It was a sunny afternoon, and I was having a fulfilling day, only to receive a call that spoiled my day. I was enjoying my afternoon, only for me to see my uncle's call, Mateo.
"Why is he calling? What does he want now? Can't I enjoy my day in peace without getting annoyed?"
He finally picked up his uncle's call, which had been ringing for the past 5 minutes.
"Hello, Nephew," Mateo spoke.
"Hi, Uncle, what do you want?"
"Is that a way to greet your only uncle? Whatever, just go straight to the point. What do you want?"
"You still haven't learned respect; that's by the way. Come to your father's estate in the locals this evening by 5 pm."
"Why?"
"We've a meeting on how we can decide Moreno's future. Better don't keep us waiting."
And Luis angrily hung up.
He dialled Cruz's number, and he picked up.
"Hello, Boss."
"Come to my house by 4:30; you're accompanying me to my father's residence. Come along with Theo too."
"OK, Boss."
"Just when I wanted to go for a nap, then this is... can my day get any worse?"
Aliyah's room...
Her POV:
"It has been days since my last meetup with Sophie, and she was an eye-opener for me. She really talked some sense into me, and we both promised not to tell Gabriel of our encounter."
"Aliyah, please marry who your father wants you to marry. If you do what Gabriel says, what will become of your family? The contract will be breached, and that wouldn't look good on your father. He might lose everything he worked for, including those under him. How will they feed? I'm sure your mother is still alive; what will she say or feel? Do you really want that for your parents? For your father to be destroyed. You might think you love Gabriel, but all that will disappear once life hits you hard. Your conscience wouldn't take it. For all you might not know, it may just be lust you feel for Gabriel. Give it a real rain check and get back to me."
"Her words kept on ringing in my head. I can't betray Father or Mother like that. Well, Father's way of showing his love might not go well with me, but I know he cares."
"I was in thought when my phone rang; it was Gabriel."
"Ugh, what does he want now?"
"Hello, Gabriel."
"Aliyah, for days now, you haven't called me or replied to my messages. I'm sorry if I did something wrong. I miss my girl; please come back to me."
"Uhmm, Gabriel, can we talk later? I'm kind of busy."
And before Gabriel was able to reply back, Aliyah hung up.
"I need to text Sophie that I'll accept Luis and do my father's bid, and I'll cut things off with Gabriel."
"I texted her and threw my phone on the bed."
"I was at Gabriel's house as usual when I saw him murmuring. He was talking to himself; I knew it had to be Aliyah."
"It just got off the phone with her, and he doesn't look good."
"Why will she hang up on me like that?" Gabriel spoke.
I was listening to his whines when I received a message from her. I was so happy; finally, Gabriel will be mine. She actually listened to my sermons. Foolish girl. She isn't that bad as a company, though; she was really fun to be with.
"Gabriel, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me; you're giving me a headache. I can't keep listening to your cries. Stop acting like a child, for God's sake."
And Sophie left him there.
"I need to speak with her," Gabriel said. "I feel like she's avoiding me. What must have gotten into her?" he thought.
I was all dressed up in a black fitted suit with black pants; I made sure I was armed, just in case something might go wrong. As I descended downstairs, my men were already waiting for me downstairs.
"Welcome, Boss," they both said.
"I don't want to be late; you know from here, the locals are a 30-minute drive. So let's go."
They went to Luis' classy parking lot and took one of his expensive vintage cars. They all got in and left for his father's estate.
"It was almost an hour before they finally reached their destination."
"I hate traffic so much," Luis proclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Boss," Cruz said. "If I had made my calculations well, I would've taken another route."
"It's okay; at least we're here."
They all entered the hotel and went to the conference room. As they entered, Luis could see that most of his relatives were there. His uncle, cousins, and other family members he didn't care about. Even some allies were present there.
And Matteo said, "Finally, he blessed us with his presence."
"I wouldn't miss the meeting for the world," Luis said, and he went straight to his seat.
"Why was I summoned?" Luis asked.
"Seems like you forgot your duties," Matteo spoke.
"What duties? Did you think we were bluffing the last time? You know our family law, so why?"
"Hmm," Luis said.
"If you're not capable, then just say it; I or my children will take over from you."
"Oh, shut it, old man; I'm tired of hearing your constant whines; it gives me a headache."
One of Matteo's sons picked up his gun and pointed it at Luis, and Cruz and Theo did the same, too, by pointing their guns at Matteo and his son. With reflexes, everyone did the same, too, pointing their guns at the ones they hated.
"Oh, uncle, you and that son of yours are piece of shit; look at what you guys just did, causing a rift between everyone."
"Antonio, you don't have it in you to pull the trigger; now, stop being a whimper and let's talk like civilised men."
They all kept their guns.
"Good; now let me talk; I've an announcement. I'll be getting married in a few months if that's what you want to hear, Uncle."
"No one is taking my dad's inheritance or leadership from me. I'm so done here; I need to leave."
As he stood up and was about to leave, he stopped without looking back and talked.
" Antonio, count yourself lucky that I was in a good mood; family or not, don't ever try to pull that stunt again."
And he left.
Almost everyone had already gone out of the hall; it was just Matteo and his sons.
"Dad, I hate that guy so much; the nerve of him. He shows himself and bosses us around because all this is his father's wealth. Father, I blame you; if you had made wealth like your brother, we wouldn't be in this position."
Matteo was furious at his son's exclamation.
"Get out of my sight before I blow your head off. All of you, leave!"
"Whatever, Father; I'm out of here."
And his brothers followed him out too.
"Luis, Luis, Luis, you're playing with fire, my son. Just spoke ill towards me because of you. All this is supposed to be mine: the fame, money, fear - all of it. Don't make me kill you, just like I did your father, dear Nephew."