The villa in Serena’s photo was none other than my family’s ancestral home.
"Who’s looking after our old house right now?" I asked.
There was some noise on the other end before my mom finally replied, "I think Sebastian arranged for someone to take care of it. You should ask him about it."
"Why are you suddenly asking about the old house? Oh, guess who I ran into here in the U.S.? Your old friend, Ethan! Remember him? That boy has really grown up to be quite the catch."
From her tone, I immediately caught on to what she was hinting at and quickly hung up the phone.
On the day of the engagement party, Serena was already waiting at the hotel entrance, standing there like a proud peacock the moment she saw me and my roommates.
"I’m doing you all a favor by letting you come to my engagement party. Don’t touch anything inside—the stuff here is expensive. Even if you worked your whole lives, you wouldn’t be able to pay for it if you broke something."
I crossed my arms and looked at Serena mockingly.
"Aren’t you supposed to be some rich heiress? If something breaks, can’t you afford to cover it?"
A flicker of unease crossed Serena’s face, but she quickly lifted her chin.