Chapter 21

~Eliana~

I smoothened my dress with the palms of my hands, as I stared into the mirror, admiring my outfit. I had on a Staud mini Ilana black dress, Nappa silk strappy heels, made from Real gold, and diamond studs, clipped to my ears. My hair was packed in a bun, and were beautified with golden hairpins.

Two days ago, my parents had announced their intention to have Alistair over for dinner, since there was something clearly going on between the both of us. They said all they just wanted was to have a little chitchat with the man I was seeing, like every other reasonable parent would, and even though I was still mad at them for making me look like I was some kind of crazy bitch, I decided to give them another chance.

Deep down, I knew they weren’t going to screw things up. They only messed with people of little or no importance; they never had any clash with someone in their class, or above their class. That was the kind of family I had.

When I informed Alistair about the whole thing, he had been delighted by the news, to my own surprise. I knew he didn’t like them, but he was probably happy that the parents of the girl he was in love with asked to meet with him, one on one.

As I proofread a script I was working on for a movie, which I intended to submit to a producer the next day, it crossed my mind that I hadn’t informed Alistair to come along with a gift to the family dinner.

I really didn’t want anything to go wrong with the dinner, especially since Daniel, Eleanora’s loud-mouthed husband, was also going to be present, as well as Elio’s materialistic wife, Flora. I didn’t want them to find fault in Alistair, and chase him away with their obnoxious attitude.

I quickly picked up my phone, and was about dialling his number, so, I could tell him to just get anything on his way when I heard a knock on my door.

“Yes?” I answered.

Jane opened the door, and stepped in.

“Good evening, Miss Venator,” She said, smiling sheepishly.

That was so unlike her, as she was always so serious. “What’s up with you?” I asked, staring at her in wonder.

“The man that you described the other day is around,” She said.

I was perplexed for a moment. “Man? What man are you talking about?” I inquired.

“The 6’2 tall man, with fair skin and blue eyes, who’s always on suits. You do remember describing him to me, right?” She asked, still smiling sheepishly.

A smile lit up my face. “Alistair Duke is here?” I asked.

“Yes, Miss Venator. He’s here. I could tell he was the one you had described the other day immediately I saw him in the living room, having a discussion with your parents because he matched every bit of your description. Honestly, I had thought you were making things up with the way you talked about him that day. He’s truly everything you mentioned,” Jane said.

I stood up from my chair, wearing a small smile. “Now, Jane, I hope you’re not having a crush on my man,” I said.

“No, I’m not. I was only just stating the truth. I am so happy for you, Miss. After everything you’ve been through, you really deserve the best,” Jane said, in a very sincere manner.

At that point, I almost started crying, as her words touched me. Truly, my life had gone so wrong in the past and it was only right that things were going great for me now. “Thanks, Jane,” I said, in appreciation.

“You’re welcome, Miss. They actually asked me to come get you,” Jane said.

“I’ll be down in a bit,” I said.

“Okay, Miss,” She said, exiting my bedroom, after giving me a small bow.

I hadn’t had the opportunity to inform Alistair to buy a gift when coming, but I was very much aware that he could dish out whatever he was served. Alistair wasn’t someone that could be easily deterred by any of my family members, and I looked forward to tonight’s dinner with anticipation.

I closed my laptop after shutting it down, and made my way out of my bedroom, not forgetting to first apply some Arabian perfume oil to project my scent.

I made my way out of the bedroom and got to the living room, where I saw Alistair sitting with my parents, wearing a forced smile. He sensed my presence and looked up, wearing a broad smile that embodied a sense of happiness, upon seeing me.

He stood up, and walked over to where I stood, looking radiant and dashing as he came towards me, slowly taking my breath away with every step he took that drew him closer to where I was standing.

“Hi, beautiful,” He said, planting a small kiss on my cheeks.

“Hi, handsome,” I said, with a broad smile, plastered on my face.

He was putting on a Dolce & Gabbana three-piece dinner suit, Emporio Armani clip-fastening bow tie, and a classic white shirt of the same brand, matched with Calvin Klein lace-up derby shoes. From his outfit alone, it was easy to tell that he was a billionaire, who enjoyed dressing fashionably.

“You look incredibly gorgeous,” He said to me, giving me a compliment.

“Thank you. You look amazing,” I said to him, with the smile not disappearing from my face.

“Mother, I hope you like the homemade dishes my mum sent to you,” Daniel, Eleanora’s annoying husband, who I hadn’t even noticed was around, said.

