Not long after their arrival, meals started coming in.
There's the famous Peking duck, followed by the signature braised tofu spinach in shimeji mushroom-oyster sauce, and the classics: sweet and sour pork, pan-fried beef cubes with black pepper sauce, stir-fried asparagus with minced garlic, crispy roasted pork belly, jellyfish in Szechuan sauce, and deep-fried baby french beans with salt and chili.
Those dishes are sublime, both families are having a lively conversation back and forth. However, the conversation quickly split up with Jeremy and Hendrik talking about the ups-and-downs of the coal trading business while the rest were talking about something else.
"Noo!" Agatha gasped.
"Oh, yes." The graceful older woman, eventually known as Christiana Dillard Bakker-Smith, said. "When he literally heard that Fendi is doing a private auction, we got the invite, and they're auctioning that cuff links, he literally told his twin sister to hop on a jet ASAP to Rome and attend the special auction so he can get it."
"Unfortunately I can't go because I have too many jobs to do," Maria Charlotte added. "He really wanted those cuff links that badly, so I commissioned two of my best employees to fly to Rome, and secure the cuff links. But the thing is, he was never interested in those things."
"Trust and believe me, I even questioned him why because he is not interested in fashion, despite having a great sense of style, and never once interested in auctions like that," Christiana noted. "At least I can see why now."
"But..." Alex tried to reason. "I never asked for those cuff links. Or the handkerchiefs, pens, and even wallets. I didn't even know those cuff links were auction material until my sister told everyone about the auction."
"I can vouch for the fact that every time he leaves the house, his go-to outfit is always t-shirts, khaki shorts and mountain sandals." Cecilia said. Agatha even nodded.
"Not all the time, guys," Alex denied the notion.
"Not this time, either," Agatha huffed. "If it weren't for our intervention, you're going downstairs meeting this family in t-shirts, khaki shorts and sandals."
"I saw him wearing khaki shorts and t-shirts all the time, after our exercise," Henry said.
"Then why and where did you get the idea of giving him gifts as a way of apology?" Maria-Charlotte asked her twin brother. "You can always improve his style after you two get married."
Alex got choked in his tea hearing that. Meanwhile, all eyes on Henry, making him uncomfortable. Alex instantly grabbed Henry's hands to assure him and calm him down, even he was curious.
"I got the idea from my group of friends and articles from the internet," he admitted, in a bit shy manner.
"What article?"
"There's an article on Robb Report last year, said that 75% of omegas are happier if they're given gifts as part of their Alpha's apology..."
"What? There's an article like that?" Alex was shocked hearing this for the first time. He looked at Henry in bewilderment. "I never heard of it before, to be honest."
"Wait. Really?" Henry asked. "You never read or heard..."
"Of course not!" Alex exclaimed. "I don't really have time to read such things!"
"Of course you don't," Cecilia snorted. "You're in your 'Artpop' era."
"'Artpop' era?"
"He's one of Lady Gaga's... what was it...? Little monsters, I think? Is that how she called her fans?"
"Yes, sis. She called us her 'Little Monsters'," Alex groaned.
"So anyway, from 2013 until last year, he's in this, Artpop era," Cecilia explained. "He's all about Jeff Koons' gazing ball, neon colors, Versace..."
"I remember one day that he begged us to let him have a cherub tattoo on the back of his head," Agatha chuckled. "He said 'because Gaga has one,' so we refused."
Alex rolled his eyes. "At least I saved a few months of haircut."
Maria Charlotte leaned in and asked, "So, what era are you in right now?"
Alex grinned as he replied, "I'm in my 'Cheek to Cheek' era. Old school Jazz, Roaring Twenties, New York, cocktail lounges, Gaga's pure vocals without the auto tune..."
Cecilia scoffed. "He literally bought the deluxe edition of 'Cheek to Cheek' and a CD of Tony Bennett's greatest hits when we're in California, and he's singing the songs out so loud in the car until our Grandma changed it to a Ryan Seacrest radio show because she's sick of it."
"Excuse me, but I do sang other songs, too."
"Oh sure. From Taylor Swift's 1989," Cecilia replied in sarcasm. "And let's not forget. Do you know how nuisance you are for playing this Bjork song every morning these days?"
Maria Charlotte asked in curiosity, "What song is he talking about?"
