Friday, 3rd August, 2018
Valencia, Spain
"Lexi, are you done?" Trey called out in askance. He eyed the two giggling squirts running in circles, high on chocolate. "I could really use your help here!"
"You decided to feed them all that chocolate this early in the morning, so deal with it!" She called back, amusement clear in her voice.
Trey sighed, looking at his toddlers. "Stop running around else daddy won't give you chocolates ever again."
They paused, stumbling a bit but when they righted themselves, Winslet shook her hand in warning. "No no daddy," she said.
Rhett hugged Trey's legs, looking up at him with the cutest green eyes—both kids had inherited Trey's eye color. "Chocolate?" When Trey shook his head, Rhett covered his face, fake crying.
Trey nearly gave in when Alexandra reappeared, a towel around her body. "If you give in whenever they cry, they'll use it against you." She sat on the floor and picked Rhett onto her lap; Winslet came to be held as well.
"You've both had enough chocolate so if you don't eat any more, I'll reward you with pizza. You want some hot and yummy meat stuffed pizza?"
"Yesh," Winslet answered, getting off Lexi to do her happy dance—which basically involved clapping and bouncing; it was a messy dance since she wasn't very coordinated. She was a mini-Lexi through and through. Rhett, the quieter of them both, stayed nestled to his mom, smiling up at her at the prospect.
Trey watched Alexandra with their kids—her dramatic fall back when Winslet crashed into her—and smiled alongside their giggles.
It had been a long journey to getting back to normal—or close. Several therapy sessions, several dates and several constant checkups on the babies and Alexandra herself later, they were ready to move on. It still wasn't easy because she constantly worried, and occasionally still got nightmares over those three's deaths but she was better now.
Trey has spoken to his father too, actually spoken to him and they'd mended the rift between them—Ashley was glad because she'd never liked that they hadn't gotten along because of her. They didn't exactly have the best father-son relationship, but Andrew was just glad to have the opportunity to be there for his grandchildren.
He was a completely different person with them and doted on the twins so much that they were always thrilled when they were visiting him. They always came back home with a gift or two, giggling unend.
Trey had also moved them into the new house where security was much better due to Amaris' presence. And when the move was complete, he'd held a gathering for his security team, allowing his friends and family to join them; each member of the team had left with fat packages of thanks.
Leander had been allowed to attend, though his feet had been chained. He'd been able to officially meet his son in law and grandson and apologize for the effects his actions had had on Evelyn's life.
Then they'd had to go to court to offer proof that Lexi hadn't killed Wheeler on purpose. After hearing it all and seeing all the laid-out evidence, the court had ruled in Lexi's favor and instructed that the bank transfer all of Wheeler's assets—current and fixed—to Lexi and the babies as compensation.
For a long time, Lexi couldn't stand being touched intimately because it reminded of Wheeler forcing himself on her. So, he'd been patient, not touching her at all for a time. They had focused on rebuilding their relationship and being the best parents they could be to the twins.
He'd taken time to woo her, taking her on dates, spending quality time with just her to assure her he loved her. They had established a friendship as the foundation of their relationship this time, and it had worked out; Lexi had decided she wanted to marry him again.
He'd whooped for joy and then she'd said she wanted it to be on the same day as their previous one. So in two weeks, on the 18th of August, they would get married again, and continue counting their anniversaries from there.
However, there was something they'd decided to do, and that was why they were in Spain—a vacation home they'd acquired from Andrew—instead of wedding planning. It had been a last-minute decision, so they'd left the rest of the planning to Ashley and the girls, instructing the guys to help out.
Fingers being snapped in front of him caught his attention, and he found Lexi had put on clothes. "When did you put those on?" He asked, sounding disapproving.
She smiled when his eyes went wide as if he couldn't believe he'd asked that. "You got lost in thought. Everything okay?"
"Absolutely," he said, rising to his feet to wind his arms around her waist. Before he could kiss her, he spotted the twins fighting and sighed, pressing his forehead to hers. "Must they always fight?"
Lexi chuckled. "It's all love. They'll get back to being friends pretty soon—you know that."
"I do." He kissed her softly, not wanting to scare her away. "I love you; you know that right?"
"Yes," she replied, hugging him back, "and I love you too. So much."
"Good."
Realizing there was a hug going on, the twins ran over, raising their arms as they whined. "Hug mama", "I lah you", they said simultaneously, wanting to be included. While Winslet was more direct, Rhett's 'I love you' was equivalent to asking for some affection or touch of sorts.
Lexi picked up Rhett who'd come to her side while Trey picked up his troublesome daughter, including them. "We love you too," Lexi murmured, pressing a kiss to both their heads, chuckling when their tiny arms went around them.
Lexi leaned back a bit to address Trey. "As much as I'm liking this, don't you have somewhere to be?"
