Chapter 21

‘’Lord knows I’m stuffed.’’ Althea sighed.

She had eaten enough food to feed three people. Mateo on the other hand had eaten like a lion, devouring everything on his plate. The quiche they had for dinner was very tasty, one of the best Althea had ever had.

Whoever had cooked it, cooked it to perfection and she couldn’t wait to have another taste the moment she got the chance.

‘’I’ll like to show you somewhere,’’ Mateo said.

‘’Hmm, where?’’ Althea asked.

She didn’t know where this mysterious place was but whatever it was, she was prepared to go with him.

‘’We’ll be taking a drive to the canyon, on the outskirts of the city,’’ he said.

Althea was excited to hear this. She had heard so much about the canyon and she couldn’t wait to see what it looked like. Mateo was happy over her excitement. He was always happy to see her excited and he secretly plotted ways by which he could make her happier.

‘’Thank you, Mateo. You don’t know how I’ve been longing to go out.’’ Althea said.

‘’Then we need to prepare a picnic basket because we might miss dinner and we wouldn’t want to be hungry,’’ Mateo said.

‘’That’s okay. I’ll ask a maid to help us with a basket then we can be on our way.’’ Althea smiled.

She rose on her feet, heading towards the kitchen where the maids were busy tending to one thing or the other. Mateo on the other hand quickly rushed upstairs to have a change of clothes.

Soon, they were done and ready to go. They made their way to the impressive cat garage downstairs. Althea had been to the garage times without number but each visit always left her amazed.

The Costello’s had the most impressive car garage in the whole country. Filled with cars from different makers around the world, nothing was missing.

‘’I usually forget what a beauty this is.’’ Althea smiled.

Mateo got into one of the latest Bently they had, driving out of the garage and easing the car into the highway.

There was little to no traffic being that it wasn’t the usual rush hour. The wind on her face was bliss as she welcomed it with open arms. Being out in the open, with the wind beating her face was a far cry from when she was in the mansion, locked up in her room.

The sun was gradually setting as they stepped out of Mateo's car upon getting to the canyon. For several minutes, Mateo stood in silence as he watched Althea gush about how much she loved nature and the setting sun. She was completely oblivious to the fact that he was watching her.

At that moment, Althea was like a child, free and open to exploring what nature had for her and at that moment Mateo felt drawn to her.

‘’I just love how the sun sets over the horizon. It's a beautiful sight to behold.’’ Althea said.

‘’Yes, it's really beautiful, just like you are.’’ Mateo chuckled.

Althea hit his chest playfully before going over to the basket to grab the basket and the blanket. She had a feeling that they would spend some time here and so, she wanted to make sure they were very comfortable.

‘’So tell me what plans do you have for the future?’’ Althea asked.

She had always been curious about what he would do later in life. She knew he wouldn’t remain in the house or even the country for that matter. He needed to go out and explore and what better way to do that than by going to other countries?

‘’Well, I'm not quite sure yet. I’m just going to take my life one at a time. No pressure right?’’ Mateo asked.

‘’No pressure.’’ Althea smiled.

They stayed in comfortable silence for a while, each with their thoughts. Althea hadn’t noticed that Mateo had gotten much closer to her than how he was precious moments.

‘’Do you miss home?’’ he asked.

Althea knew what he meant. He was asking if she missed her aunty and her father and everyone that were present in her childhood. At that moment, she didn’t know what to think or feel. She didn’t know if she missed the people she has spent most of her life with. If she was to put a name to it, it was a bittersweet affair.

‘’I guess so. Although, I don’t blame them for doing what they did to me. In their sense of reasoning, they probably thought that that was the best thing to do at that time.’’ Althea said.

The look in her eyes gave nothing away and Mateo desperately wanted to know what she was thinking. She was good at hiding her emotions but not this time, he wanted to know what she thought.

‘’So you miss them?’’ he pressed.

He was now very much closer to her. She still hadn’t noticed it yet because she was engrossed in the conversation and the setting sun. It was really beautiful sitting within the canyons and watching the sun sink into the horizon.

If she had her way, she could have visited this place every single day but she knew that wasn’t going to be possible because as soon as Xavier returned, everything was going to change and not necessarily for good.

‘’Well, I don’t know if I miss him but the feeling of longing is there,’’ she said.

Besides being beautiful, she was also very smart. She expertly evaded the question so that Mateo couldn’t discover what she was truly thinking. These two traits were enough to make him fall in love with her all the more.

‘’I guess he missed you too,’’ he said.

‘’My father?’’ Althea asked.

‘’Yes.’’ he simply said.

She scoffed, pulling out a pastry from the picnic basket. She bit into the apple pie, sighing in bliss as the delicious taste danced around her tongue. The chefs in the mansion knew just what to make and the right ingredients for us. This was heaven.

‘’I guess so but I do not care whether he misses me or not but thinking about it now, I know he doesn’t because he’s too guilty to think about that,’’ she said.

Mateo took a slice of pie from the basket, biting into his. As he munched, he thought about what she had said and he realized that she was right. What he did was something that was not easily forgivable. No matter how one looked at it, it was bad and he knew it would be a long time before she forgave him, that is if she ever forgives him.

‘’Well, he’s still your father and he’s family so you have no choice but to forgive him.’’ Mateo smiled.

Althea shrugged, grabbing a bottle of water. She took gulps after gulps of the cool liquid, not quite realizing how thirsty she was.

‘’So what about you?’’ she asked.

‘’Me? What’s up with me?’’ Mateo asked with a confused expression on his face.

He didn’t quite know what she was driving at. Althea proved to always be a bag of surprises especially when they talked about things that affected them. It was like she knew every emotion that passed through you each time you talked to her.

‘’Are you going to forgive your father for taking you away from your mother at that age?’’ she asked.

That question was a loaded one and Mateo knew he had to be careful when answering it because he had a feeling that whatever he said was going to stay with her for a long time.

‘’Well, forgiveness is one thing and forgetting all about it is another thing so I guess I’m just going to live with it,’’ he said.

Althea smiled and he realized that he had just passed some kind of test. They didn’t know what it was but the realization warmed his heart to no end.

‘’You’re really smart you know.’’ Althea smiled.

Mateo was now so close to her that if she moved just a bit, they would be kissing. He breathed in her scent, getting more and closer to her.

‘’I guess we each have our story to tell.’’ she smiled.

‘’I guess so. No man is without a story.’’ Mateo said.

‘’Oh look at you. Mateo the philosopher.’’ Althea laughed.

She slipped her hair behind her and at that moment, Mateo tried to kiss her. Althea, startled by this, rose to her feet quickly, staring down at the man she had trusted.

Mateo felt hurt by how quickly she had moved but he decided to keep his emotions in check. He rose to his feet, staring at her. Althea felt awkward with what just happened and she didn’t quite know what to say or do.

‘’Mateo, you very well know that I am married. I’m married to your brother and having that kind of relationship with you is something that is not right,’’ she said politely.

‘’Yes, I know. I’m sorry,’’ he said.

‘’It's fine, I think we should get going. It's getting darker.’’

Together, they packed the picnic basket, heading towards the car. No words were said as each thought about the future of their friendship.