I barged into the room only to see Scout on the bed all curled up.
"What's wrong? Why did you scream?" I asked.
She raised her head to look up at me before sighing in relief.
"Vincent?" She asked as though she was trying to confirm my identity.
"It's Mr Russo to you." I corrected.
"My apologies, Mr Russo."
"Where you expecting someone else?" I raised my left brow.
She explained.
"N-no, it's just - I don't-"
"You don't what?"
"Promise you won't laugh."
"Do I look like someone who jokes around?" I was slowly getting irritated.
"It's just that-" She paused. "I thought I was in Mr Gate's house."
As the actual meaning of her words settled in my head, I almost couldn't control my urge to smack her on the head.
"Do you think you'd be able to get up so easily if you had actually slept with Will."
Her cheeks reddened at my unfiltered words.
She rolled her eyes.
"You don-don't have to put it so bluntly."
"How else would you expect me to put it." I questioned, feeling totally confused.
Instead of responding her eyes narrowed like she had just spotted something unusual.
"Walking around half-naked in front of another woman isn't something a soon-to-be married man should be found doing." She commented.
That was when I finally realized I never actually wore my shirt.
I was about to when I heard Scout scream.
"There are cloths for you in the wardrobe, you should focus on resting, we're leaving early tomorrow morning." I said and immediately left the room.
Throughout the flight the next morning I and Scout didn't acknowledge each other's presence.
Daniel and I discussed business while Scout continued her sleep in thw room.
"I just found out that the assassin that was sent to kill you was of Italian indigene." Daniel informed.
"What else did you find on him?" I asked.
"He was married and he had a 5 year old daughter who has cancer."
"Keep an eye on them for now, I'll tell you what to do with them later." I instructed.
"Yes Boss." He said. "By the way, what happened between you and Scout?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"You two have been avoiding each other since the flight started." Daniel spoke out.
"Nothing." Came my simple reply.
Daniel rolled his eyes.
"Spoilsport."
"Dan." I called out.
"Yes."
"What do you think Adrian knows about my mom's death?"
"From my point of view, he just as an inkling, he doesn't know how deep this is."
"When we land send more people to look for the wife of the old drive from back then." I instructed.
Daniel argued.
"She's dead already, you know that."
"Just do as I say."
I had always needed an headstart and I had finally gotten one.
"I'll explain things to you later."
I needed to keep Daniel away from this as much as I could so when this all finally ended he wouldn't be much affected.
The lesser he knew the better it was for him and his family.
When we finally landed, I turned off flight mode and a message popped up on my phone.
It was from Adrian.
Hey bro. Father asked you to come to the old house for dinner.
BTW your model fiancee will be present.
"I'll go to the office first then head to the old house in the evening, you'll drop Scout off at her place." I said to Daniel.
"Okay, I'll go wake her up."
He turned to go to the private room in the jet while I walked down the stairs of the jet.
Two cars were already waiting for me.
The driver came down from one of the cars and greeted me, opening the car door for me.
"We'll leave the other car, Daniel will make use of it." I said before entering the car.
When I arrived at the Russo estate later in the evening, I unconsciously stiffened.
Things were still the same as usual.
The atmosphere was still tense and the whole place still reeked of memories I had momentarily forgotten.
The first person I saw when I entered the main building was my grandmother.
Gabrielle Russo.
She was supposed to still be on vacation in Italy.
Our relationship had always been rocky, we were never close.
I surveyed the other people present in the room.
My father, Belle, Gigi, Adrian, Mayelle and a face I couldn't quite recognize.
Adrian stood up and approached me, before giving me a hug.
Ewww!
I pushed him off me without making it obvious.
"Adrian. You're going to be interrupting the couples like that." My grand mother reprimanded Adrian.
Gigi motioned for Mayelle to approach me but Mayelle refused.
I decided to reduce her embarrassment by making the first move.
"Miss Belmont, it's nice to see you again." I stretched out my hand and she took it.
"Same here Mr Russo."
