Eleana walked down the stairs before making her way over to the living room, where everyone was sitting at the moment."Hey Eleana! We were waiting for you." Emiliano greeted Eleana with enthusiasm the moment their eyes met. Eleana smiled at him before taking a seat next to Amara."Why?" Eleana asked while scanning the crowd around her curiously. Eleana couldn't help but frown when she noticed her siblings weren't there."We are going shopping. Since there's a huge party next Saturday. You have heard about it, right?" Lucia was the one who answered, making Eleana nod slightly. She looked at Amara, who smiled at her, making her smile back."Yeah, Amara informed me yesterday." Eleana sighed while leaning back in her seat."Great. You are coming with us, right?" Lucia asked, grabbing Eleana's attention. She thought for a moment before nodding."What about Ayden and his friend? Aren't they joining us?" As expected, Benita was the one who asked the question, making Eleana roll her eyes."I
Eleana got out of the car and smiled at her two siblings, who were already waiting for her. She was wearing her shades since it was sunny outside."Let's go." Eleana turned to look at Ayden, who walked towards her while putting on his shades. That was undeniably sexy. He was wearing a casual white shirt and blue, ripped jeans. It was rare for Ayden to dress casually, as he's always in his business suit."I still can't believe you are coming with us." Eleana chuckled while hooking her arm with his."Did you really think I was going to leave you alone in an unfamiliar place?" Ayden's voice was somewhat serious, which made Eleana sigh."No, I'm glad you are here with me. We all can go somewhere fancy for lunch." Eleana hugged Ayden's bicep while grinning like a child."Where's everyone else?" Eirene wondered while looking around for other people. Their other cousins also came, but they were in different cars."They are probably inside. Let me call Amara." Eleana replied while taking out
Eleana entered the private venue holding Ayden's arm. She was wearing a silver evening gown showcasing a deep v-neckline both in the back and front, a thigh split, and an asymmetrical side piece. The dress hugged her body perfectly as she walked with Ayden. Her soft, silky hair was flowing naturally on her back, while her makeup was done minimally. Ayden, on the other hand, was wearing a black suit with a white shirt underneath. His hair was swept back and styled perfectly on top of his head.When the couple entered the venue along with the Santoro, they surely turned a lot of heads. Eleana kept her expression natural as she entered the luxuriously decorated venue, which screamed money."It feels weird to be here." Eleana heard Lucien's voice beside her, making her smile."You should have accepted Adrina's invitation to be her date." Eleana teased while leaning a little towards Lucien, who smiled while shaking his head. He would be nuts if he accepted that crazy woman's invitation."N
Eleana had excused herself from the crowd to go to the washroom. Ayden wanted to accompany her, but Eleana refused, saying it was a lady's washroom, so he couldn't protest. But Ayden sent Amara and Eleana. After finishing their business, Eleana and Amara left the restroom and made their way back to the party."Can I ask you a question?" Amara cleared her throat before asking Eleana. Eleana looked at her before nodding with a smile."Is it about Lucien?" Eleana asked back with a smirk. Amara's eyes went wide in shock when she heard Eleana's response."How did you know?" She asked back while biting her lips; embarrassment was clearly written all over her face, making Eleana chuckle."I am not blind, you know." Eleana couldn't help but tease the poor girl, making her face burn red after getting caught."It's not like that. It's just that I think he's Amara hesitated while looking down shyly. Eleana smiled at her cute reaction. She stopped on her track before turning to face Amara, who av
Eleana, Ayden, and the rest of the people returned to the Santoro villa after the party was over. Everyone returned to their rooms, saying they were tired as soon as they entered the living room. Eleana noticed Antonio and Luca walking towards Antonio's study. The expressions on their faces weren't good; she could tell. It made Eleana curious to know what happened to them."Gosh! I'm so tired." Lucia groaned while stumbling on her steps. Eleana watched Emiliano help her walk up the stairs. She had a little too much drink, which made her tipsy."I will get going too. See you in the morning, Eleana. Good night." Amara also excused herself while glancing at Lucien from the corner of her eyes. His attention was already focused on her. Eleana smiled and nodded at her."Good night, Amara." Eleana greeted her back when Lucien suddenly spoke up."I have something important to do, so I will also excuse myself. Good night, Belle." He cleared his throat before speaking. Eleana wanted to roll her
The next morning, Eleana woke up late, which made her hurry to get ready. Ayden woke her up a few minutes ago, which made her mentally scold Ayden for not waking her up in time. After taking a quick shower, she changed into a pair of comfortable t-shirts and some ripped jeans. She didn't have time to dress up since they were already late. Everyone must be waiting for her. With that thought in mind, Eleana hurried downstairs.As expected, everyone was waiting for her, including her husband, who smiled at her. She shot him a glare before walking towards him."I apologise for being late. I woke up late." Eleana quickly apologised while taking a seat next to Ayden."It's fine. You don't need to be sorry for such a small matter. Instead, you should rest as much as possible." Sophia, being the kind-hearted woman, said while passing a bowl of porridge for Eleana."What's that?" She questioned herself while taking the bowl. Eleana's eyes went wide when she realised it was her favourite porrid