"Oh shoot," Trey muttered, handing Ky to Lexi. "You've got them?"
"Yes, just go." She adjusted the babies. "Give him my greetings and have him host us for dinner. Insist on it—I want to try his cooking."
"Yes ma'am," Trey replied, kissing her once more before almost running out the door.
"Daddy," Winslet called after him, her voice sad.
"Daddy will be back soon, okay?" When Winslet didn't reply, she said, "Let's order the pizza then I'll give you and your brother a little more chocolate. Would you like that?"
"Yes mama," they both responded, Winslet still looking sad. Rhett reached over to pat her head and she smiled a little, tucking her head in Lexi's neck.
*
Trey entered the gym, wrinkling his nose at the stench of sweat. He made his way towards the back, mentioning his name before he was allowed entry. Trey spotted his quarry training with a young boy.
He looked up when Trey approached, his countenance switching from confident to nervous in an instant. The youngster nailed him in the gut with a punch and he doubled over, chuckling when he saw Trey found it funny.
He straightened and asked the boy to leave them. The young boy who walked past Trey greeting him couldn't be older than fifteen. "Robinson —"
Trey lifted a hand, halting his words. "In the ring," he said, taping his knuckles. The other man visibly swallowed, not because he wasn't strong but because of the topic of discussion.
When Trey had gotten both gloves on, he entered the ring with him, taking a stand on one side. "Do you know why I'm here?"
The other man shrugged uneasily. "I can guess."
Trey huffed, circling the ring. The man did the same. "Why did you leave my sister, Devante?" Trey asked, nearing him.
He let out a sigh. "I didn't have a choice."
"Bull," Trey said, swiftly delivering a punch to his gut. "Try again."
Devante recovered quickly, but he was still on defense. "I know I did her wrong, but I didn't mean to. You don't know how hard it was growing up as a bastard so when the old man reached out, I wanted to show those bullies we'd schooled with that my father was a prominent man. I sacrificed everything for that little approval and revenge I got."
"Including my sister," Trey muttered as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "You didn't love her enough?"
Exasperated, he said, "It wasn't a matter of not loving her enough. God knows that even while I was married, she was all I could think about."
"Then what was your problem?"
"I wanted his assets too." Trey landed a punch in his jaw, adding another to his stomach.
"So hurting my sister was preferable to losing wealth?" Trey punched him again before he could recover from the previous punches. "That answer made my gut twist in disgust. To think I respected you a little."
That piece of information surprised Devante because he'd always thought Trey didn't think him worthy, much less to be with Melissa. Regardless, he held up his hands, not ready to back down.
"It was actually all about the approval," he admitted. "It was something I'd wanted my whole life, and your sister couldn't understand why. She refused to wait for me."
"It's ridiculous to ask someone to wait and watch you be married to someone else for two years, especially when there's no knowing what will result from the marriage." Trey punched him in the face—hard. "That is for even suggesting that."
"Damn it Robinson," Devante cursed, spitting out blood. "Did you come here to kill me or what?"
"I will if you keep giving me stupid and wrong answers," Trey said without missing a beat. Then he cracked his neck. "You got divorced. What were you waiting for?"
"You told me to stay away," he hissed, narrowing his eyes at Trey.
Trey punched him again. "If you really loved her, would you have let me get in the way? You just gave up when I said that, and I was glad because it proved you didn't give a damn."
Devante came to a stop, looking irritated. "I didn't cross boundaries out of respect for you."
"You should've loved her enough to view me as a mere obstacle," Trey said, "but you didn't. You were perfectly fine without her."
"What the hell are you even getting at?!"
Trey's eyes went wide, then he nailed him in the stomach. "Don't take that tone with me especially when you're unguarded. Fight me Devante," Trey added when he fell on his knees.
Devante slammed his fist on the floor of the ring and stood, eyes ablaze. "You tricked me, made me waste time, only to tell me in other terms that it was a test?"
"Basically, yes."
Snarling, Devante threw a punch that hit Trey in the eye. Trey blinked, then smirked, glad he was responding now. That was the man he knew, not the defeated one he'd met earlier. "You're the worst," Devante growled, throwing a punch Trey managed to dodge.
He grinned unabashed, replying, "I know." Then he got serious, punching Devante in the gut again. Devante cursed, clutching his side.
"It took me almost losing Alexandra to realize you need to work for love," he began. "You don't stay where you are, and hope all goes well. You need to nudge things along."
He scrunched his face in irritation. "The man I knew didn't know how to give up. He started from scratch and gained enough confidence to snatch businesses without remorse. And you didn't fight tooth and nail to get the one you loved?
