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Word count: 3065
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A week had passed since the Ambrosia's little family got back from Italy and Stephanie had resumed school. Dixon now occasionally spoke to Stephanie, especially during break and after school and an overly excited Stephanie wouldn't keep still about it. She'd told absolutely everyone she came across about the boy that she liked so much that was now also her friend in school too.
On Friday, Monica drove behind Sucre and they went to pick Stephanie together.
They hadn't made it public that they were a couple and while Sucre couldn't care in the least about what people thought, Monica didn't want to look like an office slut who merely fabricated a story and claimed the new company's boss was now her husband.
They would do it officially, on the day Monica received her promotion letter, so everyone would be present and it wouldn't be passed around as mere rumor. The company party was actually still few months away but Sucre had told her in advance. She was yet to know where she would be working when she got promoted since Sucre already said she would be changing offices and Monica was considering starting up a small firm on the side but that wasn't a day's job.
So for now, she still hadn't told anyone about her childhood dream to be her own boss.
On Veronica's plea, Monica had agreed to pick Dixon along with Stephanie and take him to their own place because Veronica and her soon to be ex-husband were still in the process of finalizing their divorce papers and had to appear in court. His mother didn't want him in their separation mess.
"Dixon?" Stephanie called the boy with her eyes staring at him in incredulity as they drove home with Monica at the backseat and Sucre's driver at the driver's seat.
"Yeah Steph?" Dixon replied. The girl gasped, and then a grin broke on her face.
"Steph! Mommy he called me Steph." Stephanie announced with a wide smile and twinkling eyes. Her mother merely laughed lightly at the girl's childishness.
Stephanie then looked back to Dixon who had once again turned his face outside the window. She squinted, looking out as well.
There was nothing but trees out there. The girl's gaze hardened as she glared at the stupid trees distracting her Dixon's attention from her. Sulking, she leaned back into her seat with a resigned sigh but Stephanie just couldn't keep still.
Shyly, she picked Dixon's right hand in hers, her cheeks coloring crimson at her own act and she quickly looked away when she saw him directing his gaze her way.
Dixon's gaze softened.
He chuckled and pecked the back of her hand, smiling at the cute sight of her blushing face. Monica was staring at the two children. She didn't know if she should scream at how cute they were or be scared that her daughter, who wasn't even four yet, already had a crush so deep for this boy.
Whenever she wasn't singing her father's praises around the house, she would be ranting this or that about how Dixon never smiled or how Dixon's backpack was black compared to her own which was Pj mask themed or some other thing. Those were her two favorite people in her world at the moment. Even her uncle Drew had been kicked to a corner in her mind. She rarely spoke of him these days.
That brought Monica's mind to another thought. Shoot! Andrew!
She'd totally forgotten about his existence and hadn't spoken to him since they got back from Italy. She dialed his line quickly but it was switched off. She heaved a sigh, deciding to try it sometime again before the end of the week. He'd spent quite a few months in Hawaii where he was attending some exhibition and also doing some projects.
The car drove into the compound and the kids alighted after the driver parked with Monica shaking her head at the sight. Stephanie was skipping in when she saw Dixon taking cool steps to the entrance and that made her slow down her steps, quickly linking their hands and walking slowly beside him.
Sucre alighted his own car and his chauffeur who had drove Monica and the kids home in her car left after giving Sucre and Monica their goodnight wishes. His phone started ringing, making Sucre halt in his steps. He told his wife and to go in and he would join them in a while, bringing the device out of his suit pocket.
Monica shrugged. From the look of it, the call was probably important.
"Yes Nana?" Sucre sighed after picking the call.
He turned around to make sure Monica and the kids had gone in. He had to hasten his plans and take Monica with him back to Italy, but then she had her own life here too and he didn't want to just drag her from everything and everyone she had here. Still, Sucre wanted her there with Stephanie, close to him and where they belonged.
He was deeply conflicted about this and knew he had to tell Monica soon.
"Sucre. I see you used your manipulation skills and won once again." Nana snarled on the line, deep annoyance evident in her tone. Nana was old, now in her mid eighties. And the death of her only son had done a good number on her but she was grateful he at least left a son before dying in that crash with her daughter in law.
Now Sucre was all she had and she couldn't allow him take any more wrong steps. It was either he had Monica or he left her alone, no more playing games.
She didn't regret the proposition she'd made a month ago to Monica about joining that dating app. If anything, Nana had done it to warn Sucre that if he didn't take the needed steps, he would lose Monica to another man, for good. She had no idea that her grandson would have thwarted her plans and seduced the precious woman into his bed again!
