"Hmm? What's this? Did you buy yourself new earings, Anna? I haven't seen you wearing this when we got here." Alfonso asked, but he knew exactly where these earings came from. And he is impressed that his nephew can pick such earings that are well suited for Anna.

Anna blushed hearing that question from Alfonso. She remembered how she got these earrings. She subconsciously reached out to her ear to touch the earings. She never thought that these types of things can make her happy.

Apart from the necklace that Kyle gave her a long time ago, these earings are now one of her important treasure, and she will take care of it.

"Kyle gave it to me," Anna replied.

"Oh, really? For what occasion? As far as I know, it's not your birthday today or anything special related to you." Teasing Anna and Kyle is one of the things that Alfonso enjoys the most. It would be such a shame if he doesn't tease them from time to time.

"Is it wrong for me to buy her jewelry, Uncle?" Kyle asked. He wanted to say that the earings are the indication of the fact that Anna is his girlfriend, but he should wait for the right to say to all the people that he knows.

The reason for this decision is because of Anna's father. He wants to let Arion knows about this first and do anything that is necessary for Anna's father to accept their relations.h.i.+p. And thankfully, Anna agreed to this kind of set-up.

Kyle initially thought that Anna will get angry if he decided to keep their relations.h.i.+p a secret first, he thought of that because from what he heard some girls don't like to hide their relations.h.i.+p from others. He is so thankful that Anna is very understanding.

Where can he even find any other girl like her anywhere in the world? The answer to that is simple, there is no one like her. To him, Anna is the only understanding that he has ever met.

Alfonso replied with a question, "Is it wrong of me to ask? There is no harm in asking, am I right?"

Not too long after that, Anna and the rest finally arrived at their destination. "Uncle Mike, it's been too long since I last saw you. How are you?" Anna spoke to him with a smile on her face. She and Mike are not that close to each other, but their closeness is enough to say that they are comfortable with each other's presence.

"I'm quite alright. Thank you for asking that, Anna. Unlike your uncle Alfonso over here, he didn't even ask me that." Mike is quite pleased that Anna is well mannered unlike that people that he knows. Even his own son doesn't even ask him that question whenever he comes back home after not being at home for a couple of days.

"Mike, as long as you are not bleeding, there is no need for me to ask you that," Alfonso said straightforwardly. If Mike has gone missing for a couple of days, there is no need for Alfonso to worry about him because he knows that Mike is capable of taking care of himself.

The only time that he would worry about Mike is when Mike has gone missing for more than a month. That is the rule that Mary, him, and the others have set for themselves.

Mike felt that it was such a stupid statement from Alfonso. If he was actually bleeding, is there even a need to ask if he is okay? "Obviously, I am not okay if I'm bleeding."

~~~

"Anyways, are you gonna stay here much longer?" Alfonso asked. Knowing what kind of trouble Johan is brewing, it's possible that Mike is going to stay and investigate more on what Johan is doing in this country.

"No. I'm going home with you guys tomorrow," Mike replied. Investigating on Johan's movements is the most obvious thing to do, however, that is not what Mike is planning to do. Since there is a possibility that Johan already has acquired 'that' weapon, Mike needs to build another that can help defend themselves.

It's his responsibility and he will continue to do so until the problem with Johan and the Ricci family are done.

Knowing what is going in Mike's mind, Alfonso nodded in agreement. This move is the right thing for them to do first. Now, what they need right now is something else. "I think I'm going to start and training youngsters. And what I meant by youngsters is Anna and the others. They need to get themselves ready."

It was long decided that once everyone permits their child to go under training for the organization's sake, Alfonso will be one of the instructors that will help cultivate Anna and her friends' skills.

"It's a good step, but the only problem is Leonardo," Mike said with concern hinted on his tone.

Since Nathalia is the daughter of a man who's very popular in the underworld organization, there is a high chance that she will be targeted. Nathalia is knowledgable in the world of hacking just like her father, but she lacks physical strength in both attacking and defending herself.

The only way to improve that lack of skills of hers is to have her go under training, but Leonardo, the overprotective father, won't allow Nathalia to enter such a field.

"I don't care whether or not Leonardo allows Nathalia to take part. All I care about is to make sure that these kids know what's going on and is ready to defend themselves at any time." Alfonso is not going to wait any longer. Whether Nathalia takes part in the training or not, he will do what is the best thing to do for the sake of Anna and the others' lives.

"Well then, I guess I'm also going to do the same."

While eating the food in front of her, Anna listened to the whole conversation between Alfonso and Mike. She frowned at what they are saying. Their conversation sounded so serious to the point it's making her think that there is going to be trouble happening soon.

Anna tries to remember what happened in her past life, but she could not find a single detail that could connect this conversation.

Since she already has a hunch, she decided to ask, "Is the Ricci family is going to make a move?"

Her question shocked Alfonso and Mike, Anna was confused at their reaction. She only asked a question and they reacted like that?

"How did you know about the Ricci family, Anna? Did anyone told you about them?" Alfonso is worried that Anna heard the dark story of her mother. And if she did, it must have broken her heart knowing what those people did to Mary.

"No one told me about it. I just happen to overheard about it. I mean word spreads around, you know?" The only facts that Anna knows about the Ricci family are that they are her family's worst enemy, they have a past with her mother, and that they are trying to get her and her brother to their side.

Though, she has no idea why the Ricci family wants her and her brother. She wanted to ask about that, but she knew that no one will answer her question.

Alfonso squinted his eyes, then asked Anna again, "Be honest, where did you hear that from?" He doesn't believe that Anna heard it because of the talk of some people. This kind of information is well-hidden, and only a few know about it. And those few, including himself, knows how to keep their mouth shut.

Anna sighed in defeat, then she said, "The day my father appeared. We went to aunt Claire's house, and you guys kept on arguing with each other about my father's disappearance, and I accidentally heard about the Ricci family. Judging from the way you guys were talking about that family, it's not hard to guess that there is a dispute happening between us and the Riccis." Anna explained. She doesn't understand why this kind of information is hidden from her and her brother.

Since everyone around her and her brother is keeping their mouth shut, Anna and Aaron have been working harder than before because they think that the Ricci family is going to cause them trouble in the future. 

Alfonso sighed exasperatedly. He is annoyed at the fact that they are so angry at that time that they didn't keep their voices low. Because of them shouting angrily, Anna and Aaron heard everything.

Knowing how curious the twins are, there is a high possibility that they might be starting an investigation of their own about the Ricci family.

"Please tell me that you and your brother did not go and investigate the Ricci family." Alfonso is hoping that Anna and Kyle did nothing so search about the Ricci family.