Turns Out, He's A Billionaire

Valentina walked eagerly toward the ballroom where her engagement party was being held. However, the moment one foot crossed the threshold, a burst of white spray covered her face, sending artificial snowflakes into her hair and all over her dress.

Laughter immediately erupted from various corners of the room. Valentina froze, blinking several times to clear the foam obstructing her vision. Before she could wipe her face clean, another burst struck her shoulder.

"Bianca!" Valentina snapped as she turned sharply.

Only her younger sister would dare to do something like this. Bianca was holding a can of snow spray, laughing as though she had just pulled off the funniest prank in the world.

Bianca raised the can again, aiming it directly at Valentina's chest. "Oh my God, Sis. Don't be mad. I'm just kidding."

Valentina raised her hand to block the next spray. Her fingertips were already trembling when she looked at her dress, which had been perfectly neat just minutes ago but was now covered in white stains. Her engagement party had not even started, yet Bianca had already managed to turn her into a laughingstock in front of all the guests.

"Enough, Bianca. Stop!" Valentina shouted.

Her voice made several people stop laughing, though smiles remained on their faces. Bianca slowly lowered the can, then put on a wounded expression that made Valentina even more disgusted.

"I was just trying to joke around with my sister. Why are you always angry with me?"

Bianca lowered her head and fiddled with her fingertips. Several guests began whispering to one another while Valentina wiped her cheek with a tissue handed to her by a waiter.

"Because this is my engagement party, Bianca. It's not a place to play around. You've gone too far."

Valentina waited for someone to say something, specifically the man who was supposed to be standing beside her tonight. Instead, Adrian approached Bianca and patted her shoulder to comfort her.

"That's enough, Valentina. Bianca was just fooling around."

Valentina stared at her fiancé for a moment. Adrian did not even look at her ruined dress, did not ask whether her face hurt, and did not show the slightest sign that the incident bothered him.

"Fooling around?" Valentina repeated as she stepped closer. Her hands clenched at her sides. "This is not the first time, Adrian. Every time there's an important event, Bianca always does something to ruin everything. You always see it happen, but you never defend me."

Adrian let out a long sigh. His expression showed irritation instead, as though Valentina were the one ruining the mood of the party. "You're taking this too seriously. Not everything has to become a big deal."

Bianca immediately slipped between them. Her eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Adrian.

"I really didn't mean to make Valentina angry. If I'd known she'd be this offended, I wouldn't have done it."

A single tear fell from the corner of her eye. Adrian immediately gently stroked Bianca's head.

"It's okay. Don't cry. It's not your fault."

Valentina stared at the two of them without saying a word. Her chest rose and fell as small bursts of laughter could be heard again from some of the guests, who were enjoying their argument like a show.

"Then let's call off this engagement."

The words instantly silenced the ballroom. Only a second passed before laughter exploded from every direction. Adrian even smirked mockingly because he had heard her say it too many times before.

Valentina looked at the faces around her one by one. They were laughing because they knew how their relationship had gone all this time. Their engagement had been called off several times, but every time it happened, Valentina was always the first one to beg Adrian to come back.

Adrian approached her with a confident smile. "Do you really want to call it off?"

Valentina lifted her chin. "If you keep acting like this, yes."

Adrian chuckled softly. "Don't make me laugh, Valentina. You can't live without me."

The man looked Valentina up and down before continuing in a deliberately loud enough voice for everyone to hear.

"All this time, you've always been the one chasing after me. Every time I walked away, you were the one begging me to come back. So don't pretend you can just leave me like that."

Laughter broke out among several people again, making Valentina swallow hard. She wiped the remaining snow spray from her cheek with the back of her hand.

Adrian's smile widened. "Besides, who would want you besides me?"

Valentina fell silent for a moment. Then the corner of her lips slowly lifted. "Are you sure you want to say that?"

Adrian frowned. "What do you mean?"

