You think too little of me, Phoebe! Do you think I'm the sort of person who would keep grudges?” Santiago mused.
“Of course not. You're the type of person that has both brains, brawns, and courage to boot,” Phoebe replied with a chuckle.
Indeed, Santiago was regarded as the pride and joy of his family after the series of unfortunate events struck them.
He immediately adapted to his situation and took the initiative to call off the engagement in exchange for beneficial conditions. He basically single-handedly halted the decline of the Lieberman family and had actually started making them rise once again in recent years.
Anyone that had that kind of ability would
definitely be regarded as a genius.
Nevertheless, Santiago only gave a slight smile in response to the compliments.
“We haven't met in ten years now. I'm sure you're not just here to have a drink with me, right?” Phoebe said with an awkward smile while fiddling with her glass.
“What happened to my family ten years ago made it clear that the princess of the Davier family was out of my league. So I annulled the engagement to not implicate your family as well,” Santiago replied.
“Truth be told, at the time, I didn't wish for the engagement to be called off,” he continued.
“What about now?” Phoebe asked with a grin.
“Now? I see a man and a woman who are both still single. Hence, I do not wish to leave behind any regrets, nor do I want to delay this any further. I want to marry you,” Santiago calmly said.
“Do you really want to marry me? Or do you want to get back into the circle?” Phoebe teased.
“Both!” Santiago declared.
Phoebe flashed a look of surprise on her face. Marriages between distinguished families were rarely pure and were commonly associated with mutual benefits for the families involved.
However, for Santiago to say it outright that he wanted both to marry her and also use her family's connections to further his own agenda came as a surprise for her.
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