I rang the doorbell with shaky hands. Alessandro seemed calm. So calm, he slipped his fingers through mine and used it his thumb to soothingly rub the back of my palm.
I looked up at him and smiled slightly.
The door came open shortly after that and I came face to face with the one person I didn't ever want to see again. But here we were...
"Hey, Ada." His raspy voice reached my ears.
"Caleb. Hi." I responded with a forced smile.
He looked up at Alessandro, who towered over him in height.
"I see you brought a guest." Caleb remarked in an indecipherable tone.
I fought back a triumphant smirk, ready to introduce my dashing fiancé. "This is-"
"Ada, my doctor!!!"
My mother practically jogged towards us, cutting me off in the process.
I grinned, wrapping my arms around her. Yes she could be pushy and sometimes downright annoying. But my mother was still one of my favourite persons and I could never stay mad at her for too long.
"Good evening, ma'am." Alessandro spoke up, drawing our attention to him.
My mother stepped back and looked at him. The surprise she felt was evident. "Good evening," she said before turning to me, wiggling her brows as she commented; "What a handsome man.."
"Mummy!" I squeaked, blushing like the compliment was for me.
"Thank you. You are very beautiful too. I see where Ada gets it from." He said with a charming grin.
I kid you not, my mother giggled like a teenager. Giggled!
"You flatter me!" She smacked his arm slightly. "Come in, come in. Dinner is almost ready."
Caleb who had been standing there watching our exchange simply huffed and walked inside the house. I ignored him, turning to my mother who was already an absolute chatterbox as she spoke to Alessandro.
"Where's daddy?" I asked.
"He's upstairs with the baby."
"Oh." I muttered.
I excused myself, seeing she was occupied with my fiancé. I needed to speak to my dad and of course see the newborn who had made this meetup possible.
Caleb led me up the stairs.
"You look great, Ada."
"Hmm thanks." I muttered, not sparing him a glance.
"How's work?"
"It's good."
"I know it's been-"
"Can you point me in the direction of the room they're in?"
I didn't want to be here talking to him like nothing happened. I couldn't pretend to save my life.
He said nothing else after a curt nod, leading me further down the hallway.
"Here we are,"
He opened the door and the unmistakable smell of a newborn hit my nostrils.
"Daddy," I smiled.
"Adanna," he returned it, placing the baby down in her cot and spreading his arms wide enough for me to enter them.
I felt like a little girl again.
"Look at this small girl of yesterday. You're so grown." He teased me as usual.
"Daddy, you say it like you didn't see me about six months ago." I smiled fondly.
We bumped into each other in Italy while I was on a girl's trip during my annual leave.
"Well, you look different now."
"I do?" I was honestly surprised.
"Yes!"
"Maybe it's the engagement glow." Amaka piped up from where she laid on the bed.
I turned and forced a polite smile at her.
"How are you, Amaka?"
"Life has been good. I can't complain." She shrugged and I could hear the smugness in her tone.
I decided to ignore it.
"Congratulations on the baby," I said, gesturing towards the cot. I wanted to go and peek at the baby but I decided against it.
"Thank you. Yours is coming soon."
I swallowed, before forcing yet another polite smile. "Of course."
Caleb came in just then.
"Dinner is served." He announced.
"I'll join you all soon. Babe, help me." Amaka said to him in a whiny voice.
I watched them, fighting the heaviness that clogged my throat at the sight of them together.
They were together, now building a family like I didn't almost lose my mind because of what they did to me.
I heaved a breath and smiled at my father as we walked out together.
"How is work, no surgeries?"
I scoffed. "You know that even if I had any surgeries, your wife would give me no choice but to be here."
His boisterous laughter echoed in the hallway and I couldn't help but join in. My mother could be a menace.
Getting downstairs, I got the shock of my life seeing Alessandro helping my mother set up the table.
Okay this man sure knew how to work his charm.
My father and I exchanged glances.
"That's him?" He asked me.
I nodded.
"Very good-looking." He wiggled his brows.
I found myself giggling again like a shy kid. What was wrong with me?
"Ada, come and help me. Look at how you're making me stress our guest."
"I have no complaints,ma'am."
My mother's high pitched laugh told me she was genuinely enjoying his company. There was no need to interrupt.
