An hour is all it takes for Mary to start blowing up my phone. Calling me non-stop until I finally answer her call. Then she screams through the phone something about me having Elijah to spite her.
Like her stealing my husband out from under me, without a care in the world, is somehow a lesser offense than me accidentally getting pregnant by my then husband at the time.
Having had enough of her narcissistic, self-centered behavior, clenching my phone in my hand, I give her a piece of my mind before hanging up in her face. And I must admit... it feels damn good. I said things I've been holding onto for over eleven years, and I don't regret having said any of it. Because it all needed to be said.
Then I get a call from my mother about Mary being in tears, me being the big bad wolf for finally putting her in her place, and her demanding I come to an impromptu family meeting with Elijah so they can continue to tell me how horrible I am. But if they have any thoughts about doing any of that in front of my son, they'll be in for a rude awakening.
I've spent most of my life being a pushover, and I'm done with that. So, as soon as Alexander is satisfied with his father's progress, and Elijah and I are free to leave his family compound, I take Elijah to meet my family.
Specifically, his half siblings and his dad.
Mary can go to hell.
My sister Mary has three children with Jackson. Daughters. Amiyah, Emily, and Jocelyn. All eagerly waiting for us to arrive along with the rest of my family.
My mother being the scariest of them all.
Taking a deep breath, I shuffle my son forward into a room full of strangers he's never met until now. "Elijah, I want you to meet your grandmother Winnie, your uncle Malcolm, aunt Mary, aunt Eden, and your uncle Christian." I introduce him. Then I point to Mary's kids. "These are your half-sisters Amiyah, Emily, and Jocelyn."
Excited to meet them, he reaches into his backpack and pulls out the gifts he bought for each of his sisters. Gifts Alexander helped him pick out and pay for.
The scowls on their faces quickly disappear and they readily embrace him.
Each taking a turn to hug him.
"Gigi Winnie, this gift is for you." Elijah reaches into his bag to pull out another gift Alexander helped him buy.
If it were up to me, there'd be a venomous spider in that box.
Poised and ready to strike.
But Alexander is as efficient in the gift giving department as he is in business. And his gift softens the scowl on even my mother's face. For her, he bought a diamond broach in the shape of a rose.
"This one is for you, dad. And you too auntie Mary." Elijah hands them their gifts.
Mary seems surprised she would receive a gift after the argument we had the other day, but I'm not the one who bought them. If I had, hers would probably be a poisonous snake.
Curious, I watch them open their gifts. Jackson receives an expensive watch, while Mary receives a pair of diamond studs. And even though I know gifts like these cost Alexander pennies in his eyes, it's still too much for them.
They don't deserve them.
"Thank you." Mary and Jackson flash him a brief smile.
"I didn't know there would be more of you, so I don't have anymore gifts." Elijah remorsefully glances at the rest of his aunts and uncles.
"It's alright little man." Christian roughs up his curly hair. "I'm just happy to finally meet you."
This brings a smile back to Elijah's face, and he hugs my brother Christian.
"Look how handsome you are." My mother smiles, engulfing him in her arms. "You have your mother's looks and your daddy's eyes."
"Alleged daddy." Mary corrects her. Then she produces a swab from her purse and asks, "May I?"
I expected her to be this bitter and petty. So, when Elijah looks at me with concern, I simply nod to him. Mary swabs his mouth and I make sure she seals the kit right here in front of everyone. Then I have her turn the test over to Christian who I trust more than anyone not to sabotage it.
"Satisfied?" I ask.
"Very." Mary smiles back. "And when it comes back that you're a liar, I'm going to enjoy telling Alexander King all about it."
"Leave Alex out of our family crap." I glower at her.
"Where is he anyway?" My mother asks.
"Probably up under his secretary." Mary quips. Laughing with my sister Eden at her tasteless joke.
"I love you too, Mary." I flash her a sarcastic smile.
My mother motions for her assistant Lisa to take Elijah and the kids outside, and then all eyes turn to me. But before they say anything, my phone rings.
"Where are you?" Alexander asks.
"My mother's, why?" I ask. Glancing around at all the inquisitive eyes still watching me while I pretend not to be annoyed by his call.
"Okay, I'm coming to you."
