Chapter 443
Chapter 443
When the house keeper bombarded Seraphina with a barrage of questions, she suddenly became alert. After nudging Valerio upstairs to play with his legos, she finally responded, “All this talk about happiness, it’s just so vague. For me, it’s all about Valerio. If he’s having a blast, then I’m over the moon. I’m just worried about the mess with Leandro’s case. Sooner or later, someone’s gonna use me and Valerio to threaten him, just like that scandal at the airport.”
The house keeper seemed to be in the know about the airport scandal and quickly offered a knowing smile, “Mr. Gray in the news, he’s quite the self-made man, isn’t he?”
“Oh, yeah,” Seraphina replied without hesitation, “He was swindled out of his inheritance when he was young. Then he went off to the big city and made a fortune from scratch, he’s legend.”
“No wonder Leandro was so cut up about it,” The house keeper observed. This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.
Seraphina straightened up, “He was upset about the news?”
“Upset doesn’t cut it,” The house keeper said with a tsk. “He was like thunder for days, hardly spoke a word, buried in his work, barely touched his food!” Seraphina touched her chin thoughtfully- She had assumed Leandro was giving her the silent treatment on purpose, but maybe he was genuinely upset? Surprisingly, when he arrived in Summitville, he hadn’t shown much sign of it, meting out a little ‘tough love’ before letting the matter drop. The more Seraphina pondered over Leandro’s mood during those days, the more she found herself trying to stifle a chuckle.
“You weren’t trying to get a rise out of him, were you?” The house keeper chided. “That’s playing with fire, you know. Nothing good comes from riling up your partner like that.”
“Heavens, no!” Seraphina protested with a laugh. “He knows the stories were bunk, and he still got hot under the collar. Can’t blame me for that…”
“He has so much to take care of, it’s gotta be exhausting” The house keeper sympathized. “He’s already got a lot on his plate, and seeing you on the news with another? Of course, he’d get upset. Can’t you cut him some slack?”
Seraphina was about to argue that Leandro wasn’t the fragile type, but the words caught in her throat. After all, Leandro did shoulder a heavy burden, and it was tough on him.
With a sigh, she said, “Alright, I’m heading up for a shower, clean up nice and fresh, and when he comes home, I’ll give him the royal treatment. How about that?”
With that, she rose and made her way upstairs.
The house keeper swatted at her playfully, “You’re incorrigible!”
True to her word, Seraphina went straight to her room and into the bathroom. But once inside, she paused.
During her absence, the bathroom had changed- Not drastically, but her personal items had been relegated to a corner, replaced by Leandro’s essentials in prominent spots.
His toothbrush, shaving kit, aftershave-all strategically placed.
His bathrobe hung by the window, his towel on the rack.
His slippers were in the corner, the showerhead adjusted to his height.
All signs that Leandro had claimed the bathroom as his own while she was away.
After a thorough scan of the bathroom, Seraphina lay down on her bed, immediately enveloped by a familiar scent.
Clearly, Leandro hadn’t just taken over her bathroom but her bed as well.
Seraphina lay there, still as stone, lost in thought.
At noon, Lorenzo Reynolds himself accompanied Conway back to the Reynolds Manor.
Upon seeing Conway, Valerio rushed to him with the same enthusiasm he showed in their daily video calls, exclaiming in person, “Great-Grandpa!”
Conway’s face lit up, and if not for his frailty, he might have swung Valerio around in joy.
When Seraphina saw Lorenzo, she immediately inquired about Conway’s health.
“Grandpa’s been better over the past few months, but lately, there’s been a downturn,” Lorenzo explained. “It’s clear he can’t afford to get worked up. At his age, these upsets can take their toll.”
Seraphina sighed, “If I could, I’d take Grandpa away from Sunburst City and off to Summitville for a peaceful life.”
Lorenzo gave her a knowing look and said slowly, “Don’t forget, Grandpa’s family is in Sunburst City. Those are the ties he can’t bear to break.”
“I know,” Seraphina replied. “So I guess I’ll just have to make time to keep him company more often.”
Thus, Seraphina spent the afternoon with Conway, and with Valerio hogging all the affection, she felt somewhat sidelined.
When dinner came around, Seraphina cooked personally, eager for Conway to taste her cook. However, Conway merely glanced at her and grumbled, “Aren’t you going to call your husband and
check when he’s coming home?”
Seraphina arched an eyebrow, “I came back especially to keep you company. Can’t you appreciate that?”
“What do I need company for at my age?” Conway shot back, his own eyebrows raised in challenge. “You’d better off giving me another great-granddaughter to cheer me up,”
“Oh, so now that you’ve got a great-grandson, you’re done with your granddaughter, is that it?” Seraphina retorted. “I’ll remember that.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Conway dismissed her. “Worry about your husband!”
“I won’t,” Seraphina declared with a smirk. “Not only am I going to fuss over you, but I’m also going to tuck you in tonight.”
And with a playful roll of her eyes, Seraphina’s banter with Conway carried on into the evening, a blend of affection and playful jabs filling the manor.
Conway glanced at her with a wry smile, “Who are you kidding, Seraphina? You’ve been checking the clock all afternoon. It’s pretty obvious you’ve got someone on your mind. You think I’m too old to notice?”
Seraphina clenched her teeth in frustration, while the house keeper couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, then handed over Seraphina’s phone, “Give him a ring, dear. It’d be nice to know if we should wait for him for dinner.”
“Wait for what?” Seraphina retorted. “If he wanted us to wait, he’d call himself.”
No sooner had the words left her lips than, as if on cue, Seraphina’s phone began to ring.
Her eyes snapped to the device, the screen flashing with Keen’s name.
A call from Keen could only mean something about Leandro.
Conway watched with barely concealed amusement as Seraphina glared at him before finally picking up the call.”
“Ma’am?” Keen’s voice came through, tinged with an unusual edge.
A bad feeling surged in Seraphina’s chest, but she kept her voice steady, “What’s wrong?”
“Mr. Reynolds is injured!” Keen spoke urgently, “He’s been stabbed by his mother!”