“Take me home, Paulo,” Semion tiredly instructed his personal driver as he entered his car.“How are you, boss? You look more exhausted than usual,” Paulo noticed before starting the car and driving out of the parking lot.“Tsk! That's none of your business. Just tell me what happened at the mansion while I was away.”“Well, I heard that your family sent over some new people, more than a dozen of them.”He raised an eyebrow. He expected that to happen, but he didn't think his family would be so obvious about wanting to monitor him and Celeste.“What a pain in the ass. What did Celeste do?”“She only accepted five, Boss. And she just sent a message to your family.”“Oh!” he chuckled. “Good.”As the car journeyed, he closed his eyes for a moment, taking a brief rest.Eventually, they arrived at his mansion, and his energy returned as soon as he stepped out of the car.“Hey you, where's my wife?” he asked a passing maid.“Good evening, Primo Semion! Seniora Celeste is in the dining room,
"Yahoo! Semion’s wife picked up the two servants I sent her!" Primo Luca joyfully announced to his parents."Well," Primo Alessandro, Semion and Luca's father, placed down the letter Celeste had sent him, expressing her gratitude for being accepted into the family but stating that she could only accept five people for various reasons. The truth was, their family deliberately sent over many people to increase the chances of Celeste choosing among them. Because if it were only ten people, Celeste would surely only pick two or three.“That's just a trick, and it's not bad that we got five people to report to them about the current relationship of our son Semion and his wife Celeste,” Primo Alessandro released a mischievous grin. “Three of them will be with Isabella and me.”“You're right about that, hon,” Isabella, his wife, smiled as she sipped her hot coffee."Argh! Annoying! Not even one of the people I sent was chosen!" Valentina shouted in frustration. "But weren't the ones I sent
Celeste woke up the next morning to find Semion no longer lying beside her. She felt around the bedsheet where he had been and noticed it was cold, indicating he had gotten up a while ago.She sighed in relief and also got out of bed despite feeling sleepy and having her eyes half-closed. She headed straight to the bathroom. She went to the toilet and lowered her pajama pants to sit down and relieve herself.*BAM!*“C-Celeste…”At that moment, Semion had just opened the sliding door of the shower in the same bathroom. His eyes met Celeste's, who was sitting on the toilet, and they widened, although only one eye witnessed the scene.His pants were down to his knees, along with his white underwear. She saw the smooth and fair skin on the side of Semion's thigh. Her mouth dropped in shock.“S-Semion?” Celeste's sleepy eyes suddenly widened in alarm. Her face quickly registered extreme surprise.With her own eyes, Celeste could see Semion's bare torso. His hair and body were soaked, and s
One Month Later (Lombardi's Residence)"It's been years since the Lombardis last hosted a party! I heard they laid low for a while because of Primo Alessandro's health issues. What do you think the party is for this time?""I have no idea, but maybe they just want to make some noise again. Do you think it's because Primo Alessandro's condition has improved, or is he passing on the inheritance to Primo Semion?""If that's the case, I should start attracting Primo Semion! He still hasn't responded to Dad's marriage proposal—maybe I'm one of the candidates he's considering to be his wife!""I don't know about you, Veron, don't you already have a boyfriend?""Well, then I'll break up with him, duh!"The three women conversing were none other than Celeste's friends. Celeste had been standing behind them for a while, while they stood around a stand-up cocktail table, holding glasses of wine and gossiping.She couldn't find a moment to interject because her friends wouldn't stop chatting.'F
The mansion where the Lombardi family often hosted events like the current one was majestic and enticing, its doors open only to those who came from influential families.Upon entering the luxurious ballroom, one could see sparkling candelabras, beautifully arranged and expensive flowers serving as decorations, and the dazzling chandelier.The invited guests murmured in awe at the beautiful sound of the live performance by the famous orchestra.“I've never expected the House of Lombardi to hold such a random event out of nowhere. Knowing they've been quiet all this while, this is truly surprising.”“What do you expect? The Lombardi family has always been this secretive and mysterious.”“That's true. But it only makes me want to form an alliance with them. My younger sister is already an adult, so…”The group of men conversing were businessmen or respected professionals. Some were politicians, lawyers and judges, doctors, and architects. Almost everyone in the ballroom exuded class and
As the night deepened, the crowd inside the ballroom grew even larger. Semion observed the elegant people inside, each in their respective groups engaged in conversation.He stood straight on the second floor of the venue, leaning slightly against the corridor.“Oh, would you look at that?” he fixed his gaze on the man wearing a white suit, holding a glass of wine and chatting with two other men. Arrogance was evident on his face.““I'm betting ten million as well. This party is for showcasing their wealth and status. They have nothing else to do in life but throw money around and flaunt it in our faces.””Semion smirked deviously upon hearing those words from the small wireless earphone in his ear, spoken by none other than Darson.The ballroom was filled with recordings, allowing him to listen to people's conversations inside even though he was far away.He heard Darson's annoying laughter, so he irritatedly removed the wireless earphone from his ear and crushed it, causing it to ma
"It's been years since our family threw such a lavish party," All attention was focused on the elderly man speaking into the microphone at the center of the stage. Despite the evident signs of aging on his face, Primo Alessandro's physical vigor was still apparent."It looks like he's in good shape," whispered one guest. "That's probably why they're hosting the party."Primo Alessandro continued speaking. "To all who have accepted our invitation, I'm delighted to see you on this important evening. In fact, I'm not the star of tonight, and I won't dwell on my health recovery, as you all can see that I'm still doing fine. But tonight, my first son is the one who is behind this party, as he has a special announcement he's been excited about."The murmur of whispers quickly grew louder and filled the room. Just hearing Semion's name thrilled the women---it was evident in their sparkling smiles and the way they gazed at Semion as he stepped onto the stage next to his father.Who wouldn't b
Men used to court someone like Celeste Costa when she was still a young maiden. But everyone knew she was already spoken for and set to marry, that's Darson Allegra. However, those who eavesdropped on the gossip in upper-class families knew that the relationship between the two had not been good for a long time, even though they kept quiet about it.And in the past two months, their separation had become even more public. Darson had no idea how the news had spread because it was impossible for anyone in his mansion staff to talk. But unbeknownst to Darson, the rumors circulating made him out to be the villain.The eyes of the people in the ballroom alternated between Darson and Semion and Celeste in front of the stage. The whispers grew louder and louder. Even the people were conflicted about what to think and feel in this explosive situation.The guests didn't know whether to sympathize with Darson, applaud loudly for Semion's announcement, or what to make of someone like Celeste. Te