Chapter 68: A New Realisation

Chapter 67

"That was fun." June sighed, clutching the shopping bag in her hand.

After they were done eating at the diner, June had requested a takeaway. She enjoyed the food so much that when she was leaving, she wanted more to savor at home.

They had dropped Ellie at her house, where she waved as if she didn’t want them gone. But she flashed the access card at June. "I promise to come visiting soon."

June nodded.

She had missed Ellie so much.

"I know you’re going to enjoy it," Chris responded, taking all the credit for himself.

June rolled her eyes. "It’s all thanks to Ellie. Wouldn’t you admit that?"

Chris went quiet.

Soon, they were pulling into the mansion.

June looked around. There were different buses and people bringing things in and taking things out.

She frowned as she watched them move effortlessly. "Is something going on?"

Chris also frowned.

He had no idea who those people were, and he wasn’t ready to confront anyone. This wasn’t the time to allow just anyone in and out of the mansion, especially since Nate was yet to give him a response concerning the fabric he had sent him.

"There’s just one way to confirm," Chris said, helping June with her bags.

On the way, the movers stopped to bow to them.

June responded, but Chris ignored them, moving swiftly into the living room.

At the center of the living room was Amie, giving orders to the movers, while Serena sat beside her quietly.

"What’s going on?" Chris said. He couldn’t get it in himself to greet them, not when there was something more important going on.

Amie moved closer to him. "Mother thought we should refurbish before the introduction. She also planned on moving the date forward."

Chris’s gaze finally darted to his mother.

It was very rare for his mother to make a decision without informing him.

"Mother."

Serena smiled at him. "This is for the best, Chris." She didn’t say more, but Chris could tell she didn’t want to discuss the topic in their presence.

He nodded.

Once his mother was alone, he would revisit the topic.

Meanwhile, with every item brought into the room, the smile on Amie’s face widened.

She had thought she would have to wait forever before something significant began to happen, but it seemed luck was on her side.

June ignored the commotion and returned to her room. After a long day of shopping and playing, she was suddenly feeling exhausted.

She tried to retrieve the bags from Chris, but he shook his head. "I’ll help you."

When he got out of June’s room, the movement was dying down.

They hadn’t actually changed anything major in the mansion. They had just been bringing the materials in.

Chris called one of the guards. "I want you to be vigilant. Try to monitor everything that’s been dropped and also make sure to check every one of them before they leave."

The guard nodded. "We ran a thorough check on them before they came into the mansion, and there was nothing suspicious."

Glad that they had taken that initiative, Chris dismissed the guard.

When he got back to the living room, Serena wasn’t there anymore. But a happy Amie was still coordinating the whole affair like she owned the mansion.

Chris turned back, ignoring her. He stalked towards the direction of Serena’s room.

After knocking lightly on the door, he opened it.

Serena’s room was the largest in the mansion. It had lots of tools to aid her movement and was void of anything that might get her injured easily.

She was resting on the bed.

"Why?" he asked.

Serena wasn’t the kind of person to allow different unknown men into the mansion, even in the name of refurbishing the mansion.

"Amie was attacked today."

Chris stopped in his tracks.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She went shopping in preparation for the introduction. I gave her a card because I want her to get the best of everything, but she came back crying that some random guy bumped into her and refused to apologize. He went as far as pulling her hair."

Chris frowned.

"June was also attacked, though it was disguised as a poor accident." Then, as if a thought just occurred to him, he asked, "Wasn’t she guarded by Gerald?"

"She claimed Gerald was busy." Standing up, she held Chris’s shoulder. "Is June okay?"

Chris nodded. "Thankfully, I was there to protect her."

"Great! I can’t delay letting the world know Amie is my daughter. I want my daughter to be protected under the Vassari’s name. No one would dare attack her knowing she’s a Vassari."

But Chris couldn’t agree with her.

Was Amie truly attacked?

Or did she come to lie just to get Serena’s pity and probably influence her to move the introduction date forward?

The whole situation seemed confusing.

Chris decided to hold the information on June’s attack until he got something back from Nate.

"I know, Mother. But I don’t want you to overwork yourself. You need to rest before getting your surgery done."

Serena chuckled. "Oh, about that. I met with the doctor. We are also moving the date forward. I want the surgery done before the introduction party."

Before Serena knew what was happening, Chris engulfed her in a hug.

After all these years of refusing to do the surgery, she was now eager to the point that she was willing to move the date forward.

"Let me know the date soon, Mother. I’ve a surprise for you."

Serena’s chuckle turned into laughter. "I’m sure it’s something that would make me smile."

"Of course, Mother. I promise that."

He left the room with a sense of assurance.

Just like Serena had said, he needed to introduce June as the heir to the Vassari’s empire.

It was high time he got rid of Amie. Just seeing her was an eyesore to him.

Since she claimed to be married to Rauf, he had no idea what she was still doing here.

Meanwhile, Rauf stared at the picture Chris had sent to him. His gaze had zoned in on the smile on her face.

It was the first genuine smile on her face, and it hurt that it wasn’t directed towards him.

He zoomed the picture to her face.

And that was when he saw it.

The picture had captured a masked man staring directly at June. He wasn’t looking at Chris, but June.

Rauf’s smile disappeared.

He zoomed in more.

The man’s gaze wasn’t on Chris.

Not Ellie.

But June.

Rauf cropped him out of the picture and sent it to Henson. "Find him."

Henson stared at the picture.

How was he supposed to find a man fully masked?

But that was all up to him.

Rauf couldn’t care about how he was supposed to find him. All he cared about was that he had found the man.

Chris had said he should make her trust him again. And that was exactly what he planned on doing now.

He patted Bingo.

Slowly, he was starting to get attached to the dog.

His phone vibrated.

Rauf stared at the caller.

"Mother."

Ever since he left Kansas, he had ignored everything that had to do with his mother. It still hurt that she had joined hands with others to actually hurt him.

He knew she hated the Trevor family, but Amie was part of it.

And she was willing to accept her.

Why couldn’t she accept June also?

He cut the call.

The only thing that could make him willing to pick her call was when June was willing to forgive him.

"Come on, Bingo. You need to eat up!" he told the dog.

At this point, the hotel was practically his home, as he had spent more time here than in his own mansion ever since he regained his sight.

He had thought it would be easy to win June and just go back to Kansas, but now what he needed was a permanent apartment here.

Probably somewhere close to the Vassari’s mansion.

Chris wouldn’t call it him trying too hard if he happened to bump into them in the street, right?

A small smile curled up his lips.

And if they were neighbors, there would be nothing wrong with dining with them once in a while or something similar.

"Do you think that’s a good idea, Bingo?"

The dog was suddenly used to listening to questions it had no answer to.

It barked at Rauf.

"Great idea. Then let’s get a realtor. The closer the house is to them, the better."

That single thought was able to take his mind off various things.

If June insisted on staying at New Central State, then he didn’t mind uprooting his life and starting here.

After all, he had started with nothing and made all this.

A life with nothing was bearable, but he didn’t want to imagine a life without June.

Now, that would be the most unbearable life.