Chapter 10 — The homecoming

Raphael’s POV

"Come on Raph, you think you can fool me?"

"No, gramps, I am not trying to fool you. It's just, the way it is, I don't have a plus one."

"So you are saying that all through your twenty years over there, you don't even have an ex that you could try to bring with you?"

"If I told you I don't would you believe me?" I asked

Gramps was quiet for a while "Well, I will believe you; you've always been the weirdest amongst us all." He chuckled

"Come on, gramps, what do you mean by weird."

"How will a thirty-five-year-old man be single? How do you free yourself when you are full?"

My jaw dropped; I hadn’t expected Gramps to ask me a question like that.

"Come on, Gramps, there are other ways of freeing oneself. It doesn't have to be through a girlfriend."

"Son?" He called

I knew the next thing that was going to come out of his mouth was going to be ridiculous.

"Do you have a boyfriend? Are you gay?"

"Come on, Gramps", I laughed hysterically "Gramps, bye. I need to start preparing now if I have to meet up in the next two hours."

"Marcel's girlfriend would be coming I invited her." He said

"Wow, that's good for him," I said, sounding less enthusiastic.

"Come on raph"

"Gramps bye"

I hung up the call.

I had heard a lot about Marcel's fiancée from Gramps during calls, as well as from Mom and Marcel himself; they have all said nothing but good things about her.

Said she was from a well-to-do and respectable family and all sorts of good things. I couldn't care less about it, but somehow, deep down, I wanted to see this fiancée.

I had asked for pictures, but they never sent me one, saying that if I wanted to see her, I should fly back to New York City.

"Hopefully, I would see her at Gramps", I muttered.

As I sat down thinking about the things to pack on my way and how to book my flight. My thoughts drifted to the mysterious lady I had met at a bar party a few weeks ago.

Her voice, the way she asked if I was single and then the next thing she said after giving her a reply was 'let's mingle'.

The craziest part of it all was the fact that she didn't even let me respond to the 'mingle' before locking lips with me.

I must confess her lips were tasty, and they were full. The kind that you would never grow tired of sucking.

Before I knew it my hands were on my lips already, reminiscing about that day.

I had tried to get her name but she Didn't tell me, she didn't even collect my business card.

Immediately I snapped out of it. Picked up my phone to call my private plane pilot.

I had a personal plane that was big enough to carry my twenty-eight million dollar Rolls Royce boat tail.

"Hello Richard, get set we leave for New York City in ten"

I was travelling from Atlanta to New York City, which was around two hours to three hours.

******

Finally, I landed at New York Airport, and no one came to welcome me; I wasn't surprised as well; besides, everyone was busy with birthday preparations.

My pilot drove my Rolls Royce out of the plane, parking it in front of me.

He came out and handed me the car keys.

I got in and sped off.

*****

I got to our house at exactly the stipulated time Gramps had told me.

Before passing through the gate, I exhaled "And now the drama begins," I muttered, adjusting my tuxedo.

I saw people downstairs celebrating; I knew my family had to be up; guards and maids who recognised me were all astonished that I had shown up.

Some of them almost screamed, but I had to tell them not to; I wanted to enter the living room unnoticed.

As I took the stairs to the living room, I began to perceive a scent, my nose never deceives me.

"This scent?" I muttered under my breath. "It can't be"

I quickly pushed the thought aside because many people could use the same kind of cologne. Unlike Lorenzo's, our colognes were specially made for us—by us—through one of Gramps' subsidiaries.

As I got closer to the door, the scent became stronger, whoever owned the scent was in the living room. I decided to lean against the door for a while.

"This one is a fake-an impostor", Mom's voice echoed; it was loud, Sharp and clear.

I wondered who they could be referring to as a fake.

The level of my curiosity increased, and I decided to stay by the door and listen carefully to what was going on.

"She thinks she can deceive us" Anna's voice echoed through the room, out the door and into my ears.

Who was deceiving who?

At that moment, I was glad that Gramps had not built this place to be soundproof.

I listened closely, and that was how I found out that Marcel's fiancée was the one they were referring to.

The same fiancée they had all told me about-beautiful, nice, calm and charming, was now a fake, an impostor?

How sick can humans be?

Specifically, how sick can my family be?

Because they found out that the real daughter was back, now they didn't need the adopted one anymore.

Has the adopted one already served her purpose?

I was getting so pissed off listening to the way they were all attacking her, the lady was doing a good job of trying to defend herself, but I know my family wouldn't give up until she was tired and until she believed that she was a fake, someone who had come to reap where she didn't sow it is only then they would leave her.

If there was one thing I hated in my life, it was seeing the weak being oppressed. Without thinking twice, I flunged the double doors open and marched in majestically.