FAMILY DINNER
1702 Words
[WILSON'S HOUSE, GUEST ROOM]
Sapphire lay with her back flat while staring at the ceiling. Returning home, she had gone to Wilson's room only to find her things gone. Every single one of her things which she had initially kept in his room was nowhere to be found. After being confused for so long, she had to call one of the bodyguards, and to her knowledge, he had ordered them to take her things out.
With her eyes, she drew invisible lines on the ceiling, the thought of calling this s**t of a marriage off ringing loud in her ears.
But how could she when nobody's going to believe her? