Chapter 88: Chapter 88

Chapter 88

"Sir, Miss Mindian is waiting for you in the living room," the housemaid gently knocked on Enzo's office door and spoke softly, not wanting to disturb Flora's sleep.

Enzo closed his book and put on his robe before heading to the living room. Mindian was already there, calmly sipping tea and awaiting her father.

"Have you been here for long? Why did you come here?" Enzo asked as he sat down across from Mindian. His daughter had been studying abroad for many years, and her unexpected return without prior notice had taken him by surprise.

"What's wrong with me coming back to my own home? Where's Mom? I want to see her." Mindian replied without hesitation, her tone indifferent.

Enzo looked at his daughter, who resembled him in many ways, and sighed, "Your mother is sleeping, don't disturb her. If you have something to say, go ahead."

Mindian didn't want to beat around the bush any longer. She had deliberately avoided getting involved in her parents' relationship for many years while studying abroad. This time, her return was well thought out, as she didn't want her mother to leave her again.

"Dad, do you really want to keep Mom locked up like this? It's been so many years," Mindian sighed, addressing her father. He had always been extreme and possessive when it came to her mother, not allowing her to leave his side for many years.

Enzo wasn't surprised or bothered by his daughter's words. "If it's about that, then it's not your concern."

"Dad! You can't just keep Mom in captivity like this. Mom is not a caged canary!" Mindian raised her voice in anger. She had discussed this matter with her father before, both in the past and now, but her words had never caught his attention.

Enzo took a sip of his coffee, acknowledging Mindian's point. It had been over fifteen years since he attended Ron's wedding, and both Rollo and Mindian had grown up. Mindian had left for her studies abroad seven years ago, while Rollo remained in the country, not only studying at school but also learning to manage the DIZ conglomerate. Compared to Mindian, Rollo was under much more pressure and fatigue.

Enzo had originally wanted Mindian to take over the company, seeing her potential, but when he proposed the idea, Mindian had bluntly declined, expressing her desire to study abroad. He remembered being furious at the time, but Flora insisted on letting Mindian pursue her own dreams, which was why he agreed.

"Have you met Rollo yet?" Enzo changed the subject.

Min shook her head. She had just arrived at the airport to see her mother but had arrived at the wrong time.

"Dad... I've wanted to ask this for a long time..."

"What is it?" Enzo furrowed his brow, thinking about what he and his wife would have for dinner tonight. Flora didn't like fancy restaurants, so they usually enjoyed dinner at home, prepared by Enzo himself.

Min was unsure if she should ask, but in the end, she did. "Why did you hide your identity back then, even though you had been married to Mom for five years?"

"That's an interesting question, simply because of curiosity," Enzo said casually. It had been a long time, but he still remembered it quite clearly, or rather, anything related to Flora, he remembered well.

"Curiosity? What do you mean, Dad?" Min didn't understand. Her father not only concealed his identity but also continuously pressured her mother during that time. Even though she was just a child back then, it had left a deep impression on her.

"My entire childhood and youth were wrapped up in power, social status, and wealth. It may sound fascinating, but it's also the reason no one was truly sincere with me, not even my parents. I didn't find happiness or joy in having those things. When you have power and money, people are easily corrupted. In the eyes of many, our family was perfect, but only I knew how rotten they were."

Min listened quietly as her father spoke. She could see the coldness in his eyes as he recalled the past.

"I was brought up believing that power and money were everything, so I was curious about love and happiness. I wondered whether those at the bottom of society, without money or power, could find love. Flora loved me more than her own life, but after living in constant doubt for so long, I couldn't be sure whether her love was genuine or not."

Min furrowed her brow, understanding the reason her father had married her mother. But there was still more she wanted to know.

"Do you know? Flora loves me so much that she would die for me, but after living for so long with doubts, I couldn't be certain if her love was real or not," Enzo said, his skepticism about Flora's love evident, even though she didn't know his true identity at the time.

"Is that it? Dad always doubted Mom's love, and then Mom became too tired and wanted to leave, but Dad had become too accustomed to living in Mom's love, so he didn't want a divorce at that time, right? Am I right?" Min said, and her father had said enough for her to understand.

Enzo looked at his daughter and gently smirked, "No, I'm not accustomed to living in Flora's love, I love Flora, I loved her from the moment she smiled at me on her graduation day, I just had too many doubts back then." When he mentioned Flora, his gaze softened, and he recalled the image of when he and Flora first met.

"Love? Love to the point of madness, to the extent that you were willing to handle everyone around Mom, even when she wasn't happy?" Min said, knowing everything her father had done before, including the most sinister deeds.

Enzo laughed at that, he had never let his children know about what he had done, but perhaps Min had been curious about this for a long time and had secretly investigated it without letting him know.

"You probably know more than that, don't you, Min? If that's the case, there's nothing more to say. Flora is mine, and no one can take her away, not even you or Rollo. Her happiness is being with me." Enzo affirmed and then stood up, giving Min a warning look.

Min sat in the living room alone, she had pleaded with her father many times to give her mother freedom, or at least let her mother do what she wanted. But it was all in vain, her father had never listened and had even ignored it, and most notably, she rarely got to see her mother, even though she knew her mother was here, her father would find some excuse to keep her from seeing her mother.

A tense morning.

At the headquarters of the DIZ conglomerate, Mindian entered and headed to the elevator reserved for the leadership. Her assistant asked, "Do you need to announce your visit?"

Mindian casually waved her hand and said, "No need, I'm here as Rollo's older sister. He's probably busy with work and doesn't need to be bothered. I just want to talk for a bit."

Rollo's secretary and assistant saw Mindian's arrival and quickly greeted her. As she walked past them, they couldn't help but turn around and look.

Rollo, seeing his sister, left his work behind and warmly welcomed her. It had been a long time since he had seen her.

"Sis, if you give me any advance notice so I could come to greet you."

"I came here as your sister just to have a little chat." Mindian calmly sat down. Soon after, a secretary came in with coffee and tea.

The tea was for Rollo, he didn't like coffee, and he especially didn't like alcohol. Mindian looked at her brother and chuckled, "You're so much like Mom, only liking this kind of tea."

Rollo, hearing that, raised an eyebrow, "Sis, please don't mention Mom, I don't like it."

Unlike Mindian, Rollo fully sided with Enzo, or rather, he always supported his father's approach to his mother. Rollo believed that his mother deserved what had happened when she had betrayed his father to be with her lover.

Mindian didn't want to argue with Rollo because she knew that no matter what she said, he wouldn't listen. Her physical resemblance to Enzo, she had inherited exquisite beauty from him. Rollo, on the other hand, was the perfect blend of both his parents in terms of looks, but his personality was overwhelmingly similar to Enzo.

"How long has it been since you last visited Mom?" Mindian sighed, asking.

"You know, even if I go, Dad won't allow me to see Mom. I know you want Dad to set Mom free, but that will never happen, even with a miracle. So, you should give up and stop getting involved in that matter." Rollo took a sip of tea, it had been so long that he had almost forgotten what his mother looked like.

Mindian, hearing this, was not surprised; it was true that her father was holding her mother captive. "Even with a miracle?"

"Even though you say that, aren't you also tacitly agreeing with Dad's approach?" Rollo chuckled softly, he knew that his sister also agreed with their father's approach but often felt conflicted about it.

Mindian was struck by his words and sighed.

At Robert's villa, Flora had endured Enzo's abuse throughout the night, leaving her body sore and exhausted, and she slept until noon. When she came downstairs to the dining room, she saw Enzo finishing preparing lunch.

Seeing Flora, he quickly approached her with a smile, hugged her, and guided her to the dining table. "I thought you were sleeping so soundly, so I didn't wake you up earlier," Enzo gently said. Flora, as usual, paid no attention and went directly to the table. Over the years, she had learned to ignore Enzo's constant touches on her body and not want to reciprocate.

Flora looked at a table full of food for just the two of them, and even after all these years, she couldn't get used to the emptiness and boredom of it. "I want to see Min and Rollo." Flora said, feeling sad and lonely because she hadn't seen her children for a long time.

Enzo, hearing this, smiled kindly and said, "You know, Min and Rollo have grown up and are very busy with their jobs. They don't have time to come here."

"I can go and visit them." Flora disagreed with Enzo. He had used this excuse many times to deny her the opportunity to see her children.

