"I'll give you money. Just leave."
Ciena's voice was low, barely above a whisper... but filled with restrained fury.
Ciera's eyes widened, disbelief flashing across her face.
"Money?" she repeated, almost as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Do you really think that's why we came here? That we traveled for two days just to see you... for money?"
Ciena's sharp glare narrowed.
"Isn't it?" she shot back, her tone biting, accusatory.
Nissan let out a bitter laugh, her frustration boiling over.
"You're unbelievable, Ciena." Her voice dripped with resentment. "Like you didn't lie to us? Like you didn't deceive Papa?"
She turned to her father, Narciso, who remained seated on the sofa, shoulders slumped, eyes cast downward.
A broken man.
"You told us you were struggling in the city," Nissan's voice was low, but the accusation was clear.
Her eyes scanned the lavish mansion, the designer clothes Ciena wore, the life of comfort she was living.
"So this is what struggling looks like now?" Nissan scoffed. "Living in a mansion? Wearing expensive clothes?"
Her expression hardened, her anger barely contained.
"If you were struggling, then what does that make us?"
Ciena's fingers curled into fists, her jaw tightening as she turned a sharp glare toward her younger sister.
She opened her mouth...
But before she could speak...
"Ahhhum."
A soft clearing of the throat echoed from the top of the grand staircase.
Ciena froze.
A cold wave of fear ran down her spine as she turned her head...
And there, descending gracefully down the staircase, was Ceres.
Her brows were slightly raised, her lips pressed into a small, knowing smirk.
She wasn't alone.
Zeus was right beside her, one hand casually resting on the railing, the other placed protectively on her lower back as he guided her down the stairs.
Ciena swallowed hard.
Her pulse quickened.
The moment their eyes met, Ceres's smirk widened.
She knew.
She knew everything.
Ceres reached the last step, her gaze sweeping over the room.
Her sharp eyes immediately caught the way Nissan blushed at the sight of Zeus.
It was the second time today.
But unlike earlier, where the sight had annoyed her,
Now...
She didn't even care.
She rolled her eyes in mild exasperation, then strode forward with effortless confidence.
Without hesitation, she sat down on the white loveseat.
Zeus followed suit, seating himself beside her... one arm lazily draped along the backrest.
Ceres finally took the time to really look at them.
To study them.
Ciera... her mother's younger sister.
Despite being younger, she looked older than Cielo. The years of hardship were carved into her face, her eyes filled with exhaustion.
Nissan... her supposed cousin.
Her clothes were clean but worn, her dress faded from repeated washes. It wasn't hard to tell that money had never come easy to her.
And then...
Narciso.
The man her mother had erased from her memories.
He sat motionless, shoulders hunched, eyes staring at the floor... like a man who regretted every decision that led him here.
Then finally...
Ceres's gaze landed on Ciena.
Her so-called sister.
The woman everyone thought was kind, humble, and innocent.
The woman who had manipulated her parents into taking her in.
The woman who had been lying to them for years.
From the moment Ceres met her on her fifteenth birthday, something in her recoiled.
Something deep inside her had told her that Ciena was putting on a show.
That she was playing the victim.
That she was deliberately making herself look weak, so that Ceres would be cast as the villain.
And for a time... it had worked.
But there was one thing Ciena failed to consider.
Ceres's reputation had already been ruined long before she ever arrived.
People already saw her as spoiled, arrogant, and untouchable.
So Ciena's act... while effective in some ways...
Couldn't do much to damage what was already broken.
In the end, people still kissed the ground Ceres walked on.
Because she was powerful.
Because her last name carried weight.
Because she had an empire backing her.
And no amount of fake tears could change that.
Ceres leaned back against the loveseat, crossing her legs gracefully.
Ciena was pale.
Her knuckles turned white as she clenched her hands together.
And then...
Ceres smiled.
Sweet. Charming. Deceptively warm.
But her eyes told a different story.
"Have you had breakfast?" she asked lightly.
The sudden question caught the three guests off guard.
Nissan hesitated before answering.
"Not… Not yet."
Ceres's smile widened.
"Nanny!"
Her voice was sweet, but commanding.
Her nanny appeared instantly, stepping forward from where she had been standing nearby... clearly eavesdropping out of concern.
Even the maids hovering near the kitchen looked uneasy.
"Can you prepare breakfast, please?" Ceres said, turning back to their guests. "They will be joining us."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Even her nanny looked at her in shock, but she didn't dare question Ceres. Instead, she gave a small nod and hurried off to the kitchen of the vast estate.
Ceres's gaze returned to their guests... particularly to Nissan, whose cheeks were still flushed red, her eyes darting toward Zeus every now and then.
