It's nothing..
Heine answered nonchalantly, saying faintly, "Didn't you ask to meet me? If there's something on your mind, you should be the one to speak first!"
She is quite sick.
Having mentally diagnosed this fairly reliable colleague, Gin ignored the other man's provocations. "News from the Italy branch says they seem to have run into some difficult trouble lately."
Green eyes stared directly at Heine, Gin's expression unreadable. "Calculating the timing, it seems this is closely related to the last time you and I went to Italy—how do you intend to convince me that this has nothing to do with you?"
Having understood the implication in Gin's words, Heine's previously perfunctory expression finally vanished completely, she looked at the Silver-haired youth with considerable surprise. They were clearly colleagues who had known each other since their youth, yet now it felt as if they were meeting for the very first time.
It was simply incredible.
Heine murmured in her heart.
But having said that, Heine understood that Gin had likely left her no room for maneuver; she knew all too well what her methods were like, she had no desire to test them.
Not to mention the current situation—two men alone in a room, it's his own Safe House to boot. If something were to happen, destroying the evidence and the body would be as easy as pie.
While lamenting her poor judgment in bringing a wolf into her home, Heine did not sit idle, quickly choosing life over her secrets.
"It's a long story, I need to sort things out first," he uttered quickly, before switching to silent mode.
Gin was very patient—at certain times, he was a very patient man, especially when it came to "hunting."
You know, I'm a mixed-race person." She paused, seemingly unsure of how to phrase it, but the pause didn't take much time: "My biological father.. is actually the leader of a certain Mafia family in Italy..
Gin: …………
Heh.
..
The origin of the story was quite cliché.
The young second son, who did not involve himself in family affairs, was elegant and refined, yet he yearned for freedom with all his heart. During her years studying in the UK, on a sunset-drenched afternoon by the Thames River, he fell in love at first sight with a beautiful French girl.
Gin: This involves quite a few countries..
The French girl was attracted by the tenderness of the Italian boy, she soon became intoxicated by her passionate blue eyes, as if drowning in the deep sea; her smile was her air, her embrace was her harbor.
They quickly got to know each other and fell in love. The French girl soon discovered the boy's identity, but since her own family wasn't exactly clean either, she didn't care.
Moreover, the youth is not the one who has to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the family, is he?
It all sounded incredibly beautiful, just like a fairy tale.
Of course, it only sounds that way.
Heine said, "Truth is far more than just this."
The innocent French girl was actually a deep-thinking girl; her father was the epitome of a Playboy, with eight children, none of whom were born to his Wife.
She was the most ordinary among them, it was inevitable that she would be caught up in her brothers' struggles for power. To escape the fate of being married off by her elder brother—who shared her mother—to a man nearly as old as her father, she constantly sought ways to flee from her Family's control. To her, the identity of a Youth was just right.
She used her flower-like, vibrant beauty to feign an innocence as ethereal as morning dew, luring in the naive youth, never imagining that he was in the exact same situation.
Or rather, quite the opposite.
He wanted power.
..
Gin evaluated, "One is insincere, the other is fake; they both get what they need, which can be considered a kind of fulfillment on another level."
So he doesn't end up causing trouble for others.
"If only it were that simple." Heine shrugged, looking completely indifferent.
"Uneven distribution of interests?" Gin guessed, showing a rare hint of interest.
Black-haired—that's right, he had dyed his hair again—the youth chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "It's neither, but honestly."
Heloise is no match for my father—
..
Heloise is a French girl's name, just as her son said, she was indeed no match for the Italian youth.
On this smokeless battlefield, she was nothing more than a pawn, delusional enough to think she could be a player, yet she ultimately lacked any self-awareness.
Many people lack self-awareness, so they all fail.
One of the Mafia families with a long history in Sicily has undergone a complete transformation; once an obscure youth, he has revealed his sharpness and fangs, striking terror into the hearts of everyone involved.
He took control of his wife's family—perhaps it would be more appropriate to call her his ex-wife—and swallowed up his brother's followers, ambitious and full of vigor.
Heloise left Sicily. That original youth had indeed given her the freedom she had dreamed of, but unfortunately, the ones who refused to let her go were always her own family.
Her brother from the same mother accused her husband of bringing misfortune to the family, but Heloise found it utterly absurd.
I have never told him any secrets regarding the family." She paused, her exquisite makeup adding a touch of mockery to her expression. "Or rather, I have never known the family's true 'secrets'.
