Chapter 3 Suspicions

• Lucian stared intently at the person in front of him, his fists slightly clenched, struggling to control a wave of emotions.
• "Is your name Natalia Rinaldi?" he asked.
• "Yes," Natalia smiled. "This is my sister, Franchesca. Her nickname is Fran, and my nickname is Nat. Isn't it funny?"
• Lucian didn't respond, but he noticed the smile in the girl's eyes, as well as the familiar face from his memory. The same face, similar voice, but different behavior. His fists tightened, and the corners of his lips pressed into a straight line.
• "Sorry, I'm being a bit forward again," Natalia said cheerfully, noticing that they were the last two left in the cabin. "I think we're the last ones."
• Lucian should have been polite, but he remained silent. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and when he raised his head again, his expression had returned to calm. He turned around and left with his luggage, not looking back at Natalia.
• She stepped aside politely, allowing Lucian to disembark first, and watched his figure leave the cabin. She took out the small accessory with the photo from her suitcase and carefully stored it in her bag. Lowering her head, a sharp light shone in her eyes, the cute smiling face simply disappeared. Seeing where Lucian had been sitting, she paused for a moment, took a deep breath, picked up her suitcase, and left.
• ---
• Lucian got off the plane, where his driver was waiting outside the airport. Seeing him emerge, the driver respectfully stepped forward.
• "Sir, your mother asked me to pick you up."
• Lucian's eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly, but he didn't say a word. The driver took his luggage and placed it in the trunk before getting into the car. An hour later, the car stopped at the Landong family mansion.
• Once in his room, Lucian wanted to shower but first took out a photo he always kept in his wallet. His expression changed instantly as he looked at it. Natalia's face shone in his mind, overlapping with the charming face in his memory. His grip on the photo tightened as he stared at it for a while before finally placing it on the nightstand.
• After taking a shower and drying off with a bath towel, he frowned at the lingering scent of roses on his body. It had been a while since he had been home, and the bathroom toiletries were originally bought by Catherine. She particularly liked this type of fragrance. He remembered accidentally seeing her skincare products and perfumes, all made with roses. He didn't understand why he would remember something like that. He needed to ask the housekeeper to throw away some things she had forgotten.
• After dressing meticulously and before buttoning up his shirt, his mother, Brenda Landong, arrived. Seeing her son, excitement filled her face.
• "Lucian, when did you arrive? Are you tired from the trip? Do you want to sleep first?"
• "I'm fine, mother," Lucian quickly approached her, blocking the photo on the nightstand.
• "Son," Brenda said, not noticing his movements. Watching her son button up his shirt, she sat on the chaise longue in the room and looked at him with a tentative expression. "Do you want me to prepare something for you this week?"
• "It's not necessary."
• "Tomorrow and Sunday, you'll rarely be back. Your mother wants you to go shopping with her. Can you?"
• General Lucian Landong buttoned the last button of his shirt and turned to look directly into his mother's eyes. "Just shopping?"
• "Of course, it's just shopping." Brenda smiled, a little uncomfortably. She always showed toughness to others, but she was very defenseless with this son. Lucian had a stubborn personality since he was a child. He spoke little, was reserved, and independent.
• "Alright," said Lucian lightly. Seeing Brenda exhale a sigh of relief, he continued in a low voice, "But it will only be shopping."
• "Of course, of course," Brenda coughed twice and pointed outside. "You should hurry; dinner is almost ready. Don't be late."
• "Understood."
• Lucian watched his mother leave, returned to the room, took the photo from the nightstand, and looked at it for a long time. Finally, he sighed almost inaudibly, walked to the study, and opened the bottom drawer of the desk, placing the photo inside.
• ---
• Gianna walked out of the ultrasound room with a surprised and excited expression. Looking at Jack, she saw his expression mirrored hers. She reached out and caressed her bulging abdomen.
• "Darling, did you hear what the doctor said a moment ago?"
• "Yes," Jack nodded and looked at Gianna with a smile. "Uh, did you see the same thing I did?"
• "Yes," Gianna nodded, still incredulous. "The doctor says there are two! It's incredible!"
• "Our family has a history of twins. It's normal for there to be two."
• "Hehe," Gianna couldn't help but laugh, noticing the people passing by in the hospital hallway staring at her happiness. "Haha. It was so unexpected. It surprised me."
• "Me too," Jack said, still a bit incredulous about the doctor's announcement. "How will your mom react when she finds out?"
• "She'll be very excited. She's been wanting a child in the house for a long time," Gianna touched her belly. "And now she'll have two. It's incredible."
• "Yes. You're pregnant with two; no wonder your belly is so big."
• "Yes," she said, unable to stop smiling, holding Jack's hand and resting her head on his shoulder. "My husband, I am so happy."
• "Me too," Jack nodded, stretching out his hand to carefully protect Gianna's waist. "Baby, thank you."
• "Silly," Gianna bit her lip, her eyes full of smiles. "Did you hear what the doctor said? Everything is normal for the babies. Their development is good. There's no problem."
• "Yes, I'm also happy about that," Jack said, relieved. Their children had good genes and everything was normal.
• Holding Gianna's hand by the door of the hospital consultation room, Jack looked at his wife. "Are you tired? Do you want to take a break?"
• "I'm fine. I can still walk normally," Gianna rolled her eyes. "It's just a little walk. I'm not incapacitated."
• Jack shrugged. "Since you're not tired, then let's go."
• Gianna followed Jack to the parking lot. A white Bugatti had just parked, and they instinctively avoided it. As the people got out, Jack stood stunned, staring at the couple. Sergio got out of the car and walked to the other side to open the door.
• Gianna also saw it and realized that Sergio hadn't noticed them standing behind their car. They just kept staring at the people in the car. A young woman with long hair tied in a ponytail and wearing a white maternity dress stepped out. Her belly was as big as Gianna's.
• "Sister-in-law?" Gianna wondered aloud.
• The person who got out of the car—was that Catherine? Jack clenched his fist, and Gianna realized he was as surprised as she was. At this moment, Sergio also saw them and helped Catherine walk toward them.
• "Hello, Gianna," Sergio greeted.
• "Sergio," Gianna replied. Although it wasn't the first time she saw them together, it still felt surprising. "Hello."
• Her eyes wandered over Catherine's stomach. It was slightly bigger than hers.
• "Are you here for a routine check-up?" Gianna asked.
• "Yes, what a coincidence," Catherine responded. She had heard that Gianna was pregnant, but it was the first time she had seen her in so long. Her eyes scanned Gianna's belly. "Are you also getting a check-up at this hospital?"
• "Yes," Gianna nodded. "We just came from the ultrasound."
• "Oh," Catherine said, noting Jack's indifferent expression towards her. She pointed towards the maternity department and said goodbye, "I have to go."
• "Okay, goodbye," Gianna responded.
• "Sweetheart, I'll help you," Sergio said, acting the part of a supportive husband. He took Catherine's hand, positioning the other on her waist, and led her to the hospital door.
• Gianna watched their backs, then turned around and noticed Jack's curious gaze.
• "I heard Catherine say she was pregnant two months before me. At that time, was she divorced from your brother?"
• "I don't know. When they got divorced, he didn't tell the family anything. We found out afterward," Jack replied.