" I hope you didn't have any discomfort during the flight."
" It was smooth sailing; thank you, captain."
" It is my pleasure. I will await your orders; it will be a few days before your next one, right?"
" Yeah, ask them to take a few days' leaves. The crew must also want to meet their families."
" I will do that."
Samuel thanked the captain and the crew before descending the stairs. Others would take care of their luggage, but he was not worried.
" Can you really not tell me? I promise I will keep it a secret from others." Samuel sneakily asked Liliana, who appeared to be in a good mood.
" Can you stop already? Do you think I will betray my sisters?" Sisters? What the hell happened during this short journey?
" Rosaline, you can tell me, right?"
" Sami, I am exhausted after the flight. It is my first time flying; it was long too." Rosaline rejected him politely.
He could ask the other girls, but strangely they were taking their distance from him. It was not easy to guess they were on to him. Ultimately, he was left hanging, but he had no choice but to accept it.
" Boss, I can't help but notice but is something troubling you?" Jane asked after seeing his gloomy face.
" I am fine."
" You can tell us, boss! I am sure we can help you." Chin said enthusiastically.
" Can you read minds?"
" No boss..."
" Then you can't help me. Come, I heard Uncle David is here to pick us up." Samuel sighed as they headed toward the meeting point.
David was already standing with an entire convoy of soldiers to welcome his arrival. It was a completely different feel for London, Samuel's home.
" Young master, welcome back." David greeted him. He also saw five girls walking beside him; he already knew who they were, but seeing them in person surprised him.
" How have you been? I heard Aunt Ludivine is expecting again. When is the due date?" Samuel asked.*
" It's our third child, so we already know what to expect. The due date is in January, so there is little time left." David informed him as they were loading the luggage.
" That's good. I will drop by sometime after the party; it's been far too long."
" I will tell her. Let's get moving. We can talk in the car." It was not proper to wait out in the open for too long. This time there was not only Samuel but another important guest they had to look out for.
Within a couple of minutes, they were ready to head toward the estate. It was hard to fit everyone in the exact vehicle, so David had arranged for something unique.
" Where did you find this old hunk?" Samuel was all too familiar with this car because Darren had the same model.
" How can you say that? Cadillac Escalade GMT900, the best car in the luxury SUV section!" David was almost offended. This vehicle which he didn't like earlier, had grown on him. Driving armored cars all day long was vital for the change.
" With a rollover score of less than three, I don't feel safe when someone drives this thing." He was reminded of his time driving madly around town with Darren.
" The what now?"
" Leave it. I forgot to introduce them, but you have seen three often. This is..." He introduced Liliana and Rosaline. For the other three, he had met them a couple of times when he accompanied Samuel to the States.
" It's nice to meet you, Miss Liliana and Miss Rosaline. I usually take care of the security around the House; if you need anything, you can ask me or any of my people. They will make sure you are safe." David said, it sounded like something was going to happen but that was his usual tone for any guest of the House.
" We are not going on a mission. I know now why every family guest is always scared when they arrive at the estate." Samuel sighed.
" I didn't lie. Anything can happen, right?" He turned toward Maia. But there was minimum support no matter which way he looked at it.
" Well, don't blame me. Precaution is not to be taken lightly. Anyways, keep it in mind if something happens." David paused for a second before continuing.
" If you don't mind me asking, I heard the young master is bringing special people. Are you both it?" He was indirect, but he got his message across.
It was the talk of the town, at least inside the Rothschild mansion. The young master they adored had never shown much interest in the opposite sex, but now he was bringing some people with him? They were all curious. All the workers were hardcore fans of Samuel.
It was just like when an idol announces they are in a relationship or casually seeing someone. Even small rumors could ignite fandom-wide arguments; in comparison, this was a huge thing.
Samuel didn't know it yet, but his personas were trending online, especially as Samuel Rothschild did. There was a heated debate about the identities of Maia and others and Rosaline and Liliana.
The charity dinner fiasco, which had just calmed down, was ignited again when he appeared with Rosaline and Liliana. Moreover, they looked much more intimate on camera, signaling that these were the real deal, potential partners.
" They are my girl-"
" We are just friends. He had helped us a lot and invited us to the party." Liliana outright denied it. Samuel looked at her with a surprised expression; he shifted his gaze toward Rosaline, who was hiding her face too.
" I-is that so? I received several reports that you spend a lot of time together." David was flustered. He didn't know what was happening, was Steve made an error on his report?
" We are also just friends. I need to tell you beforehand; in that way, we can avoid rumors." Maia also added.
" Right."
All five of them denied any involvement with him. Samuel didn't know what to say; it was confirmed they didn't officially declare anything to one another but isn't 'just friends' too harsh of a tag to give to their relationship?
What he didn't know was the girl's plan to act this way; they were planning to starve him literally so that he would decide on his own. A man had to make up his mind or regret doing it in the future; it was entirely his choice!
It was just something they had came up while discussing among themselves. As usual it was Maia who came up with the plan.