The young master stepped out of his car outside the Argent’s manor. Immediately, a smartly dressed valet rushed over after him and drove the convertible, which was causing insane chaos outside, into the underground parking lot after bowing in greeting.
But Arian didn’t seem to notice him or the maids subserviently lined up outside to welcome him back home. His mind kept drifting between Natalia Kendall and Nicky Winterfield.
Yes, they were two different people with different reasons for being distant. However, slightly the same were they when it came to the cold treatment.
In one case, Nicky took on a more physical frontier. But in the other, the smiley face was the real emotional tease!
Girls? Arian couldn’t help sighing in resignation as he made his way to his room upstairs. He was in a hurry to step in, slam his door shut and go back into the peaceful quiet of his own world.
He stepped out of the elevator and hurried by the restricted living room sectioned for his parents alone. No one ever went in there unless when summoned, even the young master. But Arian really didn’t care.
His bedroom was enough.
Old butler Lee collected his bag pack with white gloved fingers and walked away to disinfect and change it, while the young master walked on alone.
“I don’t care how he goes about it, but it must be done.” Came a stoic voice.
That was Arian’s father, Sir De’ Argent.
When did he get back? Arian rolled his eyes and made to move but the next words rooted him to the ground.
“Richard, how could you say that?! There must be some other way around this. What you are proposing is equal to being in bondage!… For life! I will not let him go through such, EVER!” Mom Rose snapped, her voice a pitch higher than it had ever gone before.
And that was what caught Arian’s attention. Mom Rose was never angry. Even when Tommy troubled her to insanity, she never lost her temper.
“Please Rose, try to calm down. It’s quite too late to reconsider. Felix is my childhood friend and this will help strengthen our personal and business relationship.”
“Over your family’s happiness?!” Her voice interjected heatedly.
Arian was totally lost. Who was the HE they kept mentioning? He unconsciously took a step closer to the door swirling in curiosity.
The young master knew Sir Felix. He was his father’s childhood friend back in France. Uncle Felix used to visit the family when Arian De’ Argent was very little. He was nice to him and very funny.
But Arian hadn’t seen him in over a decade. And since his father travelled a lot, he knew they must still keep in touch.
“It’s all for our family, Rose. And I don’t mean it will be soon or hastened. She’s coming over in a few weeks. Perhaps, something good will emerge from it and everything will end up much easier. You never can tell…”
Arian continued the journey to his room since all they said sounded trashy. Who was the he? And who’s the she?? What did it have to do with his family’s happiness and his father’s business?
And why was Sir Felix involved?!
Questions went through his head at lightening speed but none was answered. After having a shower and coldly ignoring the snack tray in his bedroom, the young master wore his ear pods and drifted into a peaceful sleep…
***
Ricky was done having a shower and was about heading into his secret studio when a knock sounded on his door. Knowing it was Nanny Tess, he mumbled a casual reply.
However, Nicky walked in with a tray containing… some covered stuff… and dropped it on his bedside table. Clad in simple black shorts and a baggy shirt, she left her hair in a messy bun.
After waiting for an invitation which didn’t seem to be approaching, Nicky invited herself to seat on his bed. She crossed her legs Indian style and stared across at him. Ricky raised a brow and she shot him a quizzical look.
“Are you gonna sit or what?” She furrowed her brows. Ricky remained glued to the spot, partially stunned and partially suspicious.
For as long as he’d known her, and that’s his whole life, Nicky NEVER knocked!
She simply barges into the room like she owned the place, always getting on his nerve!
So now you know.
Nicky looked unaffected by her brother’s reaction as she brought the tray closer to herself. She uncovered the deliciously steaming Asian dishes and picked up a pair of silver coated chopsticks, aiming for the plate containing the Kimchi…. His favourite!
Ricky; “???”
“Since you’re clearly not hungry, I’ll help myself to these. I can’t waste all those precious hours in the kitchen for that crappy reaction.”
The moment the chopsticks were close to her mouth, Ricky didn’t know how or when he flew to the bed to save his dinner!
“Thought as much!” She giggled, letting go as he took over.
“What’s the occasion? And where’s nanny?” He positioned himself properly across her, Indian style.
“Firstly, be grateful I decided to be so sweet today! Mostly because you helped me earlier, so thanks. Nanny is downstairs. Told her I’ll make dinner today.” She shrugged and picked up his phone on a pillow.
Nicky had never kept a secret from her brother. She tells him virtually everything.
But Ricky had. And it made him feel bad whenever she asked if he was okay and he covered up with a white lie.
“How’s it going?” He whispered, pushing the guilt aside.
“I don’t know. Sincerely, I’m not sure. I should be glad Becky’s out of the way but does it really matter? He doesn’t feel the same way. And heaven knows I can’t force him to fall in love with me. That, and the realization that I’m too much of a coward to even try makes it so…” She fell on his headboard and sighed. “It’s totes depressing.”
