OUT OF THE ASHES

CHAPTER 1

Celine was seated by the window in their favorite restaurant with her chin propped on her hand. She chewed on her pen as she stared outside.

"It would be wonderful if summer doesn't exist," Celine whined. This was a complaint directed toward the fact that she had failed to book a study room in the library despite waking up at five in the morning.

Celine was a third-year university student. She only had one semester left before she completes her third year and enters into an internship as a fourth-year senior.

Sitting beside her was Annie Ross, her best friend at the university.

"If you have time to nag, why not use that time to read instead? If you fail another subject, you'll have a hard time passing this year. You know, I couldn't help but wonder how you've managed to pass the entrance exam into this university in the first place?" Annie snapped in annoyance. This was entirely due to her previous final exam where she had failed four subjects.

Celine laughed mockingly and did not reply.

"Early this morning, Director Renan Montenegro of the Montenegro Group announced that he has come out of the closet and stepped out hand-in-hand with the young boss of the MacKinnon Corporation, Francis Mackinnon, into the public eye."

"Pfft..." Celine huffed as she lifted her head and stared at the big screen just outside the restaurant. However, Celine could hear herself swallowing nervously when she saw the person on the screen.

'Has Renan Montenegro really come out of the closet? Even if I had come out of the closet, he would never have come out of the closet by himself, right?'

The man's face on the screen was blurry but Celine could recognize him even if his back was against her. It's really Renan Montenegro. And the person who was holding his hand is Francis Mackinnon. Only he would have the boldness to wear a red suit and he even carried it off with great s*x appeal.

"These days, all the handsome men seems to turn out gay." Annie sighed.

Celine nibbled on her straw as she watched Renan and Francis. Those two were standing next to each other, and they looked more well-matched than when she was standing next to them.

"But doesn't Francis have a fianceé?" Celine suddenly asked out of the blue.

'What?' Annie immediately lifted her head to look at her.

Celine had an innocent look on her face as she continued, "It was mentioned in the news. Wasn't his fianceé the eldest daughter of the Garcia family?" And Celine could not stop herself from adding some emphasis into her words as she spoke.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, the rich and powerful families sure are messy," Annie exclaimed before she tapped on the desk. "Hurry up with your revision! Whatever it is, it's actually didn't matter right."

Celine propped her chin on her hand once again and went into a daze. 'Rich and powerful families sure are messy.'

'But what about Renan Montenegro and Francis Mackinnon?' Celine stared at the outdoor television again. Their figures have long disappeared from the screen. They had been separated for a year, and although they had not avoided each other on purpose, she had miraculously not seen anything about him until now.

Yet, she had received such shocking news about him today. Celine rubbed her twitching right eye which was indeed not a good omen.

Celine pondered for a moment before she shuddered and quickly lowered her head to continue studying.

However, Francis had clearly been engaged to that pretentious girl Adrianna Garcia, and he wanted to come out of the closet with Renan Montenegro. Celine suddenly felt that there was really nothing wrong with carefully observing this entertaining show.

The pair hung around until nine p.m. before packing up and heading back to their dorm.

When they stepped out of their favorite restaurant, they were immediately greeted by the sweltering heat.

Then all of a sudden a black Maybach suddenly appeared in front of the pair and blocked their way before someone opened the car door and stepped out.

"Miss Garcia, our Madam requests the pleasure of seeing you." The driver stepped out of the car and spoke indifferently.

Celine stared at the man blankly. She knew him, he was the Montenegro family's driver. And the Madam he was referring to was definitely Renan's mother and also her former mother-in-law.

Annie looked at Celine as she thrust her book into Annie's hands. "Alright, Older Sister is going to meet some VIPs," Celine jokes.

And then the chauffeur opened the car door, she bent down and entered the car, leaving a foolish-looking Annie beside the road.

Celine sighed. After a year, she was returning to the Montenegro family home once again.

The Montenegro's villa was located at the middle of the City. The residential area was the most luxurious among the villas in the area. Although she had been there before, she couldn't still gasp in admiration over its brilliant magnificence.

Celine got out of the car dressed in simple, light-colored sportswear while sporting a high ponytail. It definitely suited her at her age of twenty-one.

"Miss Garcia, the young master is waiting for you," the maid said as she escorted Celine inside.

'Young Master?'

'Wasn't it the Madam who had wanted to see her?'

As Celine walked in, the hall was just as clean as ever but there was a stifling atmosphere in the air.

Celine carefully walked in and looked at the man who was seated on the sofa. It was the man who had apparently just come out of the closet.

"Director Montenegro," Celine addressed as she smiled but when her gaze landed on the desk, a sense of horror could be seen in her large eyes. She quickly ran toward the photograph on the table and grabbed it. It was a picture of a mother carrying a little baby.

That baby was definitely her son.

........