The Grandbell Legacy

Ci-ci talked and laughed with the Patterson couple. Every once in a while, Milana would make some clever remarks as well. It was clear by the glint in Mrs. Patterson's eyes that she was quite found of this doll-like girl.

Milana's light laughter seemed to brighten the already gorgeous day, uplifting even the late summer winds that carried it across the garden. To say that she had attracted attention was a definite understatement. However, what warmed Ci-ci's heart was seeing how hard she tried for him.

It was at that moment, when the ambiance between them had reached peak levels, that a voice that made one's skin crawl interrupted the four.

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"What a beautiful young woman!" A sound akin to roaches crawling across dead wood infiltrated their happy atmosphere. "I go by Amancio Ivanriche, might I ask what your name is?"

To describe the man who spoke as pale wouldn't do him justice. His skin had the consistency of dried glue, his brown eyes were narrowed in an unnatural way for a Caucasian male, his black hair seemed to be sleeked backward by an oily gel and his body was tall and lanky. Even Ci-ci, who stood at almost 6'2, was a few inches shorter than he was.

'Ivanriche?' Ci-ci's eyes flashed for a moment. 'That's Nicholas' family…'

Hearing that name, Ci-ci couldn't help but remember his Petrov Technologies colleague, Nicholas. Before he joined, he had done research on each one of them and Nicholas had led a hard life because he refused to change his last name from Ivanriche.

When Milana heard this name, she too displayed a reaction because she remembered Nicholas as well. However, Amancio took this as her being impressed by his family's stature. After all, even among the thirty-six sub pillar families, the Ivanriche family was ranked in the top four.

However, Milana's surprised reaction was soon replaced with a frown. There were clearly four individuals here, yet he ignored them and only spoke to her. Although he spoke his name aloud, he was clearly only introducing himself to her. Not only was this a breech of proper etiquette, it was rude beyond belief.

Not noticing her reaction, Amancio stretched out his long, snake-like fingers to grasp at Milana's hand. To him, providing his family name was more than enough to take advantage of almost any woman.

Milana panicked slightly. She didn't want another man to touch her hand, but at the same time, angering someone of such a family was not a good idea either. She was here to help her Lucius network and also make his future prospects wider. Her throwing a fit here would ruin all of that.

At the same time, though, she was deeply germophobic. Although she could suppress it for a man she loved in Lucius, doing so for someone else, especially one as snake-like as Amancio, was too much for her.

Milana's chest began to heave as an uncontrollable anxiety welled up within her. Her hand trembled, but in the end, she made the decision to not move it for the sake of Lucius. Still, this decision was eating her up on the inside.

"What do you think you're doing?" A deep, murderous aura filled voice stopped Amancio in his tracks. He had come here, planning to ignore this man entirely, but some deep instinct within him didn't seem capable of doing so.

Amancio's snake eyes darted toward Ci-ci, an uncomfortable and unfamiliar sensation causing his hand to awkwardly hang in the air.

This was all Ci-ci needed to see to know that Amancio was obviously only here to represent the Ivanriche family, but couldn't be considered among their elite. Although he doubted that any one of even the best heirs could match his aura and momentum, they would at least try their best to hide it. But, this Amancio was practically trembling on a warm summer's day.

Ci-ci's hand gently grasped Milana's as her breathing slowed and her cold sweat dried.

He knew his girlfriend's disposition well. Ever since Milana had her first allergic reaction when she was just a toddler, she had always been extremely careful about the things around her. It wasn't something she could help.

"It seems like there's a problem here?" A voice carrying far more substance than Amancio's called out. As no surprise to Ci-ci, it was Dalton's elder brother, followed by four others.

Taking the black handkerchief in his suit pocket, Ci-ci turned Milana toward himself and gently patted down her brow.

Milana's breath slowed under Ci-ci's gentle touch. Looking at the concern in his eyes, her heart couldn't help but warm. She felt silly panicking over something so small, but it wasn't in her control and she appreciated Ci-ci for understanding.

Her own father had used her many times in her life, maybe this was the first time in a long time that someone gave up benefits in order to protect her.

Dalton's elder brother and heir to the Cox family, Roman, frowned at Ci-ci's blatant disregard for him, but he was on a different level in comparison to Amancio even if his Cox family couldn't compare to the Ivanriche.

After caring for Milana, Ci-ci looked over her shoulder to find that the five newcomers had sided with Amancio. However, before the confrontation could develop, the attention of the guests that had turned to them switched focus once more.

"Introducing the future Mr. and Mrs. Cox." The Head Butler of the Cox family opened the backdoors of the family mansion, ushering Dalton and Isabella in.

Ci-ci smiled toward the couple before turning toward Mr. Patterson and his wife. "It seems like we should find out seats now, it was nice speaking with you two."

Grasping Milana's small hand, Ci-ci seemed to glide by the group of young masters, pausing for a moment before he walked completely past Amancio.

"I don't care what family you're from, if you even think of doing something my Milana doesn't like…" Ci-ci didn't finish his words, continuing toward his and Milana's table.