The Duke's Surreptitious Ways (Rafael Benedict Valiente)

Chapter 16: Date

"Bloody snot!" he seethed. "Shut up, Nikolai. You know this old man loves you to bits, just like how I love your brother. Come live with me, and I'll shower you with love." The old duke proclaimed, and Luke Nikolai laughed loudly at his grandfather's words.

"Thank you, but no, dzedushka. I'm happy with my life with no one breathing down my neck!" he chuckled amusedly.

That's what he thought. If he finds out that the old duke knows more than he thought he knew, he'll be ballistic, but the old duke kept that to his self. He knew it all what was happening to his grandkids.

Ignoring his response, the old duke spoke calmly. "This is about Rafael Benedict. I'm done with him and his pride, and you better help me here if you want the mining," Nikolai fumed, and to his chagrin, his grandson just lets out a loud chuckle.

"What's so funny?" he asked seethingly.

"Dzedushka, I love to have that mining, but I have no time. Dad already gave me the whole responsibility for the shipping company, and I barely sit and relax, how do you think I could manage that mining?" Luke Nikolai exclaimed, and Nikolai Dmitri clenched his jaws.

Bloody stubborn bull.

"All right, but I still need your help. Now, head straight here, I'll call your parents, and let them know I'm having you here for two weeks, I'm throwing a ball, and I don't know if your mom and dad can come since Clara Bell can't come."

"But I can't grandpa!" Luke Nikolai quickly interjected in protest.

"Yes, you will. I'm trying to get the two stubborn back together, if not, then maybe Maria Rosario De La Riva finally catch the heart of your brother. It will be a great alliance to the—"

"Maria Rosario?" Luke Nikolai interrupted, sounding surprised.

The old duke's eyebrow shot up in curiosity, thought that was his planned. Maria will be a pawn to his grandson. "Yes. She's coming, and maybe Rafael will see her as a match—"

"Rafael loves Natalia, don't play cupid, dzedushka!" Luke Nikolai interjected firmly, and the old duke grinned. He thought he was right.

"So are you coming?" the old duke tenaciously reiterated.

"Yes." He finally agreed to the old duke's relief. "Raffy needs some hard blow to knock some sense into his dense head! Should you give one?" Luke Nikolai grits out, and the duke grinned broadly.

As I thought so, and so were you. He thought but kept it in his head.

His second grandson almost got caught when a police raided his friend's house while his party is in full swing, and his crack addict friend was down in the basement, cooking meth. He doesn't know they knew about that, they decided to keep it since nothing happened to him, and after then, he stopped hanging out with that guy to their relief.

The old duke mindlessly grinning like a fool. "Maybe he doesn't really love Natalia. Maria is very pretty, sexy, a royal, anything a man dreamed of, maybe Raffy would finally found love in her," the old duke taunted, and Luke Nikolai sneered. "Maria is so perfect for him, don't you think?" he added, and he's enjoying his grandson's distress.

He scoffed seethingly. "I'll bet you any money, dzedushka, Raffy is in love with Natalia. He won't leave the board meeting just to see her and accompany her to get her hair done. The old duke agreed but kept it in his head. "And Maria was in love with someone else," he snapped gruffly, sounding frustrated, which piques the curiosity of the old duke.

"And may I asked who is the lucky guy?" the old duke asked with profound curiosity though his tone were taunting.

"It's all over the newspaper, dzedushka!" he pointed out aggressively, and the old duke's suspicion started to get clearer. The old duke smirked knowingly. "When is the ball?" he asked after in a gruff tone.