**Knock, knock, knock!**
In the afternoon, at the Kelly Estate, the study door was knocked.
"Mr. Kelly, the Rio Filmmakers' Club has sent an invitation!"
The housekeeper, Mrs. Barbara, walked in, put down the invitation, and left.
Mrs. Barbara, in her forties, had Native American and African heritage. After professional training, she had been managing the estate for six months, keeping everything in excellent order.
"Another one!"
Luca picked up the invitation, glanced at it, and placed it in a box.
After being back for two days, he and Kate had received fourteen invitations to parties and gatherings.
These invitations included ones from the National Book Association, the Brazilian Filmmakers' Association, the Rio Chamber of Commerce, charity associations, several banking clubs, and even from government departments like the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Environment.
And those were just the formal invites.
There were even more informal ones.
If they accepted all of them, they wouldn't have a free day until Christmas.
Luca only planned to attend a few important ones.
Setting aside the invitations, he left the study.
It was past four in the afternoon, but the sun was still blazing. The blue sky and white clouds overhead framed the landscape. Being close to the sea, the air was humid and warm under the heat, and the lush broadleaf trees in the yard shone green and vibrant.
*Slap!*
A mosquito the size of a pinky finger met its end on Luca's shoulder, leaving a bloody mess.
Brazil's high vegetation coverage supports a wide variety of small creatures living among the trees—mosquitoes, spiders, ants, and more. Each one seemed scarier than the ones elsewhere.
*Ding-ling!*
His phone buzzed with a text message.
After reading it, Luca said goodbye and left the estate.
"Mr. Kelly, where to?" his driver-bodyguard asked, waiting by the car at the entrance.
"To the Little Café."
"Yes, sir!"
Kate's Little Café was on Atlantic Avenue.
This bustling commercial street, not far from Ipanema Beach, drew millions of tourists annually, bringing significant income. In recent years, many flagship luxury brand stores had opened there, adding to the street's vibrant atmosphere.
'Kate's Little Café' was a small, elegant establishment on that very street.
The café wasn't large, but it was sophisticated and charming. The sign displayed the name in both Portuguese and English: 'Kate's Little Café.'
Inside, there were only two waitresses, with Regina as the manager.
In the afternoon, there weren't many customers—two couples and a solo visitor with a dog.
Gina sat behind the counter watching the popular Brazilian soap opera *Friends*. It was in Portuguese, a language Gina struggled to understand, so Regina sat beside her explaining and laughing as she did, leaving Gina completely confused.
"Luca's here. Want some coffee?" Regina called out.
"No, thanks. Is Kate upstairs?"
"Yes, and Miss Ambrosio is with her."
Luca nodded and headed upstairs.
Upstairs, there was a small office where Kate would sometimes handle her work.
**"Hahaha~"**
As he reached the second floor, laughter came from the office.
"That bastard cheated again! I'm going to break up with him, for good this time. I even had a hammer, ready to break his legs! But when I tried, he ran off terrified. What a coward!" Ambrosio's voice filled the air between her laughter and ranting.
Luca raised an eyebrow, recalling the young man who had switched parking spaces, Jamie Marzoo.
"Anan, are you breaking up with him again?" Luca asked with a smile as he entered the room.
"Yes, this time it's for real."
Ambrosio confirmed firmly.
"You've said that in front of me at least six times, and it's never been true," Kate chuckled softly.
"This time it's definitely real." Ambrosio slapped the couch beside her. "Last time, I told him he could cheat if he was willing to have his legs broken, and I would forgive him."
"I heard you two made up after that. Did you really break his legs?" Luca asked, curious.
Ambrosio shook her head. "Damn it, I should have. If I had known he'd cheat again, I would have done it then."
She regretted it now.
Last time, Jamie had cheated, and she had given him the condition that she would only forgive him if he agreed to have his legs broken.
Jamie had agreed sincerely, even buying a small gold hammer encrusted with diamonds, telling her she could use it to break his legs. He even promised that if he ever cheated again, she could use that very hammer to do it.
Seeing his sincerity, Ambrosio had just scared him a bit and then forgave him. They reconciled as if nothing had happened.
But less than six months later, Jamie cheated again, and this time she caught him red-handed.
Once more, Jamie begged for forgiveness.
This time, Ambrosio was furious. She decided to be ruthless and brought out the little gold hammer, ready to break his legs.
But as soon as she got serious, Jamie got scared, jumped up, and ran off.
"If he hadn't run, would you have really broken his legs?" Kate asked, amused.
"Of course!" Ambrosio said seriously. "I swung the hammer at him, but it was too small to break his legs. Still, the bastard screamed in pain and limped away. I couldn't even catch him."
"Ha~"
Kate couldn't help laughing.
Luca smiled softly. "Anan, didn't you say you caught him cheating red-handed last time?"
"Yes."
"And you caught him red-handed this time too?"
"Is that a problem?"
"…"
Luca paused for a moment. "How did you catch him both times? Did you have spies on him or install surveillance cameras?"
"No."
Ambrosio frowned. "I just had a feeling, followed it, and caught him both times."
"…"
Luca raised an eyebrow. That was quite a skill—perfect infidelity detection. If every woman could do that, cheating men would have no chance.
It must be challenging being her boyfriend. Any man would be scared to death.
"Anan, you're amazing. Do you have any tips?" Kate asked with a soft smile.
"No, it's just a feeling."
Luca breathed a sigh of relief.
Luckily, there was no secret technique. If Lima learned that, he'd have all his bones broken.
"Luca, I heard you cheated once and had your finger broken by Lima. Didn't you try to resist?"
Luca exchanged a glance with Kate and smiled softly.
"I made a mistake. I deserved to have my finger broken. Running away wouldn't have earned forgiveness."
"You've got some nerve."
Ambrosio looked at him in surprise. "After your finger was broken, there were no more scandals, right? Did that really work?"
Luca thought for a moment and inwardly chuckled.
Since September, he had faced a lot of criticism and had kept a lower profile. There hadn't been any new scandals since, which was a perfect coincidence.
"Yes, bone-breaking therapy works wonders. You should try it!"
Better her than me, Luca thought mischievously.
"Great, if Jamie wants to reconcile again, he'll have to pay dearly."
Ambrosio said fiercely.
Kate shook her head with a smile. "Anan, you should make him do it himself, just in case he regrets it later and sues you for intentional harm."
"… Good point!"
Ambrosio agreed wholeheartedly.
Luca chuckled softly.
After chatting for a while longer, the three of them left the café together to attend a small party in their social circle.
Every day after that, Luca and Kate attended one or more parties or banquets and dealt with interviews with the media and reporters, keeping their days busy.
It wasn't until a week later that things finally slowed down.
One afternoon, Luca's agent, Camilla, called him to let him know that the script they had sent out had garnered some interest.
Two directors wanted to discuss it with him.
Luca arranged to meet them at Kate's Little Café.
(End of Chapter)