Tangled in his Obsession novel Chapter 11

About two hours later, Seraphina found herself back at Leandro's front door.

From the entrance, she could see the garage, and Leandro's car seemed to be missing. Just as she was about to ring the doorbell, the door suddenly swung open from the inside.

Karan was slinging a big bag over her shoulder, yelling back into the house as she stepped out, "You stay put, no running around, got it? Your dad will be home tonight!"

Mid-sentence, she turned her head and saw Seraphina standing at the doorway, looking taken aback and then annoyed, "Didn't you already take off? Why are you back here?"

"Karan, I think I left something here, so I came back," Seraphina replied with a smile, then glanced at Karan's bag, "You heading out?"

Karan grimaced, adjusting her bag and grunting in response.

Seraphina hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can I go in and look for my stuff?"

Looking like she was pressed for time, Karan shot her an irritable glance, "Just go in and find whatever you need, and leave as soon as possible! And don't go chattering with Valerio, got it?"

Seraphina nodded promptly, "Alright, got it. Take care, Karan!"

With that, Karan hurried off, looking like she was indeed in a rush.

Upon entering the house, Seraphina spotted Valerio sitting at the table, working on a pile of art supplies. He looked at her, obviously having heard her exchange with Karan.

Seraphina waved at him with a smile, but he quickly looked down and started to sketch more furiously.

Seraphina didn't bother with him further, she took a symbolic stroll upstairs and was back down in no time. Despite having spent the night here, her recorder had always been in her bag, so if it had fallen out, it would have happened in Leandro's car.

The present situation left her with no choice but to wait for Leandro. But how would he react when he saw her in his house again?

As she pondered this, she approached Valerio. He didn't look at her but seemed to sense her approaching, his sketching grew even more frantic the closer she got.

"What are you drawing?" Seraphina asked as she picked up the assignment brief from the table.

Apparently, the assignment was for the child to create a family album with the help of their parents, featuring a family portrait and individual pages for each family member.

Valerio was obviously working on the family portrait — four identical stick figures, big heads atop bodies made up of a few strokes resembling matchsticks.

Seraphina guessed that the figures were supposed to represent Bruce, Gloria, Leandro, and Valerio himself. But it seemed like a crucial person was missing. However, the rough sketching didn't seem to match the standard one would expect from a six-year-old.

Under Seraphina's gaze, Valerio's sketching became erratic.

"It seems like no one at home can help you with this assignment," Seraphina sighed, "You're one lucky kid. I haven't drawn for seven years, and now I'm picking up a pencil to help you with this."