The car ride to the hospital was filled with silence. Eleana was still upset because of the incident that took place in the morning. Moreover, Lucien suddenly flew to Canada without informing her. It added fuel to her already sour mood. Ayden was sitting on her left, while Eirene was sitting on her right. Leonardo was in the driver's seat, while Elio sat in the passenger's seat. None of them spoke a single word after what happened at the dining table.The more Eleana thought about it, the more her will to take her siblings and her mother out of there grew. Ayden glanced at her, worried, before reaching out for her hand, which was placed on her lap. He grabbed her hands, making her look up at him. When their eyes met, Ayden lightly squeezed her hands while gesturing to her to relax and not worry. Eleanor stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a defeated sigh. She nodded and intertwined their hands. It made Ayden smile.After around an hour, they finally reached the hospital
After Eleana and the rest of the people returned to the Villa, Eleana called the elders of the house in the living room, especially Antonio.At the moment, everyone was already present in the living room except Antonio. He was still in his study, which was why everyone was patiently waiting for him to arrive. Eleana and Ayden were sitting beside each other, while Leonardo and Sophia sat across from them. Luca and Giulia were also beside them. Guilia was a little impatient among everyone as she kept glancing at the direction from which Antonio was supposed to come."What's the matter? Why isn't Father showing up yet?" Guilia questioned no one in particular. Eleana glanced in her direction before heaving a sigh."He's in a video conference. He will be here in a while." Leonardo replied while doing something on his phone. Giulia raised her eyebrows before nodding."Then what happened in the hospital? You guys didn't say anything after returning from the hospital." She asked again while g
Eleana slowly walked towards the long mirror planned in the centre of the room before standing in front of it. Her sapphire-blue eyes collided with her reflection in the mirror. She looked a little nervous. Eleana tried to swallow it down while glancing from top to bottom. She was dressed in a white mermaid wedding gown with a sweetheart-illusion neckline. The silhouette of the dress stayed fitted from the chest to her knees and then flared out the rest of the length to the floor, along with the long veil adorning the top of her elegant bun. Eleana could feel her heart palpating against her chest as she stared at herself. Her make-up was done elegantly, and her hair was put in a beautiful low bun. She was wearing a small diamond necklace, which her mother bought for her, along with matching earrings."You look beautiful, baby." Eleana heard her mother's soft voice behind her, making her turn around. She smiled at her mother and Kathleen."Thank you, Mama. You two look gorgeous." Elean
Eleana slowly opened her eyes before closing them again to adjust to the light. She felt like her whole body was on fire. She couldn't move at all because of the pain she was feeling in her lower body. She frowned while looking around the unfamiliar room and bed she was in. As she tried to remember what happened, her head began to hurt, making her let out a painful groan."You are awake. Don't move, Princess." Eleana heard Ayden's worried voice, making her turn around to face her. She visibly winched when she noticed his awful state. He looked absolutely awful with those dark circles and eye bags."What happened?" Eleana tried to get up while asking. Ayden was quick to react. He stopped her own time."Don't move." He warned her while gently pushing her down. Eleana frowned and was about to ask him more questions when her hand accidentally brushed her stomach, making her eyes widen in shock. Her stomach was flat."My baby!" Eleana exclaimed as flashbacks started to run through her head
"What rubbish are you talking about?" Giovanni gritted out while clenching his fists tightly. As he spoke, his facial expression changed, and he glanced at his father, who looked puzzled as well."You should know this better than me." Ayden chuckled while glancing at Lucien, who suddenly got up from his seat and then brought some documents out of nowhere. He then walked towards Leonardo and handed him all the files. Leonardo took the files with a nod before putting the documents in front of Antonio, who leaned forward and took one of the files before opening it."These are the proofs of what you, Luca, and Alessandro have been doing for years behind our backs." This time, Leonardo spoke up and then pulled out a remote from his pocket. He pressed a button, which made some piles of documents and photos flash on the screen one by one, making both Luca and Giovanni's eyes go wide in pure shock and terror. Antonio's face changed colour as the icy mask he had been putting on all along dropp
