When Storms Collide

Chapter 3

The grand dining hall inside the Reign estate was just as beautiful and massive as people whispered about in the halls of power. Large crystal chandeliers hung low from the high ceiling like frozen, shining stars. They cast a soft, warm glow down onto the long mahogany table.

The table was completely dressed in fine white linen, expensive plates, and shiny silver cutlery. True elegance was everywhere you looked, and every single movement in this house was practiced with years of high-society rules. But beneath all the beauty, the tension in the room was thick and heavy.

The Galvez brothers and sisters were the very first to arrive at the hall.

Armando Rego Galvez stood right at the front of the group. His powerful posture made him look like a serious general leading an army. Beside him stood his sister, Valeria. She looked closely at the expensive paintings on the walls with the sharp, judging eye of a top fashion designer.

Maya walked into the room with smooth, effortless grace. Her pink lips were curved into a small, amused smile, keeping her dangerous charm tightly hidden for now.

Federico looked totally calm and collected as he tapped a finger against the side of his head, already looking around to check the security cameras and exits of the room. Young Miguel kept his body to the very back of the group, staying quiet, observant, and ready for anything.

As they walked closer toward the main house, a sudden movement outside the glass windows caught their attention. Their footsteps slowed down.

A sleek, expensive black car had just pulled up to the entrance. A woman stepped out into the dim light.

She held her dark suit jacket lazily in her left hand. Her right hand was casually holding a cigarette between her fingers.

She took one last, deep draw of smoke before dropping the cigarette onto the stone pavement. She crushed it hard beneath the heel of her black Louis Vuitton shoes.

Her long, wavy dark hair moved like black ink in the wind, framing a face that was both incredibly striking and completely impossible to read. Even from far away, her presence felt magnetic. She looked confident, deliberate, and entirely unapologetic.

The Galvez siblings found themselves unable to look away from her.

“Who is that supposed to be?” Federico asked, curiosity breaking through his usually quiet, neutral tone.

“Maybe she is one of the Reign siblings,” Valeria suggested, her eyes still locked on the mysterious woman outside. “Or maybe she is just a very close friend of the family.” But even Valeria did not sound totally sure of her own words. Nobody invited just a regular friend to a secret, high-level meeting like this one.

Maya’s lips curled up into a wider smile. “Whoever she is, she walks like she completely owns every single room she steps into. She is absolutely gorgeous.”

Before they could think about it any longer, a guard walked up and opened the large double doors for them. A polite maid gave them a respectful bow and guided the Galvez family straight toward the grand dining area.

A few moments later, the Reign brothers and sisters entered the dining hall from a completely separate side hallway.

Flavio came in first, wearing a dark, perfectly tailored suit. His face was as unreadable as a stone wall. Gianna followed right behind him with quiet, watchful eyes, immediately scanning the room.

Ambrose walked in silently, his sharp eyes observing every tiny movement the Galvez family made. Regina kept herself just one step behind her brothers, a look of calm mischief hidden behind her quiet face.

And then, Lizandra Davina Reign had finally arrived.

She walked with slow, easy grace, her suit jacket now draped casually over her shoulder. Her entrance was just as dramatic as her brothers and sisters always expected it to be. She was calm, unreadable, and always two steps ahead of everyone else.

As both families gathered at the edge of the dining hall, a third set of heavy footsteps echoed from a different hallway. And then, with an air of quiet power, Catalina Mitre Galvez and Darius Lucas Reign entered the room together—holding hands.

It felt like time slowed down completely. All of their children froze in place.

Darius had a gentle, soft smile on his face as he looked at each of his children one by one. Catalina looked radiant, beautiful, and completely calm. She gave a firm nod, as if she had practiced this exact moment in her heart a thousand times before.

"This is the moment we have all been waiting for," Catalina began. Her voice was smooth, steady, and filled with warmth. "Tonight, we introduce our families to one another. We are not meeting as two separate bloodlines anymore... but as one single family."

The silence that followed her words was incredibly thick and heavy. No one knew what to say.

Lizandra was the very first person to step forward. Keeping herself completely calm, She looked straight into her father’s eyes with quiet confidence.

"Then let us sit down and eat," She said, a polite, composed smile forming on her lips. "We have a lot of things to discuss tonight, and a lot of things we need to understand about each other."

And with that, everyone gathered around the long mahogany table. The expensive wine began to flow, and the silver cutlery gleamed under the crystal lights. The Reign family and the Galvez family sat down together—not just as a future family, but as the powerful leaders of two massive empires learning how to share a single crown.

~~

The clinking of silver forks against heavy ceramic plates was the only sound for the first few minutes. At the long mahogany table, the two families sat facing each other like two armies paused before a battle. The food was excellent—rich Spanish chorizo rice mixed with classic Italian pasta—but nobody was truly tasting it. Everyone was too busy watching.

At the center of the table sat Darius and Catalina. They ate calmly, occasionally leaning in to whisper to each other. To look at them, one would think this was just a normal, happy dinner. But the space around their children was charged with electricity.

