Tangled in His Obsession

Chatper 227

Leandro and Keen arrived home together, Leandro still dressed in the black coat he’d left in that morning, clearly just back from work

He’d been working late hours for a while now, and Seraphina rarely asked about his schedule. Seeing him now, she couldn’t help but be a bit surprised, “It’s Christmas Eve today, hasn’t your company given you the day off yet? Keen, doesn’t your family celebrate Christmas?”

“Work’s more important.” Keen replied, then glanced at Leandro and headed upstairs.

Leandro stood by the sofa, looking at the casual clothes on Seraphina and Valerio, and said, “Go change.”

“Change for what?” Seraphina asked, “It’s Christmas tomorrow, where else are you planning to go?”

Leandro tilted his head slightly, looking at her, “What do you think?”

Christmas was a day for family gatherings, his implication was clear.

Seraphina, holding Valerio tightly, sat on the sofa, “Don’t joke around, Reynolds Vista Retreat is not for me and Valerio. The two of us would be more comfortable having a sandwich back than eating at Reynolds Vista Retreat. Isnt that right?”

Leandro didnt say much, just asked, “Would you go if grandpa asked you to?”

Hearing this, Seraphina froze in place, exchanging glances with Valerio, then finally sighed in resignation, “Well, if the elders say so, I guess I have to.” With that, she pushed Valerio ahead of her and they bath headed upstairs

Leandro stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching their retreating figures, his expression a touch heavy as he looked away

Just as Seraphina and Valerio got upstairs, they ran into Keen leaving Leandro’s study, a few files in his hand.

“Is there really that much work to do?” Seraphina couldn’t help but ask

Keen paused before replying. While we get to enjoy the holidays here, there’s always someone on duty in our overseas branches. Business cant stop.”

“He’s not overseas, he can’t be that busy” Seraphina retorted casually

“Mr. Reynolds has already planned his holiday at Starhaven, he’s leaving early tomorrow” Keen added, “You should know about this”

Seraphina was taken aback.

She did know about this.

Leandro had mentioned taking Valerio to Starhaven for a study trip, and they’d stay at Velverwood for a while.

But then she took on Patrick’s case and canceled Valerio’s trip, assuming Leandro would cancel his plans too.

“He didn’t change his plans? Seraphina asked.

Keen gave a resigned chuckle, “It’s a big deal, not something you can just change on a whim”

He added before leaving, “I need to get home for dinner with the family I’ll be going row”

As Keen walked away, Seraphina shrugged and turned to Valerio’s room to help him pick out clothes.

But Valerio had his own ideas. By the time Seraphina walked into his room, he’d already picked out a small suit to wear. This is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

“Looking sharp.” Seraphina walked over, straightening Valeria’s collar and combing his hair, “You could go back to Reynolds Vista Retreat today, at feast youd get a lot of presents”

Valerio pursed his lips slightly, clearly not too excited about this.

After helping him get ready, Seraphina looked at him for a moment before asking. “You look so much like your father…”

Wouldn’t Gloria love this grandson of hers?

Was he really overlooked just because his mother’s identity was unclear?

She didn’t voice her thoughts, and Valerio, confused, turned to look at her Seraphina shrugged, ruffled his hair, and laughed lightly. “You’re pretty handsome too”

Valerio also laughed, a bit shy, then looked at Leandro standing behind Seraphina

As Seraphina followed his gaze, she saw Leandro leaning against the door, obviously having heard her.

Leandro was indeed handsome in his twenties, but now, after more than a decade of ups and downs and the passage of time, he was more than just “handsome”.

So, Seraphina turned to Valerio and said, “Actually, you’re even more handsome than your dad. After all, you’re still young!”

Leandro was speechless.

It wasn’t until the three of them were heading out that Leandro told Seraphina, 1l be flying to Moonhaven after dinner”

“Okay.” Seraphina replied, “Keen already told me.”

Leandro didnt add anything else.

Dont worry, I’ll take good care of Valerio Seraphina said, reaching over to tweak Valerio’s cheek, laughing a bit mischievously, Didn’t I promise to take you on a short trip? Get a bunch of gifts today, and we can have a blast unwrapping them before we leave!”

Valario was clearly unhappy with Seraphina pinching his cheek, but he couldn’t help but feel excited by her words, his expression a mix of emotions that caused Seraphina to pinch his cheek a few more times.

Leandro turned to look out the window, ignoring them.

When they arrived at Reynolds Vista Retreat, the hall was bustling Over twenty members of the Reynolds family, with the exception of Ferne Reynolds and a few others of unclear status, had already gathered.

You could tell that the Reynolds Group was gonna have a good year. When Leandro strolled in with Seraphina and Valerio, everyone was all smiles and handshakes, including Billy Reynolds, who was cheesed off with Leandro for sending his daughter Ferne to the Bahamas. But even he was all grins.

Seeing all of this, Seraphina could only think to herself, “Man, money sure is sweet”

Thanks to Leandro, everyone was being super nice to her too. When they were handing out gifts to Valerio, they didn’t forget to hook up the new girl in the family.

Seraphina scored a load of presents, and even managed to coax a big one out of Conway Reynolds before she started asking about other stuff. She asked Conway, “Where’s Leandro’s mom?”

“She’s been haled up in her room, sick. Not seeing anyone, Conway said, “Might be for the best, less hassle, everyone’s more chill”

Sure enough, when it was time for dinner, Gloria was a no-show. No one seemed to care, they were all too busy getting pumped for Christmas.

It’d been years since Seraphina last felt this kind of holiday spirit.

No need to talk about her time in Velvetwood, and going further back, her years with the Reynolds family were always pretty bland when it came to Christmas dinner.

Other than Conway and Bruce Reynolds, no one really paid her any mind. After the big meal, she’d hide in a corner or retreat to her room, just some wallflower doing wallflower things

But there was an exception when she was seventeen.

That Christmas Eve, she had Leandro.

In the midst of that familiar buzz, she felt a thrill, a sense of anticipation. So, she didn’t head back to her room early, but chose to kick back downstairs watching TV

But she couldn’t remember a single thing about the TV show that night.

Instead, her mind was filled with images of Leandro and his cousins playing poker.

Mid-game, Leandro suddenly called it quits, “I’m getting a bit hot, you guys carry on, I’m gonna go shower”

Ignoring the groans of his mates, he got up and marched upstairs. Seraphina sat downstairs for a moment before also getting up and heading up.

Her plan was to go to her room, but when she got to the second floor, she found herself outside his door, hand raised to knock, then hesitating.

As she turned to leave, the door suddenly swung open, and a hand quickly pulled her inside.

Before she knew what was happening, she was pushed back against the door Leandro’s low, amused voice echoed in her ear, “You’ve been staring at me all night What’s that about?”