Chapter 19: Bruce Shawn
Gianna left the Royal Club.
Just as she was about to get into her car to go back home, a thought struck her suddenly. She fished out her phone and dialled a number.
The call connected in no time.
The other end was bustling with noise.
"Gina, why are you calling me at this hour?" Maureen's somewhat excited voice came from the other end.
She was probably at the climax of his drinking.
"Where are you now?" Gianna asked.
"I'm at a club!"
"The Royal Club?"
"How do you know that?"
"I'm just at the entrance. Come out now."
"Why did you come here?" The voice on the other end immediately exploded with rage.
Gianna had never come to a nightclub.
"Come out and we'll talk." Gianna didn't feel like explaining on the phone.
Maureen emerged from the club seemingly in a rush after the phone was hung up not long.
She really saw Gianna's figure at the entrance. She was waiting there.
"Did you really come here to just see me?" Maureen felt incredulous.
"Go back with me now." Gianna immediately stated her intention.
"No way! You can't imagine how much fun I'm having now. How can I just leave like this?" Maureen sounded extremely reluctant.
"I have some business with you."
"And what is that?"
"We'll talk in the car." Gianna then stepped into her car without warning.
Maureen was really reluctant.
However, she was used to listening to Gianna ever since their childhood days. In the end, she ended up following her albeit with a pout on her lips.
Gianna instructed the driver to head to the Torres' villa.
Then, she revealed what she had come to say, "My mother's birthday is in half a month."
"What about it?"
"By that time, all the big four families of the higher echelon of society would get an invitation for the party."
"So...?" Maureen was still in the dark as to what Gianna was trying to say.
It was a birthday party by the elders. Shouldn't such a matter have nothing to do with her?
As the younger generation, all they were tasked with was to dress up impeccably and make an appearance at the party.
"In the party, at around 10, you have to take the initiative and invite all the younger generation of the four families to have a drink at the Royal Club?"
"Why do I need to do that?" Maureen probed.
"You just say that it has been a while since everyone has gathered, so they can't miss the chance to catch up." Gianna was obviously providing her with excuses. "Gianna, what are you trying to do here?"
"In the list of invitees, you must make sure that Helen, Gemma and Caesar are included," Gianna added thoughtfully.
"Gianna! I am really angry now!" Maureen was flaming up.
Some random words had been spoken, and she couldn't understand them at all.
Gianna ignored Maureen's outburst of emotion, "Just do like what I've said. The rest are not important."
"You are really going to enrage and suffocate me." Maureen was fuming now.
"Don't tell anyone about this." Gianna didn't forget to put in one last reminder.
"You must be crazy!" Maureen felt like she could no longer talk normally to Gianna at the moment.
Gianna didn't seem to be in the mood to elaborate too.
From the look of things now, nobody would believe her no matter how much she said.
The car slowly rolled into the Torres' villa and stopped just at the main door.
Maureen was on the verge of crying, "I still want to have some more fun at the nightclub!"
Gianna opened the car door and dragged Maureen out of the car.
"Be a good girl. Go home now." Gianna pulled Maureen all the way to the main entrance of her villa.
This was her second chance at life.
She really feared that Maureen would repeat the same mistakes as last time.
"Yes." Maureen looked completely unhappy.
It was only ten now. All the while she only ended up back home after midnight.
"Aren't you afraid that Bruce would come back and snatch away your inheritance? From now on, you should frequent the nightclub less ad go to work in your company more." Gianna put in some words of advice.
When Maureen heard the mention of Bruce's name, her face immediately changed.
She retorted, "Don't ever bring up that name in front of me, alright? You would make me lose sleep."
"He's just living under the same roof as you." Gianna splashed some cold water in response.
"...That is why I want to run away from home!" Maureen was very indignant.
Gianna frowned.
"I want to move out and stay together with Brandon." Maureen sounded excited when she described her plan.
"No way in hell!" Gianna cut her short.
Maureen was on the brink of breaking down, "Gina, just what is wrong with you now? Ever since returning from the Charmed Hills, you have been acting strange. Do you want me to find a sorcerer to check on you to see whether you have offended some foul spirits?"
"I am just fine."
"That's great, then. So why are you locking horns with me in everything?" Maureen sounded devastated, "You were never like this."
This was because she was oblivious to everything.
This was precisely the reason she kept making the same mistakes.
Gianna cut her short again, "Maureen, how are things with you and Brandon at this stage?"
"Why are you suddenly asking about this?" Maureen had a shy expression on her face which was a rare occurrence.
"We have made a promise when we were kids. We promised each other to tell each other about our first night and first kiss. Are you going to hide things from me now?" Gianna showed dissatisfaction. Maureen had never been able to refuse anything from Gianna, and she didn't know whether it had something to do with the fact that Gianna was six months elder than her. She addressed Gianna as her elder sister since she was young, and it had become something natural to her ever since, and she inadvertently always listened to her no matter what.
She replied, "We did kiss. What do you expect?"
"Did you guys sleep together?" Gianna was sure of this.
"I want that to happen too, but Brandon is quite traditional in terms of his thinking. You also know that he's an orphan who is a little insecure. I thought that me being brash would scare him.” "Alright then." Gianna nodded.
"What do you mean, alright then?" Maureen was really tired of Gianna's nagging.
"Anyway, you can't sleep with him before you marry him."
"What about you?" Maureen retorted.
She always criticized him, so how was her relationship with Caesar now?
Gianna hesitated.
At that moment, while faced with Maureen's counterattack, she felt a little befuddled and perplexed.
Based on the normal timeline, she didn't lose her virginity yet.
She remembered losing her virginity during the first night of her marriage.
She thought that it was the best present from her for Caesar.
Gianna shut her eyes tightly.
In this lifetime, she would never allow Caesar to touch her even once.
"Don't tell me you've slept with Caesar!" Maureen appeared very shaken when she noticed that Gianna was silent for some time.
"I didn't." Gianna refuted.
"Oh. I thought that you guys are sleeping together. But seeing that Caesar is so noble and gentle, I can't imagine him having pre-marital sex." Maureen muttered.
Her opinion of Caesar was a good one.
Not only Maureen, the whole of Kouby City thought that Caesar was the best gentleman in the world.
He was loyal, ambitious, gentle and classy...
A man who appeared so perfect would be a sight to behold the moment his façade was forcibly removed!
"Enough. You should go back and rest now." Gianna urged her.
Maureen reluctantly entered the villa through the huge entrance.
Gianna saw that she finally disappeared into her villa, so she turned around and was about to leave in her car too.
At that moment, not far away, a familiar male voice sounded, "Gianna."
Gianna froze.
She turned around and saw that Bruce was emerging from the darkness.
He was Maureen's stepbrother, and he was just six months older than her. His birthday was just a few days away from Gianna's, and he was a little elder compared to Gianna.
The three of them practically grew up together.
No matter how much hatred Maureen had for Bruce, the moment he became part of the Torres family since she was eight, she couldn't avoid living her life with Bruce being part of it. Furthermore, they were always together since their primary school days and only until their university years that Bruce had gone overseas for his studies.
But now, he was back!