Chapter 259: Northstar Real Estate

Since their marriage, Stephanie had worn whatever colors and styles she pleased.

Vincent had never shown any interest in her clothing. However, whenever they were about to become intimate, he always insisted that she change into a white nightgown.

To accommodate him, Stephanie had gradually filled her wardrobe with nothing but white nightgowns.

She had once assumed it was merely one of her husband’s strange preferences. If wearing white made him happy, she had been more than willing to indulge him.

Now, however, she understood the truth.

Vincent had been using her as a substitute for someone else.

The realization made it difficult to breathe. It felt as though countless steel needles were stabbing into her heart, and every breath brought another wave of pain.

"Vincent, I don’t..."

Stephanie shook her head repeatedly as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Her tears did not soften him. If anything, they only made him angrier.

"You don’t want to? Then get out! Get out!"

Vincent grabbed the broken handle of a painting tool and threw it at her.

"Ah!"

Stephanie cried out when it struck her. A thin line of blood appeared near the corner of her eye.

’The young master of the capital circle?’

’A refined gentleman?’

How ridiculous.

A bitter smile crossed her face.

She no longer knew whether she was mocking Vincent, a man who loved someone he could never have, or herself, for loving him for so many years.

After Stephanie left, Vincent remained alone in the spacious study.

He leaned against the wall with his head lowered, his face twisted with frustration.

"Luca! I never intended to become your enemy. So why did you have to set your sights on Arabella? Why?"

Meanwhile, the guests at the Windsor Estate had already departed.

Only Luca, Arabella, and Victoria remained in the lobby.

Fionna had gone upstairs earlier to use the room prepared for her, where she planned to video chat with her boyfriend.

The remaining servants were busy cleaning up after the banquet.

"Let’s go upstairs to the living room," Victoria suggested.

The second-floor living room was not as spacious as the banquet hall below, but it still covered roughly two hundred square meters.

The entire space was large enough to be converted into a swimming pool.

’Swimming while watching television does sound nice.’

Luca rubbed his chin as his imagination began to wander.

’If Vivienne, Naomi, Arabella, Amelia, Sophie, Rachel, and Cecelia all changed into swimsuits and joined me in the pool...’

A smug smile slowly spread across his face.

’Heh heh.’

"Luca, how did you and my daughter meet?"

Victoria sat on the sofa and began chatting with him.

Arabella sat beside Luca, quietly holding his hand.

Rachel was unusually silent. Even Trish, who normally couldn’t remain quiet for more than a few minutes, barely spoke.

Luca straightened slightly.

"A few months ago, I returned from San Fierro..."

He briefly explained how he had met Arabella on the highway and helped her at the time.

Victoria nodded with satisfaction.

She could guess that Luca had initially been willing to help partly because of Arabella’s appearance. However, as long as her daughter genuinely liked him, Victoria had no reason to object.

Besides, Luca was the president of Hale-Viv Conglomerate. His achievements and status were more than worthy of her daughter.

Just as Victoria was about to ask another question, her phone rang.

Victoria glanced at the caller ID, and her expression immediately changed.

Something about the call clearly concerned her.

She answered and walked toward the study. A moment later, the door closed behind her.

Luca turned toward Arabella.

"Why did your mother’s expression suddenly change?"

Arabella’s expression also grew serious.

"It probably concerns the land auction between our family and an opposing real estate company."

She sighed helplessly.

"We planned to use that plot to build a commercial district. Unfortunately, our competitor won the bid, and..."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"Construction has been delayed for a year and a half because a historic underground facility was discovered beneath the land."

Luca’s eyes flickered.

"Losing one or two plots wouldn’t seriously damage the Windsor family," Arabella continued. "But the delay has disrupted our entire development plan. Several later projects cannot move forward until the commercial district is completed."

She let out another quiet sigh.

