Maria placed her hand on the man's shoulder to stop him midway and said, "Okay okay, take a breath first!" Everyone laughed at her comment.
Marco then introduced the man to some of his guests, saying, "This is Charlie Ward, a very good friend from our college days. His family and business are based in London. A few years ago, he moved there, and now he only visits on special occasions."
Everyone greeted Charlie and chatted with him for a while. After some time, Leo also joined them.
Seeing Leo, Charlie became very excited. "Leo! My boy! You've grown up so much — and so handsome too!"
Leo didn't say much, just nodded his head.
Charlie was quite a talkative person — once he grabbed someone's attention, he rarely let go. It seemed now it was Leo's turn.
Charlie started teasing Leo, "I bet you've had lots of girlfriends by now, huh? After all, you're so smart and handsome!"
Leo replied quite seriously, "I think it's my personal matter."
His serious response made the atmosphere a little awkward.
Even Charlie felt the awkwardness and tried to change the topic.
"Yeah, you're right," he said. "By the way, I want you to guide my niece in business. She's a very intelligent girl, and a perfect mentor like you could really give her good direction."
Then, in a more requesting tone, he added, "I hope you'll consider my request."
Leo was about to say something when Maria interrupted, smiling at Charlie and answering on Leo's behalf,
"Yeah, why not? Has she come with you?"
Charlie smiled and nodded. Then, turning around, he called out,
"Ruby, come here, child!"
Ruby was talking to someone when her uncle called her. She turned, smiled elegantly, and walked gracefully toward them.
She asked politely, "Yes, Uncle? You called me?"
Maria got very excited seeing Ruby. In her heart, she even started imagining Ruby with her son, Leo.
She found Ruby's behavior and elegance very charming.
Charlie introduced Ruby to Maria, Marco, and Leo,
"These are my very dear and old friends, Marco and Maria, and this is their son, Leo," he said, pointing towards Leo.
Ruby smiled and greeted Maria and Marco warmly.
Then she extended her hand toward Leo for a handshake, but Leo didn't react at all — he didn't even lift his hand.
His behavior wasn't appreciated by anyone standing there.
Even Maria didn't like her son's rude action and was about to say something, but before she could, Ruby gracefully withdrew her hand, glanced at Leo from head to toe, and said,
"Hmm, looks like you don't really like talking to girls."
Hearing her words, Leonardo lifted his eyes to look at her.
Maria said to Ruby, "Beta, he's always like this, don't mind his words."
Ruby smiled and said, "It's okay, Aunty. I've met people like him before."
Ruby's words and behavior were exactly like a mature person whom everyone would like.
Maria was already impressed by her, but Leo felt something was off about the girl, so he refrained from speaking much and just kept observing her.
Marco wasn't interested in any of this; he only cared about his family.
He knew that Maria and Leo would handle the matter with Ruby themselves.
Sophia and Carlo were away from all this, busy talking with each other.
Sophia was asking about Carlo's family, and he was answering her lovingly.
Away from all this, in Leonardo's mansion, Mia had fallen asleep peacefully on her bed.
Due to her pregnancy, she would get tired easily.
Her nurse had also left her alone and gone to the party.
Thankfully, her room was located in Leonardo's private area, where no one was allowed to enter.
Gradually, the party ended, and the guests began to leave after meeting Leo and his family.
Ruby had impressed Maria so much that she invited Ruby to stay for a few days at the Corsini mansion.
Charlie also permitted her to stay there.
While bidding goodbye, Charlie said to Marco, "I'll be in Italy for a few more days, so we'll keep meeting. And if luck favors us, maybe we'll even become relatives."
While saying this, his eyes went to Maria and Ruby standing behind Marco.
Marco understood what he meant but said nothing, just smiled and hugged Charlie.
Carlo also went to drop Sophia at her home.
After everyone left, Maria took Ruby with her to let her rest, because she knew she couldn't send her to Leo yet.
She didn't want to rush things with Leonardo.
Even though she liked Ruby, she couldn't decide about her son's relationship without truly understanding her.
Leo also returned to his mansion.
As he climbed the stairs toward his room, he paused outside Mia's room.
Somehow, he felt like seeing her once.
He moved toward the door, intending to open it, but stopped himself just as his hand touched the handle.
His heart and mind were at war — on one side, he had brought her there to avenge her father; on the other, his heart was rebelling.
This time, he controlled himself, closed his eyes, calmed his heart, and walked away toward his room with his usual stern and dominant expression.
He took a cold shower, wore a comfortable T-shirt and lower, and lay down on his bed.
His head rested on his hand.
Throughout the day, only Mia's face kept coming to his mind.
It had been two days since Mia arrived at the mansion.
In these two days, she had not stepped out of her room.
She just stayed inside, ate very little, and spent her time staring out the window.
Leo had started understanding her nature little by little and was paying more attention to her.
Even while lying in bed, he could only see Mia's innocent face.
In that dark night, his heart seemed to have gotten lost somewhere.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn't take his mind off Mia.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but again Mia in the thoughts. After a lot effort he finally slept.