2024-08-07 17:55:56Alessia thought for a moment and a smile evaded her face. “I think I might have a good gift.”
“Really?”
Alessia nodded slightly and moved away. She moved to her bar and retrieved a bottle of wine.
“This is the best gift,” she announced with a wide smile.
Kevin moved closer and took the bottle of wine from her.
“This is Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tache. It's one of the most expensive wines in the world. It costs over 200k dollars. If you give this as a gift to anyone, they will surely be happy and grateful about it.”
Kevin nodded several times “This is the best gift. Thank you so much, Alessia.”
Alessia reciprocated his smile. “Anytime, boss. Though, I think we still have a lot to catch up to.”
Kevin nodded in agreement. “Sure, and there is plenty of time to do that. But I better leave now.”
“Alright.”
Alessia watched him until he was out of the office. She was more than happy and she would like if not anything, to show Lionel that he was wrong and Phoenix was alive but they were going to do this the Lord Phoenix way.
“I have also prepared a gift for Lord Phoenix. What he has said doesn't affect that,” she whispered, walked to the bar, and grabbed a non-alcoholic wine.
.
The next day was for the big madam of the house, Mia’s grandmother. Even though Mia was now the CEO of the family business, Mrs Perry was still considered the most important person in the family. She was still the head of the family.
So, they prepared a big birthday party for her to which everyone from distant and close family was invited.
When Kevin walked inside, his gaze searched quickly for Mia. Since Mia didn't allow him to leave with her, saying she had to be somewhere. So, Kevin had to find his way to the party.
He hesitated when he saw Mendy standing with Mrs Perry. He was shocked.
It was supposed to be a family thing. Kevin wondered why Mia would invite Mendy as well.
And Mrs Perry looked very happy to see him. She was smiling from ear to ear.
They talked but Kevin couldn't hear what they were saying because of where he was. He moved closer to Mia nonetheless.
“I just told Mia there's no way I will miss your birthday. I had to cancel a huge appointment to be here,” Mendy said in a loud voice so that everyone around him would hear.
Kevin scoffed at this. Mendy was obviously lying. He didn't cancel any appointments.
There was just one empty seat beside Mia, so Kevin moved closer.
Mia looked up at him, with a frown. She wasn't expecting him to move closer to her actually.
“What are you doing?”
“Sitting or am I not allowed to do that?”
Mia huffed. “Find yourself another seat. Mendy owns this place.”
Kevin was taken aback. “But I'm your_”
“Husband?” Mia finished for him. She scoffed. “You can take a megaphone and announce it to the family that you are since they don't know!” She said coldly, careful so that her voice wouldn't be so loud.
Even at that, she didn't miss the stares she was getting from her distant cousins. They all laughed at her when they heard that Kevin was her husband.
“Kevin, go and sit! Don't embarrass me!” She muttered in between clenched teeth.
Kevin sighed and walked away. There were empty seats besides Mia’s distant cousin but Kevin didn't want to risk it. So, he took one, alone that was separated from the rest of the family.
Even at that, Mia’s cousins laughed and hot anger surged through her.
“It was one of the best decisions, ma’am. I hope you get even more beautiful than you are next year!”
Mrs Perry smiled, clearly pleased with Mendy. “Thank you so much, Mr Karim. I really appreciate it.”
Mendy nodded once, with a soft smile, and then he did like he forgot something. “I'm so sorry Mrs Perry. I got you a little gift. It was too late before I got to hear. So, I wasn't able to prepare a tangible gift for you,” he said with a gentle smile.
Mr Perry waved it off. “It doesn't matter. It's the thought that does.”
Mendy moved away and retrieved a bottle of wine from beside Mia. He walked back to Mrs Perry and stretched it out to her.
“Happy birthday once again.”
Mrs Perry's eyes widened with shock. What!
“You mean De lion de Chantel is the wine you said is little?”
“Wow, really? De lion costs 50k dollars. That's one of the expensive wines,"one of the cousins whispered. They were surprised that Mia had someone like Mendy by her side.
“Why is she always so lucky!”
“It's really little,” Mendy said with a little smile. He was trying to behave as if he was really humble and gentle.
Mrs Perry grinned. “Thank you so much, Mr Karim.”
Mendy made a short bow and walked back to his seat which was beside Mia. Mia smiled at him, pleased as well.
Mendy looked up suddenly, his gaze searching around quickly for Kevin. He soon found him, sitting alone.
“Why don't Kevin be the next to show his gift to Mrs Perry!” Mendy said suddenly, drawing attention and putting them on Kevin.
All gaze turned towards Kevin and comments flew in immediately.
“Right, he should.”
“He's the son-in-law anyways. The husband of the CEO of the family company.”
Someone laughed. “And are you sure he has a gift to present?”
“I'm not sure. Kevin has been the house son-in-law for a while now, with nothing to write home about. There was no way he would have any nice gift to offer Grandmother!”
Another person laughed. “He's really pathetic!”
A frown was suddenly on Mrs Perry's face, replacing the laughter that was there a few minutes ago. Obviously, she didn't like him at all. But she couldn't ignore Mendy's words. So, she said nothing.
Kevin stood up nonetheless and moved closer to Mrs Perry.
Mia looked at Kevin immediately. It was at this moment that she regretted not allowing him to sit with her.