"No, you would only disrupt their work. You can call them." Enzo continued to reject her request.

No matter what Flora said, Enzo always found an excuse to prevent her from meeting her children. In the past, Flora would quietly cry, feeling deeply pitiful, and she hated this man, but she couldn't escape from him. Her two children were her greatest comfort, but she couldn't see them.

"For fifteen years, you've kept me by your side for fifteen years. Aren't you tired yet?" Flora was too tired to be angry with the man, and she realized that anger only made her more exhausted.

Enzo, hearing this, just smiled gently. This was a normal conversation between the two of them. As Flora had said, he had bound her to him for fifteen years, and for fifteen years, he had been unilaterally gentle and submissive to win her heart. But he felt that what he was doing was not enough to prove his love and make up for what had hurt her in the past.

"Tired? I've never felt that way. Being with you is never enough," Enzo said romantically and gently, but Flora found those words meaningless.

"It's so empty," Flora sighed and continued eating.

Fifteen years may not be too long, but every day was repetitive like this. Flora didn't even know how long she had been in this villa, she could only count it on her fingers when she went out. She couldn't even see the faces of the housekeepers here because Enzo didn't allow them to appear in front of her.

As Enzo had said, he had trained Rollo to become the heir and take over the company as soon as possible. As for Min, she loved traveling, so after completing her studies abroad, she had been to many places. One was too busy with work, and the other was constantly on the move, and Flora didn't know where Min was.

Just as Enzo had hoped, Flora now only had him as her companion.

"I want to go on a trip," Flora paused in her meal and looked at the man in front of her. Flora hadn't heard any news about Ron for years, but she understood that Ron had his own family, his own children.

Indeed, she once had feelings for Ron, but it was not true love, it was more like gratitude to the person who had helped her. Flora knew that herself had long let go of the past, and she wanted Ron to do the same, to forget about her and look towards the future.

Flora's two children had grown up and had their own lives, they could take care of themselves, sooner or later, even if they would also have their own families. For Flora, that was satisfaction enough.

"Why this sudden whim? Where do you want to travel to? Let me ask Taylor to make a list of wonderful places for couples. Just hearing about them sounds romantic..." Enzo chattered away by himself, continuously talking about romantic places for lovers. He had wanted to go on a trip with Flora for a long time, but he was also afraid that Flora might run away again.

Flora looked at the man in front of her, the one she hated the most, who was constantly talking about romantic things he wanted to do with her. She had never thought Enzo would be the one standing by her side after all. What was even more ironic was that she accepted being with him probably because there was no better choice for everyone.

"Do you love me that much?" Flora interrupted Enzo, furrowing her brows and asking.

Enzo immediately stopped talking upon hearing that question, and an awkward silence fell between the two. "I always love you," Enzo looked at his wife with a gentle, watery gaze.

Upon receiving this answer, Flora just sighed and mumbled, "That's right, a love full of possessiveness and extremes..." She felt that her question was redundant.

Enzo didn't hear Flora mumbling, he continued to inquire about where she wanted to go. However, Flora didn't have a specific place in mind; she just wanted to go somewhere to relax and unwind.

"You know, Rollo and Min have grown up too... Do you want to have another child?" Enzo raised an eyebrow, looking at Flora, with a strong desire in his gaze. He said that not because he also had another child, but because every time they had sex, Flora wouldn't let him cum inside and forced him to wear a condom, which was very uncomfortable. If he didn't do what she wanted, she wouldn't agree to have sex with him.

But Flora coldly replied, "I don't want to. If you want one, find someone else to bear your child." With that, she got up, wiped her mouth, and went to the study where she spent most of her day. She wanted to seriously think about where she wanted to go, paying no attention to Enzo's paling face.

Enzo thought Flora was angry when she said that, so he immediately followed her. What he wants is not a child of his, but what he wants is for his child to be born by Flora.

Fifteen years passed, and...

One person had lost love for the other, while the other had an excess of love for the other. It was so much that it didn't require reciprocity. Enzo's love was abnormal; it was intense and growing, but it was also twisted and deformed. Love was paired with extremism, possessiveness, control, and perversion. Out of love, Enzo had destroyed everyone around Flora. He was even willing to destroy Flora if she attempted to escape.

Fortunately, Flora was too exhausted to run away...