Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 287: The Challenge

Chapter 287: The Challenge

Viviana had an uneventful night. She wanted Leander to come to talk to her, but he never did. She couldn’t sleep well but she woke up early.

When she walked to the kitchen, she saw Leander getting down the stairs. Seeing her he stopped. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to him again. All she remembered was the mean words he spoke.

She got to cooking breakfast. Although he doesn’t eat her cooking these days, she never stopped cooking for him. What if he craves her cooking one day? She will do what she usually does. And if he wants to ignore her, that’s on him.

She heard him downstairs and she ate in the kitchen itself. Mary came running inside the kitchen. The cheery smile on her face had returned.

"He wants to eat with you," Mary said. "Finally!" She grinned thinking that the Orchid Gardens would return to its cheery self.

"I’m not going," Viviana said.

Mary’s face paled. "But Signora, maybe he wants to talk to you. You can resolve this."

Viviana didn’t answer her. If he wanted to talk to her, he could. He didn’t have to do it in the dining room in the view of others.

Mary walked out twisting her fingers in her skirt. It was obvious that she didn’t want to bring the bad news to Leander.

"Minerva!"

Leander shouted. Viviana didn’t answer. He can shout all he wants. She was not going to talk to him.

She heard him walking to the kitchen. She cleared her throat and looked at him. He had an envelope in his hand. He stared at her for a good minute. Viviana who was holding back her tears till then, couldn’t hold it back anymore.

She couldn’t accept how easily he could say those hurtful words to her.

She sniffed and looked away. She heard him click his tongue. He probably was thinking that she was using her tears to make him feel guilty. But that was not the case. She wanted to stop her tears but couldn’t.

"Here..."

She wiped her eyes and looked at him. He was handing the envelope to her. She got it.

"Look at me," he said.

"What?" she asked meeting his eyes. She was tired of everything.

The moment she met his eyes, he averted his eyes. He then turned and left.

Viviana sighed. She wouldn’t know what he was thinking and she didn’t want to think about it. She opened the envelope and inside were all of her IDs.

The name was Minerva Kastello. She checked the number and it was her social security number. He had managed to change her name from Viviana Mattias to Minerva Kastello. Even the bank account was the same account she used to have when she was Viviana.

What is happening?

He used to hide her real identity for a reason in the past. He didn’t want his grandfather to find out who she truly was. And now he thinks he doesn’t have to hide her identity anymore.

What does that mean? Has he given up on me?

She wondered if he has already told his grandfather about her. Maybe he changed his heart and chose his grandfather. He probably will sacrifice her to appease his grandfather.

For some reason, she was relieved. If everyone knows who she truly is, then maybe it is better. She can be free of guilt.

She checked her back account just in case. She didn’t leave a single dollar in her account then. But now...

Viviana gulped seeing the seven-digit number in the balance. Her account has never seen a seven-digit number in the balance. There were almost nine million dollars in her account.

Seeing that amount of money, she got scared.

Is he planning on sending her away with the money?

She’d rather face Peter’s wrath than leave Leander.

That was also a black card. It had her name on it. She didn’t know how much money it held, but she knew it would be a lot.

Fear engulfed her and she felt like she was abandoned in the middle of the sea.

Until yesterday, she had no ID and had not a single penny to her name. Today, she had everything. She could take what she had and lead a very comfortable life for the rest of her life.

But she was more scared than ever. She didn’t want to leave Leander.

Why is loving someone hurts this much?

Her hands holding the envelope shook. She kept it all safe. She decided to see what Leander was planning on doing.

Days passed to weeks and there was no change in Leander’s attitude. She stayed in the guest bedroom and he stayed in the bedroom on the second floor.

She started going out these days. No one stopped her. No one said anything to her. Leander didn’t talk to her and she had stopped trying to talk to him.

She did wonder if Leander gave her the ID and the money for her to leave him on her own accord. Maybe that was what he wanted to talk about. She regretted not talking to him when he wanted to. But not that much.

She went for a walk outside the gates for the past two weeks. And she made some friends. She saw a gypsy settlement by the river. She befriended some of the women there. The kids there would come to her and ask their doubts regarding their studies.

They said they were homeschooled but she was not sure they had proper teachers. But she taught them what she knew. Within ten days, the crowd waiting for her had increased. Some of the local kids joined them too as they liked the way she explained stuff.

She thought Leander would stop her. But he didn’t. In fact, he bought a separate car for her and appointed Luca as her personal driver.

He was telling her without speaking that she can go wherever she wanted to go. She had a feeling that he was dangling her in front of his grandfather, but she didn’t care.

She continued doing what she did. She was very busy taking care of the house, cooking, taking care of the dogs, and with her "walks". She didn’t even think about Leander.

Well, she did, truthfully. She cried herself to sleep most nights.

Her puppies turned four months old and she decided to take them to the groomers after taking them to the Vet. She knew of the groomers on the fourth floor of the mall where she frequented for her hair appointments and decided to take her puppies there.

Although her puppies are mostly clean, she wanted them to get used to the groomers from a young age. She didn’t depend on anyone. She had her car. She had her driver. She had a sh*tload of money. She can do whatever she wants to.

She walked inside the mall with her three puppies. She had leash trained them and still as they were very excited. Her four-month-old puppies were almost the size of an adult beagle. Handling three of them together was a little tough.

Each of them weighed around forty pounds and they dragged her with them. It took a while for Viviana to gain control of them. They were young ones and they were very energetic but one thing they knew was to listen to her. And in the end, they had to.

As she walked with those three dogs on the leash, Viviana noticed that everyone was stepping to the side leaving way for her and her dogs. She felt like she was Moses walking in between the parted Red Sea.

This is one advantage of having large-breed dogs. No one would mess with the owner when they are with their dogs.

Viviana, with a skip to her steps. Her puppies behaved very nicely. They weren’t pulling the leash anymore and were so obedient. Everyone’s eyes were on her.

While everyone gave her way, Viviana noticed someone walking straight at her.

Helena Palatini!

Viviana curled her lips seeing the conceited smile on Helena’s face. She was heavily pregnant and she walked straight at her dogs as if she was not scared.

Not to mention, she had forgotten the threat she gave her.

Is she challenging me? What is going on?