“You just brought them, Daniel. We’ve not eaten them yet, but I’m sure they’ll taste really good, as usual,” My mum said.

“Unlike some people, I always have the courtesy to bring gifts for my in-laws, instead of just eating their food, without giving them anything in return,” Daniel said, throwing a shade at who I suspected to be Alistair.

Dammit! I shouldn’t have forgotten to tell him to bring something at least.

Just then, a maid came along, carrying a large gift bag in her hands.

“I was told by the security guards to give this to you, sir. They said your driver informed them that you had left it at the backseat,” The maid said, presenting the gift bag to Alistair.

“Oh, thank you. I totally forgot about it,” He said, collecting it from her, after which she went back to stand at the door.

Alistair presented the gift bag to my parents. “Mr and Mrs Venator, I got this for you,” He said.

A smile appeared on my parents' face, as my mother collected the gift bag from him, and proceeded to open it.

“How’d you know that you were to come with something?” I asked in a low tone.

“Common sense,” He replied, with a wink.

My mother revealed the contents of the bag to be an Elnoora Gold Luxury Cutlery set, and a bottle of Screaming Eagle Cabernet wine.

“Wow. This is so beautiful, and expensive. You didn’t have to spend so much just because we invited you to a family dinner,” My mother said.

“It’s nothing,” Alistair told her, with a smile.

“Thank you for this. We’ll cherish the cutlery set, and drink the wine on a happy occasion,” My father said.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Alistair said.

Daniel cleared his throat, in an irritable fashion. “Can we all eat now?” He asked.

From where he sat, I could tell how jealous abs angry he was. Thankfully, Alistair had the common sense to come along with something, and Daniel had only succeeded in making himself look like a fool, after intending to poison my parents heart against Alistair.

Ten minutes later, we were all seated at the dining table, stuffing our mouth with pasta and crispy fried chicken, and we all seemed to be enjoying the meal in silence, but of course, no family dinner stayed for too long in silence.

“Pass me the salad, fatty,” Daniel said to my sister, Eleanora, breaking the silence.

Everyone, except for Elio and his wife, who only cared about themselves, looked offended by the name he had called Eleanora, but we went on with eating our meal, silently, as if nothing had happened.

“Isn’t it amazing how no one in our family is a vegetarian?” Mum asked, trying to start a conversation, with the most unsuitable topic.

“Did you purposely make chicken to find our if our little psycho's boyfriend is a vegetarian?” Daniel, Eleanora’s husband asked.

Alistair stopped chewing the food in his mouth as he glared at Daniel, upon the realisation that I was the one he was referring to as “our little psycho".

I squeezed his hand gently under the table, and shot a small smile at him. He seemed to calm down a bit and chewed the remaining food in his mouth, still glaring at Daniel.

“No, I did not. I already asked Eliana if Alistair eats meat, and trust me when I say that I felt elated when she said he does,” My mum said.

Elio’s wife, Flora, whose voice was never clear, chuckled softly, in a mocking manner. “Why did you have to feel elated, mother? I mean, they’re just in a relationship, it’s nothing serious. She may end up getting married to a vegan, that is if she even finds a husband who is willing to cope with her... ummm... her ailment. I also had many boyfriends, before settling down with your son,” She said.

“Well, Flora, not everyone is like you,” Elvira said, coming to my defence.

“The people with partners are speaking, Vivi. I guess you should sit out this discussion,” Flora said, with a sneer.

“Speaking about partners, my friend said you never got back to him after your blind date. Why? Was he too good for you?” Daniel asked, staring at Elvira, who the question was obviously meant for.

Alistair cleared his throat, picking at his food with his fork. “If he’s your friend, I can tell he’s not going to be much different from you,” He said.

“What do you mean by that?” Daniel asked, not sure if Alistair’s comment was a good or bad thing.

Alistair shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just saying that since you’re obviously an asshole, your friend, too, was probably an asshole. I mean, don’t they say that birds of a feather flock together? That’s why she never got back to him. He wasn’t too good for her. If he was too good at anything, it’d be at being a complete douchebag just like you, his friend,” He said, then gulped down his glass of orange juice.

“How dare you speak to my husband in such a demeaning tone?” Eleanora asked, seething with rage.

Alistair looked surprised. “He’s your husband?” He asked, as if he didn’t know before.

“Yes, he is, and you should apologise to him right away,” Eleanora said.

