Lucca's POV
I was not in the mood today. Why? Because Damian and Dominic kept dragging me everywhere as if I were a servant dog.
"Where are we going now?" I asked angrily. They went to my mansion just to drag me out.
"We'll have lunch at a Japanese restaurant. There's a newly opened one near my company," Dominic answered, trying to persuade me to go.
"Can't you go there without me? I'm so tired of this," I frowned. It had been a week since we started looking for that d*mn black ring, but it was nowhere to be found. They contacted sellers from different countries, but all failed. Maybe I should just wait for a year and die. That thought frustrated me even more because I couldn't even fight my own death. My master still had no new information about where to find that d*mn ring.
"Can you please relax and have fun? You don't want to work, you don't want to go outside. If I were you, I wouldn't sulk in this big house waiting for my death. You should go party, flirt, and do something wild and adventurous," Dominic advised, as if I would listen to him.
I glared at him furiously. I was not in the mood to be their servant dog, especially not when my head was pounding.
"Whether you like it or not, come with us," Damian joined the conversation. This nonchalant guy wanted to side with Dominic, too? I sighed deeply. Two versus one. If only I could rip their necks right away. But I couldn't. I shouldn't. Even though I was so annoyed by their presence, it felt like they were babysitting me.
"Come on. It's almost lunchtime. I'm so hungry," Dominic kept pushing.
"Tell your secretary to bring you that d*mn Japanese food!" I yelled at him, but he wasn't even afraid. That's the disadvantage of being close for so many years. They know you, even your darkest side.
"No. I want to see the place myself. If I like it, I'll let my secretary buy it for my everyday lunch," Dominic winked, teasing me even more, and he won.
"Just go without me." I stood up from the sofa and went to the kitchen to get some water. I had been watching a movie in my living room when the two interrupted my alone time.
The two jerks followed me into the kitchen. They were really testing my patience. I tightened my grip on the glass I was holding, but stopped myself; it would be a mess. I don't even have maids every day. They only come twice a week.
"Stop messing around. I'm not in the mood. Just come back next time when you have good news," I told them through gritted teeth.
They went silent, just staring at me. The silence lasted for about a minute before Damian finally spoke.
"Just join us, bro. You can't jail yourself forever. If you don't want to talk, then fine, just go with us," Damian said, still trying to convince me.
Knowing Damian, this was unusual. He wouldn't normally try to please anyone. Either he had talked with Dominic beforehand, or our master asked him to help me. Damian wasn't a people pleaser. He made that clear before.
I sighed deeply. The mood turned serious. Even Dominic stopped teasing. I honestly didn't want to go. I hadn't taken a bath and didn't feel like changing clothes. In short, I was exhausted. But the look in Damian's eyes was something I couldn't explain.
I told them I would take a bath. It lasted for thirty minutes. When I came out of the bathroom in my room, Dominic immediately started nagging.
"Dude, hurry up. We're getting late," Dominic complained.
I stood there with a white towel wrapped around my waist, water still flowing down my muscular body.
I went to my walk-in closet to choose what to wear. To match Dominic and Damian's style, I settled for a long-sleeved shirt and slacks.
Once I finished, Dominic rushed to his car. We decided to drive separately, just in case. I drove my favorite sports car—a Lamborghini. I owned many cars; it was part of my collection. All in all, I probably had around fifty.
I sped up while following Damian's car. Dominic drove ahead to guide us.
"Make sure it's good, Dominic. If not, I'll rip your neck," I swore to myself.
Since we were speeding, the trip only took ten minutes. We parked in front of the establishment and stepped out of our cars. As soon as we did, it felt like we were celebrities. Some people took pictures without permission, others shouted about how handsome and charismatic we were, and a few even asked for autographs.
I didn't bother responding. I let Dominic handle it—pleasing people was his expertise. I just leaned against my sports car, waiting for him to finish. We couldn't enter anyway because the crowd blocked the way. Damian leaned against my car, too. Like me, he hated the spotlight.
I told you before—we're alike.