Sucre laughed lightly. "Nana, I and Monica had a misunderstanding years back but we've settled it. All we need right now is your blessings."
"Of course you do, foolish boy. Does she know about the fake accounts your minions created on the dating app?"
Sucre groaned. Of course his Nana would know he'd sent those men to do such a dirty job. He didn't want to think about that anymore. Not with the hell Monica had given him about it, teasing him with her knee length dress that showed all her curves and blatantly ignoring him throughout the flight.
How he would've loved to hike that dress up and take her from behind on that flight, but Monica was having none of it.
"Yes Nana." He replied in a tight voice.
Nana gasped. Then she coughed. "You foolish brat. I raised you to be a gentleman, not some manipulator thinking with the thing between his legs and making dumb mistakes!" Nana scolded.
"I have apologized and she has forgiven me."
"So soon?" The woman's voice was laced with unbelief. Obviously she didn't expect that Monica would forgive him so easily. That girl is so smitten that she allowed him seduce her to bed!
He obviously seduced her again.
"Yes Nana. I have a request."
"What is it?"
"No more playing games Nana and please stop teaching my wife to become rebellious. I love her and she loves me too, so don't try to matchmake her with some loser."
"And what do you owe me for that? You foolish boy." Sucre refrained from rolling his eyes. His Nana always called him foolish; he was used to hearing her say that.
"I owe you another grandchil-"
"I refuse!" Nana refuted before he could even complete his sentence.
"Why Nana? We want this to work, okay? Just-"
"You'll give me two more great-grandchildren— either that or nothing. So we have a deal?" She demanded sneakily. Sucre was appalled. He was eager to take his suit off him so he just chuckled at his grandmother's demanding tone.
"Fine Nana. I'll speak to my wife and see if she wants more babies. She's the one pushing them out so I don't have much say in the matter-"
"Better treat her right or I'll set her up with a rich and handsome Arabian prince. Hmph!" The beep sound prompted Sucre to move the phone off his ear. He chuckled but then took a pause and thought about it, feeling slight pity for Nana.
He understood clearly why she was that way with him. After losing her son which was Sucre's father, she would have been totally broken if she didn't have Sucre to serve as a source of comfort. That was the risk of having one child, what if something happened to them?
Sucre heaved a deep sigh.
He'd grown up lonely and sad because he didn't have any sibling with him at the time when he should've been sharing fond memories or even having childish fights and banter. Sucre didn't want Stephanie to grow up that way too. The thought of her not having any sibling to share her memories with made his heart clench as he remembered his seven year old self.
When his parents died, the only person that hung around enough to understand him— apart from Nana— was Monica. He hadn't even received comfort from his friends. He'd isolated himself from the world.
Promising himself that things would be different this time around, Sucre shrugged and went in. He was taking off his shoes when he heard a male sound in the room— Monica's room. The living room was empty and Stephanie's chatters could be heard from her own room, meaning she was there with Dixon. His brows furrowed.
There's a man in his wife's room, and the both of them were the only ones who have keys into the house.
Sucre took large strides into his wife's room, only to find Monica locked in someone's embrace at the center of her room and the man with chocolate colored hair had his arms tightly around her waist. His eyes blazed with fury.
In the blink of an eye, he yanked the man off his wife and landed a swinging fist into the man's jaw. The intruder swayed right, causing Monica to slip from his hold.
"Sucre, what are you doing?" Monica panicked, already guessing from Sucre's actions that he'd misinterpreted them. Sucre didn't look at the face or wait for the person to respond before ramming another fist into the intruder's stomach, sending the man flying onto Monica's bed. And the intruder let out an oomph sound, groaning as he tried to get off the bed.
Sucre's jaws gritted in irritation as he stared. His eyes zoned on the bed with pure white sheets, which he'd laid himself before leaving for work that morning. They bed where they'd made sweet love the previous night. His jaws clenched harder. Monica ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly.
"Sucre, it's not what you think." She cried out.
"Don't defend him. Who the hell is he, coming here and daring to hug my wife!" An angry Sucre snarled, ready to charge at the intruder in their home again.
"Stop this madness Sucre!" Monica tried to push him out since his body was still shaking with anger and he wouldn't see reasoning enough to patiently await her explanation.
Monica was at loss. Was he that dumb not to recognize who she'd been hugging?
The person got up, now with a bruising jaw and disheveled hair. He hadn't been prepared for the attack, if not he would've, prevented it. He charged for Sucre but paused midair when he saw who his attacker was. His muscles flexed, his anger intensifying. And that was when an angry and still boiling Sucre realized whom he'd attacked.
