Chapter 1
My father was diagnosed with a serious late-stage disease. Before he died, his greatest wish was to see me walk down the marriage hall holding my lover’s hand. I called my three childhood sweethearts who once swore they would never marry anyone but me. All of them rejected me. Scholastica Bourigault told me that she was devoted to Jesus Christ and did not want to get tainted by worldly affairs. Paulina Mallinckrodt said she just found out that she suffers from misogyny. The last one Virginia Saragossa said the company strictly prohibits artists from dating someone, let alone getting married. As a result, that afternoon, my friend saw with his own eyes that they were having a wild time on the yacht with Gedeon Morales, my driver’s son. And on the wrists of the four of them were bracelets with identical concentric knots. After watching the video, I quietly asked the old butler if the engagement my grandfather made with the Boccardo Family still counted. The old butler was stunned after hearing this. “Of course, it’s still valid. But the daughter of the Boccardo Family became a vegetative after a car accident last year. Are you sure you want to marry her?” I nodded in despair. “Yes, I will marry her.” —— Hearing that I wanted to marry the Boccardo Family’s daughter, the old butler asked why in confusion. I clicked the video and showed it to him. He was speechless for a long time. “Alright, young master. I’ll go and organize this.” After the old butler left, Scholastica’s Mercedes-Benz drove into the courtyard. After getting out of the car, the four of them walked closer with their large bags. And I caught a glimpse of the new Patek Philippe watch worth a million dollars on Gedeon’s wrist. I remembered something and opened my cell phone. There were a lot of unread short messages, all of which were reminders of today’s supplementary credit card consumption. A rough count showed at least more than ten million. Gedeon was decked out in new designer clothes. His face was full of smugness. Thinking of my father on his sickbed, I held back my anger and quietly deleted all the messages. Paulina didn’t even look at me and directly threw a shopping bag toward me. “Lorenzo Vandoeuvre, this is the gift we carefully selected for you.” I opened the bag. There was only a hand-carved crystal watch stand inside. No doubt, it was a gift from the watch on Gedeon’s wrist. Although it was also worth it, it wasn’t worth mentioning at all, compared to the watch. Sure enough, it was “carefully selected” and clearly the leftovers. I didn’t get angry, but just faintly said, “Thank you.” “No need to thank us. Just consider it as a comfort to you.” Virginia smiled carelessly, then cautiously asked, “By the way, we didn’t tell Uncle Martin about our refusal of your marriage proposal, did we?” I shook my head. Seeing that I didn’t look too good, Scholastica spoke softly, “Lorenzo, I know that you must be very unhappy in your heart after we rejected your proposal. But there is nothing we can do about it.” “Finally, I can delve deeper into Christian religious life, there is no way I would betray that sacred vow for you?” Virginia also said, “That’s right, we all have our own difficulties. Can’t you understand?” I looked at them. My heart was filled with mixed feelings. These three girls, a few hours ago, were wearing bikinis and taking turns sitting on Gedeon’s lap, twisting their bodies and striking various seductive poses. Now, they were speaking with more righteousness than one another on their lips. I didn’t dismantle their masks, but changed the topic. “My dad is hospitalized. Can you guys come to the hospital to see him tonight?” Scholastica was stunned at first and hurriedly asked after him, “What kind of disease is Uncle Martin suffering from?” Just as I was about to speak, Gedeon grabbed the opportunity to speak first, “Wait a minute, Paulina, didn’t we previously agree to go climb Dolomites Mountain tonight and watch the sunrise together tomorrow?” “Well…” Paulina revealed a look of difficulty before looking towards Scholastica and Virginia. My heart twitched. And seeing their expressions, I knew what the answer would be.