Valentina's gaze changed as she returned Adrian's smile. "You just don't know... I have another man, too."

Adrian stared at her as though he had just heard something impossible. He let out a short laugh, but his jaw tightened.

"Another man?" Adrian stepped forward. "Then bring him here."

Valentina suddenly found herself at a loss for words. She had absolutely no plan to bring anyone there. Her eyes swept across the crowd, searching for someone she did not even know.

Until an arm suddenly wrapped around her waist. Valentina's body jolted when a tall man appeared beside her. An unfamiliar masculine scent filled her senses, while the man's hand held her waist as though they had known each other for years.

The man lowered his head slightly. "Just go along with it," he whispered. He was Dante Visconti.

Before Valentina could ask who the man was, Adrian was already looking at her with a mocking expression. "So this is the man you were talking about?"

Adrian looked the man up and down. A sarcastic smile appeared on his face. "Valentina, at least find someone worthy of standing beside you. Don't tell me you brought some low-class gigolo."

Several guests laughed. Dante's appearance, dressed in nothing more than a plain T-shirt, made Adrian's insult sound even more convincing to them.

"You?" Valentina whispered to the man beside her.

The man suddenly moved, turning her body to face him. "My name is Dante. I'll help you." His hand held Valentina firmly by the waist, and before anyone had a chance to understand what was about to happen, Dante's lips pressed against Valentina's.

The kiss instantly silenced the entire ballroom. Valentina's eyes widened, her body stiffening in shock as Dante kept her close.

When Dante finally pulled his lips away, Valentina was still frozen. The man glanced at her, then lifted his face toward Adrian with an icy expression that showed no trace of guilt.

"See, Adrian? If he were a gigolo, I wouldn't let him touch me," Valentina sneered.

"Watch what you say, Valen!" Adrian clenched his fists. "Who is this man, anyway?"

Dante straightened the front of Valentina's dress, which had been slightly disheveled by the snow spray, then looked back at Adrian. "Besides being stupid, you're apparently forgetful too... Valentina already told you that I'm her man."

Adrian stepped forward half a pace, but Dante simply stared at him without moving. "You think I'm going to believe that?"

"That's up to you, because your opinion doesn't matter." Dante then turned his gaze toward the guests who had been laughing at Valentina earlier. "As for all of you, the show is over. If you still want to laugh, get ready to lose your tongues."

All at once, every guest covered their mouths and lowered their heads under Dante's intimidating gaze.

Meanwhile, Valentina could not believe it. The man who had suddenly appeared, and yet within minutes, had done something Adrian had never done for her in all these years. He had defended her.

Adrian opened his mouth again. "Don't play games with me, Valentina."

Valentina turned toward him. "You started this, Adrian. You kept belittling me and thought I couldn't do the same to you." She lifted her chin. "So don't get angry now that I have someone else."

Bianca immediately interrupted while holding Adrian's arm. "Valen, why are you acting like this? This is basically betraying Adrian!"

Valentina laughed sarcastically. She looked at Bianca, then removed Dante's hand from her waist only to take his hand in hers. "What exactly did I do wrong? It's just a joke, isn't it?"

Bianca's expression immediately changed.

Then Valentina turned back to Adrian. "So, Adrian... we're done."

Without waiting for an answer, Valentina pulled Dante out of the ballroom. She paid no attention to Adrian's increasingly loud shouts behind them.

Valentina released Dante's hand when they reached the hotel lobby. She let out a long breath, then leaned against the wall for a moment before looking at the man in front of her. "Thank you. You really helped me... although your method was a little extreme."

Dante slipped both hands into his pants pockets. His expression remained calm. "No problem."

Valentina smiled awkwardly. She then opened her small purse and pulled out several bills. "This is for you."

Dante glanced at the money she offered, then pushed her hand back. "I don't need it."

Valentina frowned. "Then what do you want?"

Dante stared at her for a long moment. His gaze made Valentina's smile slowly disappear. "You."