Roselle’s POV
“Papa, whose fault is it? State it clearly. Yours or Mama’s?” The entire dining hall fell silent as everyone waited patiently for Silas’s answer.
Even though I was the other person involved, I found myself growing increasingly curious about what he would say.
I looked toward him and found him already staring directly at me.
I wondered what was going through his mind.
Jeremy had certainly put him in a difficult position.
If our roles were reversed, how would I respond to such a question?
“It’s not like I’m saying I’m not at fault,” Silas finally said.
“But I have already conveyed my apology to your mother.” He turned toward the children before continuing.
“But she hasn’t given me the opportunity to apologize properly.”
My hand froze around the cup that was already at my lips.
I silently thanked the stars that I hadn’t actually put any water in my mouth.
God knew I would have choked.
“Then that simply means what you did was really bad,” Jasmine said, shrugging her shoulders as though she had just reached the most logical conclusion in the world.
I almost laughed.
“Papa, isn’t it too early to hurt Mama this badly?” Jeremy added, frowning at his father.
“You have only been married for two days, yet you have already managed to anger her so badly that she doesn’t even want to listen to your apology.”
Silas stared at him.
Jeremy, completely unbothered, continued.
“Didn’t you always say that as a man, we should learn to own up to our actions? You tried to apologize and she refused to listen. Are you just going to give up?”
“Our lives as children just keep getting harder,” Jasmine complained dramatically.
“Now we have to teach adults how to live in harmony. Can’t they learn from us?” She pointed at Jeremy.
“Even though you are a handful, I still put up with you. I’m even patient with all your unreasonable demands. If I can do it, can’t they?”
Jeremy immediately shot her an annoyed glare.
The tense atmosphere that had filled the dining hall when I first walked in had completely disappeared.
Somehow, these two children had managed to turn what should have been an uncomfortable situation into something almost amusing.
Silas sighed before looking at me.
“My lovely wife, as our children have pointed out, perhaps we should learn to live peacefully with each other.” His eyes met mine.
“I want to take this opportunity to apologize to Her Royal Majesty.”
“I truly didn’t see my actions from your perspective,” he continued.
“I simply thought that, considering what you experienced the previous night, you wouldn’t want to see my face.” His voice softened.
“I’m sorry if my actions caused you any unpleasant feelings.”
He stared directly into my eyes as he spoke.
I refused to pay attention to the intensity of his gaze or the way he had carefully worded his apology.
Instead, I was more surprised that he had openly apologized in front of his children and his subordinates without showing the slightest concern about their shocked expressions.
Of course, no one here knew the real reason behind our disagreement.
And Silas had made sure it stayed that way.
“Mama, what do you say?” Jasmine asked.
I blinked.
It was then I realized I had been staring at Silas for a while.
“Papa has sincerely apologized. I’m afraid that if you reject his apology now, I can’t intervene anymore.” I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could say anything, she shook her head dramatically.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. It really isn’t easy being a child mediator. This job shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
She sighed and shook her head as though she had just survived the most exhausting negotiation of her life.
For the first time, I truly understood what Jeremy had to deal with when it came to Jasmine’s shamelessness.
I suppressed a smile.
“Of course, I forgive him,” I said, lifting my chin slightly.
“I am very magnanimous.” I glanced at Silas.
“But if he dares to do it again, I can’t promise I’ll be this lenient.”
The corner of Silas’s lips lifted slightly.
I looked around the table and realized something.
It seemed everyone, including me, was slowly beginning to adopt Jasmine’s shameless approach to handling problems.
“Alright, eat up, Jasmine. Don’t you have assignments to finish? I’m sure you haven’t even started yet, so hurry up.”
A smile finally appeared on my face as we all returned to our meals.
I glanced at Silas once more, and our eyes met.
This time, there was a faint smile in his eyes as he continued eating.
Before I could even finish my meal, Jasmine and Jeremy had already left the dining hall, leaving only Silas and me behind.
At first, being alone with him felt slightly awkward.
This was the first time we had been alone together since my anger toward him had finally begun to fade.
But as the silence stretched on, the awkwardness slowly disappeared.
We didn’t speak, yet the silence no longer felt uncomfortable.
It wasn’t until I finished eating that Silas finally spoke.
“I saw you coming from the end of the hall earlier. What were you doing there?” I could tell he was simply trying to start a conversation.
For once, I decided to indulge him.
“I went to see my new office,” I began.
“I have already spoken to Sylvester and asked him to bring all the documents concerning the former DeLuca businesses to my desk.” I paused briefly.
“Both the legitimate businesses and the information regarding the illegal ones.”
I looked up at him.
Silas was listening quietly, so I continued.
“I plan to go through everything tonight. By tomorrow, I should have a clearer idea of what my next course of action will be.”
“Since the previous Don stepped down, the drug cartel has already received two shipments,” Silas said.
“Although it’s difficult to say whether the money from those transactions is still with them. All illegal trades are conducted with cash rather than bank transfers, so there won’t be much of a paper trail.” He looked at me calmly.
“But I trust you’ll handle everything as you see fit.”
He paused before continuing.
“If you need men, inform Sylvester. He’ll arrange capable people for you. As for anything else you don’t understand, you can come to me. I’ll explain things to you gradually.”
His eyes remained on mine.
“Is this the first time you’ll be handling a mafia organization?”
“It is,” I answered.
He already knew that, but I didn’t point it out.
As we spoke, workers moved quietly around us, clearing away our plates and the untouched dishes from the table with practiced efficiency.
Silas continued.
“There’s a lot about the mafia organization that you still don’t know. For now, have Sylvester accompany you whenever you leave the estate to conduct business. He’ll explain things to you properly as you go.”
I nodded.
“I’ll do that.” I pushed my chair back and stood.
“However, I need to leave now. I want to finish reviewing those documents before tomorrow.” I turned toward the entrance of the dining hall.
I had barely taken a step when Silas’s voice stopped me.
“Am I allowed to sleep in our room tonight?”
I froze.
Slowly, I turned around to look at him.