“Wh-what?” Leonardo looked nervous as Caterina thrust the food into his mouth. His cheeks were flushed red, his heart beating very fast.“Don't you dare? Your behavior makes me suspicious.” Caterina stared with a probing look. She did not dare to taste the food that had been placed before her. She was afraid that the food had been contaminated with poison. She put her spoon and fork back on the plate of lasagna.Leonardo was silent for a moment; he was trying to normalize his heartbeat. He was trying to regulate his breathing. Once he had calmed down, he grabbed a spoonful of lasagna and devoured it with relish. The man looked deeply at Caterina, not taking his eyes off her at all. He tried to convince her that there was nothing in the food.Caterina looked at Leonardo intently; she was thinking hard. If Leonardo dared to eat the food, it meant that the food served to him was indeed not poisonous. However, why was Leonardo's reaction so suspicious when she thrust her spoon at him? If
The car drove at high speed through the city streets that never died. There were many vehicles passing by. The scent of Leonardo's body still lingered on the car seat where he used to sit. Caterina sighed roughly, inhaling the scent deeply. Every time she smelled Leonardo's body scent, she felt calm and peaceful. There was a strange feeling that crept into her heart every time she inhaled the scent.No matter how hard she tried to lie about her feelings, she could not cover up the fact that her love for Leonardo was still as great as ever.Caterina shifted; she tried to find the most comfortable position to sit. Until an object stuck in her footstool made her bend down to check it.“This is ....” Caterina picked up the object with an inexplicable feeling. The look on her face changed; instantly her memory was thrown to a few years ago.It was Leonardo's 17th birthday. Caterina was so excited and enthusiastic. She prepared a surprise party, decorated the room, prepared a birthday cake,
It turned out that Leonardo's business this time was quite long, he only returned to headquarters three days later. He came home very tired, dirty and full of blood. Just by looking at that, Caterina could already guess what had happened. Leonardo was involved in another battle, but she didn't know who his enemy was this time. Fortunately the blood was not Leonardo's, it was just the enemy's blood splashing onto his body and clothes. He only had a small cut on his palm. It seemed that he parried a hand weapon attack with his hand.Some of Leonardo's men were badly injured. However, there were no casualties. Everyone returned safely.Caterina didn't know what to do. She was actually worried about Leonardo's condition, she wanted to run over and check on him to make sure he was okay. However, Caterina didn't want to take the wrong step. She was afraid Leonardo would get angry again. The woman could only stare from a distance.“Kate, please help me treat the others.” Dante gave the order
“Are you busy? I want to talk to you.” Caterina asked after she entered Leonardo's study. “Get used to knocking on the door before you enter.” Leonardo looked annoyed. He closed this month's financial report book, then took a deep breath. He looked up, looking at Caterina with deep eyes.Caterina's gaze turned to Leonardo's palm, which was wrapped in bandages. Leonardo seemed to understand; he hid his hands behind a pile of files on the table."Why are you looking for me?"Caterina was silent for a moment. She tried to gather her courage before asking, because she had to be ready to accept whatever answer Leonardo would give her."Is this yours?" Caterina held out a necklace, the necklace she found in Leonardo's car the other day.Leonardo looked very surprised when he saw the necklace in Caterina's hand, but he tried to act normal. He doesn't want to admit his feelings right now, because he is too proud. He was used to rejecting Caterina, being rude to her, even swearing that he wou
“Sir, your necklace has been found,” Ben said excitedly. He thrust the necklace in front of Leonardo. His face looked radiant because he was imagining what prize he would get. Leonardo was quite a generous boss; he never calculated money problems. It's just that he is quite cruel if his men make mistakes.Leonardo looked at the necklace with an incomprehensible look. There was no reaction whatsoever when Ben returned the necklace that he had been looking for for several days. He should have been happy that it was back in his hands. However, he felt lost. He didn't know what to do.“Call Alex here.” The man gave the order coldly.Ben looked confused. He was a little disappointed that Leonardo didn't say anything about the return of the necklace he was looking for. However, he couldn't protest; all he could do was do what Leonardo told him to do.The bald man moved out of Leonardo's study.Leonardo reached for the necklace. He gripped the pendant tightly with a strange feeling. What exa
“Get up and leave this room quickly if you want your daughter to live.” Leonardo said firmly; he looked very scary.“Please don't kill her, sir.”“Didn't you hear my order?!” Leonardo's tone of voice rose.Hearing Leonardo's growing anger, Dante feared that his temper would soon explode and take out his frustration on Caterina. He didn't know what the man would do to his daughter. However, if he continued to be there, Caterina's life would be in danger. So, he had no choice but to get up and leave the room.Dante closed the door tightly at Leonardo's command. However, he didn't want to leave the room, so he waited behind the door. He put his ear to door leaf, trying to eavesdrop on what was going on in there.“Didn't Alex tell you to come see me?” Leonardo stared at Caterina like a predator staring at prey.“He told me.” Caterina replied casually.“Then why didn't you come to see me?”“I already know what you want to say, so I didn't need to come to see you.” Caterina glanced in all d
