Miles finally looked at Hannah. Hannah's attention was on the people gambling in the backyard. 

Hannah turned to her with a frown on her face. "You are pathetic. You can't even say anything against a carefree and irresponsible stepmother. If I were you, I would leave this home. But you're not like that. You are too kind for your own good. Maybe it's in our favor if you stay stupid. But don't expect something like gratitude from us. I don't feel grateful at all."

"I'm not expecting anything from you, Hannah," Miles stated nonchalantly.

She was used to the attitude and sharp tongue of her stepsister. Even when her dad was still alive, they didn't get along pretty well. Hannah was the opposite of her, who can say anything to the point of being rude. She would fight and argue with everyone, even her biological mother. That's why the mother and daughter pair always quarreled.

"It's enough for me to know that you're studying hard in college to achieve your dream of becoming a reporter. That reason alone is enough for me to work hard."

"Tch," Hannah clicked her tongue before she walked out on her. 

Miles sighed again. After their dinner, she helped Andrew with his homework. She also did his Chinese lantern as a school project, spent an hour tutoring him, and then played with him for a while.

When it was time to rest, she entered her room drained. Miles lay on the bed wearily. She's not feeling well. She's cold and feels hot at the same time.

Getting up with a slight dizziness, she opened the drawer of the old cabinet at her bedside. She took the antique jewelry box of her deceased mother. Inside were a few of her biological mother's jewels, as well as the money she worked so hard for to pay for her college education. That's Miles' whole fortune. When she holds that box, she kind of feels secure and safe, like her parents are still beside her. 

Her savings are almost thirty thousand pesos. When the money reaches fifty thousand, she plans to deposit it in the bank for her education.

A cellphone rang all of a sudden. She took it from the headboard and checked the message. The text was from Joanne, a co-worker at the flower shop.

Do you want to come with us for flower arranging and delivery this evening at a wedding venue? The pay is big. The client will pay us besides the pay from the shop, of course. Boss wants you to come. If you're interested, just text me and I'll save a slot for you. 

Miles replies to Joanne in a hurry. She can't let that opportunity pass. Sometimes her boss would call her for that kind of event where the job is on the spot. Even when it was not her shift, the boss would inform her about it because she has a certificate for training in three months as a florist. 

She looked at the time. It's already eight in the evening, but for Miles, it doesn't matter if she comes home at twelve. She changed clothes swiftly. She just put on a blouse and a pair of jeans. Her blouse has long sleeves to conceal the scrapes on her arms.

Miles took off with her Aunt Sylvia's permission. But it looks like her stepmother doesn't care where she goes. She didn't even bother to look at her. The middle-aged woman was busy losing her money from the game. 

RAVEN Trinity scanned everyone inside that spacious lounge. There are more than ten people inside. But only two came from the human race. Lorien and Rick are standing casually as if they are not aware that all of the individuals there beside them are not ordinary.

Everyone else in that room knew of the existence of immortals. You can probably assume that all of them knew the secrets of the world. However, there's an exception. It was the woman Zito brought there that he was going to marry in just a few minutes. 

It was the first time in history that an immortal would marry a mere human. No one had the courage except Zito, who denied his race. As expected, a lot of immortals from distinguished clans disagreed with his marriage. But Zito's influence prevailed over them. Zito came from the family of Alexander in Royal Reverent. And there were more than ten clans from the council of immortals.

The first one is the family of Hemsworth. Cyphrus is the current leader of the clan, which has the oldest royal bloodline in England. He was a direct descendant and the one and only brethren of Prince Gunther, who was said to be cursed. The prince lived and fell into ash in five hundred AD.

Cyphrus' face was serious while he sipped his wine from the wine glass. He
doesn't find the occasion worth celebrating. Beside him, there's Darius, who's observing the crowd with his hand inside the pocket of his jeans. When his attention was caught by Raven, he smiled and waved at the guy.

Raven just bowed his head politely as a response. Even if Darius was a bit irresponsible and carefree, he's from the Blacksmith clan. That famous clan is the biggest coven of immortals.

The leader of the Blacksmith clan is Darius' elder brother, Cooper. He's in Gypsy, Mhyrr, and Corey's groups. The first two are members of the Baltimore clan, which employs paid assassins from the council. Gregory, who's the head of the Baltimore, isn't there because he's hunting nomads in the mountains of the Alps. Rick is Gregory's representative as his direct descendant. Rick is still human because Gregory was one when he had the ancestor of Rick. 

Corey, on the other hand, is the leader of the Wilson clan. The Wilsons are the only group of immortals who came from North America. Some of the families from the council are rooted in Europe, like the Colabel, Dorado, Fescilli, Mustafa, and Valencia. Last but not least is the newly discovered coven in Asia, the Fortuna. In the longest years since Spain conquered the Philippines, it's not strange to think that an immortal made its way there.

It was maybe a coincidence that the woman Zito was going to marry was the direct descendant of Liberio, who was the head of Fortuna. Or perhaps fate entangled their destinies as beings who could not have a normal life. Nevertheless, that information helped them to gain the favor of the Royal Reverent to approve the marriage of Zito to a human. 

- to be continued -