"Good evening sir." He greeted my father.
My father took his time before responding - a few seconds at best - and I watched with bated breath.
"Good evening, young man. What's your name?"
"I'm Alessandro Ricci. You must be Engineer Johnson Wigwe."
I could see that my father was impressed with his pronunciation but he would not admit it. At least not to Alessandro's hearing.
"I am."
"It's nice to meet you sir. Your daughter has said a lot about you."
"Good things, I hope?" My father asked, eyes darting between Alessandro and I through his stylish medicated glasses.
"She adores you. Just as much as I adore her." Alessandro practically cooed as he stared at me lovingly.
I blushed. He was way too good at this.
"Hmm, lover boy." My father teased and we all laughed at it.
Amaka and Caleb soon joined us and dinner began. Everything was going smoothly so far and I honestly felt so relieved. My parents seemed to be impressed by him. The conversations flowed so well, I just sat back and watched.
That was until Amaka decided to be a bitch.
"So where did you two meet?" She asked out of nowhere. She had been quiet for the most part as Caleb tended to her every need before she said a word.
Must be nice...
Alessandro and I exchanged glances. Naturally, since he had been doing most of the talking all evening, he spoke up.
"At the hospital. My brother got into an accident and she was one of the doctors who attended to him."
"Interesting." Amaka hummed.
I continued with my meal.
"From your outfit, I can tell you're loaded. Is that why you suddenly agreed to marry him?" She turned to me to ask that stupid question.
Okay, I saw exactly where she was going with this and I wasn't going to let her get away with it.
"You and everyone on this table are fully aware that I'm doing incredibly well for myself. I don't have to depend solely on a man to take care of me." I did not mince words. She should have known better than to mess with me.
She sneered. "Did you expect me to work while I was pregnant?"
"Last time I checked, I didn't mention your name." I retorted.
She opened her mouth to speak, ready to stir up a fight. Alessandro cut in just then.
"My goodness, I totally forgot about the presents I got you all." He said to no one in particular, placing down his cutlery.
He excused himself, got on his feet and my eyes followed him until he disappeared into the door way.
He soon came in with the guard and driver following closely, holding a bunch of shopping bags.
I had no idea he got gifts for my family.
He handed them over, first to my father, then my mother before Caleb and Amaka, even adding something for their baby.
"These are from Ada and I," he said, placing his palms on my shoulder before planting a kiss on my temple. Warmth crept up my cheeks at the gesture, easing out the annoyance that had built up because of my sister.
They thanked him profusely as they opened their presents.
My dad got a pretty expensive watch and an equally expensive bottle of whisky. My mother got some really nice jewelry from Swarovski and a designer perfume. Same as Amaka. Caleb said he would open his later. And for the baby, a Swarovski bracelet.
I looked up at him and grinned. I couldn't hold it in. If only he knew how he just sealed the deal.
~
After dinner, my father took him to the living room where they had a long talk while I helped my mother in the kitchen.
"He's a catch!" My mother whispered loudly.
"Mommy you say it like I'm not a catch too." I pouted.
"Of course you are. But you know what I mean."
"That's quite a ring he got you." Amaka commented. Her tone was indecipherable.
"How much did it cost?"
Yup. There it was.
"I don't know." I shrugged.
They would throw a fit if they found out how much it was so I decided to keep that information to myself.
"Yeah right." She didn't believe me.
I chose to ignore her.
"If we get daddy's approval, the wedding is going to be in two months."
"What's the rush? Are you pregnant?" My mother asked in a hushed tone. My father would flip if he found out I got pregnant out of wedlock.
"Not at all." I laughed at her worried expression.
I could smell their suspicion so I had to cook up an impressive lie.
"We've been waiting for marriage. And we don't want to wait for much longer." I lied, tongue in cheek.
"Ohhhh." My mother nodded quickly. She was immediately on my side.
Amaka scoffed again and walked out. I fought back a laugh.
"But you know traditional weddings take time to plan oh."
"Don't worry mommy. Money isn't the problem. We can make it work."
She exclaimed gleefully, breaking into a dance or two.
Maybe I sounded a bit cocky. But I was getting married to a billionaire.
Money was the least of our problems.