"So you two aren't on first name basis yet?" The woman I couldn't recognize spoke up.
"And who is this?" I asked.
"She's my aunt." Mayelle answered.
Everywhere went silent as everyone just looked form one person to the other.
"Vincent, come to Grandma." My grandmother finally broek the ice.
I was about to move towards her when I finally realized that I was still holding unto Mayelle's hand.
I hurriedly let go of it.
My grandmother pulled me into a hug when I reached he side.
"Oh Al, Vincent's grown so much." She commented.
I grinned internally when I heard grandma call my father by his nickname.
"Yeah, he has." My father replied.
I could tell he was mad about the incident in my office the other day, but I didn't give two fucks about his feelings.
"Vincent, May's aunt came to visit and I thought this would be the perfect chance for the two families to officially meet, I hope you're not mad about the impromptu arrangements." Gigi said to me.
"And why are you apologizing to him?" The supposed aunt questioned.
"Don't mind her." Gigi turned to face me.
Belle chipped in.
"Take your seat Vincent, let's proceed to dinner."
Of all of Belle's bad qualities, her perfection of handling situations like this was the only useful one.
After the food was served we all focused on eating, avoiding any sort of conversation, that is until..
"You guys aren't putting enough effort into making this work." the aunt said out of the blue.
"Tiffany-"
"Have you two exchanged numbers?" Aunt Tiffany asked.
"No."
"It's not necessary yet."
We both have different answers.
"How experienced are you with women?" She continued.
I almost choked on my food.
What the heck was wrong with this woman.
"Stop. You're making both of them uncomfortable." Gigi warned.
I felt a slight vibration near my knee and looked down only to see Mayelle's legs were the source of the vibrations.
I gently placed my palm on her lap stopping the vibrations.
She looked up at me and smiled gratefully.
"What are you guys looking at each other?" Adrian asked grinning widely.
"Stop being mischievous Adrian."My father scolded Adrian.
I could visibly see Belle's expression go grey.
"How about we talk about the dates for the engagement and the wedding." Grandma suggested.
"I already spoke to a priest and he gave me suitable dates." Gigi informed.
"What did he say?" My father asked.
"The 4th of next month will be the perfect date for the engagement." Gigi answered.
The 4th of next month was too near. That was just three weeks from now.
"And the wedding?" My father asked.
"The 22nd of October ."
This was it.
In three weeks time I'd be engaged and in 5 months time I'd be married to a man I barely knew.
Noticing my absentmindedness Gigi called back my attention.
"We all want you two to bond faster so we'll be leaving May here for tonight, you'll drop her off at the Belmont manor tomorrow." Gigi said.
So they wanted me, us, to sleep in the same room together.
"You'll agree, won't you?" Aunt Tiffany raised her left brow.
"I'll drop her off tomorrow, I'm glad you'll be allowing to stay over for the night."
Mayelle turned to look at me, half flabbergasted, half amused.
"When you guys get engaged she'll move in with you permanently, she'll be all yours by then."Aunt Tiffany said.
Why was this woman so shameless.
When we were done eating, Gigi and Aunt Tiffany said their goodbyes to us and left in quite a hurry.
They probably thought I would change my mind and tell Mayelle to go back with them.
"Enjoy bro." Adrian said to me before leaving to his room.
"You two should go get some rest." Belle said mainly to Mayelle.
She'd probably be happy if I didn't get the slightest wince of sleep.
I motioned for Mayelle to follow me as I led her to my room.
Inside the room things much more awkward.
"You should shower first, after all it's your room."
I didn't argure with her and just went into the bathroom.
By the time I came out of the bathroom, she was already fast asleep on the bed, on my bed.
I silently dried my hair before returning the towel to the toilet.
I bent over her and carefully moved her to one side of the bed.
I covered her with the quilt before lying next to her by the edge of the bed to avoid any physical contact.
The moment my head hit the pillow I fell fast asleep.
I'd settle other matters when I woke up tomorrow.
But for now, sound quality sleep was all that mattered.