Hollywood Zenith

At night, Samuel and Adele were laying on bed together. They were hugging each other talking about their week long trip. Kate excused herself saying that she would sleep alone tonight. Samuel thought she was wary of Adele at first but asked she declined to comment about it.

From Adele lack of response, it seemed to be that they had a prior agreement about it. She did agree to come with them to the retreat.

" By the way are you sure it's alright to bring Nicole with us? She didn't look enthusiastic about it." he asked.

" Are you talking about that? I just think she was too shocked to say anything at that time." Adele brushed his chest and replied softly. She was aware that Kate had a hidden meaning when she coined the proposition.

Adele didn't really care much about what Nicole felt about Samuel. She had been with him for the longest and knew what type of person he was. At times he was at the mercy of circumstances while at others, he was too kind with his responsibilities.

Even before they got together, she knew she wouldn't be the only one because of her promise to Iblis but over the years seeing how things unveiled it was getting out of control. She had came to terms with it long ago.

" Still.." He remember who flustered she was about it. As far as he knew she hadn't explored the outside world and always stayed in the Estate since she was adopted as a maid into the family.

" Don't think too deep about it. I have known her for years which is why I have firm grasp of what's in her heart."

" Heart?" Samuel began to question her strange aversion since few years ago. How she began to distance herself from him. They were after all very close in the past.

" I mean, how long would aunt Amanda protect her from the world? She always wanted to explore it on her own to see different sides of it and not just hear and see it on the news. Every time she went outside, aunt would be there with her. Such sheltered life is not meant for someone like her even when she is as naive as it gets."

" That's what you were talking about." He thought they were on the same page but Adele was mentioning something completely different.

" That made her too dependent on aunt. I think it would be a good experience for her. Beside, we will be busy if we want to make something out of this one week trip. Recording music takes time and effort."

" That's true." It would also not be good to leave everything to Kate. They could hire people but he wasn't fond of dealing with stranger during their retreat. Other than music, it would be a good time for him to spend some alone time with Adele before his busy schedule next year.

He was sure that she would become famous because her talents were unmatched. With fame, she would have to focus on her music along with her image which means, brand deals, tours, fan meeting etc. Being a singer was not as easy as people make it out to be!

" Right, do you know she would also ask Iblis about her college life? I think she is interested in continuing her studies."

" I didn't know." He knew she took homeschooling under best tutors and was a curious kid since the time they met. But he most thought she would continue working for the family because she didn't have anywhere else to go. He felt bad to assume these things, everyone had their own dreams.

Maybe he could ask her about it and help her enroll in some good universities in the States. She could attend the same school as Iblis and since she would be one year senior of Nicole, she could help her with things without him worrying about it.

Soon, the topic changed to music again. To alleviate some of her worries, he promised her that he already had a song in mind. They were debating if how many features should they add to the album since he too was an unknown artist.

...

...

... Find exclusive stories on mvl

Next morning they got ready to start their four hour journey early. Samuel went to inform his parents about it. They didn't have much to say about it. It's not like he was going abroad, beside Arthur knew about his recent acquisition so there was little chance that they didn't know about it.

" I always thought singing was something that you took up as a hobby but I guess it was more serious than that." Laura commented.

" That's because he always finish anything that he starts. That's the price for being a genius." Robert added while he sipped his tea.

" Wow, where is this coming from? You never complimented him so bluntly before?" Laura teased him with a smile.

" Have I not? I never noticed. I have always been proud to have him as my son." He didn't even bat an eye saying these embarrassing stuff.

" Hmm...I am thankful for your words but please take care of others because I will be there for a week so I can't attend the new year event." Samuel said hiding his blushing face. He knew his father was very straightforward person, at times he was strict but there was always a warm smile behind his every criticism but in recent years he was slowly accepting him as a grown up.

" Leave it to us! Take care of Adele, I got Penny's call yesterday night. She was angry that her daughter seemed to like spending more time here than at home. I can understand her worries but I firmly told her that Adele is as much as her daughter as mine."

" Also don't forget to send us a copy of her album. If you need help with anything, just give us a call."

" He is only saying it but you should have seen him earlier. Ever since he heard about her new album, he had been referring to her as his daughter in-"

" Honey, it's enough."

" I should go now. We have a long road ahead of us." Samuel choose to ignore her last words. He was in no rush to tying the knot especially when they were barely twenty!

It was early so he wasn't able to meet any other family member other than Donald and Patricia. They said the same thing, it wasn't out of ordinary for him to do unexpected things so they pretty much accepted him possessing different talent on the spot.

He returned to see a panicked Amanda fiddling with Nicole's luggage. It was out of place to see his composed maid lecturing Nicole about dangers of outside world.

" I am sorry. I didn't know her circumstances, I shouldn't have asked her to join us." Kate apologized. She didn't fully understand Nicole's circumstances but listening to Amanda fret over it was enough to tell that it was special for Nicole to go out.

" Miss Kate, you don't have to feel bad about it. There is a reason for this- young master." Amanda suddenly noticed him walking over. He was curious what she was talking about but she stopped in the middle and there didn't seem to any indication that she would tell him about it.

" I already said that if it's difficult she doesn't need to follow us. We can hire someone or can also prepare out meal." He asked again. Amanda looked at Nicole's changing expression when he said it which made her sigh again. She didn't have any choice other than to accept this arrangement.

" It's alright. Just promise me that you will keep her safe and keep her out of public's way." Amanda knew the truth would be exposed sooner or later. She could only hope that 'they' would have forgotten about Nicole by now.

" I promise." He didn't know why she was so serious about it but he decided to accept her plea.

" By the way, where is Adele?"

" She would be here shortly. She was talking with someone over the phone. Ah, here she comes." Kate added. He saw Adele walking out she looked especially cheerful.

They quickly loaded their things and slowly drove off. He found out that Adele was rubbing off the fact about their short retreat to other's in the group. Maia and Paige were spamming the group while Iblis was staying quiet. Liliana and Rosaline still hadn't replied to his any message.

He didn't know why she couldn't come back but it seemed like she would be staying for the new year with her family. Earlier he also asked what was happening with Mayra and Kayla. They seemed to have resolved their family issue, it was unexpected but they told him they would tell him after he returned from the trip.

It was hard to hear Elise's voice over the phone, she repeatedly told him that she wanted to come back so much so that he almost wanted to bring her back himself but he wanted her to start getting used to living away from him. Sooner or later, she would returned to Paris with them that didn't mean they couldn't meet but it wouldn't be daily or weekly.

It was a four hour drive so they had plenty of times to go over the schedule. Russell already asked someone to deliver everything regarding her album yesterday. He gave them the address of their retreat so those things would have already arrived.

Now all they need to focus was to create best music they could!