"I don't know what it is, but it's depressing and suicidal."
Alex glared at his older sister and argued, "It's called, 'Black Lake', and I'll have you know that it's not suicidal. It's a reflective song about a grief and how to move on from a ruined love story."
Cecilia scowled and rebuked, "Who cares. It's depressing. I hate it."
"Well, excuse me. But 'See You Again' by Charlie Puth is depressing too," Alex retaliated. "And it's repetitive on the radio. Not to mention you liked it so much because of that Fast and Furious movie you and Grandpa loved, so I am sick of it."
"Well, I am sick of this 'Black Lake' you..."
"Alright, alright, enough of this. Where were we? Oh yes." Maria Charlotte stopped the banter between the brother and sister while steering back to the conversation as she looked at her twin older brother. "That Robb Report article. You followed it to a T, did you?"
"Of course," Henry said. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Good grief!! Who told you to follow everything the article said?!" Maria Charlotte slapped her head while mooing. "The contents alone are not necessarily true!! If he loves you for who you are, there is no way he asks for all those things, like, hello?!"
"Besides, you should have come to me or Maria-Charlotte, Henry. We know more of this relationship heebie-jeebies than you do," Christiana said, shaking her head.
"Well, it's my first relationship, like, ever! What did you want me to do?"
"It's my first relationship, too..." Alex mumbled quietly, so it was met with deaf ears.
As the patriarch of both families are still passionately engrossed in their business-related talk, they did not bother to even stop the debate of 'the do's and don'ts of first-time Alpha-Omega relationships' between the matriarchs.
All that time, Alex and Henry can only hold hands and answer the questions their families throw out. They are still shy about showing affection in front of their families. And let's just say that Alex has a lot of his mind right now.
It eventually ended after the waitress reminded that it's the restaurant's last order.
*******
After that unceremonious dinner, Alex and Henry didn't meet again until they finally had a chance to meet again three days later.
When Henry picked Alex up, the latter can only stare in amazement at the car the former is riding.
"Is that..."
Henry grinned bashfully at his Omega's reaction. "Yes, Alex. It's Porsche Boxter. Get in."
Alex walked towards the passenger seat as he said, "When you texted me that you're going to pick me up, you didn't tell me that you're going to do so in this car...."
"Why? Don't you like it?"
Alex sighed. "Henry, it's a gorgeous car, but I am clueless about car types. I told you already that I only know the brands as if it was a common knowledge."
Henry can't help but groans as he slammed his forehead into the steering wheel, "Gah, I should've listened to her."
"What?" Alex can't help but asked as he put on the seatbelt.
"Maria Charlotte suggested I should've used the Innova instead of this."
"You have a Kijang Innova?!"
Henry looked at Alex and said, "Hold on tight. We're going to be late."
"Why's that?"
"We have a lunch reservation."
Henry then roared the engine and the car runs off.
*********
Henry took Alex to Mandarin Oriental's French fine dining restaurant 'Lyon' for a lunch date.
"I never been to this restaurant before," Alex said in amazement as he walked inside, hands clasped on Henry. "Ever."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's too expensive. Just for eating something around 500k makes my parents go bollocks at me."
Greeted by the servers, they were taken to the reserved table, before finally ordering their meals, even though Alex was hesitant to order something at first.
Now that the maître d' finally leave their table and their glasses filled with the best red wine the restaurant have, it's time for them to talk it out.
Alex exhaled and began, "So... last Wednesday..."
Henry nodded. "Yeah. I understand, it was something."
"Oh, it was something, alright," Alex spoke. "I have my suspicions at first, thanks to those little trinkets you gave me. But I never imagined that you're actually a real deal."
Henry kept his silence as Alex kept ranting.
"I... I literally didn't know who you were besides you being an Alpha, to be honest. And I wasn't even aware of your status or your wealth..." Alex said, sighing sadly. "I only like you because of the way you treat me at the gym, the way you treat me with the after workout dinners and sometimes encouraging words while you're holding me in your arms after the grueling exercises or the dramatics that I've been through, your sweet smile, and then, the way you look at me..."
Henry stopped Alex's rambling by kissing him right on the lips.
"Please stop," Henry said firmly as he held Alex's hands tightly with both palms. "Let me tell you this, I am grateful for what you have done to me."
