“Mommy, today I came to see you. Are you happy there, Mom?” Shopia said as she gently stroked Francisca's grave. The child did not yet clearly understand the meaning of death. She didn't really understand who her mother was and why she died. However, Luka always took his daughter to visit Francisca's grave regularly every week. He wanted his daughter and his late wife to have a strong bond even though they were in different worlds.Shopia placed the flowers she brought on the grave, then kissed her late mother's headstone. She didn't know why she had to do that, but she was certain that she always did it every time she visited there.Luka just watched. He didn't want to show his sadness in front of his daughter. So, he always spoke and greeted Francisca from his heart. He was talking to himself a lot, expressing all his longing for Francisca. Outwardly he looked strong, but inwardly he was still devastated by Francisca's sudden death. His love was still very much alive when his late w
After the tomb, Caterina and Leonardo returned to the Villa. Alex immediately approached and informed him that there was a commotion at La Vendetta's headquarters in Mexico. Fortunately, all of that can be handled by his men on guard. It is suspected that the enemy attacked suddenly because they knew that Leonardo was abroad with Alex.There was no La Vendetta leader in Mexico, so they thought that they could paralyze the headquarters and take over Leonardo's leadership. Unfortunately, they were completely wrong, as Leonardo's men have fighting skills that cannot be underestimated. They are very good at martial arts, their weaponry is very complete, also they have very high solidarity between coworkers, so their cooperation runs smoothly to knock out enemies who suddenly come to attack.“That's good, I've never been wrong in choosing the members of La Vendetta.” Leonardo felt very proud of his leadership.The headquarters could not be broken into by the enemy in his absence. That woul
“I apologize for my behavior last night.” Leonardo apologized sincerely. He did not want their relationship to end so briefly just because of his jealousy.“I'm over it.” Caterina replied casually. She was used to the attitude and harsh words Leonardo had thrown at her. What he did last night was nothing to her. She did not feel hurt at all.Caterina was in a good mood this morning. She enjoyed her breakfast with great relish.A ringing phone call came from Leonardo's cell phone. The man reached for his cell phone to check who dared to call him at this time of the morning. Usually clients would call Alex to leave a message or pass on information. Only certain people knew Leonardo's private number.Luka's name flashed on the screen. He immediately accepted the call, thinking there was something important Luka wanted to say about their collaboration.“Does Kate have an event this morning?” Luka asked after they had exchanged pleasantries.Leonardo frowned. He turned to look at Caterina,
“Please organize my wedding with Kate as soon as possible. I will marry her after we arrive in Mexico.” Leonardo spoke with someone over a phone call. He couldn't wait for the day when he and Caterina became husband and wife.They could have gotten married in Sydney if they wanted to. However, Leonardo wanted Dante to attend the sacred event to give his blessing.“Yes, sir.” The man on the other end of the line answered in the affirmative.A few minutes after Leonardo gave the order and disconnected the call, his cell phone rang again. This time the call came from Dante. Dante was shocked and couldn't believe that Leonardo and Caterina were planning to get married in the near future. He was really surprised because Leonardo's and Caterina's relationship was not good enough when they left for Australia. Not even a week into their stay, they were already planning to get married after returning home.Dante was obviously delighted. His face was radiant, his eyes sparkling. He felt like th
“Kate!” Leonardo called out in a high tone as he opened a VIP room in a high-end hotel.All eyes immediately turned to Leonardo. Inside, there were many children and adults having dinner together. Only the rich could enter the room. The food menu is also not just any food. The cheapest single serving for a child is around 10 thousand dollars.Leonardo was silent. He suddenly froze in place. His face looked so stiff, he couldn't even breathe freely. He felt both nervous and guilty.In his heart, Leonardo was cursing his men for not providing complete information. The man only said that Caterina and Leonardo were in this room. As a sane adult man, of course he was jealous and thought of many things. He thought that Caterina was doing unwanted things together with Luka.“What's wrong, sir? You seem to have the wrong room.” One of the guardians made a comment.Leonardo did not answer. He just turned to look at Caterina who was sitting next to Luka. On the other side of the room, children w
“Honey, remember what I told you? Never force Aunt Kate to do anything.” Luka reminded his daughter not to force Caterina to do what she wanted.“But, Dad.” Shopia looked very frustrated. On the one hand, she wanted Caterina to stay with her. However, on the other hand, she also did not want to impose her will on Caterina.Caterina turned to look at Leonardo with a pleading look.“You go home first; I'll go home after the event is over. Don't spoil Sophia's happiness; I only spent one day with her.” Caterina said with firmness.Leonardo was silent. He did not give any response. Caterina's answer made him feel very disappointed. Caterina had already apologized for making him worried. However, the woman did not care at all about his feelings. He wanted her to come back home with him now, but she preferred Luka.Leonardo didn't know why Caterina chose Luka over him.“Come on, darling.” Caterina took Sophia by the hand to re-enter the room where they were having dinner together.Leonardo