‘Tell me about it.’ Ricky lowered his eyes in silence, thinking of his situation with Elva. Hell, he wasn’t a coward to make her fall in love with him, again!
But the thought that she’d moved on to the “only other guy” as per her words, made her feel somewhat inaccessible…. even to the Infamous playboy.
The twins fell into a comfortable silence.
“Don’t you ever get tired?!” Nicky suddenly blurted out of the blues. Ricky looked up with a confused look on his face. She rolled her eyes and read from his contact list.
“First it was Maliska or Meliska, then Susie, then Barbie, then Chloe, then Danielle, then Angela, then Nuella, then Halsey, then Isabel, then Jasmine, then…. then Tiffany?!…” She paused and gagged.
“Hell no! Not THAT bitch!!” She yelled and deleted Tiffany’s number!
Ricky snatched his phone back and switched it off. “Didn’t you learn being nosy is considered mannerless!” He scowled but Nicky remained defiant.
“And here I was, being a victim of heartbreak. While my loving twinie on the other hand, is lord of the friggin’ game!” She blasted. Ricky ignored her.
“Rick, I won’t pray for you to be a victim. But all the same, I wish you were! So you’ll keep your head in check!” She kissed his hair and walked out.
If only she knew. Ricky sighed forlornly, feeling his appetite leave as well…
***
Thoughts about Nicky clouded Jeffrey’s mind as he drove home…. to the mansion, he meant.
The peculiar way in which she fluttered her lashes when she’s nervous and how she bit her lips when she was upset. And even how she tugged at a strand of her hair when a wickedly mischievous thought was brewing on how to prank unsuspecting Ricky!
Jeffrey could clearly remember how she acted when they were little.
But now, she was all different and spiky with the walls of defence she kept up whenever he was involved.
Jeffrey Campbell hated all that!
He missed the old Nicky, not the new complicated version. She used to be so sweet, kind and awfully shy around him. Well, she still was.
But not with him anymore.
Of course, Jeffrey couldn’t deny he loved the new fierce look and wardrobe. But they were nothing without the personality of the girl he used to like.
And he almost crashed into a loading truck!
Did he jus…’the girl he used to like??’ He wondered wide eyed and shook his head.
“Get a grip!” He muttered and continued driving. Too much thinking, or more precisely… Too much Nicky was finally making him lose it!
Yeah. That was probably the reason. The young heir consoled himself as he rushed upstairs the second he got out of the car.
“Welcome back, young Campbell.” The middle aged butler bowed subserviently at the top of the stairs.
Butler Bernard was the closest to family to Jeffrey among the staffs in the mansion, who were surprisingly hurrying around in haste and pausing only to give a swift bow. He smiled at him.
“Bernard, I’ve told you to call me by name. You raised me! The formality sucks, you know.” Butler Bernard chuckled as he walked the younger person over to his room.
“I know, young Campbell. But as honored as I am, I’m in service to this family and certain duties comes first. That said…” He paused and turned to him. They were approaching his bedroom door now.
“Your father returned not quite long ago…” He paused again letting his words sink.
“Oh?” Jeffrey inched his neck. Butler Bernard took in a deep breath and looked at him with a hint of uncertainty.
“Just spit it out already.” Jeffrey drawled, rolling his eyes at the suspense.
“He’s waiting to have dinner with you…” A glimmer of hope sparked within the young heir’s heart but it was cut short untimely.
“And with a woman he calls your new mother…”
***
Jeffrey didn’t know how long he spent in the shower, standing frozen with his head plastered against the glass walls.
It couldn’t be happening. A faint voice whispered in his head. No, it shouldn’t even be happening! It turned decisive.
He never asked for one! Ever since his mother left before he could catch the slightest glimpse of her, he never asked for a replacement! All he’d ever needed was his father’s love.
The love of his father, the only biological parent he had left, was all he wanted! Not from some additional stranger!
“Dinner?” He wheezed acerbically with a dark glint in his eyes. What happened to dinner since forever?!
What happened to all those years he stayed alone, disappointed, yet hopeful, waiting for his dad to return to him on all fronts?
Now, out of the blues, a stranger gets involved??
The young heir turned off the shower decisively and got dressed, with all the time in the world, in white cargo shorts and a matching turtleneck sweater. Then he picked up his phone and walked out.
From the hallway, Jeffrey could hear the sound of clinking cutleries wafting through the doors of the dining patio alongside subtle chuckles. They had started dinner without him.
Jeffrey wasn’t surprised, knowing his father too well. He made his way in and went over to his place at the table. But at the last minute, he changed directions and positioned himself at the extreme end of the table, opposite his father.
He didn’t bother sparing the new mother a look…. More of the new wife! Suddenly, Jeffrey felt angry. Angry for forgetting to bring along his headphones!
As it eventually turned out, the young Campbell concluded that ear pods would’ve been the better option, noticing how high pitched her laughter was! He shut his eyes and took in a deep breath…
Chapter 24