"Wait... what? Alexander, don't." I shout into the phone.
The last thing I need is for him to come here, but he's already hung up the phone.
Damn him.
Clenching my phone in my hand to calm my nerves, I turn to my family and plaster a fake smile on my face.
"Was that who I think it was?" My mother asks.
"Yes." I sigh heavily. "Apparently, he's coming over."
"You don't seem happy about that." Christian catches on quick.
I'm sure it makes everyone happy that I'm dreading seeing Alexander. But it's not for the reason they think. I came here to get away from him and his stifling presence. He's been hovering over my shoulders like he has no idea what affect he has on a woman. And I need a moment to myself.
I'm also trying to escape the wedding planning his mother is forcing me to endure.
"Not that it's anyone's business, but Alex can be... intense. And what I'd really like after spending the last several weeks together, is a moment without him being present."
Without him effortlessly and slowly sledgehammering away at the walls I've put up.
Glancing up at my family, I'm confronted by smirks from everyone but Mary and Jackson. Mary looks annoyed while Jackson looks... I don't know... I can't call it.
"What?" I frown.
"Nothing." Eden looks away. Her smirk deepening.
"Could it be that the reason you wish for a reprieve from him, is because you're in love with him?" My mother asks. Her all-knowing, calculating eyes watching my every move.
"What? No." My gaze darts to Jackson and back.
Then I remember I agreed to marry him. It would look suspicious if I agreed to marry him when I didn't love him. And the last thing I need is my mother sniffing out that lie. She won't stop until she knows why.
"It was his idea to bring the gifts, wasn't it?" My mom surmises. "You haven't dipped into that bank account of yours, so it couldn't have been you."
How often does she have Aunt Bernie spying on my accounts?
The doorbell rings, and my mother's house staff answers the door. Soon, a familiar British accent fills the room. One I've been dreading for the past fifteen minutes.
And it's like nails on a chalkboard.
Turning to face him, I'm not at all prepared for how good Alexander looks in his navy-blue Alexander Amosu Vanquish Bespoke suit, with a white collared shirt, and his Salvatore Ferragamo dress shoes.
My soon to be husband looks delicious.
And I hate it.
I hate that I'm even noticing it.
Or how good he smells the moment he enters the room.
But mostly, I hate that I don't hate it. Or how he hangs his ridiculous damn suit very well.
Seriously, if someone were to rob him and strip him naked they'd have hit the jackpot.
"You didn't have to come here." I tell him. "Seriously."
"I wanted to." Is all he says before going around me to shake the hands of all my family members.
"What about your father?" I blink several times hoping he catches my meaning. "Didn't the two of you have some business to discuss?"
"We did, and it's handled." He gives me a look that says, 'I'm not leaving'. "He and mum are spending some time together now."
With nothing left to throw at him other than my fist. I plaster a smile on my face and begrudgingly face my family who seem to be amused by our little exchange.
"My apologies for being late, Ms. Graham." He says to my mother.
"Please," she hugs him. "Call me Winnie."
What?
My mouth drops open. She never allows anyone to call her Winnie. Save for family. Which means she really likes him.
Which is no surprise, really.
She likes what he represents for our family.
Another boost in a very judgmental society, and access to the uber elite.
Because what my mother craves more than her youthful, good looks and money, is power. And the Kings have it in spades.
"Winnie it is." Alexander props his arm out for her to take.
She loops her arm through his, and I watch as he charms the pants off my mother. Speaking her language as only he could while she gives him a tour of her home and the rest of us follow. Naturally, as she nears the end of the tour, she broaches the subject of her rejected loan once more.
"It would mean the world to me if you could speak to the head of your finance department and get them to approve the loan I asked for." She tells him.
"For raising such an amazing daughter, for you, even if he says no, I will personally lend you the money myself. Withstipulations, of course." He offers.
Eyes widened, my mother smiles and lays it on thick with a laugh that's as fake as her very full and very lifted boobs. "Always the businessman, I see." She smiles and carries on like she's not a scorpion in a Prada suit.