"You and I have a lot of similarities, and I'm not sure if I got it worse than you but we both messed up. I fixed mine, and that made me see from a different perspective. That's why I want you to tell me the truth." Trey paused, standing, fists lowered. "Do you love her?"
Devante let out a shuddering breath. "Yes."
An unannounced fist hit him in the face. "Then fight for it! I won't have a spineless man play with my sister's heart, understand?!"
Devante scowled. "I never wanted to hurt her." Then after wiping the blood off his split lip, he asked, "So this is you giving me permission?"
"Do I need to spell it out?" Trey snarled in response.
Devante punched him twice in quick succession—right the gut, and he doubled over, clutching his stomach. "After making me waste time, don't act like you're the one giving me a push."
He threw another towards Trey's face, and Trey let it hit. "I've always loved her and always wanted to get her back, and I'm going to—and not because you think I should."
Trey grinned, an arm wrapped around his stomach. "Then I guess my work here is done. You're invited to our wedding; it's in two weeks. Start from there." He made his way out of the ring, taking off the gloves. "Alexandra wants dinner by you. Host us. —"
Devante sputtered with indignation. "You can't just instruct me to do whatever—I'm not one of your employees."
Trey didn't look back. "We'll see you at seven. I hope you make something local."
"Robinson—"
"And I enjoyed talking to you. Bye." He was out the door, leaving Devante screaming obscenities at his back. Of all people, why did Melissa have to be related to this hard-headed mule?!
*
"Hey!" Alexandra greeted when Devante opened the door. "I smell something good and I'm really hungry," she added as she hugged him.
He smirked, glancing once at Trey, then asked Alexandra, "Are we expecting more mini-Robinsons?"
Scrunching her face, she slapped him on the chest and invited herself in, walking slowly with a toddling Kyleigh. "This is our daughter, Kyleigh." She nodded towards Rhett who was holding Trey's hand but looking behind him, saying, "That's Rhett."
Devante smiled at Kyleigh who was now staring at him then bent to lift her into his arms, pinching her cheeks. He was trying to rile Trey up, and it was working. Rhett saw Ky being carried and looked on longingly.
"He also wants to be carried now," Lexi murmured, chuckling a little. Devante bent to scoop him up too and the dazzling but shy smile Rhett offered his mother was proof he was satisfied now. "We brought gifts," Lexi said, looking around as Trey entered and closed the door behind him. "Where's your son?"
Devante smiled wryly. "Still getting dressed, I think. He'll be down soon." Then he gestured with his head. "Make yourselves comfortable."
Alexandra went first, going towards the scent of the food. "Devante!" she called out a bit later.
Trey reached for the kids. Winslet came to him easily, but when he reached for Rhett, he turned away, saying, "No daddy."
Devante smirked at Trey then headed towards the kitchen, throwing the words, "Even your son likes me better."
Trey snorted, calling after him, "I'm wondering what he sees that I don't."
He saw Xaviel, his son, standing opposite Alexandra, aiming a wooden ladle at her. He didn't look exactly hostile, and Alexandra was smiling like she thought him cute.
The boy was the devil himself.
He was in dress pants and a white shirt, the first few buttons open—like his father, a thin gold necklace gleaming around his neck.
Xaviel liked to dress up—whether in a suit to look like him when following him to the office, or just to feel good about himself—and Devante indulged him because he could. And he truly wanted to.
"She's one of the guests I told you were coming over Xaviel," Devante said, watching as Xaviel trained his eyes on Rhett in his arms. "Xaviel," he called, snapping him out of whatever trance he'd been in.
He put down the ladle, and walked towards Alexandra, extending a hand. Alexandra took it, surprised and warmed when he placed a soft kiss on the back of it, touching his forehead to it right after.
"I apologize señora," he murmured, then he lifted his head, smiling at Alexandra. "I am Xaviel Romero; welcome to our home."
Alexandra almost melted. "Thank you."
Devante shook his head, turning away to wash his hands. A quite difficult feat since he was holding Rhett. When he finished, he addressed his son, "Go greet the other one Xaviel."
"Yes papá," he said, walking out of the kitchen with a swagger that made Alexandra laugh.
"How old is he?" she asked, turning to Devante.
"Six," he answered, sounding a little annoyed. "He won't agree to do things kids do and I'm getting worried. I feel like the divorce and the kind of mother he has made him grow up."
"Oh," Alexandra said softly, then she grinned slyly, saying, "and that's why you need someone in your life to be there for him as well."
Devante looked up at the ceiling trying to hide his smile. Then he looked at her, amused. "Are you trying to hint at something?"
"Oh, me? No," she replied, waving him away though she couldn't hide her smile well either. "Just saying you need a woman—could be anyone."
"Right." He didn't believe her one bit, not with the way she was suddenly busying herself with getting out the utensils as if she'd always lived there.