Regret flooded through him, chilling him to the bones as he realized his grave mistake.
He didn't get to speak though, as he received the fist that came flying into his back, shielding a rambling Monica who was still in his hold with his back to her.
Monica gasped when she felt the impact of the blow as Sucre's body stumbled forward a bit. She pulled out of Sucre's secured hold and raised a hand for Andrew her brother, who had anger evident in his eyes and was already stalking closer to lock his hands around Sucre's neck.
Andrew was beyond pissed. This was the man that had cheated on his sister and caused her so much heartache all those years, yet he had the right to attack him. Well, he'd be darned if he just sat back and took the beating without sending him out of the house first, far away from his sister and niece.
Monica looked from one man to the other. If they continued with this childish brawling and broke something, it would gain the children's attention and they would want to come around to check it out. That was if they hadn't already heard her shouting in panic a minute ago.
"Both of you stop this madness! Sucre, get out right now and cool off. Attend to Stephanie and Dixon before I come out later. We'll talk then!" She pointed at him while giving him a look of disappointment, tapping one foot with a hand on her waist.
Sucre hung his head in shame. He wasn't proud of his actions. Jealousy had clouded his senses for a second and he'd just seen red. He watched her take off her blazer and earrings, before pulling her hair out of the bun.
He tried to pacify her, to make a quick apology to his brother-in-law though he didn't like apologizing, especially if the person wasn't Monica. "Andr-"
"Just go!"
Looking at Monica and how angry she was, Sucre knew he had nothing else to say in his defense so he left. Monica quickly rushed to Andrew, checking his bruised jaw and fretting over him with one hand gently cradling the back of his head.
"Oh Drew, I'm really sorry about that. Sucre isn't usually one to take rash decisions."
"So what was that all about?" Andrew asked in a chilling tone. Monica paused. She searched his eyes, which were brown like hers.
She took a seat beside him. "It's a long story Andrew, I should've told you one of the thousand times when we made video calls but I wanted you to come home and have this talk with you. I didn't know he would react this way to seeing you."
"Tell me everything, I'll know if I have to kick him out this second." Andrew stated angrily while Monica went to get her first aid box to clean him up.
"There's no need for the latter, I'll explain everything." She took out gauze and applied some spirit, slowly cleaning the busted line across his jaw and wincing on his behalf. It would probably be so painful even though Andrew wasn't showing any sign of pain.
"Is he safe with Stephanie?"
Monica nodded. "Yes. They've gotten closer over the time you were away and I'm now second place in her life since he has become her most favorite person. I met Sucre the exact day you called to tell me you were going to Hawaii. Also, we've...settled our differences." Monica heaved a sigh.
Andrew tensed. "What does that mean? I swear if he-"
"No Drew, it was all my fault. I made the mistake that night when I thought he impregnated someone."
"Wait, was that what actually happened? You never told me or dad what happened." He frowned.
"Yes, I caught him kissing someone that night and the lady had also announced that she was pregnant. It was Tommy, another college mate that I'd mistaken for Sucre."
Andrew frowned. "Did you ask him?"
Monica shook her head. She couldn't utter the words as shame consumed her.
"Well damn. I shouldn't be scolding you in some things because you're older than I am, big sis. So please act that way. Act maturely. Relationship is all about talking things out Monica. Even I know that." He scolded.
Monica felt more guilt eat her up as she returned the first aid kit. When she got back to her room, Andrew had gotten up.
"Thank you Drew. Ever since we had our discussion, I have had this regret in me. It was all my fault." Monica felt a tear escape her left eye.
"Shh. The deed has been done, so stop blaming yourself." He cradled her head and patted her back soothingly.
"I can't help it. I wasted three whole years for nothing." She sniffed.
"I understand why he reacted that way. He was scared that you would...maybe leave him again or something will come between you. He hasn't said anything about that, I presume?"
Monica shook her head. The thought of Sucre actually being afraid of losing her made more guilt eat at her insides.
"All you need to do now is to reassure him you're going nowhere. If not he'll keep thinking you'll up and leave again. He might not tell you but that's now he feels. We men also feel threatened and afraid to lose the women in our lives, even though we don't show it all the time. Remember he lost his parents at a young age and never had any siblings or close friends while growing up. Don't screw this up again, okay?"
Monica felt the tears roll down her cheeks and soak his shirt. "I won't."
"Good. I'll call him in now."
She nodded and sat at the edge of her bed, before deciding to take off her suit pants and wear some boy shorts before he came for her.
*
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Do you think Sucre overreacted?
What do you think about Andrew and his advice to Monica?
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