I told the GrabMe driver to drop me at the Cinabonbon cafe in Makati. I immediately saw Louie at the counter, buying a box of apple cinnamon rolls and a vanilla latte.
"That smells nice."
He literally jumped at the sound of my voice.
"What the..." he snapped at me, "don't sneak up on me like that!"
What's his problem?
"You look like a serial killer's after you."
"Yeah, something like that... My current case is a bit problematic," he mumbled and sighed. "Want some coffee?"
"I'm good. My coffee is prepared by only one person, now-a-days."
"Really?" he frowned at me. "And who is this person who makes you coffee?"
"None of your business. What kind of case are you handling, anyway, that you're as jumpy as spider catching flies?"
"It's none of your business, either."
We stared at each other by the counter, each sporting a fake smile, both irritated with the other.
"Tito Eric!"
I was surprised when I heard the lovely voice of my niece Mercy! I turned around and saw her walking towards us with her sister Blessing. I looked back at my annoying bro-in-law who smirked at me as if saying, 'I dare you to fight me now!'
Goddamn fucking asshole. You'll have your day soon...
"How have you been? Mercy, Blessing! I don't see your idiot brother around?"
"Kuya Nathan was out all night, Tito Eric, he haven't even returned home when we left, he doesn't even bother to called home anymore!" tattled Mercy.
"Haay, that kid never changes. I blame your dad for spoiling him rotten!" I side eyed the idiot father.
"Go ahead and pick what you want." Louie gave the kids a thousand peso bill, ignoring my remark. He then motioned me to move to the farthest table in the corner of the store. "So, did you bring me some suppressants?" he asked as soon as we were seated
"What else do you think I came here for?" I handed him the paper bag I was carrying. He quickly hid it in the bag he brought.
"Seriously though, what the heck are you working on that you seem more stressed than usual? Is it another politician? A murder? A homicide?"
"Family court..." he took the paper bag out again and took a tablet from the jar inside. "An inheritance dispute..."
"An inheritance dispute? Since when did you become a probate lawyer?"
"It's a big case, so the company asked me to intervene. Are you familiar with the Safiro Conglomerate?"
"Nope."
"Figures... if it's not about omegas, you usually don't give a fudge."
"Obviously."
"Anyway... multinational billionaire, child out of wedlock, no other offspring... do the math."
"So, is it the usual death threats? Have they gone after you yet?" I joked with a grin.
"Yes. Twice."
The grin on my face immediately disappeared.
"Really? Is it that serious? Why don't you send the kids over to my house for now?"
"Don't worry, we can manage, You know how many alarms there are at home."
"So, what have they done so far?"
"The usual death threats. Last week, someone sent funeral flowers to the office, and just the other day, someone threw a dead cat over the wall into the front garden."
"You sure the cat didn't just die there? I've seen your front garden. It looks more like the Amazon jungle."
"There was a note stuffed inside its mouth saying, 'You're next, Attorney'. Good thing it was Bless who saw it first. I told her not to mention it to her siblings, especially Mercy. Problem is, that Nathan haven't been home since yesterday. He couldn't even bother to call!"
Louie fell silent as his daughters approached us.
"So, what did you girls order?" Louie asked, immediately changing the subject.
"I got my fave chocolate mousse! You should try this, Tito Eric, it's simply delish!" Mercy took a piece of her cake and fed it to me with a spoon.
"Ahm... mmm! You're right, I should buy one later for my Habibi."
"What Habibi?" Louie quickly asked with a frown on his ugly mug. "Don't tell me you're going out with some woman? Are you sure they're not just after your money?"
"Says the idiot who's snacking on his suppressants like candy! Is there an omega after you?"
Louie's face turned bright red in an instant. His daughters faced him with a questioning look on their face.
"O-of course not!" he quickly denied. "I-I'm just a bit stressed that I didn't notice how much I've taken!"
"Dad, are you saying that you mistakenly took your suppressants twice daily?" Blessing, a nursing graduate, asked him with concern. "You should only take the recommended one tablet a day, or else you might get severe side-effects. You can even damage your liver, or worse, get into a suppressant overdose!"
"That's right, Blessing, scold that dad of yours a bit more!" I said, stirring her up. Louie gave me a murderous look.
"Dad, is this because of what we asked you yesterday about Mr. Heuer?" Mercy asked sadly.
The table fell quiet.
I watched Louie twist uncomfortably.
"No... and I want to apologize for what happened last night," he finally replied.
The sisters looked at each other worriedly until their father talked once more.
"Why don't we go shopping at the mall, since we hardly hang out with your Tito Eric?" he said with a forced smile on his face.
"Cool, Dad," said Mercy, "there's this new game I've been wanting to buy..."
"You guys go ahead," I replied, "someone's still waiting for me back home..." I was about to stand up, when Mercy grabbed hold of my arm.
"Do you really need to go, Tito Eric?" she asked with her adorable puppy dog eyes. "It's been so long since our last bonding... I was looking forward to play with you more!"
And how could I ever say no to my lovely Bebe Mercy?
When she looks so much like Kuya Jonas whenever she looks at me with her brown doe eyes and pouting red lips?
Damn...
"O-okay, I guess I can stay for a while, I'll just tell my Habibi that I'll be home a bit late."
"You're cohabiting with someone?!" Louie asked with a gasp. "Are you sure they're not just trying to screw you over?!"
"I beg your pardon?" I answered him coldly. "My Habibi is by far, much richer than I am. In fact, he's the one who's been giving me gifts since the day we first met."
"And just what does this 'Habibi' look like?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh, Dad, trust me, he's a very handsome guy!" Mercy answered in my stead. "He's almost as tall as Tito Eric, and well built, too, we actually thought he was an alpha when Kuya Nathan and I first met him!"
"What if he's just there to use you?" Louie went on with his nonsense. "You're a world renowned scientist, after all. Remember that one guy we sued for stealing your formula?"
"Is it so hard to believe that someone could actually like me?" I asked, pissed.
"I'm telling you, Dad, you'll be surprised when you see him! He's looks really smart and beautiful, too! And it's obvious that he likes Tito Eric a lot!"
Mercy went on singing praises about my Habibi. As she did, I took out my phone to tell Aahmes I would be delayed.
"Hello, Habibi?" Aahmes answered his phone on the fourth ring. "Listen, the kids want to spend more time with me, is it okay if I stay a bit longer?" I asked, worrying that he might start sulking again. "Can you hear Mercy in the back ground?" I added with a little laugh. "She's been praising you since a while ago!"
'It's okay, professor, please take your time,' he replied.
"Are you sure?" I asked to make sure, listening carefully to the tone of his voice.
'Yes, I know that Mercy is merely your niece, so go ahead and enjoy yourself.'
"If you say so... I might be home late, okay?"
'Just message me when you're on your way home so I can prepare for you,' he replied.
Just what is he supposed to prepare for? I wondered.
"Okay, Habibi, take care of yourself, you hear? Turn the bunsen burners off before going to sleep. Don't let anyone in, and set the alarm when you lock all the doors!"
'Of course, professor, take care and have a good time.'