Chapter 248

"No!"

Before Elena could finish her refusal, Dante interrupted: "Don't be so quick to refuse. I'm just taking you home and having Lucas check on the baby's condition. I'll leave immediately after, won't linger for even a moment."

The commotion in the outer hall was so great that it attracted the attention of almost everyone from the inner hall. On the second floor in a secluded spot, Ricardo had secured an excellent vantage point and had watched everything unfold clearly from beginning to end.

He had initially treated it as a farce, but when he saw Dante treating Elena with such deep affection, his mind suddenly conjured up thoughts of that woman.

If Marco had treated her this way, it would probably be a scene she'd dream of encountering. Unfortunately, she had poor judgment in men and ended up falling into his hands - there was nothing to be done about that.

He couldn't help but smile, lighting a cigarette and letting the strong taste flow through his mouth as he took out his phone and dialed.

The first call didn't go through. The second took nearly half a minute before a voice finally came through: "What is it?"

"Nothing."

Sarina on the other end was almost choked speechless. After finally catching her breath, she said helplessly: "If there's nothing, why are you calling me? I'm hanging up."

"Try hanging up on me and see what happens."

When the other end fell silent in anger, truly keeping the phone line open without hanging up, Ricardo's smile only grew wider.

After a while, he said: "I'm on the second floor of the De Luca family banquet. Are you outside?"

Sarina was indeed outside - specifically, she was in a car full of plainclothes police officers, everyone holding their breath and preparing for the next move. Only she was on the phone, with the man's voice occasionally coming through.

She felt somewhat embarrassed but was more afraid of Ricardo detecting something amiss, so she feigned composure: "I'm at home. Why?"

"Then open your curtains."

Sarina turned her head to see only the constantly retreating scenery in the dark night, speeding past too quickly to make out clearly.

"I've opened them," she lied without blushing or her heart racing. "What for? Don't tell me you're downstairs at my dorm right now with 999 roses arranged on the ground to confess to me."

Sarina was just making conversation to mask her discomfort, not knowing she had somehow touched Ricardo's nerve. After a long pause, he replied coldly: "You're overthinking it. Setting aside that I would never confess to anyone, such vulgar and tasteless nonsense would only be considered an honor rather than shame by women like you."

Sarina frowned, not knowing what had gotten into Ricardo. He had been speaking normally just moments ago, then suddenly acted as if he'd eaten gunpowder.

After a pause, she asked: "Why did you want me to open the curtains?"

"Here it comes." Ricardo stared intently at the sky, counting: "3, 2, 1."

The next instant, the sound of fireworks exploding came through the phone.

Sarina looked out the window. Being in the suburbs, she naturally couldn't see them.

But she heard Ricardo ask on the other end: "Did you see them?"

"Yes, they're beautiful."

Ricardo was silent for a moment before saying: "Sarina, I will never fall in love with anyone or confess to anyone in my lifetime. But if you like clichéd things, I don't mind using such trinkets to amuse you. If you're willing to behave and stay with me obediently, I can give you anything."

His voice was less distinct under the bursting fireworks, but Sarina heard every word clearly and was momentarily stunned.

But at the same time, the car stopped and someone opened the compartment, clearly having something to say. Sarina quickly covered the mouthpiece as the person said: "We've confirmed it's definitely Ricardo's base. There's someone inside - one of Ricardo's men named Hans. We compared photos and there's absolutely no mistake."

Sarina nodded and uncovered the mouthpiece, saying to Ricardo: "Alright, I understand."

"Alright?" He had just been speaking from the heart, perhaps having drunk too much, and hadn't expected this naturally stubborn woman, who couldn't be pulled back by ten oxen, to agree so easily.

He was inevitably surprised, but he didn't hide his pleasure. This woman was finally being a bit more obedient.

He wanted to chat more, but she seemed tired: "I need to sleep. It's already very late, and I need to get up early to exercise recently. I'm not chatting anymore - we'll talk tomorrow."

"Mm." The cigarette in Ricardo's hand had burned down to his fingers just from sitting there. After hanging up, the fireworks also dissipated, leaving almost no trace except for the lingering scent.

He straightened up, preparing to go down and participate in the so-called high society banquet, to negotiate adult business cooperation under hypocritical interactions.

After going downstairs, everyone's conversation invariably centered on Dante, marveling: "This is the first time I've seen Dante boldly confess his love."

"We all thought Elena and Dante divorced because of that video, but it turns out Elena divorced because she was angry with Dante over the video incident... Though I have to say, Elena really is a rare beauty chosen from thousands. Would Dante be this crazy over an ordinary woman?"

Ricardo silently moved through the crowd toward the Rich couple.

Rich noticed Ricardo approaching, his eyes full of disgust as he said coldly: "Where did you run off to? Do you really think you're here to enjoy the party?"

Ricardo tugged at his tie, the tight-fitting suit making him uncomfortable, looking indifferent: "I went out for a smoke. If you don't like it, I'll smoke here next time - though the one losing face would be you."

Rich's face turned blue with suppressed anger, glaring at Ricardo for a long time before finally saying: "Truly a motherless waste with no upbringing at all!"

His anger rose, ignoring even his wife Samantha's attempts to calm him, only hissing under his breath: "Get lost. I get annoyed just looking at you."

Ricardo smiled nonchalantly, surprisingly not talking back, turning to walk toward an empty area, standing alone in a quiet spot.

At this time he hadn't yet shown his capabilities, and few people had even heard of who he was, naturally unable to compare with Dante who was immediately surrounded for toasts upon his appearance.

He stood aside, unnoticed, but he was content with the peace. He was just boredly thinking whether he should have brought Sarina today.

With that woman around, it would definitely relieve the boredom. Unfortunately, he didn't like occasions with Marco present - that woman would always cast her gaze toward Marco, making him angry.

"Ricardo."

While drinking, someone suddenly entered through the back door and called his name. Ricardo turned around, his eyes showing some surprise: "Big brother?"

That Pacchi would appear at the De Luca family banquet was something Ricardo hadn't expected. He spent his years buried in his workshop, and rarely appeared not only at such boring occasions but even at family gatherings.

He couldn't help asking: "When did you arrive, big brother?"

As he spoke, he noticed Pacchi's eyes showing a mixture of excitement and complex emotions - a person who naturally disliked socializing and was obsessed with art to the point of madness would have very obvious emotional displays.

"Very early on."

Pacchi's voice was low as he took a breath to suppress the trembling caused by his emotions.

"Oh." Ricardo hadn't noticed, probably because he had been in that secluded spot on the second floor while Pacchi had been in the inner hall.

"Looking for Rich? He's in the back talking with people." Ricardo and Pacchi had no common topics, so he instinctively nodded toward Rich's location.

"No." Pacchi Nicola looked seriously at Ricardo. "I came to find you."