“Did you get a good gift?” She asked in a voice slightly lower than a whisper.
Kevin smiled with confidence. “Sure!” He took out wine from the bag he was carrying.
Everyone went silent.
But Mrs Perry looked at the wine and became super furious. She filled the little space in between them and slapped Kevin's face.
What!
“How dare you give me a fake wine as a gift!” She thundered.
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241
By the time Kevin reached home, he had already calmed himself down. The silence during the drive back to his apartment has made him think everything through.There was no reason to be upset over people who had disappointed him over and over again. It was just that he thought he and Mia had gone past that stage. He didn't have a problem standing up for himself, but when Mia had done so the first time, he had been pleased, until she switched to her grandmother's side just because he decided to speak up for himself.It was the fact that he had allowed himself to be pleased by that singular act that angered him even more. He should have known. After all, birds of the same feathers flock together and they are her family. It would be hard to be different even if she wanted to. So he couldn't entirely blame her.But even with all the conclusions he came to, he still stood his ground. They didn't need to know who he was, but he needed to show them that no one should be underrated, looked down
240
Mia felt her heart tightened in her chest as she watched Kevin walk away. She could tell that he was upset. He hadn't even looked back at her with a nod like he always did. She remembered how it had felt like her heart was wrenched out of her chest when he snatched his hand away from her hold.But she had been helpless. He should understand. How was she supposed to support him when she had no idea if he was telling the truth. Heck, he wouldn't even open up to him about who he really was. Yet, she couldn't direct her anger at him.Her hands closed into fists. All of these began with one person.She turned to Morris, who was consoling Grandmother R, who still looked affected by Kevin's words.“You followed me, didn't you?"Morris cast her an irritated glance. “Who is that question for?"When she was leaving the Euphoric Bio building, she felt eyes on her, but she thought it was the other workers on the floors she passed through. She should have known. Most of all, she should have bee
239
Mrs Perry couldn't resist the urge to bark out with laughter. She laughed so hard that some of the oldies in the restaurant chuckled along with her.Morris shook his head and chuckled lightly too. “How pathetic you are, Kevin."Mia, who had been staring at the back of Kevin's face as his words, stepped out from behind Kevin and glared at Morris.”Morris!"Morris rolled his eyes. "Why don't you tell him to stop lying so much and so stupidly.”Mia couldn't say anything as she felt embarrassed. She wanted to ask Kevin why he was lying but she didn't want to do so before her grandmother and Morris. So she just subtly shook her head at him.“I’m not lying,” he said cooly, disappointed that even Mia didn't believe him. Hadn't he proved himself enough?The laughter died in Mrs Perry's throat. Morris also stopped lying. They all regarded Kevin. There was no atom of humor on his face or in his words. “Are you serious?" Mia blurted.“What stupid question is that?" Mrs Perry said, her gaze still
238
After the shock, the first thing that came to Mia was relief. Relief that she had decided to choose a restaurant that was never crowded. Right now, she could count the number of people in the restaurant in one of her hands and there'd still be a remainder. Another bonus was that they were all old people. So there was no flashing camera in their faces yet. It was a relief that soothed the shock.But the shock still remained. The worry for the things her grandmother would say to Kevin. And the fear of her own anger.How did they find her? Why were they even there? Why did they even find her in the first place?She had already rushed to her feet when she saw them. Now, she stood before her grandmother. “What are you doing here?" She looked between her grandmother and cousin.She was certain that neither of them would have come to the restaurant to eat. Apart from the fact that it was quite a trip from the company, it was too local for them. They preferred the fancy and flashy restaurants
237
As Mia walked out of the company's premises, she tucked her car keys in her bag, deciding not to go with her car.“Good morning, ma'am," the security greeted her as they opened the gate for her."How're we all doing?” She returned their smiles."Very well, boss.”Outside the gate, Mia walked down the road a few miles before she saw a taxi driving down the road.She flagged down the taxi and got in.“Where are you headed, ma'am?" The driver asked Mia. Mia told him the me. Of the restaurant where she had decided that she and Kevin would meet. Then afterward, she sent the name of the restaurant and the address to Kevin.Morris dragged his gaze away from the plate number of the taxi as his phone rang out.He briefly glanced at it before he picked it up and answered the call.“Hello.”He returned his eyes to the road.“Were you able to make it out in time?”“Yes, grandmother. I'm on her tail now. I was able to make it outside before she got a taxi.”“A taxi?” There was surprise in Mrs Per
236
The signing process was swift. Mrs Perry had a smile on all through as she signed her part and watched the rest of them sign where they had to sign.“Okay, so we're done," Mrs Perry said as she flipped through the papers. She nodded. She handed Kevin a copy. “You can go with your copy. All the rules are clear, are they not?”Anthony nodded. "They are.”Mrs Perry pinned him with a half glare. "No one should go against those conditions, Anthony. Ensure you ram it into the ears of your family members. Mia and I would do the same. If we really want to live in peace, then we should live without any air of hostility.”Anthony smiled. "Yes, Mrs Perry. I'll talk to them. Thank you for agreeing to this.”She shook her head. “It's nothing. I just want peace." She stretched her hands out to Anthony.Anthony took Mrs Perry's hands and shook them. “I look forward to many collaborations and meetings with the Perrys.""Same here,” Mrs Perry smiled, gripping his hands firmly."Mia?” Anthony called.
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