Chapter 40: Chapter 40

"Oh, sorry. Did I disturb your peace?" The man asked with an apologetic expression.

I stood up from the chair and bowed my head. "Good evening, sir. No, you're not a nuisance at all."

I don't know who exactly this man is, but from the way he looks, I'm pretty sure he's somehow affiliated with the Montreals. He could be their business partner.

"You can have this place, sir." I was planning to leave, but he caught me.

I quickly pulled my arms away from him.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just want to tell you that you don't need to leave. You were here first. If you're not comfortable, I can leave if you want."

I was surprised to hear it from him. This guy seems harmless despite the air of nobility around him.

"No worries, I was just shocked. I'm not used to people suddenly touching me."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Anyway, if you want. We can just share the place instead."

Why am I speaking as if this porch is just a random place and isn't owned by Garren's parents?

He smiled. "That would be great."

He walked towards the balustrade and leaned against it while I sat back on the chair.

"How are you related to Montreal?" He asked, breaking the moments of silence hovering between us.

I drew a deep breath, already exhausted of explaining this bullshit the entire damn night.

"If you're talking about Doña Victoria and Don Zachareus, I'm not related to them in any way. I'm here because Sir Garren wants me to look after his son," I clarified.

He turned his head at me. "Oh, so you're working for my cousin."

I was knocked down with a feather after he dropped that bombshell.

"He's your cousin?!"

He laughed. "You heard it loud and clear."

So my hunch is wrong. He's not just a mere business acquaintance, but is related by blood to the Montreal.

"If you don't mind me asking, are you close to Sir Garren?"

I don't know why that was the first thing that occurred to my mind after hearing that he's Garren's cousin.

He laughed, and I don't know if I'm hearing it right, but there's a certain hint of bitterness on it.

"Garren and I are really, really close."

The sarcasm laced in his voice is crystal clear.

"We've been talking for quite some minutes already and I haven't introduced my name."

He fixed his collar, cleared his throat, and extended a hand at me. I couldn't help but chuckle when he displayed a stern expression.

"I'm Lorenzo Sullivan, at your service." He even bowed.

I accepted his handshake. "I'm Cleo Remington, Sir Lorenzo."

His face contorted. "I'll appreciate it if you drop the formality and don't use my entire name. Call me Enzo instead."

"Enzo it is, then."

He smiled cheekily. "Yeah. That sounds more pleasing to the ears."

He seems buoyant and vivacious, unlike his cousin, who seems to be carrying the entire world on his back.

I shook my head. Why am I even comparing the two of them?

"Why are you here alone anyway? Where's Greyson?" Enzo asked.

"He's already asleep upstairs, so I decided to get some fresh air here. What about you?"

It's amazing how we talk to each other so casually, as if we've been friends for a very long time.

"I hate social gatherings. It was my parents who wanted me to come with them here although I made it clear that I didn't want to. So I escaped from them and went here."

We're in the same boat, then. But I wonder why he hates this kind of event. He's obviously born with a golden spoon in his mouth, so I presume that he's been through his kind of event countless times already.

"Just because I'm well off doesn't mean I'm fond of this stuff."

I pursed my lips together. "I wasn't saying anything."

Enzo chortled. "I can clearly read it on your face."

He leaned against the railing and bewailed, "Can't you imagine that? It's only a couple of months before I begin my hospital residency, but I still feel like a child who has no choice but to follow them."

My eyes widened a fraction. "So you're still a student?"

He arched his brows. "That's what you're concerned about?"

My cheeks went hot. "Sorry."

He chuckled. "I was just kidding. But to answer your question, yes. I'm a fourth-year medical student. Next year, I'll start my residency. I can't wait to be a doctor."

There's a genuine gleam of bliss in his eyes, and to be honest, it made me envious.

Enzo must have noticed my sudden silence and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

I forced a smile. "Yeah. It's just that... I envy you."

His brows snapped together. "Why?"

I looked above and stared at the stars. "I was once a dreamer too. I had a lot of goals that I wanted to achieve, but I had to give them up."

I don't know why I don't feel uneasy sharing this stuff about my life to this person whom I just met.

