CHAPTER 01

BLINDING darkness greeted Lucian when he opened the main door into the wide living room of their house.

He had just entered Villa Esmeralda earlier and he felt strange. Because all the lights in the whole house are off. There is also no guard guarding the gate. And now,even indoors and in the dark.

"Rivka? Luciana?" he called his mother and daughter. He waited for a few seconds but no one answered.

He was about to turn on the light switch behind him when the surroundings suddenly lit up.

"Happy birthday, Sir Lucian!" he heard loud shouting.

In front of him were all their helpers at the Villa as well as their staff at the restaurant they own in town - the LR-Kitchen.

"Happy Birthday, dad." He heard a small voice from the kitchen and immediately turned around.

Luciana, walking towards him while holding a round cake with a candle lit on top.

Luciana, her daughter is just 3 years old. Rivka, his wife, was by his side and also held the cake so that it would not fall from Luciana's small hands.

A wide smile drew on Lucian's lips and it reached his eyes as he looked at his mother and daughter happily walking in his direction.

That's why the two didn't even call him earlier while he was in Manila taking care of the new branch of LR-Kitchen that they are going to build in Metro.

They have another surprise for him, which happens every year. He also forgets his birthday every year, so it's an advantage to surprise him.

"Happy birthday, my handsome papa. Luciana loves you so much."

I think his heart fell when Luciana said that. It was looking at him with twinkling eyes.

Lucian quickly knelt down to match his daughter. Smiling, he took her palms and brought them to his lips.

"Thank you, my daughter. I love you too."

Luciana's eyes were brown like chocolate. She has these protruding eyes that she got from Rivka, and it was matched with her S-shaped brows.

Her pretty little mouth is now kissing the tip of his nose. Luciana kissed him like that. It actually brings the tip of his nose to his lips.

"Happy birthday, dear. I love you."

He felt Rivka's soft palm caressing his shoulder so he looked up at it. He loaded Luciana first before he faced his beautiful wife.

Rivka is wearing her simple yet expensive beige floral dress that is matched with her creamy skin.

His wife's white shoulders were out and her waist-length hair was loose.

She's looking at him with her sparkling beautiful brown eyes. His wife has a proud pointed nose, and her cupid bow lips are giving him a ravishing smile.

His wife's beauty is really alluring. For his eyes it was nothing like it.

"Thanks dear." He cupped Rivka's other cheek with one palm and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

He was about to wait for the two of them to kiss but he was bombarded by the shouts from the people close to them that he forgot he was just in front of them.

Lucian blew the candle after they sang a happy birthday song for him.

"Happy 29th birthday, Sir Lucian!" the people he considered family for the past four years shouted together again.

There were ten of his staff at LR-Kitchen - the restaurant he and Rivka set up after they got married. Three chefs and eight crew. Their three maids were also there in the villa, as well as the two guards Mang Noel and Mang Crisanto.

"Happy birthday, son. I pray that God will extend your life so that you can be with your family for a long time." He received a warm hug from his Aunt Esma.

"Thank you, aunt. I love you so much." He planted a kiss on the old man's head.

His aunt is the only family left on his mommy's side. His wife, Lusyo, was also found out, a year ago because of the pain that he had been suffering from for a long time.

They didn't even have children, that's why the aunt considers him a real child.

They went straight to the dining area after their guests greeted him.

There was a big letchon on the dining table and there was a lot ready even though they didn't have that much to eat.

"We will also distribute other foods to the people outside the villa, dear. We won't be able to use up all of that either," said Rivka who sat down next to him after taking care of their guests.

His wife is not only beautiful. It also has a soft heart.

They fit at the long dining table, and he was in the capital. He is carrying Luciana who is very enjoy eating fruits.

Okay, dear. It's up to you. Thanks, you bothered again".

“Oh, there can't be surprises when it comes to you, no. You never forget to surprise me and Luciana, as well as the rest of our loved ones. You deserve to receive such a surprise, dear."

Rivka belongs to those people who work with them.Because when someone's housemates or crew at LR-Kitchen have a birthday, he throws a party.

He wants to make the people close to him happy. They have always been there since they started building LR-Kitchen, so he is very grateful for them. Thanks to their staff, he and Rivka found a new family.

5 years ago was a nightmare to Lucian. His daddy left him forever, while he was only 18 years old when his mommy left them.

Nothing hurts like losing a parent. But he knows that because of his work with his daddy, their other feet are buried in the grave. They are both soldiers.

General Fred Wright - his father, was one of the Generals in the Philippine Army. He was a Sergeant in a platoon.

The respect he gets from other people is not because of his father's high rank.

He also worked hard for the respect he enjoys from other people and even from his fellow soldiers.

Lucian was a soldier who dedicated his life for serving the country and serving God. But that dedication suddenly disappeared from his hands when his father was brutally murdered.

His father was ambushed in the middle of the night, while he was on his way to their home in Manila.

His anger and self-loathing had mixed. How can he save other people? While his father was not.

He doesn't know what he's going through because he's focused on his own achievements, which he loves to show off to his daddy.

His father was so proud of him. But he wasn't proud of himself. For him, everything he does is for his father. Now that his father is gone, his dedication to work has suddenly disappeared.

Many of his colleagues in the Military objected when he resigned. But he didn't feel the slightest resistance from his heart. He will be put in silence while waiting for justice for the father.

Lucian left Manila and returned to San Agustin - the place where he grew up. He graduated from high school here, but when he went to college, he left the place completely.

His Aunt Esma, his mother's sister, was the one he found in the Villa that his Mommy Esmeralda had inherited from him.

Lucian came back to life as a normal person. No work, just eat and sleep. The loss of his father caused him to fall into sadness.

But his Aunt Esma didn't let him live so sadly. When he goes to sleep or drink again, he scolds him and orders him to at least leave the house and go for a walk.

Lucian followed his aunt.

San Agustin is a town near the ocean with several islands that are cared for.

He tried camping alone, fishing and surfing in different beach resorts doo.. He also did those things for a few months, until he met Rivka Suarez - a very beautiful lingerie model.

Rivka has it all - beauty and brains. She's sexy as hell, that's why his eyes seem to be glued to her slender body.

He's also a man, and he can't help but fantasize about the woman while watching her take photoshoots on the beach, wearing a skimpy bikini.

Annoyance suddenly arose in his heart when he saw that the other man who was also there, staring at that photoshoot, was almost drooling.

You know, girls, that shouldn't detract from beauty. Many Adams would go to hell looking at you, miss. Do you know what we think when we see women wearing something like you?"

He did well to approach the woman when she finished work. Rivka is beautiful. And he felt like someone was urging him to talk to her, before others could get ahead of him. It's a funny thing to say that he has a crush on her, but yeah, it seems like that.

Are you insulting, mister? Do you know I can call the police because you entered my cottage without permission? Are you a rapist? It's not obvious from your appearance. But if you are going to rape, say so, so I know when to shout."

Lucian laughed at the length of what he said. The other eyebrow is still raised which further refines its beauty. Obviously being looked at him.

No," he shook his head. "I'm not a rapist. I just came here to tell you, that's beautiful, can it be just for me?" He used his charm while talking to her.

He didn't waver anymore.

The word clumsy is not in his vocabulary.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***