43.

Xander

 

I am panicking. I am nervous for Damien; everything has to go perfectly tonight. We arrive at the restaurant and Damien is waiting for us outside. He looks calm, like always, but I know he’s nervous. He is wearing royal blue, a white shirt and white Nike sneakers. He seemed to be playing with a box in his hand.




“Damien, you look amazing,” Nikki says as she gives him a hug.




“Thank you,” he says with a smile.




I give him a hug, “Are you ready?”




He nods, “I’m excited and nervous. X sent me a text saying they are 20 minutes away.”




“That’s great, so what was the excuse?”




“Just a nice family dinner,” he chuckles.




Nikki and I laugh.




“I can’t wait to see the look on his face,” Nikki says, “He’s very difficult to surprise, but this plan is foolproof.”




“Let’s head inside and get everybody ready,” I say, “Can’t keep the guests waiting.”




We all step inside, and we are greeted by my mother, sister, and Nikki’s mom, as well as Chantel.




“Mom, Jessica, thank you so much for coming, you both look stunning,” I say as I hug and kiss them both on the cheek.




“You look good too, baby,” my mom says, and I blush.




Nikki greets my mom and Jessica, who doesn’t seem to like that very much, but I ignore it, I didn’t want to mess up Damien’s dinner. Conversations flow at the bar as everyone waits for Charles to arrive, Nikki and Chantel are laughing about something, and Damien and the manager of the restaurant are talking in another corner of the room. I take the chance to speak to Jessica.




“Hey, little sis,”




She looks up at me and smiles, “Hey, big bro. I still can’t believe you are my brother.”




I laugh, “I can’t believe I have a little sister.”




“So, what’s life like, being you?”




“Crazy. Interesting and challenging for the most part.”




She nods, “I thought being a billionaire, president, and all that made life easy.”




I laugh, “No, it makes it worse. It makes you a target, it’s like walking around with a sign that says shoot me, and trust me someone did.”

Her eyes widen, “Oh shit, sorry. That was insensitive of me.”




“It’s okay, I did it to protect the ones I love, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if anything had happened to Nikki or anyone in that room.”




“But Nikki is the reason you almost died though,” she says.




I sigh, “No she wasn’t.”




Jessica chuckles, “Wow, she lured you here, got involved in her mess and then almost got you killed.”




My jaw clenches as I try to keep my anger at bay, I wasn’t going to let her speak ill of my wife. Nikki did nothing wrong, she is in fact a victim in this situation.




“For all I know, she could be after your money.” She adds, taking a sip of her champagne.




“Jessica, I will not play into your childish jealousy. Nikki has her own money, which she’s worked for and still is. So, if you have nothing nice to say about your future sister-in-law, don’t say anything at all, understood?”




She gives me a smirk and nods, “Fair enough.”




She walks away from me and goes to our mother; something tells me that her childish behaviour is only beginning, and I have to do everything to protect my wife.




I order a whiskey and coke and walk over to my wife; I wrap my arm around her waist, and she leans into my touch. I kiss the side of her head.




“Chantel, you look gorgeous by the way, as always,” I greet.




She gives me a cheeky grin, “Mr Forsythe, are you flirting with me in front of your wife?”




I laugh, “Maybe I am, but I’ve got to acknowledge beauty when I see it, right baby?”




“Oh yes baby, and she is looking good,” Nikki smirks, “Give us a little twirl Chantel.”




Chantel gives us a twirl and Nikki hypes her up and smacks her ass in the process.




Chantel laughs, “You guys are an odd bunch.”




“We take pride in that,” Nikki replies, “So why couldn’t your new boo come?”




I raise a brow, “New boo?”




“Yeah, baby, Chantel has a new boyfriend now.”




“Congratulations, your best friend here, forgot to spill the tea about it,”




“Nikki, you’re a horrible wife,” Chantel scolds, “But thank you, and he had to travel to Cape Town for work, but when he returns, we will plan a double date, our treat.”




Nikki nudges me and wiggles her eyebrows, “Nigga got deep pockets.”




I laugh and shake my head.




“Charles is here,” Damien announces, “Everyone in your seats, act normal.”




“He is definitely nervous,” Nikki whispers and I usher us to our seats.




We are all seated and Charles walks in with X behind him, Damien walks towards me, and they share a quick kiss, and a few words are exchanged.




“Hey everyone, sorry I’m late. You know, a girl like me needs at least four hours to look this good,” he says, and everyone laughs.




Damien gives me the signal and I stand up, “Thank you, Charles, for being fashionably late as always, but thank you for coming everyone. We are just here to celebrate life and just catch up, and also, we have a surprise announcement before dessert.”




“I know what it is,” Charles says.




“Don’t you dare, Dante,” I warn.




Everyone laughs and the dinner commences.




Well into the main course, Damien pulls me to the bar, he looks nervous.




“It’s almost time,” he says, looking over at Charles.




I smile, “Yes, it is, are you okay? Do you need anything?”




He shakes his head, “I just wanted to say thank you. For everything, your blessing, planning this and just being a good son to me and your mom.”




I chuckle, “You guys mean everything to me, I’d do anything for you.”



We share a hug, and he leaves me, he takes Charles by the hand, and they go outside to the balcony. I walk over to Nikki, and she gives me a wide grin, I laugh because I knew she couldn’t wait for the lights on the balcony to come on.




We all quietly gather by the door, and we watch anxiously.







“Charles, I just wanted to say thank you. You have been more than a blessing to me. You’ve shown me love, shown me patience, forgiveness, and a lot more, and I don’t see myself with anyone but you. You are the first person to convince me that to adopt a grown-ass man to be our child, and I’ve had fun raising him,”




Charles laughs, “We spoil him too much though,”




I roll my eyes and smile.




Damien laughs, “He’s our only son, baby.”




Damien goes on one knee and pulls out the box, and on cue, the lights turn on and Charles gasps.




“Oh my gosh,” he says in disbelief. Tears welled in his eyes.




“Charles, would you do me the honour of being my husband?”




Charles remains quiet, and my heart starts beating because this is the defining moment, he could choose to run, and Damien would be heartbroken.




Charles looks down at Damien and shakes his head, “I can’t.”




Oh, no.




Damien looks defeated, but Charles only laughs.




“I’m messing with you, yes, I’ll marry you!”




I let out a sigh of relief and everyone rejoices. Damien slides the ring onto Charles's finger and stands on his feet and Charles jumps into his arms, almost knocking him over, but he stands firm. The photographer snaps pictures of the lovely couple. Nikki and I looked at each other and couldn’t be happier.