CHAPTER 63: – BRAVO! –

A beat of silence.

Many eyes flickered.

Gasps erupted. Whispers spread. And cameras flashed.

Everyone was shocked.

Serena Di-grassi? The lady Di-grassi’s stepsister?

It made no sense. This was not right. Not in any way. What kind of sister would date her sister’s ex-fiancé?

"But they are no longer in any form of relationship," one of the guests whispered to another.

The comrades made a face of disgust. "Even though! It is not morally right," she hissed. "I’d never date my sister’s ex-financé. And if what I’ve heard and seen is correct, it is clear that the lady Di-grassi does not have a good relationship with Fernando Stolov. Their disputes go as low as... personal."

Another muttered. "Indeed, it’s not morally right. But if these two are meant to be together, just because of a dispute between the man and her sister, should it be stopped?"

The woman couldn’t respond. She understood where the other party was coming from.

"Sigh. Regardless, I don’t think it’s right. It’s only been a month since the incident. Far too early in my opinion to pull this sort of public stunt."

"Indeed. Indeed, I agree with you."

Nikolas, who had sharp hearing, could make out every word being exchanged within that hall. At some point, it was giving him a kind of headache that ticked him off.

A few of the guests clapped at the announcement, while a lot kept silent, still taken aback by such blunt display.

Serena on the other hand could care less about what anyone had to say. If anything, she was beaming proudly like she’d just won an award.

Her eyes shifted to Viviana. SHe expected shock or anger. But Viviana appeared bored, casually watching with not a single stretch of emotion plastered on her face.

Serena froze.

Wait.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Fernando was her ex-fiancé! She should be furious at the fact that she was dating him. How come she was standing there as if this was not bothering her in any way at all?

She bit the inside of her cheek anxiously.

She didn’t like Fernando, not in any way. She only did this to get back at Viviana. She and Fernando simply had the same goal and that was to break her tonight and glee at the look she would hold upon hearing the announcement.

Why was she not affected?

How could this be?

Fernando appeared to be having the same thought because he was gazing at Viviana with furrowed brows, seeming confused.

Where was the reaction he expected and looked forward to?

Aceto on the other hand, sighed, shaking his head. Fernando had not made any mention of this–that he would be introducing his new lover at this event.

’What a waste of time’

He set down his champagne and approached the podium. "Could you step down?" he asked Serena. "We have an event to run."

Serena was taken aback at being dismissed in such a rude manner. She glanced at Fernando, but did not even bother to spare her a glance. He dismissed her as well. "You should leave. We need to get the main event going."

Serena stood frozen on the spot. What level of nonsense was this?

First, the audience seemed to have a number of odd reactions to the announcement just because she was not Viviana. And then Viviana who’d been the target didn’t even seem to give a single crap about her performance. Now, she was being humiliated as if she was a nobody?

If Viviana was the one standing here in her spot, would this man Aceto speak to her in such a manner? So what if she was the lady Di-grassi?

’She’s not better than me! She isn’t better than me!’

"Miss Di-grassi?" Aceto spoke, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Serena looked at him.

"Please, get off the platform," he requested.

She glanced over at the crowd. They were all watching her with those hawk eyes as if she was some prey feeding their gossip nature. She was going to be in the headlines and it was not going to be in a good way.

They would humiliate her.

Swallowing her embarrassment, she balled her fist, turned and left the stage to join the crowd.

Regardless of all eyes judging her, she refused to lower her gaze. No, she kept her head high, expression hardened.

Some of the guests shook their heads, turning back their attention to the platform as Aceto began speaking.

"I apologize for the interruption." Aceto cleared his throat. He stood next to Fernando who was smiling largely at the crowd. The time had finally come. They were going to finalize the contract before everyone. The signatures will be put down and so will his first big step into the spotlight take flight.

He was beyond gleeful in his heart. Viviana was going to wish she stuck with him, instead of whining about his cause of cheating.

’It wasn’t even a big deal, yet she made it one. Tsk’

"I know many of you have waited for this day," Aceto began, his voice smooth as he ran his fingers through his black hair streaked with grey. "My team and I have spent months considering the direction of the Aceto Brand."

Through the curtains behind them on the platform, a bodyguard, swathed in a suit, walked out to approach him. He handed him a document which he received with a nod.

The bodyguard retreated.

Fernando subtly adjusted his cufflinks, preparing to stand for the penning down of the signatures before every camera that was focused on them.

Aceto continued, "After careful consideration, we’ve reached a decision which a lot of you are already aware of as it’s on its final stage."

Viviana tilted her head back to eye Nikolas. "Looks like you lost the bet." Her lips were arched in a grin.

Nikolas cocked a brow. He chuckled. "Who said I did?"

"What do you mean?" She frowned. "The contract’s about to be finalized. You lost, Nikolas, and that’s okay."

"You underestimate, wife." he smirked, brushing his thumb across her cheek. "Have a little faith in me, will ya?"

She became even more confused. Faith? What faith was there left to have? It wasn’t like Aceto was going to–"

"I will not be moving forward with the proposed partnership with the Stolique Agency," Aceto announced.

A stunned silence submerged the hall.

The information seemed to settle in and every jaw dropped.

Viviana blinked rapidly.

Huh?

Did she hear him well? Turning her head immediately, she found Nikolas taking a sip of his champagne with a gleeful expression.

"Bravo!" he hummed, accent thick.