Chapter 20

As the days went by, Althea and Mateo grew much closer than ever before. They were much closer now than they were before. Mateo had learnt a lot about her and Althea had learnt about him too. She was quite glad that Mateo appeared in her life in the moments she needed him the most.

There was nothing she couldn’t tell him because had become a part of her. He was so caring and understanding, a far cry from who his brother was. Sometimes, Althea wished that he was the one she got married to and not his brother who never cared about her existence. Althea found it odd that two brothers, related by blood, could be different.

If she had gotten married to Mateo, Althea knew that she could have had a very happy home but that was not to be so. Her fate was bound to the brother who treated her like trash. Sometimes, Xavier would travel for weeks, leaving her all alone and when he returned, he never bothered to talk to her about where he went.

Althea only got the information from the workers who talked about where he travelled to. Little did Althea know that it was in her favour because, in those weeks, she got to learn a whole lot about the Costello family.

Mateo proved to be a study guide, answering all of her questions without making her feel like she was pestering him. She couldn’t quite understand why he was so nice to her but whatever it was, she was quite glad that he was who he was and not like his brother.

‘’So you’re saying that the Costello is a very popular dynasty, dating back to the sixteenth century?’’ Althea asked in one of their meetings.

‘’Yep, it sure does. It even goes way back but that was the year the dynasty was recorded so that’s the date we follow.’’ Mateo said.

‘’Wow, that’s ancient,.’’ Althea said.

‘’’ It sure is and that’s why our family is one of the most respected in the whole country. No one would want to mess with us and if they do, the repercussions are great.’’ Mateo said.

Althea found this to be true because in times without numbers, she had witnessed how some of the leaders of the mafia dealt with their enemies. It was a scary sight and she never wanted to be in that situation.

‘’How come you’re different?’’ Althea asked.

‘’I don’t understand.’’ Mateo smiled.

He was peeling some oranges for both of them. Althea watched the long tendrils slide down from the fruit. The tendrils could be likened to snakes and she couldn't help but think that the Costello family were snakes. They could easily have their way anytime they liked. The only person that was different from them was Mateo.

‘’I mean, you’re a lot more different from your brother. Mateo is all broody and he never smiles while you’re full of smiles and you have a bubbly personality. You’re different you know.’’ Althea smiled, accepting the slice of orange Mateo offered her.

‘’Let’s just say I'm my person. You know, I do my things.’’ he laughed.

‘’Yeah right.’’ Althea smiled, rolling her eyes.

She remained quiet for a while and Mateo knew that something was troubling her in her heart. Judging from the confused expression on her face, he knew it was serious.

‘’Alright Althea, spit it out. What’s going on?’’ Mateo asked.

He placed the knife he had used in cutting the orange on the table, sitting back on his chair to have a better look at the woman he was friends with.

‘’I don’t know I feel it's personal though.’’ Althea chuckled.

‘’Come off Althea, when have I ever gotten personal with you? You virtually know everything about me and my family so what’s bothering you in mind, tell me.’’ Mateo smiled.

‘’Okay. I know Andrew Costello is your father but you’ve never made mention of your mother and so I was wondering, is she dead?’’ Althea asked.

Mateo smiled, shaking his head in the negative. He knew questions like this were bound to arise and he was fully ready to answer them. After all, he was her friend and he owed her transparency if their friendship was to progress.

‘’My mother is very much alive,’’ he said.

‘’Oh, that’s great to hear.’’ Althea smiled.

She didn’t know what she'd have done if his answer came out to be negative. It was a good thing he still had a mother, someone he could talk to.

‘’You’re my friend Althea so there’s nothing I can hide from you. I’ve come to trust you and respect you a lot so that's why I can confidently tell you this.’’ Mateo said.

Althea sucked the juice from her orange, placing the shaft on the plate. She was interested in what Mateo had to say and couldn’t wait to hear it all.

‘’Okay Mateo, what’s up?’’ Althea asked.

‘’Well, my mother was impregnated by my father and then I was taken away from her custody when I was only a baby.’’ he began.

Althea felt sad for him. No child should ever be taken away from either of their parents. She didn’t know why Andrew did this but considering the kind of person he was, she wasn’t surprised that he was capable of doing something like this. He was heartless even to family.

‘’I’m so sorry to hear that Mateo,’’ Althea said, giving his hands a gentle squeeze.

‘’Sorry? It's fine Althea.’’ Mateo chuckled.

‘’Well, I didn’t know what else to say.’’ Althea laughed.

Mateo smiled, picking up another orange. This time around, he handed it to Althea to peel. According to him, it was a friendship fruit. It was an act that would solidify their relationship. Althea didn’t know what that meant but she just decided to go along with it.

‘’So… my mother. They had a court case on whose custody I should be in and due to my father’s influence, he won. That’s why most of the time, I'm always here. I still go to see her from time to time though as is expected of me.’’ he chuckled.

‘’Yes Mateo, that is what you’re supposed to do and I’m glad that you have a good relationship with her.’’ Althea smiled.

‘’I’m sorry to say this but I think Costello is cruel to have used his power and influence on this. You were only a child and the best thing to do at that moment was to live with the infant child with his mother. It's a really cruel thing to do.’’ Althea said.

‘’Don’t even sugarcoat it, Althea, it's a cruel thing to do but apparently, my father didn’t think it was,’’ Mateo said.

‘’I’m sorry you had to go through that but I’m just glad you visit her from time to time.’’ Althea smiled, handing him a portion of the fruit.

‘’That’s the little I can do. Though they do not have a good relationship, it's much better than not even speaking with each other at all.’’ Mateo said.

Althea realized that he was right. She had a strained relationship with her father over what he did and she understood what it meant to be estranged from one’s parents. She was quite happy that Mateo’s relationship wasn’t like that.

‘’So away from my family and their crazy lifestyle, let’s talk about you.’’ Mateo smiled.

‘’Me? There’s nothing much about me that needs knowing. I’m just there.’’ Althea laughed.

‘’Oh, that’s nonsense. I’m sure there’s a whole lot about you that I still don’t know.’’ Mateo laughed, throwing seed at her.

‘’Alright then, what do you want to know but I can assure you that you’ll get bored on time.’’ Elizabeth laughed.

Mateo thought about what he could ask her and he settled on asking her about her education. She hadn’t talked about that ever since they became closer.

‘’So about your education. What school or schools did you attend?’’ Mateo asked.

There was an uncomfortable look in her eyes and he knew that something was wrong. She wasn’t usually like this and Mateo realized that it stemmed from the fact that he had asked her that question.

‘’I’ve never really been to school before. I was homeschooled by my Aunt for as long as I can remember.’’ Althea sighed.

Mateo was angry, livid instead. What he was hearing was something that happened a long time ago and not in this present generation.

‘’I didn’t know that the main reason was to shut me away from the whole world and prepare me for a marriage I knew nothing about,’’ Althea said, sadly.

The more she talked about it, the more she became sad. Sharing her story with Mateo opened her eyes all the more to see what reality entailed.

Mateo was fuming with anger but he decided to remain quiet. He couldn’t understand why someone as beautiful and innocent as she was would be denied the opportunity to go to school all because her father couldn’t grant a request.

He decided to keep quiet and listen to everything she said. He was boiling with anger over the injustice of it all.

Soon, they got called for lunch. Mateo decided to reign down on his temper and just take things the way it was whilst trying to find a solution. The quiche was served for dessert and soon, they both launched into their childhood tales.