"I don't mean to be rude," Ceres said, addressing Nissan directly. "You can blush all you want, but he will never be interested in you."
Nissan's eyes widened in disbelief, unable to process the bluntness of Ceres's words. But what shocked her even more was that Ceres's tone wasn't aggressive... she was merely stating a fact.
"Their family is the most powerful one on this continent," Ceres continued, her smirk growing. "Yet, this man right here? He's completely obsessed with me. So much so that if I told him to bark, he wouldn't think twice before doing it."
The three guests exchanged glances, struggling to believe her claim. They could tell just from Zeus's demeanor that he was an influential and dominant man... someone who commanded respect without trying. People like him weren't easily ordered around.
But as if to prove her point, Ceres turned to Zeus, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Bark," she commanded.
Without hesitation, Zeus smirked at her, then let out a deep, guttural sound... a mix between a bark and a growl, something akin to an alpha wolf asserting dominance.
"Rrraaurgh!"
Ceres burst into laughter, genuinely entertained, and without thinking, she reached out and cupped Zeus's jaw.
"That was so hot," she murmured, amusement dancing in her golden eyes.
Zeus, ever the shameless flirt when it comes to her, leaned in and brushed a kiss against the corner of her lips as if the entire room had faded away and it was just the two of them.
"I know," he murmured huskily. "And I can do more than just bark. I'm good at licking and biting, too." His eyebrows wiggled suggestively. "But then again, love, you already know all about my mouth and tongue talents."
Ceres gasped. "Oh my god! Stop! You're such a pervert!" She laughed, but her protest was cut short when Zeus suddenly attacked her neck with kisses and playful bites.
Despite her flustered giggles, Ceres instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. But as she shifted slightly, her gaze landed on Ciena... who was staring at them with a disbelief expression.
It was only then that Ceres remembered they weren't alone. They had guests. And they were still in the living room.
Clearing her throat, she pushed against Zeus's chest... though it was more of a light shove than a real attempt to break free... and shot him a warning glare before straightening her clothes.
"Sorry about that," she said, turning back to the guests with an air of nonchalance as if nothing had happened.
She cleared her throat again and smoothly shifted the conversation.
"Anyway," Ceres said, her tone more composed this time. "It seems Ciena forgot to introduce us properly." She tilted her head slightly, the confidence never leaving her expression. "I'm Ceres Evadne Monteverde. Cielo is my mother. And this... " she gestured toward Zeus, who simply nodded in acknowledgment, "... is my fiancé, Zeus Falcon."
Ceres shifted her gaze toward Ciena, her sharp eyes silently commanding her to do her part and introduce their guests.
A wave of nervousness washed over Ciena once more. She knew... without a doubt... that Ceres had already uncovered the lie she told them seven years ago.
She had no idea how to explain herself. And the truth was, she wasn't even sure if she should explain... Ceres hadn't asked for one.
"This… This is Ciera, Mommy's younger sister," Ciena stammered, her voice trembling as she forced the words out. "Nissan, her daughter. And… And… And Narciso, Nissan's father."
A heavy silence followed.
The moment she finished speaking, the expressions of the guests shifted. Shock, disbelief, and something far more painful flickered across their faces... especially Narciso's. He was frozen as if he had just been dealt a crushing blow.
Ceres caught the way his shoulders tensed and how his gaze briefly dropped to the floor before he quickly masked his emotions.
Ciena was deliberately downplaying his role. And by the look on his face, he knew it.
Ceres raised a single brow, her amusement laced with disappointment. She could not believe that her supposedly sweet and kind older sister would go as far as denying her own father's identity... especially when she knew that Ceres had already put the pieces together.
Ciena was trying to save face. That much was obvious.
But Ceres? She had no intention of letting this pass.
She already had a plan in motion. And she would make sure that Ciena regretted every second of making a fool out of the Monteverde household.
With a poised smile, Ceres turned her attention toward the older man.
"Mr. Narciso Fuentes," she addressed him directly. The moment his name left her lips, Narciso's head snapped up, his eyes meeting hers with silent apprehension.
"How should I properly address you?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "Should I call you Uncle? Or perhaps… Stepfather? I mean, I would assume that you and Aunt Ciera are together, but given that you were my mother's first husband... or should I say, legal husband... I find myself at a loss."
A stunned gasp echoed from their guests.
Narciso's mouth opened slightly, as if to respond, but no words came. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, struggling to find the right response.
Moments passed before he finally forced himself to speak.
"Whichever you're comfortable with," he said hoarsely.
Ceres smiled though there was an unmistakable edge to it.
"Then allow me to call you Uncle," she decided, her tone deceptively sweet.