"You didn't see me as a rich man. You never saw me as a cash cow. Someone that you can manipulate and drain. But you see me as a reliable man. A man that can protect you, provide you, shower you with love and attention you need, help you when in urgency. And I thank you for that."
"Please understand. We started on the wrong foot, true. But I have been making it up to you ever since. What happened last Wednesday was no excuse."
"It was no excuse for me either, too," Alex sighed. "Neither of us were given a chance to talk that day. And I never once blame you for that. It's just that we're both mellow people..."
Henry finished, "But the people around us aren't."
Alex and Henry sighed.
"Look, in the end, what has happened, happened," Henry began "We ought learn and move on from this. That's what we're doing in relationships and in life."
"We're committed to do this, and literally doing this for the long run, not just because I marked you as my mate, or we met our parents or what's what," Henry continued. "We're doing this because we trust each other."
Alex nodded.
"True. Even know we don't know each other well, as we only learn the tip of the iceberg, there's something about trustworthiness and protection coming out from you," he said. "I sort of suspect that it comes from the mark you gave me."
Henry chuckled.
"Like you said, we're in this together, no matter what," Alex said. "So I am committed to do this for eternity, as long as you're also committed to do the same thing as I am."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Henry smiled before taking Alex into a deep kiss.
The kiss was warm, loving and content, just like the fairytales. Neither desire nor need was exist in there.
It didn't take long before the servants came with the appetizer (Escargot de Bourgogne) that they had to let go of it.
"So that means that I can keep all of those things you gave me?" Alex asked carefully.
"Of course. It's yours," Henry replied affirmatively.
Alex smiled back. "Wow, thank you. I always afraid that I..."
"I can buy you a house, too," Henry grinned.
Alex's smile falters.
"You gave me that much and still want to buy me a house? Please be real," he said flatly as he gulped the wine.
Henry was shocked to witness such action. "The whole glass?"
Alex said lightly, "I used to drink something stronger than this. I can handle it."
*******
From there, the conversation slides into the lighter note.
The wine eventually becoming much easier to sip, followed by the Alex's Boeuf Bourguignon, Henry's Entrecôte Au Poivre, and eventually, another portion of the Escargot to share.
"Still can't believe that Kamal Al-Hakeem is now your cousin in law," Alex said as he takes another slice.
Henry answered as he sipped his glass filled with Champagne. "Trust and believe, is what I always say. But even now I still can't believe myself as well."
"How does it feel to know that your cousin got bred during your family's party?" Alex asked as he ate another garlic butter-drowned snail from its shell.
Henry shrugged. "Eh. At least, he took responsibility for it. I heard Kamal is a player. But he changed his ways after meeting my cousin. I don't even know the gist of it, but my whole family throws a short but huge feud."
"Really? I didn't notice."
"So you didn't know the whole thing about it?"
"Nah. I only know just a gist. Besides, I was focusing on other things in my life rather than gossiping billionaires doing crazy things."
Their conversation continued into the evening, even after they left the restaurant and walked around the Plaza Indonesia which was located right across the hotel.
Like a stream flowing in the river, they chatted non-stop, talking about whatever was on their minds. (It's just that they stop occasionally to give away their whereabouts to their respective families).
In the midst of this, of course, Henry (despite Alex's refusal) bought Alex a pricey, newly released Richard Mille RM 63-01 at The Time Place Plaza Indonesia, with the store attendant admitting that it was the last RM 63-01 piece the store had in stock.
"You have a lovely Omega, sir," the store attendant praised, as he looked at Alex, dazed as the RM 63-01 decorated his right wrist. "You must keep him."
"Indeed I will," Henry replied, "for eternity."
*******
That night, Alex tapped away into his Google Chrome on his two-year-old HTC One M7 to see if there's a feud between the two companies that Henry mentioned recently.
"Hooly sheets," Alex muttered as he scrolled and read the news articles that Google provided him. "This is a short feud but damn, the headache..."
As he reads an article, a convo bubble popped out from his phone. It was Henry.
He texted: "Babe, I have something to tell you."
Alex replied, "What is it?"
"You already met my parents and my sister, right?"
"Yeaaah?"
He then replied back: "Well, uh... now, the whole family, especially my grandparents... they want to meet you."
Alex can only muttered: "Fuck my life."