"Why?" Enzo asked curiously.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Let's just say that I'm not lucky and privileged enough. I have to desert my dreams in order to survive and make ends meet."

I felt a subtle pain in my chest. I told myself countless times that I already accepted my fate, but until now, I'm still bombarded with a lot of what ifs and what could've beens.

What if my father hadn't died? What if my mother didn't get sick? What if we're well heeled?

Perhaps I would have a better life.

"I won't say that it's fine, because being compelled to kill your dreams isn't easy. It's like murdering a significant fragment of your soul."

I glanced at Enzo. I wasn't expecting those words to come from him.

"But I hope that you know that you're not a hopeless case. Maybe today, the Universe is against you, but someday, you'll be able to reach the stars. As long as you're living and breathing, you have an endless number of chances ahead of you."

Our eyes met when he looked in my direction.

"It's never too late for your dreams, Cleo."

Those words resounded in my soul. For the longest time, I've been thinking that my life is stagnant, that it would never move, that I already reached the farthest possible point and I'd forever be stuck in the same spot where I am right now.

I inculcated in my mind that my entire life would be devoted to making ends meet for my family. Therefore, I chose to spurn my dreams because even if my suffering came to an end, it would be too late for me.

But I was wrong. Tonight, I realized that I hold my own timeline.

It never crossed my mind that Enzo, a man I just met less than an hour ago, someone who's still practically a stranger, would be the one to give me that kind of realization.

A smile eventually made its way onto my lips. "Thank you, Enzo."

He winked. "No problem."

We resumed our conversation, but this time, we're talking about some trivial stuff. I don't want to continue running my mouth about melancholic things.

Enzo is honestly fun to be with. He's very talkative. It's like he never runs out of topics to ponder upon, no matter how trivial that may be. He made me really comfortable with him.

"I can't imagine how humiliating that must be." I wiped the tears of joy from the corner of my eyes after laughing my heart out.

He narrated his embarrassing experiences while studying in medical school—and that includes when his pants accidentally ripped while they're having a performance in their university's quadrangle.

He scrunched up his nose. "I almost didn't want to show my face after that. I became the talk of the town for almost a month."

I was about to say something when the door behind us suddenly opened. I was surprised to see Garren.

"Cleo, I was looking for you-"

He stopped midway through his sentence when his eyes landed on Enzo. My forehead creased when I noticed how his eyes sharpened at the latter.

"What are you doing here?" Garren asked him, there was a tone of threat laced in his voice.

Enzo laughed. "Your parents invited us over because your mother is my father's sister. What kind of question is that?"

Garren scoffed. "That's not what I'm talking about, dummy. I'm asking why are you here with Cleo."

I was caught off-guard. Why does he sound vexated?

Enzo, who seems as confused as me, gave his cousin an incredulous look. "I don't know why it bothers you."

"I'm not bothered."

"Your question says otherwise."

I keep looking at them alternately. The evident tension between these two is prickling my skin.

I was torn between leaving the scene, stopping them from their petty contretemps, or just sitting there and watching them argue.

"But to clear things up, Cleo and I met here coincidentally. I was trying to escape my mom and dad and went here, and it just happened that she was also here. It would be rude if I booted her out when she was here first, right?" Enzo explained.

Garren grinned. "Coincidence my ass."

I mentally slapped my forehead. He's stubborn as hell.

"Cleo."

I stood up when Garren called my name. "Yes, sir?"

"Let's go."

I frowned. "Where?"

His eyebrows knitted. "We're going home. Why? Do you want to stay here and spend the rest of the night with this bastard?"

I felt my hackles rising. I asked a harmless question and he's being a jerk. I heaved out a sigh and pacified myself.

I turned to Enzo. "It's nice to meet you."

He smiled widely. "Same here. I'm looking forward to meeting you again-"

"There will be no second time. Stay away from Cleo. I'm telling you, Sullivan."

The way Garren said the last words sent shivers down my spine. He sounds like he's giving him a threat.

But what baffles me the most is... why?

Suddenly, it occurred to me the way Enzo responded when I asked him if he's close to Garren. Maybe there's a hidden enmity between these two? I honestly don't know.

Nonetheless, I don't think I should be dragged into this madness.