The Bigshot Married Himself to the Heiress-Chapter 570 - 611: Madam, Welcome Home
The party was over. Since Sienna Johnson didn’t have much to talk about with those people, she focused on eating to avoid awkwardness and feel less out of place. As a result, she ate too much.
Instead of taking a car, Adrian Desmond led Sienna on a stroll through Abyanabad at night.
At night, Abyanabad’s prosperity was no less than Sileria City’s, if not even more so.
"Did those people scare you today?" Adrian asked.
"Very interesting." This was Sienna’s assessment of them.
"Don’t be fooled by their appearances. Although they might seem unconventional on the surface, each of them wields significant power in Abyanabad. That Mark from today—his uncle is the King of Abyanabad, and their family controls the oil industry here. Ward Penney is the wealthiest, controlling drugs and arms! In Southeast Agaia, drugs are exported through him... Trevor Harrington’s family business is partly in the pharmaceutical industry. When you have time, you can invite him out to discuss cooperation. Over the years, more of the Orienta diaspora have been coming to Abyanabad, and people here are quite superstitious about traditional medicine. Maybe you can find business opportunities here."
Adrian had his own selfish reasons; after all, Sileria City was a small coastal town, inconvenient in many ways. His territory was Southeast Agaia, and he couldn’t just give it up. It would be great if Sienna could come to Abyanabad.
Sienna was thinking about her original strategic plan: to establish a base in Sileria City, continuously accumulate capital, gradually expand to the surrounding areas, and eventually break out of Agaia and go global.
"...Right now, the Eastminster Group is still too weak to expand like that. As you said, Abyanabad’s business world is monopolized by a few large circles. If I rashly enter, I likely won’t gain any benefits and might even lose everything," Sienna voiced her concerns.
"Don’t you still have me? If you need people or funds, I can provide them!"
Sienna looked at Adrian with a smile. "Let’s talk about it later!"
"I hope you can come with me to Abyanabad," he revealed his intentions.
"Didn’t I already come with you?"
"I mean settling down here permanently."
Sienna also expressed her concerns. "I don’t like Abyanabad. Although the scenery here is more beautiful than Sileria City’s, the air is better, the streets are clean and beautiful, and the economy is well-developed... But I don’t feel secure here."
"What do you mean?"
"When it gets dark, if I were alone in Abyanabad, I would never dare to go out. There are arms dealers, drug traffickers, human traffickers... Life here is so cheap, and someone could die silently at any moment... I don’t feel safe here."
Adrian didn’t respond.
"Actually, I don’t want my children to live in this place."
Again, Adrian was silent.
"Adrian, I don’t care what kind of business you’re in, but I will never allow my children to become drug traffickers, arms dealers, or to run casinos and brothels..."
"When I get old, my business will be handed over to Curly or our other children... If you always keep them sheltered, unaware of society’s shady side, that’s not necessarily a good thing."
"Then wait until they’re mature enough before exposing them to those darker aspects."
"Actually, what you’re describing sounds more like Himakati, Mandanila, and Pagarao. Abyanabad isn’t that scary..."
Suddenly, Sienna stopped walking and looked into the distance. Adrian followed her gaze and saw a street performer singing.
At the subway entrance, a young, bespectacled man with refined features was holding a wooden guitar and singing:
What are you doing
Though it’s a bit late, can we hang out for a bit
In the small playground in your alley
It’s been a long time since I had a drink with friends
But I keep thinking about you, so I came like this
Do you not know my heart
These days I’ve been like a madman, only thinking about you
Helplessly, I’m falling deeper in love with you
No, I’m not drunk, really... I truly love you
Thought of you until I wanted to cry
Do you really not know
Sometimes I call you as a joke
Asking what you’re doing this weekend, trying to get your attention like this
There were also times when I said it was for my sister
The gifts I gave you
Were all for you
You don’t have to answer so quickly right now - can we date for a week
I want to be good to you without regrets
After that, if you still don’t like me, I’ll give up
I won’t bother you - I’ll suffer alone
Genuinely, I’ve loved you all along
It’s not because I’m drunk... really... I love you...
When the song ended, Sienna applauded along with the crowd. Seeing people putting money into the hat placed on the ground in front of the man, Sienna also took out her wallet and stuffed a large bill into it.
"Thank you, beautiful lady," the young singer said gratefully.
"You’re welcome."
Sienna returned to Adrian’s side, and he asked, "Do you like this song?"
"It sounds nice..."
"Then I’ll sing for you when we get back."
Sienna looked at Adrian with surprise. What was going on with him looking so serious? Could it be that he was jealous because she had listened to the street singer?
"Su... sure." The intelligent Sienna didn’t wound the man’s pride.
"This song is called ’Sober Truth’ and it’s a love confession song. It’s very popular in Abyanabad. When a man likes a woman, he’ll sing this song to her..." he explained to Sienna, his voice slightly husky.
"Sixth Master, are you planning to confess to me?" So that was the reason, she thought. She’d initially believed he was just being jealous for no reason.
"I’ve confessed already."
After walking for a while, Sienna got tired, and they took a car home. As soon as she got in the car, she lay her head on Adrian’s lap and fell asleep.
Adrian gently stroked her hair with his fingers, looking at the familiar street scenes outside the car window.
This was his hometown. No matter where he went, he always wanted to return here. Was Sienna feeling the same way?
The car slowly drove into the Desmond family’s house, which he hadn’t returned to in several months.
Housekeeper Adolph Desmond was a little excited to see Adrian. "Sixth Master, you’ve returned."
"Where’s Curly?"
"He played all day, so he was tired and is already asleep. The Old Madam and the others had dinner and went to rest early," Adolph reported to Adrian.
"You need to put in more effort and take good care of them. They are Orienta people, and their diet is different from what’s common here. Go find some Orienta chefs tomorrow."
"Yes, Sixth Master, I will do it first thing tomorrow morning."
Sienna woke up. She blinked, her eyes slowly focusing on the unfamiliar yet familiar surroundings. For a moment, she was disoriented.
"Where is this?"
"Our home!" Adrian said. The words ’our home’ caused a slight ripple in his heart. Such beautiful words.
Sienna slowly sat up, looking at the plants and trees around her. She remembered now: this was Adrian’s home in Abyanabad.
Adrian probably wasn’t as familiar with this place as she was. After all, she had been held captive here by him years ago, her daily activities confined to this very house.
"Madam, welcome home," Adolph said respectfully.
