Chapter 689

Ella dodged his gaze and said nothing. She silently buried her head in her bowl and ate.

Lorenzo raised an eyebrow. “Ella.”

“I—I didn’t see anything. I just wanted to thank you for last night,” Ella replied.

Lorenzo chuckled. “By serving me soup? That’s your way of thanking me?”

Ella fell silent.

“The way I want isn’t this cheap,” Lorenzo said. His words were suggestive, and Ella naturally understood the implication in his tone. Her face flushed even redder.

Lorenzo took a sip of the soup she had served him. “Don’t call Stefi over here for a while.”

“Okay.” Ella looked up from her bowl. She thought, ‘So Lorenzo doesn’t want Stefi to come over? I don’t want to bother her anyway, especially since she is pregnant. Moreover, after this period, I’ve deeply realized that my surroundings aren’t peaceful. Right now, those people want to capture me to threaten my mom, and similarly, they might also capture Stefi to threaten her to go with them. Sebastian cherishes Stefi very much. If anything were to happen to Stefi because of me, I probably wouldn’t know how to make up for this fault.’

“Don’t go see her either,” Lorenzo continued.

“Okay, I know. I’m a hazard right now.” Ella hadn’t had this awareness before, nor did she have such a concept. Now, she understood completely.

Lorenzo raised an eyebrow and looked at the loneliness that flashed across Ella’s eyes. He probably knew what she was thinking and chuckled softly, “Don’t worry, you can’t get Stefi involved.”

Ella fell silent.

“After all, no one in Fiorenza dares to hurt her,” Lorenzo said. The Giovanni family had enough trouble over the years. There were too many potential threats. Moreover, those people all knew that Stefi was Sebastian’s weakness, but no one dared to hurt her. Because everyone knew that if they didn’t hurt Stefi, everything was negotiable. But if they did, even if that person dared to die, it would implicate their entire family. If they hurt Stefi, Sebastian would destroy their family, leaving no survivors.

Upon hearing Lorenzo’s words, Ella was a bit skeptical. “What about the Dark Portal? They wouldn’t dare either?”

Ella had heard that the current leader of the Dark Portal was a pervert. She hadn’t understood it before. Last night, after seeing the weapons and clothes the twins were carrying, Ella got it.

Lorenzo sneered, “What’s Dark Portal compared to Mr. Giovanni?” Although there was no definite news about who the leader of the Dark Portal was, Lorenzo didn’t think they had the guts to bring their mess to Sebastian. Thinking about Ella and Stefi, Lorenzo had to admit that their relationship was quite complex.

Ella thought, ‘If that’s the case, I don’t worry about Stefi.’ “Wait, that’s not right. You told me that man’s name was Murry, and the twins don’t have the same last name.”

Ella thought, ‘Do children in Fiorenza not share the same last name as their fathers, unlike in Long Harbor?’

“In the Murry family, only boys take their father’s last name,” Lorenzo said.

Ella thought, ‘It’s not fair.’ After Lorenzo said that, Ella figured out that the mistress must have had the last name Nelson.

At the end of the call, Lorenzo received a call and went out. Before leaving, he leaned close to Ella’s ear and whispered, “I’ll be back late tonight. Take a shower and go to bed first.”

Ella’s face flushed red from the tips to her ears. The teasing look in Lorenzo’s eyes as he got up made her head go blank. Lorenzo was always cold and aloof. One look from him could make her freeze in fear. That was Ella’s impression of Lorenzo. He was dangerous, aloof, stern, and always seemed devoid of emotions. People around him thought he was either physically unwell or indifferent, with no desire for sex. Yet, this impeccably proper and serious Lorenzo suddenly leaned in and whispered, “Get cleaned up.”

Ella sat frozen in the dining chair. After she calmed down, Lorenzo was already gone, leaving her blushing furiously. When Bernard and Cecil entered, they saw Ella like this. Bernard couldn’t help but blurt out, “Whoa, look who’s in love—”

Before he could finish, Cecil smacked the back of Bernard’s head with a slap. The force was heavy, effectively cutting off the rest of Bernard’s sentence.

“Ouch! What was that for?” Bernard cried out in pain.

“I told you what would happen if you said anything you shouldn’t,” Cecil replied.

Bernard spoke without much thought. Cecil suggested sending him to Dr. Macro, but Lorenzo hadn’t agreed. It seemed like only Lorenzo could tolerate Bernard. Anyone else like Bernard would have been kicked out.

“I didn’t say anything,” Bernard mumbled defensively, his voice noticeably weaker.

Cecil glared at him, a sharp, warning look. “How long has it been since your mouth was taped shut?”

Bernard’s face stiffened at the mention of his taped mouth. “The swelling hasn’t gone down yet,” he finally replied.

Cecil said, “Yeah, your face is still swollen.” He thought, ‘Bernard is at it again.’ Cecil glared at Bernard, completely exasperated.

Ella’s face darkened when she heard Bernard’s teasing. She glared at him, just like Cecil.

After scolding Bernard, Cecil turned to Ella respectfully. “Ella.” Ella blushed even harder at this. It seemed that Cecil and Bernard had returned to the villa to get something that night when Lorenzo was with her, and they had heard what had happened. That was why almost everyone around her now called her Ella. Bernard always liked to call her Ella in a closer way. Ella often wished she could rip his mouth apart. She politely humored Cecil but didn’t feel the need to be nice to Bernard at all.

Cecil said, “Mr. Moretti said he wants Bernard to stay with you this afternoon.”

Ella thought, ‘I don’t want that. Bernard is a real piece of work. He always said things he shouldn’t, not to mention his wild imagination and tendency to overanalyze. The last time they spent just a few minutes together, he accused her of infiltrating the Dark Portal. If she spent a whole afternoon with him, he would come up with other outrageous accusations. In short, Ella didn’t want to be alone with him.’

Cecil nodded. “Yes, the situation is out of control now, so you need someone by your side.”

“This place is pretty safe,” Ella said.

Last night, hardly anyone from Lorenzo’s side fought. They just used those mechanisms, which almost killed the guy. Yeah, one of the twins was seriously injured.

“It would be best to have someone stay by your side. That’s what Mr. Moretti said,” Cecil said.

When Ella heard it was Lorenzo’s idea, she knew she couldn’t change anything. But she thought, Couldn’t they switch to someone else? Why does it have to be Bernard?