"What!" The three of them asked in unison. The rest of the family members were also shocked as they stared at Antonio in shock. The only people who were calm in the whole room were Eleana, Ayden, Lucien, and Leo. Eleana glanced at the man who sat quietly beside Antonio without much expression on his face."You guys heard me," Antonio responded coldly."How could you say that?" Giovanni couldn't contain his anger as she raised her voice at Antonio."Dad, are you out of your mind? This marriage is important for us. for our business. Everything's already done. The deals are signed. How can you just call off the marriage?" Luca roared at his father. He couldn't believe his impulsiveness. This old bastard was out of his mind."I see you two have already learned to raise your voice at me." Antonio chuckled while turning to look at Ayden. They exchanged a look before Ayden nodded and then pulled out a remote out of nowhere. He then pressed the remote, making the big black monitor light up. E
Finally, the most anticipated day arrived. It was Andres and Idalia's wedding day. The ceremony was supposed to take place in the afternoon. Even though the whole villa was busy preparing for the wedding, the members of the family were quiet, except for the younger ones. For the past two days, the wedding preparation has been going on, yet there has been no wedding vibe at all. Ayden and Lucien had been really busy for the two days, and Eleana hadn't gotten a glimpse of Ayden since the day she informed him about the things she found out from Eirene. After that, he disappeared again with Leonardo and Lucien, leaving her puzzled. The only thing he informed her was that he had a few surprises for her, which she would get on the wedding day. He just recommended that she relax and enjoy herself. Eleana was really suspicious about his behaviour. He suddenly turned oddly secretive after he rescued Lucien, and after that, he had been spending a lot of time with Leonardo. Eleana had suspicions
After successfully putting ointments on her bruise and treating her, Eleana put away the first-aid box. A long silence filled the room as Eleana looked at her sister, who was biting her lips while looking down. "Are you feeling better now?" She finally asked, breaking the silence. Eirene looked up at her before slowly nodding her head. "Do you want to talk about it?" Eleana asked gently, giving her space and time. She didn't want to force or pressure her to talk. She wanted to comfort her first so that she could talk about it on her own. At first, Eirene didn't respond. But after a minute, she reached out her hand before grabbing Eleana's hand. "Who did this to you?" Eleana asked while holding Eirene's hand. She could see her visibly shaking after hearing the question. "Eirene. I need to know who did this to you. You don't need to be scared. I'm here to protect you. Ayden's also here. No one can hurt you or us. I promise I will make them all pay. Each and every single person who da
The next day, regardless of all the chaos that had taken place previously, the whole Santoro Villa began to prepare for the upcoming wedding. The wedding was supposed to take place within the next two days. Even though there was wedding preparation going on around, the people of the villa were quite calm. Eleana couldn't feel the wedding vibe at all. Eleana was more concerned about the plan Ayden was working on. He didn't tell her everything in detail. Just some vague answers left her confused. However, Ayden had requested that she trust him and sit back. He didn't want to drag her into the plan and stress her out because of her pregnancy. She's already in a crucial state.Even though Eleana wanted to engage herself, she had no choice but to obey him this time. She had already neglected her baby, and it almost harmed her. She couldn't let this happen again. She couldn't help but sigh as she walked through the corridor to go downstairs to find Eirene. The plan Ayden was working on alon
After storming out of Antonio's office, Eleana directly made her way toward her bedroom. She was shaking because of anger. How could he just say something like this? Eleana wanted to leave this house as soon as possible. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but none of it worked."Eleana." She heard Ayden's voice calling her, which made her turn around instantly. Ayden heaved a sigh after seeing her state."Are you okay?" Ayden asked in a soft voice while walking towards her. Eleana looked at him before inhaling and exhaling deeply."How could he just demand something like that? How could he?" Eleana sounded bitter and emotional as she let out the question. Ayden reached her and then pulled her into a hug, making her wrap her arms around him slowly."It's alright. Please don't cry because of this." He pleaded while rubbing her back soothingly. Eleana let her tears flow while closing her eyes."I just can't help it, Ayden. I feel so disappointed and angry." Eleana mumbled i
Eleana's eyes slowly travelled towards Lucien, who stood behind Ayden while looking lost in his thoughts. Eleana's eyes went wide in shock when she realized she had almost forgotten about his presence. He had a white bandage covering his forehead and arms."Lucien!" Eleana called out his name, grabbing his attention. She slowly separated herself from Ayden before rushing towards him. Lucien looked at her before passing her a weak smile. His whole body was covered with bruises here and there. Eleana's heart sank deeper as she noticed his state."How did this happen?" She cried out while rushing into his arms. Lucien carefully hugged her while wincing in pain when she accidentally brushed his injured arm."I'm so sorry, Lucien." Eleana cried while hugging him. Lucien chuckled before separating her from him."It's alright, Belle. I'm fine." He replied with a wide smile while trying to show her how strong he was. It only made Eleana's heart hurt more."You need to sit first. Come with me.