Tangled in His Obsession

Chapter 329

Due to time constraints, Valerio barely got a chance to settle in before Leandro had to rush off to the airport to get back to Sunburst City. He left Keen in charge of sorting out everything for Seraphina and Valerio.

But to Seraphina’s surprise, the accommodation Leandro had arranged for them was the old house from their past.

As soon as they walked in, they noticed a new wooden swing had been added under the old tree.

When Valerio saw the swing, his eyes lit up. He ran over, sat down, and started swinging slowly.

Watching him, Seraphina felt as if she was looking at a younger version of herself.

She stood quietly in front of Valerio, just watching him for a while before Keen’s voice broke her reverie, “The rooms Mr. Reynolds arranged for you are over here.”

At this, Seraphina just smiled slightly.

Without turning around or asking, she already knew which rooms Leandro had arranged for them.

Sure enough, it was the two rooms on the east side, which had been completely transformed since their last visit. The doors and windows had been replaced, yet the vintage vibe was preserved, harmonizing perfectly with the yard. The floors and walls inside the rooms had also been redone, and the furniture was all brand-new.

“We only did a simple refurbishment because we were worried about the formaldehyde and wanted you to move in quickly,” Keen explained. “You’ll have to make do with it for now.”

After exploring both rooms, Seraphina turned to Keen and said, “You’re too modest, Mr. Keen. If this is what you call ‘making do’, then I don’t know where else we could possibly live.”

Keen didn’t take credit for the work, simply saying, “I just followed Mr. Reynolds’ instructions.”

At this, Seraphina laughed lightly. “Then you can tell Mr. Reynolds that I’m very satisfied with the arrangements and thank him for me.”

Keen blinked in surprise, then laughed. “He’d be much happier to hear that from you.”

“Right.” Seraphina gave a knowing smile, then left the room to check on Valerio.

As she stepped outside, she bumped into Manley, who was just returning from the market.

“Seraphina, have you moved in?” Manley asked, walking over. “Perfect timing. Tonight, we’re making Bolognese lasagna. You used to love it when Mrs. Manley made it. Remember?”

“Of course, I remember,” Seraphina replied with a smile. “Now that we’ve moved in, we might have to trouble you and Mrs. Manley with our meals.”

“That’s no trouble at all! Cooking for four is no different than cooking for two, and it’s always more fun to eat together,” Manley assured her. “Besides, Leandro already mentioned it to me. If you ever get hungry, just come on over! By the way, where’s Leandro?” Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“He’s not here,” Seraphina replied. “But there’s someone else.”

As she spoke, she called Valerio over from the swing.

“Who’s this?” Manley asked, looking a bit surprised.

Seraphina wrapped her arm around Valerio and replied with a smile, “My son. Does he look like me?”

“Your son is already this big?” Manley exclaimed. “He looks a lot like Leandro, but on closer inspection, he does have a bit of your look too!”

Hearing this, Seraphina laughed.

That evening, after dinner at the Manley’s, Seraphina supervised Valerio’s bath. Just as she was about to take hers, Leandro called on video chat.

“Did you have a good dinner?” Leandro asked.

“I ate well,” Seraphina replied, pointing the camera at Valerio. “Look at your son’s tummy. He’s stuffed!”

Valerio immediately blushed and covered his round tummy y with a blanket.

“What about you?” Leandro asked.

“I also ate well,” Seraphina replied. “I’ve always loved Mrs. Manley’s lasagna.”

Leandro seemed satisfied with her answer and gave a small hum before asking, “After being away for so many years, are you getting used to life here?”

“I adapt quickly,” Seraphina replied. “After all, I grew up here. I won’t feel out of place.”

“Good.”

Seraphina paused for a moment, then asked, “Leandro, how long can I stay here?”

“As long as you want,” Leandro replied softly.

Seraphina couldn’t help but laugh. “So, can I just not go back?”

“You can,” Leandro confirmed.

Seraphina gave him a silent glare before asking, “Have you had dinner?”

“I’m about to.”

“Then hurry up.” Seraphina said, “I’m going to take a bath.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Seraphina put down her phone and looked at Valerio, “When did your dad become so easy-going?”

Valerio just shrugged, looking clueless.

The next day, Seraphina started a busy summer life with Valerio.

Leandro had mentioned he’d signed Valerio up for several summer classes, and he wasn’t kidding. Valerio had swimming two days a week, tennis two days a week, and art classes for the remaining three days. He was booked solid.

Whether it was because he was energetic or because he was happy to have Seraphina around, Valerio was excited about his busy schedule every day.

Seraphina didn’t have much to do in Summitville, so she spent her days taking him to classes and visiting local attractions after classes.

Since leaving the Reynolds family, Seraphina hadn’t experienced such a laid-back lifestyle in eight years.

At first, she felt a bit out of sorts, like she was just twiddling her thumbs, feeling empty inside every night as she lay in bed.

But as she gradually got used to it, she really began to chill out.

After all, the familiar environment, the friendly faces, the laid-back lifestyle, everything was just too comfortable.

No one wants to be on edge all the time unless they absolutely have to.

A few days later, Seraphina finally managed to convince herself to take a break from everything else and just live in the moment.

In comparison, Valerio adapted to this place much better.

Every summer break, there would be more kids his age in the small alley’s courtyards. At first, he was a bit shy, but after a few days, he was running around with those mischievous kids, disappearing from Seraphina’s sight before she knew it.

Though his bodyguard was always secretly keeping an eye on him, Seraphina got a real taste of what it’s like to have a rambunctious kid – even though Valerio wasn’t really that much of a handful..

One day, when she came back from the corner store with groceries, sure enough, Valerio had vanished again.

“That little rascal.” Seraphina complained as she put down her groceries, “One of these days, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind!”

No sooner had the words left her mouth when the room suddenly dimmed a bit, clearly someone was standing in the doorway.

Seraphina picked up a ruler that was laying around, turned to the door and said, “You dare to come back-huh?”

In the doorway, Leandro’s tall figure was leaning against the frame, his gaze fell on the ruler in her hand, then he slowly said, “Do you really not want to see me?”