CHAPTER 57: PRS 57

The long-awaited holiday began with joy. The couple walked onto the luxurious first-class plane, holding hands tightly and smiling broadly like newlyweds on their honeymoon.

After a full month of being in a long-distance relationship (LDR) after officially dating, this was their first time seeing each other in person and being able to touch each other, so this important and precious moment was something they couldn’t take for granted.

Despite having to fly daily to various countries on a fairly exhausting schedule, from country S to country T, and then to several other smaller countries, Isabella and Alesio Xander didn’t feel tired at all. In fact, they were full of enthusiasm and energy, enjoying this delightful vacation, sharing stories and laughter.

"Honey, can I really not come to country S to meet your family?" Alesio Xander asked for the umpteenth time, pleadingly, as he looked at Isabella with hopeful eyes. "I want to meet them and introduce myself as your boyfriend. Isn’t that normal?"

"It’s not time for that yet, Alesio," Isabella replied, tightly gripping her lover’s hand. "When the time is right, I’ll definitely take you there to meet all of them—daddy, mommy, uncle, and great-grandmother. I promise."

Isabella said, hugging her lover’s strong body affectionately, resting her head on Alesio’s broad chest and listening to his steady heartbeat.

Isabella had many things to resolve there—dangerous matters involving the family’s enemies, so she couldn’t possibly bring Alesio, who would be a target and an easy target for them to attack her indirectly.

If only the Alegra family’s enemies were in the light and their identities were clear, perhaps Isabella wouldn’t be so wary and worried.

The problem was, they were in a dark, hidden place, while Isabella and her family were in the light and easily observed. Even their movements had limits due to the need to maintain their image and reputation, while the enemies had no restrictions whatsoever, allowing them to move and attack whenever and wherever they pleased without having to worry about social consequences.

Isabella gently and affectionately stroked Alesio’s cheek, then gently kissed his lips.

"There’s a bit of a complicated family matter there," Isabella said seriously. "I’ll probably stay home for a while to sort it out. It could be a week or more. I don’t want you to get involved in that."

Alesio, sensing that his girlfriend seemed to have important and possibly dangerous matters that needed to be dealt with immediately, stopped sulking or forcing her, as he didn’t want to lose the girl he loved so much just because of his excessive possessiveness and selfishness.

"Okay, I understand," Alesio said, kissing Isabella’s forehead. "I’ll wait for you in the capital. But you have to promise to keep in touch every day."

After hearing the story about his girlfriend’s biological family from Isabella herself, Alesio felt a fear in his heart that he couldn’t shake.

Moreover, he received additional information from Alekso, who had conducted research that Alegra’s family, his girlfriend’s biological family, was a hereditary noble family and the second richest family in the country of South Korea. Worry and fear began to grow in his mind. What if Isabella’s family didn’t accept him?

Growing up in a conglomerate family, albeit only on the scale of a small country like the one in South Korea, Alesio Xander understood all too well how wealthy families worked. If Alesio’s parents hadn’t died in an accident when he was a teenager, they might have found a life partner for him through an arranged marriage.

For wealthy and influential families, arranged marriages were commonplace, even considered tradition. Besides gaining business profits and solidifying their political and economic power, these arranged marriages were also usually to stabilize their power so that it wouldn’t be diminished or taken over by other families.

And Isabella, as the precious youngest daughter of the Alegra family, would surely be matched with another wealthy family. This seemed impossible for the beautiful girl to avoid, given her status.

"What if your family has arranged for you to marry someone else?" Alesio asked in a low, worried voice.

Isabella, sensitive to her lover’s worries and fears, immediately cupped Alesio’s handsome face with both hands and forced him to look into her eyes.

"Calm down, Alesio. Listen to me carefully," Isabella said firmly and seriously. "Even though they are my family, they have no right to control my life as they please. I choose my own path. So, don’t worry that I’ll leave you alone after I get home. I’m not the type of woman who gives up easily."

Seeing her clear eyes, devoid of any hint of deceit or doubt, filled with determination and love, Alesio felt a little at ease and relieved.

"I trust you, Isabella," he said with a sincere smile.

Isabella smiled, satisfied and happy to hear her lover’s answer, so trusting. For her, trust was crucial to a relationship.

Without trust, any relationship, whether one year, five years, or ten years, is doomed to failure and fall apart. Without trust, suspicion will always be present at every turn, making arguments inevitable and recurring.

Eager to lighten the already tense atmosphere, Isabella emerged from Alesio’s warm embrace and rose from the soft sofa, enthusiastically holding her lover’s hand.

"How about we take a short walk to the city park while we digest our lunch?" Isabella asked enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling. "I hear the park here is beautiful and romantic. We can take some pictures there."

Seeing his lover’s enthusiasm, like a child who has just received a toy, Alesio couldn’t resist the sweet invitation.

"Of course, honey. I’ll accompany you wherever you want," Alesio replied, kissing the back of Isabella’s hand.

The two of them planned to create as many beautiful memories as possible on their last day of vacation together before being overwhelmed by the endless routine of work, meetings, and responsibilities that awaited them at home.

***

In a luxurious three-story Victorian mansion in the capital of South Korea,

Bang!!!

The sound of things shattering echoed loudly throughout the house. Several expensive crystal vases, antique mirrors, and picture frames were shattered and scattered across the floor, rendering the luxurious room uninhabitable, as it looked like the victims of a massive earthquake, with damage everywhere.

"Carisa! What are you doing?! Stop this madness right now!" Meli shouted in a high-pitched voice, clutching her dizzy head. "You’ve destroyed valuables!"

