Every Mafia's Favorite Girl novel Chapter 178

Chapter 178: "Would You Sing Me That Song?"

Caio couldn’t remember the last time he’d walked through the back garden.

The evening breeze greeted him the moment he stepped outside, cool and fragrant, carrying the scent of damp earth and flowering plants through the grounds.

It was a scent he had once known intimately. As a boy, he’d spent so many afternoons wandering these paths that he could have named every tree and flowerbed without looking.

Somehow, years had passed without him noticing how completely he’d stopped coming here.

Then he saw the cherry blossom tree.

It still stood exactly where it always had, though it had grown larger than the version in his memory.

Its branches stretched farther now, heavy with blossoms that trembled softly in the evening breeze.

For a moment, Caio could almost see the seventeen-year-old boy he’d once been standing beneath it, staring upward in wonder as a tiny blue bird landed among the branches.

But tonight, there was no blue bird.

There was Aren.

She sat beneath the spreading branches with her back against the trunk, Biscuit sprawled happily across her lap.

She had taken both of Biscuit’s front paws in her hands and was clapping them together with complete seriousness, apparently engaged in some game Caio couldn’t begin to understand.

From a distance, he couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing.

He could only tell that Biscuit looked profoundly confused.

Aren noticed his footsteps long before he reached her. She turned and found him approaching in measured strides, a bottle of white wine in one hand and two crystal glasses in the other.

The small smile already on her face blossomed into something brilliant.

"Caio?" she called happily. "You finished dinner already?"

He quickened his pace despite himself, though he made no attempt to let her notice.

"I managed to eat some."

That was technically true.

He’d managed to force down a few bites, before abandoning the dining room entirely and coming here with the wine Mrs. Pecora had retrieved for him.

Stopping beside Aren, he lowered himself onto the grass.

"What are you doing?" he asked, deliberately keeping his voice casual.

Aren immediately brightened and lifted Biscuit slightly by his front legs.

"I’m teaching Biscuit a song."

Caio stared at the dog.

His brows rose.

"A song?"

Aren nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes."

An amused smirk slowly appeared as he regarded Biscuit with open skepticism.

"This little thing knows how to sing?"

Both Aren and Biscuit instantly looked offended.

Aren’s brows drew together as she clutched Biscuit protectively against her chest.

"Of course Biscuit knows how to sing!" she protested with absolute conviction.

She carefully placed Biscuit on the grass, then immediately began smoothing his fur as though preparing a professional performer for the stage.

"Come on, Biscuit." She gave him an encouraging pat. "Don Caio doesn’t believe you can sing. Sing it for him."

Biscuit, who had looked thoroughly bewildered throughout what Caio now understood had been a musical lesson, suddenly straightened his back. His tail thumped enthusiastically against the grass, as though determined to defend his artistic integrity.

He puffed out his chest, threw back his head, and, after one dramatic moment of silence, unleashed his masterpiece.

"Awooooo—oo—oo—rrruff!"

Caio stared.

"Arf! Arf! Awoooo!"

Aren watched with breathless concentration.

"Rrr—ruff!"

The performance continued.

"Arf—awoooo!"

"Yip!"

When Biscuit finally finished, he spun around, leaped back onto Aren’s lap, and barked excitedly, apparently applauding himself.

Aren responded with exactly the enthusiasm he’d hoped for.

"Good job, Biscuit!" She clapped so rapidly that her hands blurred. "I knew you could do it! See? It wasn’t that difficult at all!"

Caio sat beside them, wearing the perfectly blank expression of a man who had just witnessed something he had no intention of attempting to understand.

When both of them finally looked at him expectantly, he stared at the dog, then at Aren.

"That was... effortful."

Biscuit immediately fixed him with an offended glare over Aren’s shoulder.

Caio recognized that look.

The little bastard was preparing for an encore.

Before another concert could begin, Caio placed the wine bottle in front of Aren.

"I brought wine."

Then, as though it were merely an afterthought, he reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and withdrew a small purple package.

"And since I’m reasonably certain dogs don’t drink wine," he added with a faint smirk, "I got him this."

Aren’s attention snapped to the package instantly, and her entire face lit up.

"You got him blueberry yogurt? That’s his favorite flavor!"

She immediately turned toward Biscuit and spoke in a teasing voice.

"See? I told you Don Caio cares about you too."

’It’s only been a few days.’

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