Girls were approaching us, but I rejected them because I didn't like giving out my autograph. Damian, on the other hand, politely declined as well. Politeness wasn't part of my vocabulary.
After Dominic finished signing autographs, he spoke. "You should have helped me."
"You could've just shooed them away," Damian said as we finally went inside the newly opened Japanese restaurant.
"Is that Seraphina and Mira?" Dominic suddenly stopped walking and blurted it out.
I looked in the direction he was staring at. The two women were busy chatting while waiting for their orders. As always, Dominic rushed toward the spotlight and walked straight to them. Damian and I simply followed.
"Sir Dominic!" Mira called out. Seraphina tried to hide herself, but it didn't help.
"Can we join you?" Dominic asked.
Damian and I glanced at each other and shrugged. It was obvious Dominic was hitting on Seraphina, though the woman showed little interest.
Seraphina didn't answer; her friend did. The next thing we knew, we were all seated at a large table. Dominic ordered so much food that we couldn't possibly finish it all. It was clearly his way of showing off to the woman he liked.
"You're wasting food," Seraphina said in disbelief when the dishes kept coming. They were currently eating what had been ordered when I suddenly joined the conversation.
"What makes you think we're wasting food?" I asked. The question was simple to me, but I didn't realize it created an intimidating aura that made people want to back away.
"You ordered too much," she replied with concern. I knew Dominic had ordered excessively. I didn't like it either, but since it was his money, I didn't interfere.
"Was it your money?" I asked Seraphina, which clearly caught her off guard. Her gentle aura darkened, and I knew it was because of me.
Dominic quickly stepped in, saying Seraphina was just concerned about the food. He was obviously trying to protect his prey.
She ate the ice cream Dominic had ordered. Meanwhile, Dominic didn't stop talking the entire time. He never failed to keep the spotlight on himself.
I silently ate the food on my plate. To be honest, the dishes were good, and I was enjoying them, except for the fact that we were sitting with two women. One I had annoyed, and the other who kept staring at Damian.
Damian, on the other hand, showed no emotion. He was focused on his food.
After spending their lunch break with us, the two women said they had to return to work since overseas orders were coming in. I thought Dominic would stop them. After all, he was their boss, but he didn't.
"Okay. Take care," Dominic said.
"Thank you for treating us again, Sir Dominic," Mira said before glancing at Damian and smiling. Damian simply nodded at her.
After they left, Dominic spoke again.
"What a nice lunch. Seraphina wants me to be her friend," he said, clearly in a good mood.
"Yeah, but Mira is crazy," Damian muttered, shrugging. "She kept staring at me like I was a museum."
"She likes you, right?" Dominic said, while I listened silently.
"She's not my type," Damian replied.
"Yeah, I know. But isn't she cute?" Dominic pressed.
"I don't think so," Damian answered before taking a sip of his juice.
"You," Dominic said, pointing at me. "You hurt Seraphina's feelings. If you can't say something nice, why open your mouth?" He frowned.
"What did I say?" I asked lazily, clearly uninterested in the conversation.
"You offended her," Dominic replied.
"That depends on how she perceived my words," I said, then stood up. "I need to go. I have to visit my company."
"Huh? Since when?" Dominic asked. "You usually let your secretary handle everything."
"I have papers I need to sign," I said, then walked out of the restaurant. They called after me, but I didn't bother looking back. I got into my car, sped up, and headed to where I needed to go—to my master's house.
I parked at the gate and went inside.
"You came without even calling me," he said when I entered his living room.
I sat down and rested my head against the sofa's headrest.
"What for?" I asked.
"At least to inform me ahead of time. What if I wasn't here?"
"Then I would've just gone home."
My master shook his head in disbelief and sat on a single sofa across from me.
"You're anxious," he said.
I didn't reply. Instead, I took a deep breath, admitting that he was right.
"Dominic and Damian did everything, but we still haven't found it," I said, not opening my eyes. Sleep had been denied to me for weeks.
I heard my master sigh. "If only I could help you find it," he said quietly.
"You've helped me enough already. You don't need to say that," I replied, finally opening my eyes to look at him.