"Mom, that damned kid can’t come back!" Carisa shouted hysterically, her face flushed and her eyes welling with tears. "Mom and Dad have to get rid of him before he gets to the main mansion! I don’t care how!"

Without Isabella, who had been missing for 22 years, Carisa’s chances of winning Morgan Elio Cromson’s heart were already very slim, and nearly impossible. The man was so cold and uninterested in any woman. Moreover, with Morgan’s cousin and official fiancée back, her chances of becoming Mrs. Cromson would be completely sealed, and Carisa didn’t want that at all. She had dreamed of being Mrs. Cromson since she was little.

"Why did he have to come back now?!" Carisa threw a pillow at the wall hard. "Why didn’t he just die out there?!"

Elie, the grandmother, who had been disgusted and disgusted by her eldest grandson’s ill-mannered behavior for the past few days, began to lose her patience and couldn’t tolerate it any longer.

SLAP!!!

A hard slap landed on Carisa’s cheek, rendering her speechless, her eyes wide with disbelief as she held her burning cheek.

"If you can’t shut up and act mature, I won’t let you come to my great-grandmother’s birthday party and cause such an embarrassing mess!" Elie threatened in a cold voice and sharp eyes. "You’ll be locked up in the house until the event is over!"

Seeing her grandmother glare at her with a murderous glare, Carisa stopped crying, though she was still sobbing. She left the room, stamping her feet loudly like a child throwing a tantrum, making the marble floor squeak loudly.

"I hate you all!" Carisa shouted before slamming the bedroom door.

Seeing her eldest granddaughter leave so disrespectfully, ignoring her advice and even daring to slam the door, Elie immediately turned her gaze to Meli, her weak, inept daughter-in-law.

"If you can’t raise your child properly, you and Carisa should leave this house immediately and never come back!" Elie said, pointing at the exit with a trembling finger and glaring at her daughter-in-law with a sharp, threatening glare. "I don’t need useless people in this family!"

Meli, once again reprimanded for Carisa’s constant troublemaking, could only lower her head in fear and wring her hands nervously.

"Okay, ma’am, I’m sorry," Meli said in a trembling voice. "I will punish Carisa for what she did today. I promise this won’t happen again."

Watching Meli leave hurriedly, shouting loudly for the guards to immediately drag Carisa away and lock her in the cold, dark basement, extinguished the anger in Elie’s heart, though it still burned.

Elie had worked hard to achieve this position in the Alegra family, going from having nothing to being part of a wealthy family and living the life of luxury she had dreamed of since she was a girl. Seeing her foolish and ungrateful granddaughter try to ruin her hard work with childish behavior, the sixty-something woman certainly wouldn’t let her go so easily.

If necessary, Carisa wouldn’t be invited to her mother-in-law’s birthday party the day after tomorrow, lest she cause a commotion and end up permanently banished, as she had at several elite parties she and her small family had attended in the past. The memory was still raw and embarrassing.

"I have to talk to Nana immediately," Elie muttered as she walked to the study. "It would be better if only Cisko came to the party. Leave that stubborn mother and daughter at home so they don’t cause a mess that would negatively impact me and my position in this family."

She still vividly remembered the chaos Carisa caused two weeks ago at a business party, which resulted in a very harsh and embarrassing reprimand from Beti and Yuan, husbands who ignored her and never considered her a real wife.

The husband, who never considered her, even threatened to sever ties with her daughter, Nana, and expel them all if Carisa ever again caused a public embarrassment for the Alegra family.

Elie, who naturally loved and valued his intelligent and polite grandson, Cisko, would certainly not hesitate to sacrifice his daughter-in-law and daughter if they were difficult to manage and continued to cause trouble.

Her son, Nana, was young and handsome, only 35 years old, with a handsome face and an athletic build. Even though she was only an illegitimate child from an affair, the name Alegra attached to her body already provided many benefits and privileges. It certainly wasn’t difficult for Elie to find a better and more suitable partner for her only son, one who would be more useful to the family.

Meli, who had accidentally overheard Elie’s mutterings from behind the door and was already familiar with her cruel mother-in-law’s cunning thoughts, could only vent her frustration on Carisa, who, in her opinion, was useless and always causing trouble.

"You stupid child!" Meli hissed, seething with anger.

It was pointless for her eldest child to inherit her perfect beauty if she didn’t have a brilliant mind that often got her into trouble and in danger of losing everything.

Tap tap tap

With long, fast strides, her head smoking with anger, Meli entered the musty basement where Carisa was being punished and imprisoned.

CLAP!

CLAP!

CLAP!!!

BUGH!

BUGH!

BUGH!!!

The sound of loud slaps and brutal blows echoed in the cramped room.

"Oh my gosh, Mom, it hurts so much. I promise I won’t do it again..." Carisa moaned hoarsely.

Carisa’s heartbreaking screams of pain and heart-rending cries didn’t elicit any pity or compassion from Meli. Instead, they only made her angrier and more frustrated, unable to hold back the force of the blows and kicks aimed at the 21-year-old girl, who was already cowering in fear on the cold concrete floor, her cheeks severely swollen and her body covered in blackish-blue bruises.

CRACK!!!

"Arghhh! My leg!" Carisa screamed in excruciating pain as Meli intentionally broke one of her legs by stomping hard on her knee. The bone cracked and shattered.

"This way, I have a good reason not to take you to the party," Meli said with a satisfied tone and a cruel smile. "You’ll be lying here until this is all over."

"Remember this!" Meli turned to the guards standing guard with a fierce expression. "Don’t treat her wounds or call a doctor! Let her feel the pain! Anyone caught helping her or giving her food, I will not hesitate to destroy her family and make them suffer!"