“You make it sound as if you haven't thought about taking him down. Power struggles have always been about the strongest ruling, each using whatever means necessary,” the young Wife mocked. “Even I know about it, Brother, so why don't you?”
Just admit it, you simply cannot defeat him.
She was not afraid of this man before her, who was now enraged.
You should know that although she seemed to be in a miserable state in this farce of a marriage, she and her ex-husband were never true matches; while she suffered losses, she also learned a few things from her.
For example, no longer fearing her brother.
If her brother had any sense of rationality, he would understand that making things difficult for her would change nothing; rather than settling scores with her, he would be better off simply letting her go.
Generally speaking, that was true.
..
“Did something unexpected happen?” Gin asked.
He was very happy with the Silver-haired youth's support, so he replied with a smile, "Yeah."
He is pregnant with my child.
..
Because of the child in her womb, Heloise suffered house arrest—treatment she hadn't even received from her husband.
At first, she even resented this child; if it weren't for him, Heloise would have long ago boarded a plane to the USA to start a new life.
Unfortunately, a dream is just a dream, can only be thought about in dreams.
What concerned her more was her ex-husband's attitude.
Her ex-husband didn't seem to care much about this child—she learned about Heloise's inability to contact the outside world from her "caring about her sister's health" good brother.
After all, it was much easier to observe whether her good Brother was flying into a rage or had dark circles under her eyes than it was to try and make contact with the outside world.
You should have thought of that sooner, Heloise thought coldly, feeling a sense of vengeful pleasure even when facing her blood-related Brother.
However, what she never expected was that his ex-husband seemed to care quite a bit about this child.
—She realized this one day while reading, when an agile youth suddenly appeared before her and claimed to have been sent by her ex-husband on his behalf.
..
"A mercenary?" Gin guessed.
.." Heine gave no answer, but she changed the subject, her interest clearly piqued: "Do you know just how carefree my father is?
Gin didn't press the matter, following the thread of the conversation instead. "How so?"
Heine remained silent for a moment before complaining earnestly, "That person.. actually had a somewhat ambiguous relationship with my father back then."
After a moment of hesitation, he said with certainty, "It's quite ambiguous."
Sending her own lover to save her ex-wife—he really was incredibly carefree.
Or perhaps he actually wanted to just let her ex-wife die?
Gin's mind was incredibly active, after a brief bout of wild imagination, he offered a rather reasonable guess: "Is Heloise angry?"
No." Heine's expression seemed somewhat complicated. "My Mother.. also likes that person.
Gin: ………………
..
When that man drifted before Heloise as light as autumn leaves, revealing a face so stunning it seemed as if the Goddess of Beauty herself had personally carved it, Heloise was instantly rendered speechless.
If one were to say that this was merely initial surprise, then when that man said, "I owe him a favor, I'm here to settle it," and when she realized that he had come to save her, Heloise's heart was already filled with goodwill toward the newcomer.
He certainly knew the order had come from his ex-husband, but he was only acting for the sake of his belly, he had merely uttered a casual sentence from thousands of miles away; that man, however, was real.
Coupled with the time they spent together during their escape after being rescued, Columba's easygoing manner made her quite likable. The figure of the youth by the Thames River had completely vanished from her mind, replaced by the dashing figure and sharp gaze of the person before her.
She blushed in front of someone for the first time! Just like a little girl.
And Columba just looked at her with a smile, then rubbed Heloise's head and said, "In my eyes, you really are just a little girl."
That's right, the person who possessed a face so stunningly beautiful it seemed to provoke the heavens, a face that required no beauty filters in photographs and one that filled Heloise with joy, was named Columba.
And she is also a Woman.
..
For the first time, Gin felt like he was choking.
-----------------------
Author's Note: The story of Heine's previous generation was a textbook case of how messy their social circles truly were.
Heine is truly in a situation where if she doesn't "work hard (commit murder and arson), she'll have to go back and inherit the family business (command others to commit murder and arson)."
..
I flipped through the outline and found that, according to the original outline, the current progress was not even halfway through..
So, I painfully cut a portion of the content and released some of the plot ahead of schedule.
I managed to write this before the last day of February, QAQ
So many people are waiting for me.. I'm so moved!
Thank you to all the Little Angels who have sent gifts, left comments, provided nutrient solution, read the story, supported me!
You still love me, right?