“What do you mean?” Caterina stared with a look that demanded an answer. Her voice sounded shaky. Her heart seemed to have stopped beating. Of course, she had just felt the happiness of being able to find the love of the man she had been pursuing, but now he was breaking up with her in the middle of the road.This was so sudden; Caterina couldn't take it. She squeezed her dress, biting her lower lip to contain her feelings.“I just don't think we're compatible.” Leonardo replied simply.“Incompatible how?” Caterina did not accept the reason Leonardo gave. “We've just started; it's only natural that we still need to adjust. You know I love you so much; why is your way of hurting me so painful?” Caterina's eyes glazed over. She felt very hot on her face.Leonardo did not answer. He remained silent with his gaze fixed on the road.“Look at me!” Caterina pulled Leonardo's hand so that he turned to look at her.“I'm driving, Kate. Leave me alone.” Leonardo said coldly; he removed Caterina'
“What time will she leave?” Leonardo asked with indescribable feelings. He felt very conflicted. If he held Caterina back, Caterina would think that he was being too strict with her. However, if he let her go, she would think that he didn't care about her.Women are hard to understand!“Eight o'clock in the morning, sir.” Alex told him what he knew. Caterina never kept anything from him, so he knew all about her.Leonardo sighed harshly. He looked at Alex intently. His gaze this time looked very serious and deadly. His jaw looked so firm.“What kind of person do you think I am?” Leonardo asked suddenly.Alex frowned, not understanding. He felt very anxious now because he was afraid that he would answer wrongly and make his problem even more complicated.“Why do I never look good in Kate's eyes? Am I that cruel?” Leonardo asked very seriously. He understood if his enemy said that he was cruel, because he did treat his enemy without mercy. His goal was to look cruel so that his enemies
Caterina stood in front of the mirror. She looked at her reflection there. The beautiful face looked even more beautiful after being polished with makeup. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She tried to convince herself that this was the right move. She did not want to regret her decision to marry Luka. Here she had found so much love. This was the place where she could get what she wanted.There was a knock on the door from outside.Caterina invited him to enter. Dante stepped inside with tears in his eyes. He was touched when he saw his daughter in a wedding dress. He could finally see Caterina get married.As they had hoped, the world Luka offered was far from the hustle and bustle of crime. There were no enemies, no gunshots, no danger lurking every time they left the house.It was the kind of peaceful life that Dante and Caterina had always wanted. They had intended to escape to Sydney and start a new life in the city. However, they never imagined that they would mee
Leonardo looked at Dante very seriously. His eyes showed as if he was asking what was wrong. He wanted to know what Caterina thought of him."She doesn't hate you like you think. Kate is very forgiving." Dante said with affirmation.Leonardo was silent. In fact, even though Caterina had forgiven him, he still had no chance to get back Caterina's heart. His love story had ended there."Her wedding to Luka is in a fortnight. Come if you can." Dante informed.It seemed that the man's affection for Leonardo ran deep. Of course he did. He had taken care of the man since he was a baby until he grew up like this. The time he spent with Leonardo was far more than the time he had spent with his own daughter. Naturally, he felt that his bond with Leonardo could not be broken. Moreover, Leonardo has realized and regretted everything he has ever done."I'm not sure I can attend her wedding. I can't bear to see her married to another man." Leonardo said with a trembling voice. His eyes looked tear
The party finished just before 1am. Caterina felt very tired and sleepy. She was used to staying up late and sleeping early in the morning; it was just that she was not used to the crowded atmosphere and formal events like this. Interacting with so many people made her feel very tired. Her energy was drained very much. At this rate, she would need a few days of rest to fully recharge his energy."I'm sorry you had to keep me company until midnight." Luka felt guilty. He felt bad. He remembered when Leonardo had brought Caterina to an important event and asked her to go home first because Caterina felt uncomfortable. However, he could not do what Leonardo did, because Caterina was one of the important people in this event. It would not be good for her to leave the party in the middle of it.Caterina smiled broadly. It seemed that she had to get used to it. Because, in the future, she will attend more often in this way."It is I who apologizes for not being able to accompany you to the
