AN UNEXPECTED GROOM

Olivier looked around and asked:

– Where is Roxane?

Old Madame Alvarez smiled and replied:

– Unfortunately, she is not feeling well so she is resting.

In other words, Old Mrs. Alvarez had no intention of calling Roxane.

Olivier was lost. When he saw that Agnes was about to lose her temper, he quickly stopped her and said:

– The weather has been cold recently. It’s easy to get sick. Especially for young people who don’t dress warmly enough because they want to dress nicely.

Old Mrs. Alvarez only smiled and did not respond.

Olivier turned to look at Mina, who was standing next to him, before asking in a deep voice:

-Why don’t you apologize to Grandma Alvarez, Uncle Alvarez and Aunt Sabrina?

Mina turned green and white. She really didn’t want to come, but her father had threatened to cut off her allowance if she didn’t come and apologize. She bit her lip and bowed before saying in a low voice:

– I’m sorry. I was confused and did such a thing. I know I’m wrong and I promise there won’t be a next time.

Old Madame Alvarez narrowed her eyes and sized Mina up. She was in no hurry to speak.

Joel and Sabrina exchanged a look. Since Old Madam Alvarez didn’t speak, they were naturally in no hurry to speak as well.

Mina continued to bow. As old Mrs. Alvarez didn’t say anything, she didn’t dare to stand up. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. When she thought about how Roxane could be hiding somewhere and watching her make a fool of herself, anger and humiliation surged through her heart. Her tears streamed down her face and immediately fell to the floor.

When Agnes saw her daughter’s tears, her heart immediately sank. She couldn’t hold back any longer and said:

– Mina is young. It’s okay to make mistakes in the heat of the moment. She knows she is wrong and has already apologized. Besides…

Before she could finish speaking, old Madam Alvarez shifted her cold gaze. His gaze was like a sharp knife, which caused Agnes’ words to get stuck in her throat.

Old Madame wanted to sneer, but she restrained herself. However, she still said:

– She is eighteen years old. She’s not young anymore…

– Yes, yes, you are right. She’s not young anymore, Olivier said hastily. Then, he glanced at Agnes before continuing to say:

– Agnes spoils Mina too much, so she has become insensitive. We will definitely discipline her in the future.

After saying that, he gave Diego a meaningful look.

He brought a check and placed it on the table.

Then Olivier said politely:

– This is a small token of our apologies. I hope you will accept it.

Old Mrs. Rios had reminded her son of this matter several times.

Old Mrs. Alvarez didn’t even look at the check on the table as she clearly said:

– Forget that. Let’s celebrate the New Year happily.

Olivier breathed a sigh of relief before hastily saying:

– Mina, hurry up and thank Grandma Alvarez.

Mina, who felt humiliated, raised her head and revealed her tear-stained face. She looked at someone before turning around and running away.

-Mina…

Agnes was worried about her daughter, so she hurriedly got up and ran after her.

Olivier’s expression was awkward as he said:

– This child is really insensitive…

Old Mrs. Alvarez said nothing and only gave a faint smile. However, there was no warmth in his smile. She sighed inwardly. ‘The Rios family is going from bad to worse. Fortunately, Roxane did not marry into this family…’

Diego, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said:Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

– Grandma Alvarez, I would like to see Roxane.

– Roxane is resting.

Sabrina refused Diego decisively without any hesitation. At first, she thought he wasn’t bad, but now, with Sebastian as a comparison, she thought Diego was really lacking. Put everything else aside, the difference between Sebastien and Diego’s treatment of Roxane was miles apart.

-I just want to see her. It won’t take long. He didn’t give up.

Sabrina wanted to refuse again, but old Madame Alvarez said:

– Go for it. Please don’t bother her for too long.

“Thank you, Grandma Alvarez,” Diego said, bowing before going upstairs, leaving Olivier to chat with the others.

…

Diego knew where Roxane’s room was. When he arrived, he saw that the door was ajar. From the crack he saw Roxane, who was dressed in a thin lounge set due to the heating in the house. He did not immediately enter the room and looked at her quietly

She was sitting in front of her at the easel at the moment. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun; a few strands of hair hung loosely around her face. Her slender fingers held a brush and a palette, and her expression was serious as she painted.

There were quite a few paintings in the room, and one of them was by Diego. Seeing this, he couldn’t help it and entered the room.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Roxane turned around. She frowned as soon as she saw Diego and said:

-Who said you could come in?

The bedroom was his sanctuary; his little world. Even Enzo usually didn’t enter without permission.

Diego looked from the painting to his face before responding:

“Grandma Alvarez said you weren’t feeling well, so I came to take a look.

Roxane turned around and continued painting, saying bluntly:

– I don’t feel bad. I just don’t want to see all of you.

“I know,” Diego replied.

Roxane looked at him and asked:

– Since you know, aren’t you going to leave?

He shifted his gaze to the painting that was leaning against the wall and asked:

-Did you draw that?

She followed his gaze and replied tonelessly:

– Yes.

-I didn’t know you could draw so well. This painting of me is truly alive, Diego said while looking at his portrait. He thought she must like him a lot to be able to draw him so well. The other paintings in the room were good too.

Roxane raised an eyebrow and said:

– This is the birthday present I gave you last year. You said you had nowhere to store it, so you asked me to take it back. Have you forgotten?

-…

-…

A look of embarrassment briefly appeared on his face before he said:

– Is it true ? Indeed, at that time, I didn’t have space to keep it. However, I changed offices recently. I have the perfect place to hang it now. Can you give it to me?

Roxane said generously:

– Of course. If you like it, you can have it.

– I was planning to throw it away anyway.

Diego smiled and walked over to pick up the painting before saying:

– Roxane, thank you.

“No need,” she replied without looking up as she continued to paint.

Diego didn’t leave. Instead, he stood to the side and looked at her. In the past, he didn’t really look at Roxane when she was painting. At this moment, he felt that she was very charming when she was focused.

His skin was fair and his eyes were dark. Her lips were pink and her neck was thin and delicate. No man could resist her purity.

He couldn’t help but gulp as he continued to stare at her.

Roxane finally noticed that he hadn’t left yet, so she frowned and asked:

-Is there anything else? If there is nothing, can you leave? I try to paint.

He regained his senses. He looked into her clear eyes and smiled softly as he said:

“Then I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll come visit another day.

With that, he took the painting and left the room. Before closing the door, he couldn’t help but steal a look at her again. He saw her gently scratching the space between her eyebrows as she looked at her painting with a serious expression on her face.

…

The Alvarez family had a great time during New Year’s Eve dinner.

Old Mrs. Alvarez was tired. Therefore, shortly after dinner ended, she gave red packets to Enzo and Roxane before retiring to her room to rest.

Aunt Celine was preparing food for the first day of the Lunar New Year while Joel and Sabrina were watching the Spring Festival Gala on television.

Roxane sat next to her parents as she responded to messages wishing her a happy new year. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Enzo who seemed to be sneaking around. She deliberately raised her voice and asked:

– Brother, are you going out?