"The kids must be hungry," she said, changing the subject. "I know I am, so can we dish it out?"
"Sure," he said with that same small smile, letting the previous topic drop.
"What do we have?"
"As much as I could make," he replied, adjusting Rhett, who looked very interested in the food, in his arms. "There's empanadas, churros, tortillas, pasta, steak, and a few more small things." Devante picked up a sliced egg and offered it to him.
He accepted it happily, saying, "Kank you," his version of 'thank you'.
Devante turned to Lexi, impressed. "Most kids don't know what appreciation is."
"Well," she scratched her head, "I can't take credit. Melissa spent the most time with them buying them stuff and teaching them words as I recovered."
"I see," he said neutrally. "But I'm sure you had a hand in it somehow." Alexandra shrugged, going back to dishing the food while Devante got lost in thought.
Melissa.
She'd done so well for herself, and he was happy for her; happy that with her brother's backing, she'd followed and made her dreams come true—just like she'd sworn she would. If independence didn't make the woman more attractive, he'd be damned.
What struck him was that, even after he'd left her to please his father and grow his empire more, she'd still used the name she'd promised to. He knew from what she'd told him about her past that she didn't take promises lightly when she kissed your finger wrapped around hers, but he hadn't expected her to still use ME-RO when they'd split.
The two of them—and most probably Alexandra too—were the only ones who knew the meaning behind it.
He'd tried to reach her severally only to find his access was being blocked by her brother—an overprotective one with so much power that he didn't know what to do with it.
Devante had wanted to become as powerful as her brother for egotistical reasons, and though Melissa had told him she didn't mind, he'd gone through with it, losing her in the process.
He regretted a lot of things; listening to his father and marrying Valentina and making Melissa feel she wasn't fit to be his wife. A hand was waved in his face. "Are you okay?"
He looked at Alexandra and smiled. "I'm fine." Then he found she'd dished the meals into several glass serving bowls. "Let me take them to the table," he offered, grabbing a bowl full of salad.
Alexandra led the way, getting Trey to help and Devante smiled, seeing clearly who was wearing the pants in the relationship. Then Alexandra spoke. "Why do you also have a black eye?" she asked out of nowhere.
Devante smiled wryly. "Your husband will have answers to that."
When Trey joined them at the dining table, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you fight him, Trey? You said you were going to talk to him."
"We did talk," he said, feigning offense, then turned to Devante, "didn't we?"
"We did," he admitted, leaving it at that.
"Why did fists have to be involved?" She questioned.
Devante smiled at her. "It was a mutual decision to settle everything there." Then before she could argue, he added, "I have excellent wine and was thinking of making sangria. Will you both have some?"
Alexandra nodded, and Devante said, "So you aren't pregnant again. Oh well," he finished with a shrug. He handed Rhett to his mother and ruffled his son's hair—Xaviel scowled.
Though he had regrets, he didn't—and would never—regret his son. Devante clapped once as he backed away. "I'll get to the sangrias. Three —"
"I want sangria too," Xaviel blurted, earning a stern look from Devante.
"A glass of iced tea for you," he said. "We'll have steak so let that be compensation." When the boy looked like he was about to protest, he continued with narrowed eyes, "I know you have been stealing wine from me to make your own sangria—"
"I wouldn't call it stealing papá, tomo prestado [I borrow]," he remarked, hiding his face.
Trey, who was quite fluent in Spanish, covered his mouth to hide his smile.
"¿Pides prestado? (You borrow?) No debes beberlo en absoluto (You're not to drink it at all)," Devante hissed, trying not to make a scene. "Keep your wine drinking and theft at home. Do not ever say you want to drink alcohol in public. Lo entiendes?"
"Sí papá," he replied quietly, slumping in his seat. "I just want to be like you—a grown up. That's why I'm dressed like you. It's... strange for me to not drink wine while looking this grown up."
Alexandra, now understanding what was going on, also began smiling when Devante frowned, asking. "And who told you that?"
"Alessandro," he muttered. When Devante growled in frustration, he added, "I only asked him to teach me to act like a man."
"Xaviel, I've told you so many times that there's no rush to grow up. Enjoy your childhood and do things kids do. I don't want you to have regrets when you grow up," he said.
Then he pointed a finger in his face, adding smilingly, "Now, cheer up. I forgive you for stealing my wine so long as you never ask for it in public again."
Xaviel lifted his head, a huge grin splitting his face, and he looked more like the child he was then. "Yes papá. I won't ask for wine ever. . .till I grow up." Devante smiled, face-palming, knowing Xaviel's promise won't hold for long.
"Well," Trey muttered, looking straight at Devante, mirth shining in his eyes, "this dinner won't be a dull affair, I'm sure."
Alexandra gave Devante a laughing glance. "I happen to agree."