"You go in first; I want to see my father first." Luka said as they arrived at an upscale hotel tonight. As Adam had said last week, tonight he would be holding an official party to announce the company's new leader, as well as to tell the public that Caterina was Luka's future wife.There will be a lot of media coming to broadcast the news. Caterina's name will become famous after this. She will be the daughter-in-law of the richest man in Sydney. Her profile and background will be explored by many people. If they knew that Caterina came from the dark world of the mafia, they would probably look down on her. She would be labeled as a bad person.Caterina nodded gently, she released her embrace on Luka's arm, and let him leave.Caterina didn't really like parties and crowds like this, so she felt very uncomfortable. She stepped very clumsily into the building where the party would be held.However, Caterina's steps were halted as the doorman stopped her. They asked her to show her inv
"Daddy is home." Caterina told Shopia that Luka had arrived at the villa. They started to get ready for the surprise. Caterina brought a big cake, while Shopia brought a small cake because she was not strong enough to carry a big cake.Today was Luka's 34th birthday. Caterina and the others had prepared a small party at home. They were celebrating with family only. No invitations, no friends. There were Alex and Dante, who joined in the festivities. Adam had only been notified a few minutes ago.They stood at the door. Waiting with their hearts racing. This was the first time Caterina had celebrated a birthday for Luka. She didn't know how he would respond. She didn't want to expect more, because she had been disappointed so many times. When she celebrated Leonardo's birthday, he didn't want to look at her at all. Let alone accepting her gift, he even threw the cake that Caterina offered.Having been hurt too many times, Catarina no longer had high hopes. Even though she knew the woun
"Why are you here?" Adam looked at his son with a probing look."Where else am I supposed to be? I need to go to the office to check my work after my two-week. There are a lot of files that I need to go through and sign off on. There's already a lot of cooperation pending. It's time for me to get back to work." Luka answered honestly."The work can be taken care of by others. There are many people who can be entrusted to take care of everything. You shouldn't have left Kate. She's still recovering." Adam seemed very concerned. Even now he was starting to be overprotective of his future daughter-in-law.Luka smiled a little. He hadn't expected that to be the reason his father had asked him about why he was at the office this morning. He thought it was something else; it was because he left Caterina for work."She's fine. She asked me to come back to work. I have Alex and Dante looking after her at home." Luka explained."That's good that you are. You check all these files and give them
Hearing Caterina's words, Dante felt very happy. He had never thought that his daughter would give him a chance. The man smiled broadly. He approached Caterina, then hugged her very tightly."I know I've made many mistakes. This time I promise I will make up for all my past mistakes. I will be a good father to you." Dante said with great tenderness.Caterina nodded; she returned her father's hug gently.Luka looked happy to see that Caterina and her father's relationship had improved. His dream of improving their relationship had finally come true. At least that was all he wanted for now."No one needs me to take you to the airport, right?" Alex asked reassuringly after he saw Caterina and Dante hugging each other. The two had made up."I guess," Dante replied as he released her hug."Daddy!" Shopia ran to her father. She clung to her father's thighs. In her arms was the doll she got from Adam. She still thought it was from Caterina."Who is she?" Dante asked as he looked at his daugh
"Dad?" Caterina was taken completely by surprise when she came out of the room to find Dante standing at the door. She was petrified for a moment, staring at her father with a mind filled with question marks. Since when had he been there? Why was he suddenly there? What was he doing there? All these questions ruled Caterina's mind."Kate..." Dante said weakly. His eyes looked teary. His whole body was trembling. He couldn't help but feel, even more so after he learned that Caterina had died and finally came back from the dead. He did not expect that his daughter would go through so many difficult times because of him."I'm sorry." Dante said in a hoarse and trembling voice. He hugged Caterina very tightly. His embrace even made Caterina moan because of the pain in her wound."I'm sorry." Dante released the hug because he did not want to hurt his daughter further. He gently rubbed Caterina's shoulders. A knot of a smile appeared on his lips. However, his eyes were moist from crying.Wh
"I can help you if you want. You don't have to spend your time in prison. No one knows how long you'll be locked up there." The man in the formal suit spoke with emphasis. He had travelled from Mexico to Sydney after learning that Leonardo was involved in a criminal offense and had to deal with the law.If he had wanted to, Leonardo would have relied on his connections to get all charges dropped. However, he did not want to do that, as he realized that he was wrong. Moreover, Caterina forgave without wanting to prolong. He felt ashamed, angry, and disappointed in himself. There were countless mistakes he had made. There was no telling how much pain Caterina had received. He wanted to make up for all his mistakes, at least by being locked up in a detention cell for a few months."You don't have to do that. I wanted this." Leonardo replied expressionlessly.The man was quite surprised by Leonardo's refusal. How could he? How could he voluntarily submit himself to trial? He was the ruler