two rooms, and she didn’t seem to care much about it. After visiting the remaining rooms, she turned around and bumped into Balch who was coming down the stairs
Seraphina leaned against the hallway wall and watched him, I’ve seen about everything, so which room will be mine?”
“Any room you fancy?” Balch asked
Seraphina shrugged, “they are all the same to me really.”
Balch took a couple of steps forward, gradually getting closer to her.
Seraphina’s breathing subtly tightened.
“If you don’t mind, you could bunk in my room.” Balch dropped his eyes, looking at Seraphina, he slowly said.
Seraphina couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “If I take your room, where are you gonna sleep?”
Balch didn’t answer but reached out and put his hand on Seraphina’s waist.
In this romantic and ambiguous atmosphere, Seraphina’s body stiffened slightly.
Balch easily noticed her reaction, but Seraphina seemed to want to hide it, she took the initiative to move forward and hug his waist.
Balch was quiet for a moment before he smiled slightly. “It’s okay, I’ll wait until you’re ready.”
After hearing this, Seraphina spoke in a somewhat low voice: “I m not-
But Balch just gently patted her on the back, saying: “You’ve been too tense lately. Take some time to rest.”
Seraphina leaned into his arms without moving. After a while, she finally said. “You’re being so nice to me. I might just fall for you…”
Balch couldn’t help but chuckle. Before he could say anything, they suddenly heard the doorbell ring.
The two exchanged glances, and Balch took Seraphina’s hand and led her downstairs to open the door.
Unsurprisingly, the person standing at the door was Karan, who had just seen their every move.
She saw Balch and Seraphina holding hands, her face suddenly changed, she slapped Seraphina’s hand hard, making Seraphina pull her hand back in pain, she sternly asked, “Seraphina, what on earth are you doing?”
Although Balch didn’t make a big move, he still stepped forward to protect Seraphina. Seraphina rubbed her hand, looking at her somewhat wronged, “Karan, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing? Don’t you know your place?” Karan looked at Seraphina and Balch, “As Leandro’s fiancée, you came here, holding hands with another man, what’s the meaning of this?”
Hearing this, Seraphina glanced at Balch and then slowly said, “Karan, everyone knows that’s just a strategy to salvage the reputation of the Reynolds Group. I’ve been playing along in front of the reporters, isn’t that enough? Or do you want me to totally sell myself out?”
“Even if you’re playing a role, you should play it all the way through” Karan glanced at Balch, What you are doing now? It’s simply shameless!”
“Karan.” Balch finally spoke up to defend Seraphina, “Seraphina is my friend. As for her relationship with Mr. Reynolds, I will talk to him personally. You don’t need to worry”
Hearing this, Karan glared at them for a while, then stormed off.
Seraphina turned to look at Balch and shrugged helplessly.
Balch squeezed her hand, “I’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t really care if you can’t.” Seraphina huffed, saying, “I’m a free woman, not Leandro’s item. It’s not his place to tell me how to live.”
Late at night, Leandro’s car slowly drove into the garage.
When Karan heard the noise in her room, she immediately put on her clothes and went downstairs, just in time to see Leandro come in.
“Why are you only just coming back? Karan rushed up to Leandro, “Do you know, that shameless woman Seraphina, she went home with Balch today!”
Leandro took off his suit and changed his shoes, but only asked, “Oh really?”
“What kind of response is that?” Karan looked at him. “Are you just going to let her run wild?”
As Leandro walked in, he replied, “What else can I do?”
Knowing that his indifference was a sign of his bad mood, Karan lost her temper, “How should I know? If you’re in a good mood, go get her back. If you’re not, find a way to get rid of her!”
Leandro paused, turned to look at her, “You don’t like her, do you? She’s not around me, you should be happy”
Karan rolled her eyes. “Does my opinion matter? Who’s gonna listen to me? Would you? If you did, you wouldn’t have brought her into this house in the first place!
As she spoke, she walked past Leandro and went upstairs, muttering complaints as she went, “She’s always causing trouble!*
Leandro didn’t respond to her complaints, but walked over to the liquor cabinet and got himself a drink.
After finishing his drink, he sat quietly on the couch staring at the rim of the glass for a long time. Then he put down the glass and went upstairs.
From the study on the second floor, the mansion across the street could be seen, lurking in the night, like a beast ready to devour
Leandro lit a cigarette and sat in the chair, silently watching the house across the street.
