188 Chapter (Hundred) Eighty Seven: Opera

That morning, Leo and Becca announced their engagement in front of the family, and that same morning, Salvador was absent from the breakfast table, again. Becca could count with one hand the number of times she had encountered Leo's grandfather, be it in a formal or by passing. He seemed like a very busy man, with somber dark blue eyes that could leave one addled and sear those who dared to stare too close for too long. His tone was brusque and he had a surly aura that mired wherever he went. With his absence came a sense of levity, the air significantly lighter and easier to breathe— a difference that Leo duly relished, one Fernanda couldn't deny.

 The smile Salvador had flashed at Becca upon her arrival at the house now felt like a veneer that belied the true rancorous part of himself.