Chapter 232: Something Important

"No, Sophie said it’s Cecelia."

The moment the words left Trish Hale’s mouth, she regretted blurting them out.

She couldn’t really blame herself. The message had caught her completely off guard, and the excitement made her shout without thinking.

The only reason she hadn’t jumped up in celebration was because her mom was sitting right there.

The room fell silent.

Vivienne and Naomi exchanged knowing glances. They had both known about Cecelia, but neither of them expected her to be the first to carry Luca’s child.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hale and Mrs. Hale were left speechless.

The thought of becoming grandparents filled them with joy, yet they were equally stunned to discover that Luca had yet another girlfriend.

’Just how many girls does this brat have?’

Then another thought crossed Father Hale’s mind.

’Can his body even handle all this?’

...

By the time Luca drove back to the villa, evening had settled over Elvis Muskov Villa.

After changing into his slippers and stepping through the foyer, he immediately froze.

Everyone was waiting for him.

"Hehe... Mom, Dad... Vivienne, Naomi... you’re all here."

He laughed awkwardly, instinctively shrinking his shoulders.

The last thing he’d expected was to find Vivienne and Naomi sitting with his parents.

At that moment, he silently thanked heaven that Diana wasn’t here.

If she had been...

He didn’t even want to imagine it.

Vivienne walked over with her usual graceful smile.

"Naomi and I came to visit."

Although she looked calm, the warmth in her eyes betrayed how much she’d missed him. It had only been a little over a week, yet it felt much longer.

Naomi crouched beside Daisy and gently took the little girl’s hand.

"Hello, Daisy. I’m Sister Naomi, and this is Sister Vivienne."

Daisy looked up at them curiously before offering a shy smile.

From the sofa, Mr. Hale, Mrs. Hale, and Trish stared at the scene.

For some reason...

It looked strangely natural.

One man.

Three women.

A little girl.

It almost resembled a family portrait.

"You little rascal!"

Mr. Hale’s voice shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

Luca immediately looked over.

"Dad?"

"I’m asking you something." Mr. Hale folded his arms. "Is it true? Is the girl in New Orleans really pregnant with your child?"

"...Yes."

Luca nodded honestly.

"When are you bringing her here?" Father Hale continued. "She’s pregnant. It’s not safe for a young woman to stay there alone."

Like Mrs. Hale, he already cared deeply about the unborn child.

Even the slightest possibility of something going wrong made him uneasy.

"I’ve already planned it," Luca replied. "I’m flying to New Orleans tomorrow morning."

Even without Father’s reminder, he’d already arranged everything.

He planned to bring Cecelia back to San Fierro and hire a full-time caregiver to look after her throughout the pregnancy.

Mr. Hale gave an approving nod.

"Good. As long as you’ve thought it through."

After a brief pause, he added seriously,

"And another thing."

"You already have Sophie, Vivienne, and Naomi. They’re all wonderful girls."

"So don’t play favorites."

"You’d better treat every one of them well."

Everyone except little Daisy understood exactly what he meant.

Sophie’s cheeks immediately turned pink.

Naomi looked away in embarrassment.

Even Vivienne, who was usually composed, couldn’t hide the faint blush spreading across her face.

Luca simply nodded awkwardly.

"I understand."

Across the room, Trish’s eyes sparkled.

She secretly began counting on her fingers.

’If every sister has two kids...’

’That’s... alot of nieces and nephews!’

Her imagination ran wild.

She pictured herself leading a huge group of children through the park.

People would definitely mistake her for a kindergarten teacher on a field trip.

How cool would that be?

She looked at Luca with sparkling eyes and quietly pumped her fist.

’Come on, Brother!’

’Work harder!’

’I want enough nieces and nephews to start my own little classroom!’

...

Later that afternoon, Luca received a text from Amelia.

<<< Hey, handsome. Can we talk? >>>

The message immediately caught his attention. Judging by her tone, it sounded like something important had come up.

He quickly typed back.

<<< Sure. What’s going on? >>>

A few seconds later, another message popped up.

<<< In person... When are you free? >>>

Luca rubbed his forehead.

His situation couldn’t have been more complicated.

One of his girlfriends in New Orleans had just told him she was pregnant. Meanwhile, Sophie, Vivienne, and Naomi were all at his villa with his parents.

He wouldn’t be free till later that night when Amelia usually did her night shift.

If he disappeared right now to meet another woman they didn’t even know about yet...

’That’d be suicide.’

Letting out a helpless sigh, he decided there was no point hiding anything anymore.

If he wanted to get through this mess, he might as well be honest from the beginning.

He explained everything to Amelia.

He told her about the other women in his life, about Cecelia’s pregnancy, and about his plan to fly to New Orleans the following day.

Fortunately, Amelia had always been calm and reasonable.

He trusted she’d listen before jumping to conclusions.

A moment later, her reply arrived.

<<< So... let me see if I’ve got this straight. I have five other sisters who don’t officially know about me yet, although they probably suspect I exist. One of them, who’s in another city, is pregnant, and you’re flying over there tomorrow. Which means you won’t be free until you get back. Did I get that right? >>>

Luca stared at the screen and sighed.

He couldn’t tell whether she was annoyed or simply stating the facts.

After a brief pause, he replied.

<<< Yeah... but I promise I’ll come see you as soon as I’m back. >>>

Amelia responded almost immediately.

<<< It’s okay. It wasn’t that urgent anyway. It can wait. We’ll talk about everything when you get back. >>>

Luca looked at the message for a long moment before putting his phone down.

He could tell she wasn’t exactly happy.

Still...

She wasn’t angry, either.

For now, that was enough.

...

After dinner and some time chatting together, the three women finally got ready to leave.

Luca walked each of them to the front door.

He hugged Sophie.

Then Naomi.

Finally, Vivienne.

Only after watching their cars disappear into the distance did he head back inside.

At least...

That was what everyone thought.

...

Late that night, long after the villa had gone quiet, Luca quietly slipped out.

His car rolled silently through the streets before stopping beneath Vivienne’s apartment building.

He had barely turned off the engine when someone knocked lightly on the driver’s window.

Startled, he looked up.

Vivienne stood outside with her arms folded, watching him with an amused smile.

He quickly got out.

"So..." he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "How did you know I was here?"

"I saw your car from my balcony."

She smiled knowingly.

What she didn’t say was that she’d been absentmindedly glancing toward the neighborhood entrance ever since she got home.

Some small part of her had hoped he’d come.

And he did.

"It’s warm out here," she said softly. "Let’s go upstairs."

"Okay."

The apartment was quiet.

As soon as the door closed behind them, the distance that had built up over the past week disappeared in a simple embrace.

After a long moment, Vivienne gently rested her hands against his chest.

"You should take a shower first."

"Together?" Luca asked with a grin.

She laughed and lightly pinched his arm.

"I’ve already showered."

"Then wait for me."

He gave her waist a playful squeeze before heading toward the bathroom.

Vivienne watched him disappear behind the door, unable to stop the gentle smile that lingered on her lips.