50.

Xander

“Home sweet home,” I sigh, as I got into the house.




Today was the last day and everything was finally sorted, I was no longer the president and I had appointed the new CEO of my dad’s company. Sold my mansions and only left one apartment incase my wife and I needed to visit. I was officially cutting all ties with America.




“What time do we leave tomorrow?”




“I made flight bookings for midnight,” Charles replies, “Unless that’s too late.”




I shake my head, “That is perfect, I didn’t want to be here when the movers came.”




“I can’t believe this is the end of your villain era, who would have thought?”




Damien walks in with the shopping bags and goes into the kitchen, and I follow behind him. “




“Tonight, we feast like kings,” Damien says, “I’ve got pork belly, ribs, steak, beer, whiskey, lamb chops. All meat, no carbs, no salads.”




“I have a feeling we might regret this,” Charles says with a laugh.




“We’ll nurse our hangovers on the plane baby, and we will be celebrating us men, we’ve come from far. This is our farewell parties to our former selves.”




I laugh, “You know what, you’re right.”




Damien grins, “I know, now go start up the grill and let’s get this party started.”




I look over at Charles and he doesn’t seem to keen on what’s happening. So, I pull him with me to the balcony to get the grill started.




“What’s wrong?”




He sighs, “He’s been acting weird lately.”




Crap.




“What do you mean?”




He steps closer to me, “He seems jumpy, nervous and he’s on his phone a lot, texting and sometimes on calls and he can’t look me in the eyes when he’s talking to me.”




I hum, “Maybe he’s going through something, and he doesn’t know how to tell you, or he isn’t ready to tell you.”




“Maybe, I just hope he isn’t getting cold feet,”




I chuckle, “Oh I doubt that, he is madly in love with you, maybe it’s a personal matter. Getting married is a big deal, maybe he’s dealing with relatives and having to explain to those traditional aunties and uncles how things are gonna go and what not.”




I huffs, “I can’t believe people haven’t accepted same sex marriages yet and I understand.”




“I can’t either but what can you do Charles. He’s family is probably not as accepting as yours is, I know Uncle Gio was very happy about your engagement.”




Charles laughs, “He really was, he even offered to help plan the wedding and also Uncle Gio and Aunty Mona have a gay son.”




“Oh yeah, AJ. I haven’t seen that guy in a while,”




“Oh child, that is a story for another day. We are going to need time, he apparently isn’t even in the country anymore because he messed up his godfather’s drug operation in Italy and stole some of the loot,”




My eyes widen, “Shit, when was this?”




“While you were in a coma, but let me tell you Vincent was livid but now they just want him back home safe,”




I shake my head, “That’s crazy and Vincent Giovanni is a man you do not mess with, especially his wife Juliet.”




“She murders people with her red bottoms,” Charles whispers.




My skins crawls when he says that because it’s true and she is one of the most untouchable humans on the planet right now and believe you me, you never, and I repeat, never want to piss her off.




Charles finally smiles, but I feel bad for lying to him about what was really going on with Damien. It wasn’t my place to say either way because what if I was wrong? What if I’m accusing him of something he didn’t do?




After I’m done with the grill, I go upstairs to change my clothes and go back down to help Damien with the meat, once the barbeque starts and drinks are flowing, the fun begins.




Every memory I’ve had in this house comes flooding back to me and I find myself standing in front of my fathers ashes. In my heart I had forgiven him, and I was moving on and dealing with the trauma he had put me through, but I still hated him and a part of me wonders if he ever really loved me as his child.




I remember the promise I had made to Nikki that I would get rid of my father’s ashes with her by my side.




“I’m really proud of you Andy,” Charles says, “You’ve had to break a lot of generational curses and trauma to be where you are today, something your father wouldn’t do for your sake.”




“Thank you, Charles, you’ve been family to me more than my father has and for that I am eternally grateful.”




“So, what are you going to do with the ashes?” Damien asks behind me.




“Well, I had promised Nikki that we would throw them in the ocean together one day,”




Charles coos, “That’s really cute.”




I laugh, “Yeah, yeah.”




My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out, it’s Nikki.




“Hey baby,”




“Hey, are you alone?”

 

She sounded serious and almost scared. I step away from Charles and Damien and make my way upstairs.




“Now I am, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”




“Xander, you’ll never believe what I just heard,”

 

“What is it?”




“Chantel is pregnant,”