“OMG! I had no idea that he was your husband. I’m sorry, but not for how I spoke to him. I’m sorry that you felt comfortable marrying such a man, maybe feeling that there were no better ones out there, who could accept you just the way you are. I’m sorry that you married a man who would insult your sisters, but you wouldn’t even have the balls to confront him. I’m sorry that it’d have been better to have remained single than to be with a scumbag like this, all in the name of being a married woman. You’re beautiful, Eleanora. You deserve better,” Alistair said, and wiped his hands with the napkin, preparing to take his leave.

“Alistair?” I called.

“Thanks for having me, Mr and Mrs Venator. I’ll be on my way now,” He said, and stood up immediately, walking away, without even waiting for anyone to say anything.

Heaving a frustrated sigh, I left the table as well, going after Alistair, who I caught up with by the fountain.

“Alistair!” I hollered.

He stopped right in his tracks, put his hands in his pocket, and turned around, rolling his eyes and apparently not ready to have a conversation with me.

“I know what you’re going to say,” He said.

“What do you think I’m going to say?” I retorted.

“Umm... That I messed up, and should have controlled my anger? I really wanted to make this dinner work, Eliana, and I’m so sorry for what I’m about to say, but your family members are just so annoying, and I’m even beginning to wonder how you’ve managed to cope with them for so many years. Eliana, I...”

I leaned forward to him, grabbed him by the neck, and crushed my lips against his, interrupting his explanation. The kiss was hot, intense, and aggressive, and even though he hadn’t expected it, he kissed me back, making my heart melt even more for him.

I let him go a few minutes later, breathing heavily, as if kissing was a hard chore to do.

“Why’d you kiss me?” He asked, wearing a smile on his face.

“I kissed you because you’re just so amazing, and what you did back there to defend my sisters and I was so sweet. I’m lucky to have you, and I want you to know that I love you,” I said.

“You said it back,” He said, smiling more broadly than I had ever seen before, exposing his beautiful set of white teeth.

“Yes, because it’s true,” I told him.

“I love you so much, Eliana,” He said, pulling me into his arms.

I hugged him back tightly. “I love you, too, Alistair,” I said.

We let go of each other, and he gave me a simple butterfly kiss on the lips, making me smile, broader and broader.

“I’ll see you soon. You should go back inside,” He said.

“Okay, babe,” I said to him.

“Babe. I like the sound of that. You should be calling me that from now on, okay?”

I nodded my head, agreeing to his request. “I will, on the condition that you’d call me something other than Eliana, and by something, I don’t mean something ordinary,” I said.

“Okay then. I’ll think of something suitable for you,” He said, with a smile.

“Good."

We exchanged our goodbyes, and I watched him walk down to where his car was parked. It was the first time he had driven his car into our compound, instead of parking it outside the gate. Slowly, he was beginning to be a major part of my life. I couldn’t even imagine how tough life was before I had met him. He had come into my life, and just like that, he had given me a million reasons to keep living.

Someone ran past me, sobbing gently. I looked closely, and saw that it was my sister, Eleanora, who was trying to control her tears, but was failing woefully at it.

“Eleanora,” I called, walking over to her husband’s Mercedes Benz that was parked next to Elvira's car.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hands, and turned around, wearing a big smile, which was apparently forced.

“I’m sorry about what happened inside, and for what Alistair said,” I apologised.

She bit her lower lip. “Do you... do you really think I’m beautiful?” She asked.

“Of course, you are,” I said, smiling at her.

“Are you saying that just because you’re my sister, and you don’t want me to feel bad?” She asked.

I chuckled. “No, I’m not. I mean, we don’t have a good sibling relationship, so, why would I lie about you being beautiful, when I don’t care if your feelings get hurt?” I asked.

“That’s true,” She said. She then continued, “Do you know what’s funny though? My husband never says that, and when Alistair said the words he said today, I started thinking that I probably did deserve better, but when I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, I knew it’s best I stayed with my husband. I don’t think anyone wants a fat pig around him,” She said, tearing up again.

“Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re not good enough, Eleanora. As long as you love yourself...”

“Sweetie, I’m not interested in your pep talks. I’m fine, and you should head back inside. My husband is on his way out, and we’d be going home now,” Eleanora said.

“Eleanora...”

“Goodnight,” She said, dismissively.

“Goodnight,” I told her, knowing that I couldn’t force her to speak to me if she didn’t want to, and I turned my back on her, heading back inside the house.

I wanted to tell her that she could call me when she was ready to speak to me, as well as tell her that I always had her back. However, that day, I decided to let her be by herself, and headed upstairs into my bedroom, leaving her to believe that all she had in life was her good-for-nothing husband.