Chapter 26

Tired and worn out due to the activities she had engaged in, Althea retired to bed later that evening for her evening nap. She hadn’t been so tired as she was now. It just seemed like she was carrying a hundred-ton brick on her body which left her feeling weak.

Having a nap was the best thing to do and she wasted no time getting into bed. Soon, she was out like a light.

Two hours later, Althea was jerked awake by some noise coming from downstairs. She groaned, rolling on the bed to catch some more sleep but that proved to be a difficult thing to do because the noise was getting more intense. No matter how much she tried to resist the noise, it was a steady reminder to her that sleep wasn’t coming back.

She couldn’t quite understand why this was happening in the evening so she decided to take a nap. It was odd but she realized that in the Costello family, nothing was ever odd. Anything was bound to happen at any time and that was something she was used to.

This, however, was strange because for one, it was already late and by all standards, everyone within the mansion except for the night guards should be in bed.

Frustrated by this, Althea blinked her eyes open, adjusting them to the night lights she had switched on the previous night. The noise was steadily getting more intense and she just wished she could just shut them up.

‘’What in the world!’’ Althea hissed.

She sat up in bed, squeezing her eyes shut. She ruffled her hair, staring into space. She was still woozy from sleep after being jerked awake.

The noise was getting louder by the minute. Althea had no idea what was going on because this was the first time something like this would be happening.

"What’s going on?’’ she murmured.

Curiosity got the best of her and without wasting any more time, she climbed out of bed. She stretched, yawning as she tried to get the stiffness away from her body. She wasn’t fully rested yet but she knew that would have to be for a later time. For now, all that was on her mind was what was going on downstairs.

With tippy toes, she made her way downstairs. Since she wanted to find out what was going on, she had to be extra careful. She didn’t want whoever or whatever it was to know that she was about to check.

It was now late into the night and the moon was out. The rays from the moon cast shadows on every part of the house, giving the house a haunted look. The overhanging curtains in the hallways appeared to be scarier than they were. The forefathers of the Costello dynasty whose photo frames aligned the walls seemed to be staring at her with a haunted expression on their faces.

" Is it me or is the house a bit scarier?’’ Althea murmured.

She opened the door leading to the gallery silently. She was quite glad that it made no noise which would have no doubt alerted whoever it was to where she was. She made her way towards the gallery, a place that could give her a good view of everything that was happening. From here, she could see everything that was going on.

To her greatest surprise, Althea saw Mateo and a few other guys following after him. They were coming from the main doors of the mansion. This left her more inquisitive as she tried to understand what they were up to. There were no clues about what they were doing which left Althea more confused.

"What’s up with you Mateo?’’ Althea murmured.

As she stared at them, Althea couldn’t deny the fact that these men were stunningly handsome. They were good looking and what’s more, they all seemed to be in Mateo’s age group. There were about five, including Mateo, who took the lead.

There wasn’t a meeting that was to be held that Althea didn’t know of and their presence here left her wondering if perhaps there was something she had missed. They were talking in really loud tones which had her smiling.

Boys would always be boys. She had never seen a boy who spoke in low tones. It wasn’t normal at all. The subject of their conversation was their favourite sportsmen and women. Even while growing up, Althea knew that this was a favourite thing for most men to talk about.

"Are you kidding me? We took first place last season.’’ one of them said.

His voice was so loud that Althea found herself wondering if that was how he usually spoke. His hair was jet black and long and he tied it in a cute man bun. Althea was fascinated by how much they spoke and how they flowed along with each other. She couldn’t explain it but she felt at peace just by watching them.

She had never seen a group of boys this large before and watching them left her feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. It was a good feeling, one that she always wanted to feel.

Just then, Mateo sighted her from below. Althea tried hiding from his sight but he had already seen her.

"Oh great,’’ she murmured.

" Althea,’’ Mateo called.

There was no point in hiding now Mateo had already seen her and she also knew that his friends had seen her too. With a sheepish expression on her face, Althea walked out of hiding. Mateo grinned at her, beckoning her to come downstairs.

Shyly, she made her way downstairs. All the boys with him stared at her and she found herself feeling nervous. The last time all eyes were on her was during the wedding and that was because she was getting married to the most popular man in the whole country.

This time around, it was a different feeling in the sense that she and Mateo had a sort of friendship bond that no one else could understand and with his friends staring at her, she didn’t quite know what to think.

The guys whisper among themselves about how beautiful she was and Althea finds herself blushing. Her cheeks were a bright shade of pink. They didn’t even bother to lower their voices as they talked about her.

‘’She’s so pretty and her hair. Wow!’’ one of them said.

He had a dreamy look in his eyes and if it were to be in other situations, Althea would have fallen for his words but this time was different. She was married to Xavier and the realization of that had her halting in her thoughts.

If he knew the thought she had towards his friends, he would have her head faster than she could say her name. Not that he cared about her but Althea had come to know that he didn’t tolerate anything remotely related to any competition of any sort.

Mateo on the other hand was jealous about this. He alone wanted to put a smile on Althea’s face. He didn’t want anyone else to do that and seeing his friends do that to the girl he was beginning to fall for left him angry.

‘’Alright… alright, that’s enough,’’ Mateo growled.

‘’Matty Matty is jealous.’’ one of the boys laughed.

‘’Matty?’’ Althea laughed.

That was the cutest name she had ever heard. His friends called him that just proved to her what a soft human he was.

‘’Ha Ha Ha… very funny Jason,’’ Mateo said, rolling his eyes.

‘’Althea, please meet my childhood friends. Jason, Connor and Alex.’’ Mateo said.

Jason had short blond hair that was cut very close to his skin. He was tall and huge just like the other guys. Connor, the one who had the long black hair and had spoken some moments ago smiled down at her. Crisscrossing tattoos filled his left, giving him that bad boy vibe Althea was already used to.

Alex on the other hand had a laid-back expression on his face but Althea wasn’t fooled by that. Even in his cool exterior, his eyes missed nothing. He was also as tall as his other friends. There was a small piercing by the side of his lips that just made him all the more handsome.

Althea couldn’t understand how people could be so handsome. They were like gods and their faces looked as if they were carved.

‘’Nice to meet you all.’’ she smiled.

‘’Same here pretty.’’ Connor grinned.

Soon, they sat down at the dining table for a late-night dinner while chattering about everything and everyone. Alex, who appeared to be laid back, was a very warm person to talk to and Althea found herself loving the boys more and more. In the few moments she had been speaking to them, she had learnt a lot of things about them that fascinated and intrigued her.

‘’I hope you guys visit regularly.’’ she smiled.

‘’Of course, you can always count on us to come here and if Mateo decides to stop us, we’ll wrestle him to the ground.’’ Alex laughed.

The others chuckled, nodding their heads in support of what he said. They left soon with Althea Mateo waving at them.

‘’I like your friends.’’ Althea smiled.

‘’Then prepared to be wowed when next they come.’’ Mateo grinned.