Chapter 25

Although the night, Althea was watching a movie. She slept very late. At first, she tried to sleep, but when sleep didn't come, she decided to download a movie on Netflix.

She spent so much time trying to decide which one she would watch. When she finally decided and settled on a romance movie, she got carried away by how interesting the movie was, and only fell asleep towards the end of the movie.

The next morning, she was awoken by one of the maids to prepare for breakfast. Surprisingly, even though she got just a few hours of sleep, she wasn't tired. She got up and went to freshen up, taking her time in the bathroom. These days, she didn't rush. She took time to take care of herself every morning and night like a proper lady.

When she was done, she looked for what to wear and settled on a yellow dress that stopped just below her knee. The dress was an A-cut dress that was fitted up and had a flair from just below her waist, so it showed she was part, but not in an obvious way. Althea had begun to feel more confident and beautiful about herself in recent times.
She decided to wear her hair down, so she just moisturized it and brushed it. When she was done, she looked in the mirror, and she felt so pretty. Satisfied with her look, she picked up her phone to go downstairs, then she noticed she had missed calls from Xavier. She was a bit surprised, Xavier hardly called her. Even though he said he got her a phone so they could Communicate, he rarely ever did. In the last text she sent to him, he didn't even bother to reply.

Xavier picked up the call almost immediately it rang, and Althea was a little surprised.

"Hello, Althea?" He said before she spoke.

"Good morning Xavier, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay, how are you?"

"I'm alright, sorry I missed your call, I must have been sleeping when you called."

"That's alright, I just wanted to check on you and know how you're doing."

Thoughts of what happened between her and Mateo flood back in her memory, but she pushes the thought aside, deciding not to tell Xavier what transpired. She has a feeling that if she does, it will brew trouble between the two brothers, and she doesn't want to be the instigator of that.

"I'm good, thank you. How's your trip going?"

"It's alright, a bit stressful. I can't wait to be back." Althea is surprised at the way Xavier responds to her cordially. He's not his usual cold self, and it is surprising. She wonders if it's because he's in a good mood, or if something happened that made him happy. She just smiles to herself. Even though she hated to admit it, she likes when Xavier is a bit friendly to her.

"Are you getting along with Mateo?" He asks, and her heart almost enters her throat. Then she remembers there's no way for him to know what happened. And even if he does, it's not as if she did anything wrong. It was Mateo who did something wrong.

"Yes I am, he's a joy to be with." She says

"Alright then, take care of yourself, Althea."

"Be safe." She responds, and then he cuts the call.

Althea can't help but wonder what happened with Xavier this morning. If he can be this cordial all the time, she would very much like it. It would be better for both of them. All that stuck-up attitude he has was just annoying and uncalled for. She was his wife. If he was going to be cold, it should be to the maids and servants, not to her.

She decided not to dwell on the thought anyway, and head downstairs for breakfast. Breakfast was simple. Avocado toast, with scrambled eggs and hotdogs, baked beans, and a cup of tea. The way it was arranged, it looked so delicious. She dugs in immediately she sat down, and a while later, she was done.

After breakfast, Althea went down to the greenhouse, as was becoming a ritual for her. Sometimes she got there before the sun showed on them, and she got to see them open and bloom. This time, the sun was already out, and they were already in fool bloom, looking so beautiful. She thought of the garden back at home at her aunt's house. It was tiny compared to this vastness, but she missed it. She used to cultivate and prune that one by herself. Here, all that job was done by the gardeners.

Althea just sat there admiring them when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked back and saw that it was Mateo. She smiled heartily at him as he came and took a seat beside her.

She's full of energy that morning, and also really happy, so she settles into a conversation with Mateo, and he replies to her with that same full energy. After a while, they decide to take a walk around the mansion, still chatting easily.

She told him about the movie she watched the previous night, and recommend that he should see it too since it was really interesting.

All the while as they talked, Mateo just kept admiring Althea's beauty. Being with her, his heart felt so warm. He wanted to hold her hand but decided against it. He didn't want to ruin the moment or make things get awkward between them again. Then Mateo informs her that he has to leave her for the day.

"I'll be going to see my old friends, so I'll be gone for the whole day. It's been a while since I saw them, and I haven't seen any of them since I got back."

"Alright then, have fun, Mateo."

"Don't miss me too much okay?" He says playfully, and she laughs, hitting his arm lightly.

"Don't think so highly of yourself, I won't miss you one beat." She says, and Mateo laughs. They walk back to the greenhouse, and he leaves her to go.

While Althea is alone again at the greenhouse, her mind drifts back to the phone call she had with Xavier. She wonders if she did the right thing by not telling him what happened between her and Mateo. She can't help but worry a little. She knows that Xavier will be very upset if he finds out, so she decides that what she did was right.

There was no need to tell him. Mateo already apologized, and so far, he has kept to his word. Nothing of that sort had repeated itself. Plus, more than not wanting the brothers to fight, she didn't want to lose the friendship she now has with Mateo. He was a really good company to have around. Very funny, and easy to have a conversation with.

She later goes to the Library when she's tired of being at the greenhouse. She occupied herself with reading books, and intermittently seeing a movie.

Since she had nothing to do, Althea decided to call her aunt and know how she was fairing. They talked for a while, and Althea felt very satisfied to know that her aunt was doing okay. Even though she didn't ask, her aunt gave her information on how her dad was fairing. She just listened.

She didn't comment on it when her aunt was done talking, she just changed the topic. Her aunt asked her how Xavier was doing, and Althea told her he was on a business trip, but his younger brother Mateo was around.

"You're still holding a grudge against your father Althea, when are you going to forgive him?" Her aunt asked.

"I'm not holding a grudge against him, I just didn't have anything to say. I've forgiven him."

"Althea-" her aunt started to say, but Althea cut her off.

"Look, aunt Tina, I'm not holding a grudge against my father anymore, but we don't have a relationship. We haven't had a relationship before. Other than that he's my father, and I'm his daughter, we don't have anything in common. So don't expect me to get excited when he is mentioned, that would take a while." Althea told her aunt.

Her aunt understood her and felt she was right, so she dropped the topic, and they talked about other things.

After she dropped the call, Althea went back to her room. She was bored out of her mind. She opened her closet randomly and started arranging. She tried on a few clothes he had never worn, to see how they looked on her. They all fit her perfectly. She saw that she didn't have a lot of jewellery to go with her dresses, so she made a mental note to tell Xavier when he got back home.

A while later, a maid came to call her down to have lunch. She went down and ate, then retired back to her room.