Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 50: Eternal Promise

Chapter 50: Eternal Promise

Lionel stood by the pillar and watched the lonely figure sitting comfortably on the couch by the railing, with a glass of wine. At first, he was intrigued to meet the woman who hooked Leander’s heart.

But he fell in her pull.

He rarely feels this way about a woman. Beautiful, innocent, sassy, confident, artistic, intelligent, smart, dramatic... he’s met all sorts of women. But this one...

As the gentle breeze caressed her face, she turned her face. Closing her eyes, she fixed her hair which wanted to dance to the tune of the breeze. He cursed the breeze for denying him access to her alluring eyes. A bunch of hair was sticking to her lips that were glistening with wine and as she fixed it behind her ear, he found himself getting pulled along, close to her.

"Ciao, Bellissima!"

Viviana recognized that voice and opened her eyes. At least she tried to. The wind was heavy and her hair fell on her face making it hard for her to open her eyes. Her hair doesn’t even listen to hairspray and likes to embarrass her.

"Mr. Nellie Yannis," she smiled with her eyes wide with the excitement of a fan after controlling her hair to some extent.

He’s a popular director/actor. It would be weird if she didn’t recognize him. She purposefully used his common name since she is a commoner—a guest.

"Wow! I am honored to be recognized by the respected guest of Leander," Lionel held her hand and kissed it.

Viviana grinned widely not knowing what else to do. She has heard that he is flirty with everyone, but she never received flirting ever. Men avoided her as if she had a "Not Interested" sign on her face. She preferred it that way too.

This guy... called her very beautiful on their first meeting and kissed her hand. Is this how it goes?

Viviana, who never interacted with men other than in official settings, faced a reckoning at the age of 28.

"Hi, I’m Vi- Minerva Russo," she smiled awkwardly. "I am a big fan..." she added. She has only watched one movie of his. And she liked it. That makes her a fan, right?

Maybe not. But she didn’t know what else to say to him. She looked behind him to see if Leander is there. But he was not. Lionel became silent and made the situation more awkward. Lionel stared at her as if she was a freak and she freaked out if there was something on her face.

Weird... these people are weird... Or am I the crazy one? I just had two glasses. I am not even drunk. What is going on? Do I have something on my face? Or is he planning on doing something? Ugh! Why am I even getting flustered? These f*cking mafia pricks! They think they can do whatever!

Viviana grabbed the bottle and took a comfortable seat on the couch. She gripped the wine bottle in her hand. If all else fails, she is going to break the bottle and use it as a weapon.

Lionel’s lips curved to a smirk.

There you are...

When he looked at her eyes first, he saw a familiar expression that he often sees in the mirror—melancholy. But she snapped and put on her mask almost immediately—just like he does. But she couldn’t keep it up as well as he does. She slipped out her hatred.

He got more interested in her. And those eyes...

They do have a pull.

Leander is not stupid. She is not very good at hiding her true feelings. Leander must have seen the hatred in her eyes too. And if he is still attracted to her... Then...

He went to the hall and returned with another bottle of wine and a glass for himself.

"Will you mind it if I join you?" Lionel asked with a bright smile on his face.

Viviana looked at him. He still didn’t appear honest to her, but on this chilly night, she didn’t mind company. Plus, he was not going to share her wine. So, she truly didn’t mind.

"Are you warm enough?" Lionel asked.

"Ah, yes. Kastello arranged for a..." Her hand pointed at the heater and paused.

Why did he do that?

Lionel nodded. "He can be very thoughtful for the ones he cares for. They call him the guardian of the Kastello family for that reason. You must have felt it, right? His warmth?" He hugged himself.

Viviana nodded. She didn’t want to talk about Leander further. She had a feeling that Lionel wanted to gather information from her. She didn’t think that was a good idea. They might be "friends" but what does she really know about them?

And Leander’s warmth? Heh!

She had a couple more glasses. She missed wine and so she was not drinking slowly. The wine acted up and she became a bit chatty.

"Eternal Promise..." Viviana leaned on the couch and looked at Lionel. "I’ve heard in your interviews that it was a personal story. Was it your story?"

Eternal Promise—the drama movie that made a great impact. The story was pretty simple. Two kids—a girly boy and a boyish girl who were friends wanted to not separate ever. The girl protected the boy when he was bullied and encouraged him to be more confident. They made a pact to stay together forever by throwing a coin in a fountain that was believed to be magical. By some unfortunate accident, both of them got separated, and both believed their friend was dead.

But the magic of the fountain was real and fate brought those two together once again. Both, unable to forget their "friend" had changed a lot. The boyish girl turned into a girlish girl just like her friend wanted to. She worked as a secretary. The girlish boy turned into a gym-enthusiastic and became very successful with his start-up company.

The girl had to leave her job that paid well because of a scandal. Battered by the unfairness of the world, she got drunk and, on her way, back, she was jumped by some thugs when the male lead enters to save her.

They don’t recognize each other at first and bicker with each other. But slowly they see the better part of the other person. The male lead offers her a job in his company and slowly love blooms between them.

There were some conflicts that separates them. But in the climax, they get reunited at the fountain they made the pact of staying together forever, as kids.

That was the story. It made everyone cry as it was done well and had good music.

What she loved was the storyline between the kids. It was almost the same as her story with Leo.

"Personal...?" Lionel looked into the distance. "It was personal."

Viviana could see the melancholy in his eyes. He looked like he missed something so precious.

"But did you see the resemblance?" Lionel looked at her. "With Leander?"

Viviana met his intense eyes and her heart skipped a beat.