"Master… what if I'm not able to find it?" I asked. "Should I accept my death?"
He looked troubled. It seemed like he was hiding something—something he couldn't bring himself to say.
"I'll find a way to locate the ring," he said.
"But the question is, how?" I asked.
He sighed again. "I'll think about it. I won't let you die."
I nodded but didn't respond. We stayed like that for a few minutes before I decided to leave.
"Lucca," my master called when I reached the door.
I turned to look at him.
"Let's meet tomorrow," he said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Don't ask questions. I'll send you the address tomorrow."
I nodded and left his house.
As usual, I sped all the way home. When I arrived, I immediately grabbed my liquor and gulped it down in one shot. I wanted to sleep in peace tonight, but I knew it wouldn't come.
My mind would keep replaying my master's words.
Was he hiding something earlier when I was there?
The next morning...
I received a message from my master early in the morning. He sent me the address of where we were supposed to meet. I immediately went to the bathroom. I skipped breakfast; I'd eat after meeting him.
I drove to the address he sent. Curiosity lingered as I realized we were meeting at a cemetery.
I parked my car near a narra tree, stepped out, and walked around the cemetery looking for him. I stopped when I saw him standing in front of a tomb. I approached and stood beside him.
Celina Morgan.That was the name engraved on the tombstone.
I wasn't familiar with it. My master had never mentioned that name before.
"Why are we here?" I finally blurted out the question that had been bothering me.
He sighed deeply before answering. "This is the way to find the ring."
I frowned, not understanding how Celina Morgan had anything to do with the ring.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He looked at me, meeting my gaze, then began to explain everything.
"I met her when I was in my thirties. I met her at her worst," my master started.
Even as the sun grew hotter, we remained standing there, completely absorbed in the story he was sharing.
"Celina Morgan's husband had just died when I met her. She was drowning in sorrow, carrying her only child. I pitied her so much that I went to her house every day to bring her food and help her however I could. As the days passed, we grew close."
Was this a love story between my master and Celina Morgan? And how was it connected to the ring I was searching for?
"I gave the ring to Celina Morgan," my master continued. "I wanted it to protect her from evil. I didn't want her to suffer anymore after losing her husband."
The moment he mentioned the ring, my interest sharpened.
"I never thought the day would come when you would need the ring I had already given away."
"You owned the black ring?" I asked.
He nodded.
I couldn't be angry at him. He hadn't known this would happen to me. He was young back then, and I wasn't under his care yet.
"When I learned about your situation, I tried to find Celina, but I was too late," he said. "She was already dead. It took me a long time just to locate her tomb. I never knew she moved to the city. She loved provincial life. After we parted ways, I barely heard anything about her."
"When did you part ways?" I asked.
"When I left the province."
So… he left her. I had thought it was the other way around.
"You left her in the province?" I asked.
"Celina knew I was leaving for work. We promised to send letters to each other, but it never happened. Then I met your parents—along with Dominic's and Damian's—which kept me even busier."
"It's been four decades since I gave her the black ring," he continued. "What troubles me now is this: where did the ring go after she died? Did she pass it on to her child or grandchildren? Or was she wearing it when she was buried?"
I sighed. This wouldn't be easy.
If the black ring was inside the coffin, we would need the family's permission to open it, and I knew that wouldn't come easily. By the time we managed that, I might already be dead.
"Let's find her daughter first," my master said. "I'm sure she's in the city, since Celina's tomb is here."
"Do you know her name?" I asked.
"Katerina Morgan."
The moment I heard the name, I immediately messaged my assistant and instructed him to locate Katerina Morgan. I gave him two days and promised a bonus if he succeeded.
I helped my master into the car. He looked exhausted. His age is catching up with him. I turned the air-conditioning all the way up as the heat outside intensified.
"I'm sorry if I failed to protect you," he said quietly. "This has been bothering me for weeks. I hesitated to tell you, but I couldn't hide it forever."
"You don't have to apologize," I said. "Just like you said earlier, you didn't know I'd need it someday."