Flavio sat directly across from Armando. The two eldest sons, the two new rulers, did not look at their food. They looked at each other. Flavio’s posture was stiff and cold, his hands moving with slow precision. Armando matched his silence, his dark eyes tracking every small move Flavio made. It was a silent test of strength. Neither man blinked. Neither man showed weakness.

Next to them, the tension took a different shape. Valeria Galvez gently lifted her wine glass, her sharp eyes locking onto Gianna Reign.

"The linen is beautiful, Gianna," Valeria said, breaking the silence with a smooth, polite voice. "Italian silk, I assume? My fashion houses in Madrid use a similar weave."

Gianna offered a small, formal smile that did not reach her eyes. "It is from an old family mill near Florence. We prefer things that are made to last. Things that do not tear easily under pressure."

Valeria’s smile sharpened. "A wise choice. In my line of work, we learn that even the most beautiful things can rip if you pull the wrong thread."

Across the table, Regina let out a quiet snort and went back to looking at the small digital screen hidden under her napkin. Ambrose sat beside her, his medical eyes focused on Federico’s hands. He noticed the slight tremor in the artist’s fingers, the tiny cuts on his knuckles, and the faint smell of oil paint mixed with turpentine.

"You paint with your left hand, but you fight with your right," Ambrose stated flatly, not looking up from his steak.

Federico paused, his fork hovering in the air. He looked at the quiet Reign doctor. "How do you know that?"

"The calluses on your right knuckles are dense. Impact scars," Ambrose replied, chewing slowly. "But the muscle tension in your left wrist is from fine motor control. Holding a brush for too long. I fix broken hands for a living, Federico. I know what violence looks like on the skin."

Federico stared at him for a second, then a slow, dark grin spread across his face. "I like him," he muttered to Maya, who sat next to him.

Maya, however, was not paying attention to her brother. Her eyes were fixed on Lizandra, who sat directly across from her.

Lizandra had not touched her wine. She was cutting her food with a small, sharp knife that didn't belong to the house silverware. It was a personal blade, silver with a crown carved into the metal handle. Maya watched the blade slide through the meat with effortless ease.

"That is a very pretty knife," Maya said, her voice dropping into a low, teasing purr. "Do you take it everywhere with you, Lizandra? Even to family dinners?"

Lizandra stopped cutting. She tilted her head, her wavy black hair falling over her shoulder, and looked straight at Maya. Her eyes were completely empty of fear.

"I take it places where I think I might need to cut away things that don't belong," Lizandra replied softly. The threat was quiet, but it was there, hanging in the air like heavy smoke.

Maya’s smile didn't fade. Instead, her eyes brightened with excitement. She loved a challenge, and the dangerous Reign sister was proving to be a very big one.

At the very end of the table, the two youngest members of the empires sat in complete silence. Miguel Galvez had his notebook open next to his plate, quietly writing down notes about the layout of the Reign dining hall. Fabriz Reign sat next to him, his arms crossed, watching Miguel’s pen move.

"Your security pattern outside is weak on the east wall," Miguel muttered, not looking up from his pad. "Too much blind space between the cameras."

Fabriz didn't move a muscle. "The cameras are a distraction for thieves," he whispered back. "There are three snipers in the trees on that side. If you walk into the blind space, you don't get caught on film. You just stop breathing."

Miguel stopped writing. He slowly turned his head to look at Fabriz. Fabriz gave him a tiny, cold nod. Miguel closed his notebook with a soft click and picked up his fork again.

Finally, Darius set his wine glass down on the table. The heavy crystal made a sharp *thud* against the wood, and instantly, every single conversation stopped. The siblings all turned their heads toward the head of the table.

"As you can see," Darius said, his commanding voice filling the room, "our businesses are already finding common ground. The Galvez family controls the ports in Spain. The Reign family controls the distribution lines through Europe. Together, we are an unbreakable wall."

Catalina reached out and placed her warm hand over Darius’s iron grip. "But tonight is not just about business," she added, looking at the children with soft but firm eyes. "Tomorrow, we begin the process of moving. The Galvez family will be moving into the Reign estate permanently. We will share this home. We will share our lives."

A collective freeze passed through the younger generation. Moving in together meant no more distance. No more hiding behind separate walls. They were going to live under the same roof, breathing the same air, keeping their weapons in the same halls.

Flavio looked at Armando. Armando looked back at Flavio.

"We will prepare the southern wing for you," Flavio said, his voice flat and formal.

"We will bring our own security," Armando countered smoothly.

"That won't be necessary," Lizandra cut in, her voice slicing through the polite talk as she stood up from the table. She wiped her silver blade with a cloth napkin and tucked it away into her jacket. "The Reign house is fully protected. No one gets in. And no one gets out without permission."

She gave Catalina a polite, cold bow of her head. "Thank you for the dinner, Mother."

The word felt like ice on her tongue. Without waiting for a response, Lizandra turned and walked out of the grand dining hall, her black heels clicking loudly against the marble floor until the sound disappeared into the shadows of the house.

Catalina watched her go, a small, sad sigh escaping her lips. Darius simply tightened his grip on his future wife's hand. The merger had begun, but the real war for the house was just getting started.