Chapter 179 - The Head

By the time the third day had passed and Samuel was set to come back, Lena had come even more impatient than she had been when he was coming back with Jeff from being with his parents for his birthday. At least she knew the reasons why it might've taken Jeff to get back to the estate. With Jovani, she couldn't be certain of anything. 

Samuel did keep her updated as they got closer, but closer only meant being more than an hour away. Seemed to her like the other was driving slower than necessary for the trip back or it just felt longer to her than the trip did when they left. 

She also felt somewhat annoyed that Jovani didn't give her any updates while they were considering it also seemed like he had told Samuel not to let too much slip until they got back. She would tolerate him for Samuel's sake, but she still felt like he was going to be too much trouble. 

Zane was trouble for her too that day as he wouldn't let her be outside while waiting since they were getting closer. It was drizzling that afternoon and he didn't like the idea that she might catch a cold since she hated using umbrellas to which she rolled her eyes as she was no longer a child and hardly got sick in such situations. 

She conceded to it however only after Clive had assured her that he would take her place and text her when the vehicle was in sight. Her father couldn't complain then with that arrangement.. 

It was only going to be those greeting Samuel when he got and hearing first what was going on as both Leo and Julius had to step out because of work and wouldn't be back until after dinner time. Julius would be patient enough to wait until he got back but the princess know that her brother would be displeased to wait so long to hear what happened. 

It was almost an hour and a half after Clive had stepped outside before he texted to say that they had gotten back. They knew already to only expect Samuel and Jovani plus whoever the head of the family was as Evalyn had decided to stay back because there were some matters she wanted to talk care of before telling her husband about everything that she had been keeping a secret. 

Lena tapped her fingers impatiently on the table in the guest room right inside the door as she glared at the door while waiting for it to open. If she had the ability to the door would've probably had a hole burned into due to the intensity of which she was staring at it. Each second felt like it was taking too long for them to come inside. 

When the door did finally open, no one was standing in the doorway much to Lena's annoyance. The only thing that she could hear was the sound of two hushed voices bickering. Over what it was exactly she wasn't certain nor did she care, she just wanted to be able to see Samuel in order to tell that he was okay. 

When someone finally did step through the door, it was Samuel who looked rather different from how he did when he left the house. He was wearing a rather expensive black suit for one that fit him quite well with a matching black undershirt. His usually loose and slightly unruly hair had been styled so that it looked neater and slicked back compared to how it usually was. 

It wasn't just those things that the princess noticed, the way he carried himself was different, it was in the way that one did when they were aware of the amount of authority they held when they entered a room. Though his eyes still retained their normal softness, there was a more serious feel to them tied with the expression he had on his face. What exactly had Jovani done to him in the three days that they had been gone for?

"Well, what do you think? Biased opinion but I think he's quite more charming and fitting to the role than he was when we left here." Jovani pipped up as he stepped in after his younger cousin, a pleased look on his face when he saw how intently Lena was studying Samuel.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Lena asked as she continued to stare at Samuel who was returning her look with less uncertainty than he did before. 

"I simply mean exactly what I said. I am curious to know what you think though." He replied as he looked between Lena and Zane the latter who was also being rather quiet as they observed Samuel. Zane seemed to pick up on something sooner than Lena did by the look that passed through his eyes. He didn't say anything though. 

"Is there a problem with how I am now?" Samuel asked as he approached the princess, trying to determine if the way that she was looking at him was a good sign or a bad one. 

"Different, but not in a bad way." The princess replied as she looked up at him once he was standing directly in front of where she was sitting. 

"Is this change that was required by the head of the family?" She asked glancing over at Jovani with this question. He had an amused half-smile on his face in response to this question. 

"Something like that." Was the response he gave causing Lena to shift more of her attention over to him. 

"Where is the head of the family then? I thought that you said he was coming here to discuss the matter of the engagement." The princess then asked wondering why this mysterious person hadn't come with the other two. 

"You haven't put it together?" Amusement sinking into his response as he smirked while pointing at his cousin. 

"Couldn't you tell that he's standing right in front of you right now?" He then asked causing Lena to freeze as she turned her attention back to Samuel who was now smiling at her. 

"Suprise?" He offered not quite sure what else he should say to the stunned look that was on her face. 

The pieces seemed to fit together in her mind but at the same time, something about it felt odd to her, almost like this was another joke being played on her because it seemed like such a strange thing to be real. 

Lena was almost going to ask if this was some kind of joke until she took note of the ring that was on Samuel's finger. It was different for the head of every family, but at the same time was easy to tell apart by one look at it. A clear indicator that there was no joke beyond what was going on. Samuel was indeed being declared as the head of the Vedova Nera family. 

"Is this the only reason why you didn't want to tell me?" She asked shifting her attention back to Jovani who shrugged in response to the uncertain look that was on the princess's face as she tried to process what she was being told. 

"Something like that among other reasons. It is enjoyable I can't lie to see the surprised expression whenever it passes over your face." He told her only partly joking about that. He did enjoy riling her up. 

"The other part is to do with the fact that there were a lot of pieces that I needed to get in order before announcing it and I knew that I couldn't do it the right way if you knew before he left." The other admitted before Samuel spoke up, not giving Lena a chance to get annoyed with the other. 

"He knew that you would want to come with if you knew what was going to happen and he wanted space to discuss things within the family that were there and make sure that everyone was agreed upon. Something you couldn't be a part of." Samuel clarified though it did little to clear her confusion and annoyance at the situation. 

"What does this mean about everything going forward and about who's supposed to vouch for all this of this if he's the head of the family?" The princess asked not certain how it would work like this since hadn't been the head of the family up until that point. 

"I suppose that would be his mother or me, but you don't really need anyone since he's officially been accepted as the head of the family." Jovani replied with a shrug.

"With that in mind, I don't think that there's anyone who will object with the engagement or the wedding that will follow. Marcus perhaps would be the only one but his vote no longer counts since he's not a part of this family." He added on. The only reason Marcus would object was simply because he could, not because he would have an actual objection either.