Chapter 199: Chapter 199
“Yes, of course. I just hope they don’t feel disappointed to see me. Their son promised to marry me but if they don’t agree to this marriage, I can walk away.”
Lucien was just about to dial his dad’s phone number when he abruptly stopped to react to what Brianna had just said.
“Babe!?” Lucien was scared to hear Brianna speak with calm. But she did not make her word sound or appear vague. She explained further.
“I have lived without my parents for a long time, I don’t mind living the way I used to. But you, Lucien, are different. Your parents are alive and well, unlike mine who are already gone. I would rather walk away than bring chaos to your family…” Brianna stated solemnly.
“You are never and will never be anything of the sort in my life, as a matter of fact, you are the opposite of it. You are a blessing to me, Anna. A gift. A treasure. And most of all, I am sure my parents will love you. But even just for a joke, don’t be so cold as to say you won’t even fight for me…” Lucien was feeling so hurt to hear Brianna say those words despite knowing she was not someone to sugarcoat whatever she wanted to say.
“You know I am not joking. They have to be in this for us to work. If not, then we will have to move on. I am just being clear and honest. We don’t have to beat around the bush when we can be direct to the point, right, Don Leon?” Brianna asked the old man.
Leandro was smiling the whole time he was listening to the two youngsters bickering right in front of him. He was enjoying watching the worried face of his grandson while the other was in her best composure; calm, confident, and straightforward.
“Why are you so defensive Luci? If you are confident your mom and dad will like her, I don’t see why you are worried about anything. Just cross the bridge when you get there. If there is no bridge, then I would suggest you sail or swim to get to the other side,” Leandro spoke kindly.
Lucien was silenced by what his grandfather had just said. He still wanted to argue that no matter if he was confident to say his parents will not dislike his choice of girl because he had already told them about Anna when he was in distress waiting for the woman to return from the break she asked when she found out that the Michaelsons were not her true enemy. Still, Lucien was a bit upset to hear Anna say she was going to walk away readily. But he bit his tongue, knowing his grandfather still had more to say.
“There is no problem without a solution. Always remember that my boy,” Leandro smiled assuringly. And when the old Michaelson saw the look of wary in Lucien’s face, he made his words clearer. “If there seems to be no solution, no way to solve it, no matter how hard you tried, then you would have to check if it is indeed a problem. Otherwise, it may not be and you are just mistaking it for one.”
“In other words, if there is no solution, then it is not a problem,” Brianna agreed.
“Exactly,” Leandro nodded, confirming Brianna’s statement.
Lucien was flabbergasted. He felt like his grandpa and beloved Anna were ganging up against him. They both looked calm. Nonchalant and casual. While Lucien was the opposite. He wanted to bring up his argument in mind, but when he realized he was making things complicated, Lucien gave up the idea and comforted himself that his grandpa was right. He did not have to worry about such unnecessary things if he was confident, Lucien should have faith that he was right and nothing like walking away from anyone will ever occur in their relationships. The young Michaelson decided to proceed to dial his dad’s phone number and inform them that the patriarch of the Michaelson was asking them to come to his mansion to meet their future daughter-in-law, finally.
Lucien’s hope of having someone to back him up and serve as his proof that Anna was wrong to think his parents won’t like her seemed to collapse when the call kept ringing but unanswered.
“I should call his office at the hospital. He might be performing surgery right now,” Lucien sighed.
It was not a new scenario when anyone in the family could not reach one another from time to time. Lucien’s parents, Levi and Sandra, are medical practitioners. They are literally on call for duty twenty-four hours a day seven days a week if situations cannot be handled by their subordinates.
It was not suspicious for Lucien.
But Leandro felt a strange fear. He looked at Enzo with a questioning gaze without saying anything. But Brianna saw it from her peripheral vision. When Enzo discreetly exited the room, Brianna excused herself and asked where the washroom was. Lucien and Leandro were clueless that Brianna went to follow Enzo.
“Is there any problem?” Brianna asked.
She had a feeling something was up but she also felt the need to know. Whether they do not take her offer of assistance since the Michaelsons have a lot of competitive men to handle any kind of problem, Brianna did not want to pretend she did not notice the fear in Don Leon’s reaction when Lucien’s call was not answered.
Enzo did not deny anything to the lady. Married or not, Anna already had equal respect earned from all the Michaelsons men ever since she saved the young Master’s life for the first time. Adding to the obvious affection Lucien has for her, the lady was already the young Madame in the Michaelsons for everyone in the mansion and everyone who knew about their relationship.
“The Master, Don Leon, received a death threat from someone we suspect to be an enemy from a distant past. We are not sure who he is, but the patterns of the attack are quite similar to what we had in the past. We cannot tell if we have the right man to pin down on this so we sent the best of our men to make sure we are aiming at the perfect target but it seems like we were being played.”
“Do I know who this person you are suspecting to be behind all these?” Brianna asked casually.
“It’s a bit confusing. But telling you might even help us put the puzzle tiles in the right spots,” Enzo answered, eyes widened as he realized something that seemed so significant.
“I’d love to help if you trust me,” Brianna replied with a stern tone.
It turned out that after Terrence Clayton was dealt with. The water in the river was shaken and the alligators living in the water were out to bite back whoever they think caused them to get stirred up.
“Why would they be after Don Leon?” Brianna frowned.
“They are the group of firearm dealers and smugglers where your uncle Matthew Reeves ran away from and Don Leon took him in,” Enzo answered. “They are after your uncle at first but now, they want the whole Michaelsons and everything my Master possesses to be theirs.”
“Since my uncle’s safety is also involved in this, I want myself in to get this over with,” Brianna declared irrevocably.
“I am sorry to say this is not for me to decide. I hope you understand. I am not even supposed to be telling you anything about this but since you asked, there was no way for me other than to answer honestly. Aside from telling you everything I know, I don’t have the last say on anything,” Enzo spoke with a sense of apology.
Honestly speaking, having the lady join hands with them to settle the matter would no doubt be more productive. Aside from being trained to handle such missions, she is impressively smart and on top of the game to even claim success even before she may step into the battlefield. But knowing the Young Master, Enzo was beyond positive things were to take rough and tough to convince the Young Michaelson to let Miss Anna join in the mission to do anything against their enemies.
“Thanks for letting me know, Enzo,” Brianna said before walking back to the sitting room.
There seemed to be a change in the mood. Lucien was now pacing behind the couch they were sitting on earlier, peeking out the window from time to time.
“What’s going on?” Brianna asked.
“We sent Tatum to fetch mom and dad, but they haven’t arrived yet,” Lucien answered worriedly.
“They will be here anytime soon, but don’t be too anxious, you’re making me feel dizzy, young man. Take a seat!” Leandro said, in a low tone.
Brianna could tell the old Michaelson was as worried as Lucien but he did not want to show it.
“Babe, I think I dropped my phone on your car on our way here,” Brianna pretended to search her pockets, not meeting Lucien’s gaze as she spoke to deceive the man to leave her with Don Leon for a brief moment.