"Besides real estate, our family is also preparing to enter the semiconductor industry. That field requires an enormous amount of capital, so we need our real estate business to generate funds and support the expansion."

"If the commercial district remains delayed, we’ll have to find another location and start a different project."

Luca immediately thought of his own company.

’Could the real estate company she mentioned be mine?’

When he had visited his real estate company earlier, the staff had told him that it had narrowly defeated the Windsor family in the bidding for Plot No. 1.

They had also mentioned how furious Victoria had been about the result.

Before Luca could say anything, Trish eagerly offered a suggestion.

"Bro, don’t you own a real estate company? Why don’t you ask whether there are any good locations that you could develop together with Arabella’s family?"

Trish had visited the company with Rachel, but they had spent most of their time in the lounge and paid little attention to Luca’s business dealings.

They had no idea that Luca’s company had competed against the Windsor family.

Still, Trish remembered how enormous his business was.

’If the two companies cooperate, they should be able to make a lot of money.’

"You also own a real estate company in Capital City?"

Arabella looked at him in surprise.

She knew Luca’s business empire was extensive, but she hadn’t expected him to have established a real estate company so far from San Fierro.

His strategic vision was broader than she had imagined.

"If you need help, just tell me," she said. "I can ask our staff to share some suitable projects with your company."

Arabella assumed Luca’s headquarters were still in San Fierro, which meant his Capital City branch was probably relatively small.

Real estate was one of the Windsor family’s core industries. They had access to information about nearly every major player in the capital, yet she had never heard of a recently established real estate company of significant size.

It was reasonable to assume that Luca’s company was still developing.

Before he could respond, she continued.

"By the way, what’s your company called? I’ll ask our staff to keep an eye out for it."

"Uh..."

Under her expectant gaze, Luca touched the bridge of his nose.

"My company is called Northstar Real Estate Company."

"Northstar Real Estate Company?"

Arabella repeated the name casually, then suddenly froze.

"What did you say?"

Her voice rose noticeably.

Her lips parted slightly as genuine surprise filled her eyes.

"Is Northstar Real Estate Company yours?"

She asked again, as though she needed to hear the answer twice.

It wasn’t that she doubted him.

The revelation was simply too shocking.

Northstar Real Estate Company was powerful enough to rival the Windsor family. In fact, the capital’s real estate industry could practically be divided into three parts.

One belonged to the Windsor family.

One belonged to Northstar Real Estate Company.

The remaining share was divided among the other firms.

Although the Windsor family and Luca’s company often cooperated, neither side would casually surrender its most profitable core projects.

And now, Arabella had discovered that the company causing her family so much trouble belonged to the very man whose hand she was holding.

Her boyfriend.

She blinked before slowly smiling.

’What is there to worry about?’

’We’ll be family sooner or later anyway.’.

...

Victoria returned to the living room after finishing her phone call.

By then, she had learned from the others that Luca, her former rival and the owner of Northstar Real Estate Company, was the same man who had become her daughter’s boyfriend.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

What could she possibly complain about?

The opponent who had repeatedly caused her setbacks had turned out to be her own daughter’s boyfriend.

In the end, Victoria simply waved her hand, stood up, and returned to her bedroom.

She was afraid that if she stayed beside Luca any longer, her anger would become so intense that her liver might start hurting.

...

As the moon climbed higher into the sky, the group eventually left the living room and returned to their rooms.

When Luca and Arabella reached her bedroom, neither of them said anything.

Their hands, however, remained tightly clasped.

"Should we take a break?" Luca asked, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly.

He had desired Arabella for a long time.

Although they had already shared a bed before, she had ultimately only helped him with her hands.

That was clearly not enough for him.

Arabella turned her face away. She didn’t need to look at Luca to feel the heat of his gaze.

It burned against her skin like a raging fire, causing her fair cheeks to flush.

Instead of answering, she quietly turned the doorknob and entered the bedroom.

Luca followed her inside.

The door closed behind them.