Chapter 416
Chapter 416
Seraphina looked incredulously at him, asking, “Are you seriously trying to negotiate terms with me?”
Leandro, with unapologetic audacity, nodded, “Yes.”
Seraphina gritted her teeth, saying, “What do you want to negotiate?”
Leandro bent down slightly, ensnaring her within his arms, “What do you think?” Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
Seraphina locked eyes with him for a moment, then resignedly lay back on the bed, “Fine, go ahead.”
“What are you doing?” Leandro frowned slightly at her defiant posture.
Seraphina knew he was playing dumb. She immediately hopped off the bed, “Forget it. I don’t care that much about those pictures anyway.”
She was about to leave when Leandro pulled her back into his arms, pinning her back on the bed. Leandro gently lifted her chin, whispering, “How could I resist when you’re in the mood?”
“You pervert!” Seraphina accused without hesitation, “Shameless!”
Leandro let her rant until she was done, then finally leaned down to silence her with a kiss.
After a few rounds of intimacy moments, Seraphina lay exhausted in his arms, not moving a muscle.
Because of the presence of Valerio, their intimacy felt stolen and therefore all the more precious.
Leandro cradled her in his arms, kissing her forehead before murmuring, “On the coming holiday, let’s take Valerio somewhere.”
Seraphina, who was drifting off to sleep, bolted awake at his words, “Valerio has a break, but do you?”
“I’ll make time.” Leandro replied.
Seraphina huffed, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You’ll only disappoint Valerio.”
Leandro gently stroked her back, simply saying, “I won’t.”
Seraphina gave a small nod of agreement, not saying anything more. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep in his arms.
Upon learning of the upcoming vacation and the planned trip, Valerio was ecstatic. His eyes were bright with anticipation for several days.
Since they decided to visit Scandinavia, Seraphina worried about Valerio handling the cold. Therefore, she started shopping for winter clothes in advance.
They initially only intended to buy a few outfits for Valerio, but they got carried away while shopping. They ended up with a heap of new clothes.
Seraphina was pleased and Valerio was happy to go along with it. They spent an entire evening trying on outfits, each one earning Seraphina’s approval.
While Valerio was thrilled with his new clothes, he didn’t forget his parents. He picked out a few items for both Seraphina and Leandro.)
Seraphina trusted her son’s taste and bought a few outfits in the style that Valerio liked.
As for the coats that Valerio picked out for Leandro, they had to be brought in from another city, so Leandro couldn’t see them yet.
Returning home loaded with shopping bags, they were both famished. Valerio had a craving for burgers and fries, so Seraphina took him to a popular diner.
The restaurant was packed, but the manager enthusiastically managed to squeeze them in at a table in the main hall, “Mrs. Reynolds, is this okay? If not, we can find you a different table.” Seraphina was easygoing and accepted the table as it was. It was a bit busy, but she and Valerio weren’t bothered by the attention.
Valerio, truly hungry, dug into his food as soon as it arrived.
Seraphina was content to watch Valerio enjoy his meal, helping him wipe his mouth and reminding him to drink some juice, “Eat slowly and drink your juice. Don’t choke.” Valerio nodded obediently, allowing Seraphina to clean him up and feed him juice. Seeing that Seraphina hadn’t eaten much, he held out his burger for her to take a bite.
Seraphina took a bite from his hand and couldn’t resist giving him a kiss on the cheek.
While they were enjoying their meal, someone suddenly stopped by their table.
Seraphina didn’t notice until Valerio looked up and his face changed drastically. The food he was swallowing got stuck in his throat and he quickly turned and buried his face in Seraphina’s
chest.
Seraphina quickly wrapped her arms around him and turned to see Gloria and her friends standing by their table.
It had been a long time since Seraphina had seen Gloria. She had intentionally avoided her, and Leandro had also kept them apart.
Gloria, who she had purposely avoided even during the holidays, was now standing there, creating an uncomfortable rendezvous.
Seraphina noticed that Gloria still looked pale. Despite the elaborate makeup, she looked visibly worn out. Her eyes were vacant, and when she saw Seraphina and Valerio, her confusion was apparent. It quickly turned into a familiar loathing.
Gloria despised Seraphina, as always. And she despised Valerio as well. At that moment, in Gloria’s eyes, her hatred was doubled.
But Valerio was still nestled in Seraphina’s arms, his tiny delicate hands gripping her tightly.
Seraphina didn’t give Gloria any attention, her mind was fully occupied with Valerio who had choked a moment ago.
She lifted Valerio’s head, observing his complexion while anxiously asking, “Did you choke? Did you manage to swallow it?”
Valerio didn’t answer, but his flushed face had already answered Seraphina’s question.
Seeing this, Seraphina quickly cradled Valerio in her arms, standing up and hastily heading towards the bathroom.
Valerio remained silent throughout, clutching onto Seraphina’s shirt, unwilling to let go.
Gloria stood where she was, watching Seraphina as she hastily left. Her gaze remained gloomy, dark and unexpressive.
In the bathroom, Valerio exerted a large amount of effort to cough up the food lodged in his throat. His little face was already flushed and purple. The moment he managed to cough it up, tears began to fall.
Seraphina’s heart felt as if it was being crushed. She quickly held him close to her, kissing his forehead while comforting him, “It’s alright now, mommy’s here. Don’t be scared. With mommy here, no one can
bully you.”
Valerio clung onto her, resting his head on Seraphina’s shoulder as he sobbed softly.
Seraphina felt a heartache so intense that she almost shed tears herself, but she managed to hold it in.
“Mommy’s here,” she simply repeated to comfort Valerio, “Don’t be scared, mommy will protect you…”