Chapter 1

“Brother, I am home.” Catherine Ricci's cheerful voice sounded all across the pin-drop silent mansion. As soon as she finished speaking, Catherine heard the sound of a door on the upper floor open, quickly followed by the sound of solid quick footsteps. It sounded as if someone was running through the corridor.

Then, a cold voice sounded throughout the hall “Cathy? Why are you here? Weren't you in Country U? Why did you return? That too without telling me? You know it is dangerous for you to come travel alone. Why are you so careless and where is the personal guard I assigned you?”

“Oh my god, my dearest brother. I just arrived here and you are already bombarding me with so many questions. And don't you dare say anything to my bodyguard. She is the sweetest one and my only friend. And as for why I came here, it's because I wanted to surprise you. It is your birthday soon and I wanted to arrange a party for you. I also came here urgently because I missed you so much that I could not spend a minute there.” With that, she ran into her brother's arm and hugged him tightly.

When he felt the soft warm body in his arms, Christian Ricci's eyes softened and his face soon turned gentle.

The girl in his, Christian Ricci's, arms was his only weakness. After the death of their parents, they were the only support of each other. He has raised her as his daughter single-handedly.

“Fine, fine. You don’t have to act now. You know that I really cannot be angry with you for a long time, especially with your spoiled, cute behaviors. Now, go rest. You must be tired after a long flight. I will ask the chef to cook your best dishes tonight.” He told her gently.

Catherine raised her head from his arms and spoke, “I knew that my brother is the best and loves me the most. I have learned to cook your favorite dish- pork cutlet. I will prepare it for you tonight, okay? So, you must have dinner today with me. I don’t care how busy you might be but you must be present at the dining table at sharp 9 pm.” After finishing her words, she walked to her room which was the biggest room in the mansion.

That's right. Instead of having the biggest room for himself, her brother provided it to her despite her reluctance saying that a girl should get the best of all.

Catherine sighed and directly collapsed on her soft queen-sized bed. She was tired from all the flight and time differences between the two countries. She fell into sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

In the hall, Christian sat on the sofa for a while thought of precautions for her sister's safety. Many enemies of his are trying to get rid of him as soon as they get the chance. Now that Catherine is back, they would definitely her target as everyone knew that his only weakness is his sister.

He has trained his sister in physical combat and knew that she was strong enough to protect herself but still he could not help from thinking about what type of storm may be brewing in their life soon. Maybe it is time that they implement their plans.

He thought for a while but got tired after some time and sighed. He then got up from the couch and walked to his sister's bedroom.

He was worried that she would be having difficulty adjusting to the time here. He gently opened the door to her room without making a sound and peered his head inside. He found that Catherine was already asleep and was even snoring a bit.

Maybe because she was tired or lazy, she fell asleep without even taking off her shoes.

Christian saw that and walked to her, sat down near the edge of her bed, and took off her shoes gently. He then covered her with the blanket and sat beside her for a while caressing her forehead.

Her sister has grown up a lot already but for him, she was still the same little girl who used to follow him like his tail.

They had a very happy family with caring and loving parents but their life took a turn when they died, no murdered.

 Christian's eyes turned cold when he remembered their parent's death. He once again vowed in his heart that he would not let go of his parent's murderer. That person will get the taste of hell while alive.

He sat there for a while wandering in his memories and after a while, left the room.

He then messaged his assistant to call Catherine's personal bodyguard and tell her to come to meet him in the Ricci mansion.

It was not even 5 minutes when Catherine’s assigned bodyguard, Sarah Li, entered the hall.

Sarah Li is Catherine’s personal bodyguard who is only 2 years older than Catherine. Her mother was Chinese and her father was Italian but since her Father brought his mistress home, she took her mother's surname. Later, her mother succumbed to death not being able to accept the fact that her husband had cheated on her. At that time, Sarah was only 15. After her mother died, she too moved out of the house to live on her own but she didn’t know anyone there and really didn’t know what to do to support herself. And now she was here.

Sarah Li saw Christian sitting on the couch like the King he was. She could tell why he had called her here. It was probably because she brought Catherine here without informing him.

She knew how much he loved his only sister and he was always worried about her safety.

When Catherine told her about her plans of returning, Sarah had rejected her instantly.

But she could not see Catherine being sad. Sarah knew that Catherine already regarded her (Sarah) as her (Catherine’s) only friend and sister. And as time went on, Sarah also started to care more about her and she has also started to treat her like a friend and sister unknowingly.

So, she could not say ‘No’ to Catherine again when she saw her (Catherine) being sad after her rejection.

Then, she suddenly decided to agree to Catherine and bring her here and instead vouched to herself that she would keep Catherine safe with her life.

She could still feel how happy Catherine was when she heard that they were returning. Sarah felt that even if she had to do the whole thing again, she would blindly do that just to see Catherine happy.

Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard Christian cough. Sarah then quickly bowed her head and spoke, “Boss.”

“Sarah, you know why you are here, right?” Christian asked her in a cold tone.

“Yes, boss.” Sarah Li replied, “ I am ready for the punishment.”

“You think I wouldn’t dare? But that sister of mine made me promise to not say anything to you. This doesn’t mean you can continue doing mistakes. I hope this is the last time, Sarah. If anything like this repeats, then even my sister won’t be able to save you from my punishment. Now leave!” Christian said without any emotions.

Sarah didn’t think and Catherine would stand for her and even more didn’t believe that Christian would not punish her.

She looked at Christian with disbelief and wanted to say that he can punish her but looking at his expressionless face, she stopped herself.

Sarah Li turned around to leave but her steps came to halt when she heard Christian speak, “Where are you going now?”

Sarah replied confusedly, “Didn't you ask me to leave, boss? I am going to the hotel. Do you have something else to say?”

Christian looked at her in the eyes and replied word by word, “You are living HERE.”

Sarah looked confused at his words and didn’t really understand what he meant by those words. She asked, “Boss, I didn’t understand what you mean. What do you mean I will be living here?”

Christian looked at her and smirked coldly, “ Since you brought Cathy here, don’t you think it’s your duty to keep her safe? So, you are staying here from now on to keep her safe every second. You can consider this as your permission. The room next to Cathy's is yours.”

With that, Christian left the hall without looking back while Sarah was stupefied still there.