Hollywood Zenith

" You were messing around in America. I heard you got a girlfriend!" Anya commented. It was baffling to think the kids these days were aware of what that meant. Do they even know what it implies? Samuel was sceptical.

" What\'s that had to do with this? I know I was not forthright about everything. But I really was busy with business." Samuel urged them.

" Are you telling the truth?" Grey asked. He knew his brother was not the one to lie, but it didn\'t mean that he was not in the wrong.

"Of course I am! Greyson don\'t you believe your big brother?"

" I believe you." Just when Grey was coming around, Anya interjected.

So, you don\'t have girlfriends?" Anya asked again.

" They are just friends. They are here; you can ask them yourself." Samuel was not confident, but as the girls treated him like a friend, he had no reason to go against it, right? It was not out of spite, well maybe a little.

" We will find it out ourselves!"

" Yeah, you can do that but you haven\'t even said hello to me since I came. I remember you two used to follow me around all the time. Now, you are yelling as soon as I come to see you." Samuel played the victim. With his exceptional acting skill, he pulled it up flawlessly.

" I am sorry brother. It\'s just.. I really missed you." Grey was apologetic.

" And I never followed you, I only followed Grey." Anya clarified.

" Right, right. Come here." Samuel quickly picked them up in his arms. He could clearly see Anya pouting, but Grey hugged him with a smile. Other kids began protesting, so he had to do the same for them.

Anya and Grey had always been very close, much closer than their own siblings. They were the same age, and they had been together since he could remember. Samuel would always tell them stories and exciting facts; maybe because of his hands-on approach, they were much brighter than children their age.

Wynonna and Kenneth were hardly here, so Samuel usually had to fly to the States to meet them. Basmus, on the other hand, was not interested in knowledge since the beginning. He was more inclined toward physical activities. Hence, he was mostly seen around David or Peter.

Nonetheless, they were just kids. No matter how much they tried to play adult, it was too early for them. Samuel knew this, so he had hatched the perfect contingency plan.

" Are we going outside to play? Uncle it\'s been so long since we played together!" Basmus urged.

" That\'s a great idea."

" Plewse Unwcle?" Wynonna also brought out her puppy eyes.

" But we should greet the guests first. Mother said it is impolite to keep them waiting." Grey said.

" He is right. Let\'s go meet them. We should meet his friends." Anya was still hung up on it. It looked like all the patting and hugging had no effect on her.

" I have a better idea. Why don\'t you guys follow me? I think they should be ready." Samuel said with a wide grin. This ought to bring them around; he had made ample preparation. It has only been a few days since he was aware of Grey\'s upcoming birthday.

But with enough capital and an empty field, he had achieved the primary results.

" Huh? to where?" Basmus asked.

" You will see." It was time to unveil the early birthday present.

...

...

...

" No need to be nervous. I just wanted to have a private chat with you all." Laura tried to calm them down, seeing their changing expressions.

She had learned early that she was not very good at dealing with kids. She blamed Sami for being such a perfect child; he never complained about anything; what\'s more, he was acting like an adult from the start. So she never developed those skills.

When Greyson was born, she was to start from scratch. She had a hard time, unlike her husband, who was a natural. It was quite a conundrum for her as she had to accept her flaws while acknowledging her husband\'s soft side.

They were all young adults, but they were all kids in her eyes. She had been told often that she was intense most of the time, which made people fearful of her. What she didn\'t know was that it was the rumours that were floating around that bolstered her image.

The demoness was not hard to control, and people feared that they would be scorned to death for angering her. In the case of the girls, it was because they feared why she wanted to have a private chat as soon as they landed.

Liliana and Rosaline were distraught. Samuel had told them that she would not make them feel unwelcome but seeing was believing, and right now, they were a little hesitant to believe him.

" I know it was sudden to call you out here. But it was not his fault, I wanted to meet you and this opportunity was perfect in my opinion." Laura explained.

" I don\'t want to be rude, but do you always call his every friend here to meet you?" Liliana asked directly. She didn\'t want to offend her, but the truth was more important to her. Samuel had hardly met them a few weeks ago; in her opinion, it didn\'t warrant a house visit.

" Liliana! Why do you ask her that?" Rosaline was dumbfounded.

" Hahaha, I really like you. Outspoken and fearless, you remind of my younger days." Laura didn\'t take it to heart.

" You too, Rosaline. It\'s good to see you are getting along." Laura\'s statement had some underlying meaning, but they didn\'t catch it.

"Yeah.."

" I also heard about what happened during your flight. Maia and Paige you too know that you crossed the line right?"

"" We are sorry, Aunt Laura."" They quickly apologized. They were not passengers on any flight; both were guests of the Rothschild family. They had to face some consequences if it was any other person, but Laura sympathized with their cause a little. How they went about it was completely wrong, though.

" They are not bad girls but I can feel why they did it."

" You are not agreeing with them right?" Liliana and Rosaline looked at her for answers.

" Of course not. But I will be a little blunt with you. You had to understand something, Sami had always been surrounded by girls since he was little."

" Now that you mention it. I had only heard about Darren while the rest of the people who were connected to him were all women." Rosaline noticed it too.

" It had always been that case since the day I met him. He was hardly interested in them except few exception like Adele and Iblis which was why I was curious what type of person made him change his mind." Laura said.

" Aunt you don\'t know but I think you are wrong about him this time. He is a beast-"

" She is saying that he might be hiding it very well. I think he just needed a chance, that\'s all."Paige misspoke, but Maia quickly covered it up.

" Eh? What do you mean?" Laura didn\'t know all the details, which was good and bad at the same time. Maia was at a loss about how to get out of this sticky situation; she was still thinking about when someone did it for her.

" Wait! What do you mean you met him?" Rosaline asked.

" It looks like rumours were true after all that Sami is an adopted child." Meanwhile, Liliana muttered under her breath.

" It seems like no one told you. Well, I guess he still feels that it would damage our reputation." Laura sighed.

" Sami is indeed adopted. It was a dreadful day but I remembered it like it was yesterday. That bleak morning brought the greatest joy in life."

" Can you tell us about it?" Maia asked. They, too, didn\'t know all the details; it was one of the most guarded secrets of the Rothschild family.

" It will not hurt to know about it. Me and my husband were having trouble conceiving a child, we did everything we could but it felt like god had other plans for us. When I first met him was when he was lying in the middle of the road covered in blankets. I still horror when I think about the injuries on his body." Laura paused before continuing.

" Did you know what happen?" Rosaline asked. She didn\'t know Samuel had such a past.

" No, even with all our resources we were unable to find out about his upbringing but those wounds suggested he was not treated very well wherever he was before. What\'s more he was blind since birth, I still couldn\'t understand how can anyone treat such a sweet boy like that!" Laura felt surging anger when she thought about it again.

" I see."

" We took him in. At first we were not sure what to do, I mean I was considering adopting but I very much was hoping to be a mother. I was always jealous of the other pregnant ladies when I used to visit different hospitals. You may not understand it now as you are only kids but it meant a lot to me at that time."

" So in a way he changed your mind?" Paige asked.

" I guess he did. He was such a sweet kid. I can\'t believe he is already a adult now."

" He is still sweet." Rosaline spoke her mind.

" I see but if he ever mistreat any of you. You can come to me anytime. Okay?" Laura said with a smile.

" I don\'t know what you are talking about."

" Yeah, you must be mistaken. We are only friends!"

" Me too!"

" We are more like enemies!"

" Oh! I just hope you can get along! Ho ho." Laura loved seeing their flustered expressions. They were honestly too cute when she teased them. So much so that she wished she had a daughter too!