Chapter 66 Serenade
The lights softly brightened again, signaling that the formal part of the event was resuming. Conversations died down into quiet murmurs. Soft orchestral strings swelled through the ballroom as guests slowly returned to their designated seats.
Caelum walked beside Deborah with a calm but firm presence, guiding her back to their table. His hand rested lightly at her back, not controlling, not overbearing, just enough to let her know he was watching her closely.
“Fix your face,” Caelum murmured, only for her ear. “Fundano and Dad are both in a foul mood. They’ll notice everything.”
Deborah inhaled slowly, straightened her posture, and lifted her chin the way she had been taught since childhood.
A Valmere never breaks in public. When they reached their table, Rionessi was already seated at the head, his posture regal and intimidating even when silent. His sharp eyes flickered toward his daughter the moment she arrived....eyes that missed absolutely nothing.
Beside him sat Fundano, stone-faced, aura darker than the shadows cast by the chandeliers. He sat with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable but sharp enough to cut steel.
The moment Deborah stepped into their line of sight, Fundano’s gaze narrowed… just a fraction. Enough to make her spine stiffen.
“You took too long,” Fundano said without looking away. His voice was low, deep, and dangerously controlled, the kind that made grown CEOs tremble.
Deborah forced a small, neutral smile. “I needed air.”
“Air,” Fundano repeated, as if testing the word in his mouth. “Strange.... You usually don’t run out of it before.”
Caelum stepped in immediately. “I accompanied her. She’s fine.” Fundano’s eyes flicked to him with a slow, unimpressed stare.
“You didn’t,” he replied flatly. “You just arrived with her.” A direct hit. No escape. Caelum’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
Rionessi leaned back in his seat, fingers tapping lightly against the polished glass of his wine.
“Sit, Deborah,” he said quietly.
It wasn’t a request. Deborah lowered herself into her seat beside Caelum, trying to steady her breathing. Her hands were hidden under the table, but her fingers trembled slightly, a detail Fundano absolutely noticed.
His voice broke the silence again. “Why are your hands shaking?”
She froze. Rionessi looked at her. Caelum stiffened.
Deborah forced a tiny laugh. “I'm just cold... The AC is a bit strong.”
Caelum shot her a sharp warning look, she was lying, and they all knew it. But before Fundano could question further… A loud chime echoed through the room.
The spotlight shifted to the stage where the host returned with a bright, authoritative smile. “Ladies and gentlemen, before we begin the formal program, we have a very special performance prepared for all of you.”
Deborah blinked. She exchanged a confused glance with Caelum, but before anyone at the table could ask....spotlights converged at the center of the stage.
The host lifted his microphone.
“To serenade us tonight… please welcome the man of the hour, Mr. Luther Cain.”
Deborah’s entire body went cold. Her breath stopped.
Even Caelum’s head snapped up sharply. Luther stepped onto the stage with effortless confidence, a black microphone in hand. The dim lights carved shadows under his jaw, making his features look sharper, darker… dangerous.
He adjusted the mic, eyes briefly scanning the ballroom. For a moment, just a fraction of a second....Deborah felt his gaze brush over her.
Or maybe she imagined it. She didn’t know. She couldn’t trust her heart right now. Then the lights softened. The orchestra shifted. The melody began. A warm, slow, emotional rhythm filled the room.
Luther raised the mic to his lips… and sang. His voice was deep. Smooth. Pulling the room into silence like gravity.
\[I still remember the way that you held me, like I was the only heart in your world…\]
Deborah’s chest tightened instantly. Her fingers dug into the fabric of her gown beneath the table. Her breath trembled.
His voice carried something raw, something painfully familiar. Something that sounded too much like him singing to her.
Caelum’s eyes flicked toward her, the kind of look only a brother who sensed danger could give.
But Luther continued. \[Every moment you breathed my name, I swear, I thought it meant forever…\]
Deborah’s throat closed. Her vision blurred. She blinked fast, refusing to let a tear fall in front of her father. In front of Fundano. In front of the world.
The entire ballroom was frozen in his voice, each note smooth and sharp like a blade dipped in honey.
But then… The song shifted. The chords deepened.
The mood dipped from longing… into something warmer. Luther’s voice softened, turning tender, sweet… dangerous. And as the romantic line arrived.... He turned his head. Not toward Deborah. Not toward their table. But toward the entrance of the ballroom. Toward her. The woman who kissed him.
The spotlight followed his gaze. The guests turned.And the girl, stunning in a midnight-silver gown, stepped into the light. Her eyes glowed.
Her lips curved in a small, confident smile. Her posture screamed familiarity… ownership… a place she had always belonged.
Deborah’s lungs collapsed. And Luther sang directly to her, \[And now I know who really holds my heart,
the one I wanna come home to…..my beginning and my end…\]
The girl touched her chest lightly, smiling at him as if the two of them shared a secret meant for no one else.
Deborah felt something tear inside her chest, slow, brutal, silent. Her pulse roared in her ears. Her fingertips numbed. Her vision swirled into a quiet storm. She tried to breathe. Caelum’s hand curled into a fist against his knee, knuckles white.
Fundano’s jaw flexed, eyes narrowing dangerously. Rionessi’s face darkened...cold, unreadable, but terrifying. Worried to her daughter.
But Deborah? She sat still. Frozen. Silent. Breaking quietly in a room full of people. Luther continued singing, never looking at her again....his voice dripping with emotion he once gave to her… now handed so easily to someone else.
\[You’re the one I choose, in every lifetime.... every moment…\] The girl clasped her hands together, her smile soft and full of affection.
Deborah felt a tear blur her vision. She blinked it back....hard. No. Not here. Not now. Not in front of her family. Not in front of him. The song slowly came to an end, Luther’s voice melting into the last gentle note. The ballroom erupted into applause. The girl lifted her fingers and waved at him sweetly. Luther smirked, subtle but visible before lowering his mic.
Deborah’s heart dropped deeper. Then the host returned to the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, what a wonderful performance! And now, as we continue—”
But before he could finish, Deborah felt it. A shift. A presence. A shadow near her shoulder. Slowly… she turned her head. A hand touched her chair. And a man leaned close.
Ylmaz..... His voice a whisper cutting through the applause. “Debs,” he murmured, eyes dark with concern, “don’t look at him.” Her breath broke.
Because at that same moment, Luther stepped offstage… And without hesitation… Walked straight toward their table. Straight toward her.
The ballroom watched. Cameras turned. The Valmere stiffened. And a lot of murmur came across the event.