Once satisfied, Leonardo left Caterina alone. He walked out of the room without saying a word. The expression on his face was unpredictable. No one knew what exactly was in Leonardo's heart and mind, apart from himself.Caterina could only cry with her weak body lying on the floor. Some parts of her body were bruised and swollen, a sign that Leonardo had done it very roughly. She felt extreme pain and soreness in her groin. In her heart now there was only anger and hatred. The man she had been in love with for a dozen years had done something so hurtful to her. Not even Marco had done that to him.“Kate!” Dante ran into the room after Leonardo disappeared from there. The man ran over. His world seemed to collapse when he saw his daughter lying on the floor without clothes. His heart sank when he saw his daughter's body covered in wounds, as well as love juices. Even Caterina's inner thighs were stained with the blood of her hymen.Dante hugged his daughter with a trembling body. He wa
Caterina finally fell asleep after Dante treated her wound. There was a bigger wound depicted on Caterina's face. It was not a physical wound, but a mental wound that would never heal.Dante looked longingly at his daughter's face. His eyes were red, his chest tight. What kind of father was he to bring his daughter into such great danger?“I'm sorry, Kate.” Dante said in a hoarse, trembling voice. He rubbed his daughter's bruised face. It was still puffy, as Caterina had been crying the entire time until she fell asleep from exhaustion.Dante wrapped his arms around Caterina's body, then lovingly kissed his daughter's forehead. He felt sick when he remembered the last time he had kissed his daughter's forehead. Their time together was too short because he was too busy with work. When he realized, his daughter had grown up without affection.“I promised you that I would be a good father to you. I won't break my promise this time.” Dante said with emphasis, as if he were talking to hims
"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
After a week in the hospital, Caterina was finally allowed to go home under the condition that she must always be under the doctor's care. Her pale face had also started to look fresh. Luka had really taken good care of her during her hospitalization. He even neglected his work during this week. For him, Caterina was more important than work. Even Adam also preferred to be in the hospital rather than working."Slow down." Luka said gently as he helped Caterina out of the car. He carried her, half-hugging her, to step into the house."Mommy!" Shopia ran over when she saw Caterina had finally returned. She hugged Caterina's legs very tightly, as there was a lot of longing building up."Where are the souvenirs, Mommy?" Shopia looked up, looking at Caterina with sparkling eyes. Her face looked radiant, a sweet smile gracing her lips. She didn't know anything about what had happened to Caterina, because Adam had told her that Luka and Caterina were travelling to Mexico for a week to take c
Caterina woke up in the morning when the doctor came to check her condition. She had slept very well the whole night, due to the effects of the medicine the doctor had given her. The woman frowned as she felt the glare of the light. Her eyes narrowed to look around. She was quite surprised to find Adam there."Uncle?" Caterina called out weakly.Adam approached with a smile. He felt guilty for all the things he had done to Caterina in the past. He felt guilty for hurting her. If he had known that Caterina was a victim of Leonardo's selfishness, he would never have antagonized her. He would have loved her with all his heart and regarded her as his own daughter."Stop calling me uncle; call me father from now on." Adam said with great tenderness. He rubbed the top of Caterina's head, the look in his eyes showing that he had truly accepted Caterina completely.Caterina smiled with a gentle nod. She was very happy with Adam's behavior because she felt as if she had a loving father. All th
"Kate! Where's Kate?" Adam ran in breathlessly. The whole city of Sydney recognized the middle-aged man. So, the security guards and doctors didn't dare to hold him back or reprimand him. The man looked very panicked, his face and eyes full of worry. Fortunately, he had not heard the news about Caterina's death. He had only heard from his men that Caterina was being treated at the hospital for being shot in her vitals.The door opened with Adam appearing behind it. The man looked at Caterina, who was sleeping on a hospital bed in the VIP room. There were numerous devices attached to her body."Dad?" Luka was surprised to see his father there. His brow furrowed, he looked around. His father had come alone."Why are you here?" Luka asked in a tone demanding an answer. He had told his men to keep this matter a secret from Adam or Shopia. Why was his father suddenly there?"Do you think I'm that cruel? I told you that I have recognized Kate as my daughter-in-law. Why would you keep a matt