At three o’clock in the morning, a room across the street lit up on time.
Leandro, hidden in the night, stared at the house across the street, just as Seraphina had done from this room before.
******
The next morning, Leandro was out early, playing golf with the chairman of the Sunburst City Business Association before heading back to the company.
For the Reynolds Group, looks like they’ve weathered the current storm, with the company’s stock steadily rising. But Leandro has got a ton on his plate, so even weekends are crazy busy for him.
First thing at the office, his secretary Yasmina reported some changes in his schedule at him, then cautiously asked, “Mr. Balch’s secretary kept ringing. She said Mr. Lawson wants to meet up, but she didn’t mention if it’s business or personal…”
Leandro was reading his emails, didn’t bat an eyelid at the news
Yasmina had been with him for years, so she knew the drill. She left his office after the report.
That evening, Leandro had a dinner at the winery. Just when he was about to leave, he bumped into a few familiar faces at the door.
Edgar Lamont burst into laughter the moment he saw him, “What a coincidence! You’re always too busy for a drink, but looks like you can’t dodge us today”
Victor Farris also cracked a smile, “Quite a rare occasion indeed.”
Herman Garcia was the last to walk in, and greeted Leandro with a simple, “Leandro.”
Seeing Herman, Leandro finally stopped, turning to Edgar, the happiest of the bunch, “Guess I won’t dodge today then,”
They had all grown up together, and despite Leandro becoming increasingly aloof over the years, he occasionally showed a glimpse of his old self in their presence
Among them, only Leandro had taken the reins of the family business early on, keeping busiest and making the fewest appearances, not to mention his frequent headlines, so naturally, he was the center of the attention.
“Man, you’ve been in some hot water lately, almost became a suspect, what’s it like?” Edgar, never one to mince words, asked straight out.
Victor’s long fingers drummed on the armrest of the couch, as if recalling something, “Seraphina. the girl who used to live at your place? She’s not really how I remember her. I thought she was timid, who knew she could stir up such a fuss?*
Herman scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “Leandro, sorry about that. My division was handling the investigation, but I happened to be away for training at the time. If I had been there, things wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand.”
“It’s not your fault, Leandro finally said, “Even if you were there to suppress it, she could still stir up trouble.”
“In the end, it all died down, didn’t it?” Edgar looked at Leandro, “Tell me, did you use some kind of tricks or threats?”
“I don’t think so, Victor looked at Leandro, “That girl has always had a thing for him. She probably used this to set him up, forcing him to acknowledge her as his fiancée, didn’t she?”
“But that doesn’t add up, what role does Balch play in all of this?” Edgar was even more puzzled.
The two men were discussing the past hot topic on their own, while Leandro was just chatting with Herman, “You’re going on a training trip, is there another promotion for you?”
Herman was born into a military family, but instead of relying on family support, he had set his heart on police academy and became a detective.
“Promotion or not, it’s all the same,” Herman said, “I’m still investigating. What about you? What’s the deal with all this news?”
Leandro was always a cold and steady man, suddenly being swept up in a love triangle and causing such a stir, it was unlike him, which was hard to understand.
Hearing the question, Edgar and Victor pricked up their ears.
But Leandro still didn’t answer the burning question everyone was curious about, he just said to Herman, “Doesn’t matter. Come by my place when you have time, we need to talk.
Herman just nodded.
“Boring!” Edgar guessed he wouldn’t get any useful information out of Leandro, but then added, ‘Wait, I’m coming too, I’d love to meet your troublemaker fiancée, to see what kind of woman dares to scheme against Leandro.”
“I’d like to meet her too, Victor said.
Herman slowly nodded and chuckled, “I’d like to meet her too”
Leandro acted as if he hadn’t heard their teasing, just picked up a cigar and held it in his hand, his movements slow and composed
On her third day moving into Balch’s villa, Seraphina tried to cook him a meal
But before Balch even came back, she had thrown all the burned or raw ingredients into the garbage.
When Balch got home, he only saw two cups of water on the table, and the air was filled with a strong burnt smell.
“Is this the dinner you prepared? Balch looked at the two cups of water and asked.
Seraphina shamelessly nodded, “Yes, light and pure, good for your health”
Balch couldn’t help but laugh.
Seraphina picked up a cup and drank, “It’s perfect. I’m meeting my idol tomorrow, so I might as well diet tonight.”
“Who is it?” Balch asked.
Seraphina waved her finger, “Guess it.”