We end the tour outside in the backyard where Elijah is pushing Emily on a swing while Amiyah does the same for Jocelyn. And he looks so much like them, that you'd never be able to tell they have different mothers. Probably because Mary and I resemble each other a lot too. Which, I'm guessing is why Jackson ended up marrying her. At the time she was a more successful version of me. She'd finished Harvard Law School at the top of her class and was made partner within three years.
"How am I doing?" Alexander leans over to whisper into my ear as we make our way to an outside seating area where my mother has a chef slaving over a barbecue grill.
You can take the woman out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the woman.
"I have to hand it to you. You're doing better than I expected. And she hasn't kicked you out yet, which is a plus." I whisper back.
"Why would she kick her future son-in-law out of her home?"
Whirling around on Alexander, eyes wide, my heart thunders in my chest.
"You didn't."
"What... ask your mother for permission to marry you?" He grins wide. "I most certainly did."
Fuck. Me.
"I have an event tonight and I'd like to bring you along. But we must leave by four to get ready."
"What?" I frown. Still stuck on the fact that he asked my mother if he could marry me. "But I don't have anything decent to wear. I'd need to go shopping for a dress and shoes, and-"
"Everything is already taken care of." He cuts me off.
"How?"
"You're a size two in dresses and nine in heels."
How the hell does he know this?
"H-how do you even know that?"
"It's my job to know everything there is to know about you." He replies casually.
What have I gotten myself into?
"So, you're British, right?" Mary asks. Interrupting our conversation. "What part?"
"My family is from Windsor." He replies. And now it's Mary whose eyes widen.
She whispers something to Jackson, who pulls out his phone and taps away at the screen.
They're researching him.
"I know we got off on the wrong foot the last time we met, but Alexander has just asked for my blessing to marry your sister." My mother announces. "Now, the way I see it, she doesn't have much to offer him other than her good looks. But who am I to stand in the way of true love. I expect the rest of you to be equally as supportive."
Damn.
Tell me how you really feel.
"She offers what counts most to a man like me. Intelligence, humor... kindness." Alexander levels her with a look. Coming to my defense for a second time.
His answer is so smooth, even I am wondering if he knows who he's talking about.
"Whatever." My mother waves him off.
I can't tell if she's happy for me or jealous. But I have a feeling it's the latter.
My family's gazes fall on me once more. With all of them looking at me through new eyes. Like perhaps they wrote me off too soon.
They did.
"Can we not talk about this anymore?" I ask. Smiling nervously.
"Is something wrong?" Alexander asks. His confused gaze burrowing into mine. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No. What you said was beautiful," I place my hand over his to assure him. "That's just a lot to live up to."
Understanding dawns on his face. Followed by respect and then pity. And with my family looking on, watching everything we do like hawks, he peers into my eyes for several seconds before leaning in to kiss me with more tenderness than I can take before I pull away from him to collect myself.
Seriously... why does he keep kissing me?
This is the second time my contact rule has been violated, and I plan to have a talk with him about this later.
"Anyone who can't see how amazing you are, doesn't deserve you." He tells me. Holding my gaze to let me know he means it. Then he brings my hand up to his mouth to kiss the back of it. "I mean it. Every word."
Flustered, I turn away from him to face my family. And the shame on their faces makes me want to give Alexander back every penny he's ever paid me. Because his support alone is worth more than any amount of money he could ever give me.
"Alexander, come play with us!" Elijah runs over to retrieve him.
Without hesitation, he allows Elijah to drag him over to his sisters. Then they all take off running in every direction while Alexander covers his eyes to begin counting.
Across from me, my mother starts to clap. A wide grin on her face.
"I don't know how you did it, baby girl, but... well done. Now you just need to keep him on the hook long enough for him to follow through and marry you."
"And you need to pop out one of his kids." Eden adds.
"Yes." My mother agrees. "Then we'll all be set for life."
What makes her think I'm doing this for her?
Or the family.
Or for his money?
I'm. Not. Her.
"I'm not with Alexander for his money, mom." I tell her.
Well... not technically.
"Who cares." She shrugs. "Whatever you're doing, you just make sure he stays on the hook. I don't need to tell you what a marriage to Mr. King will do for our family's social life."
My gaze shifts over to Jackson who has now had a front row seat to the social climbing machine my mother is. She did the same thing when I started dating him, and I wonder if he's now making that connection.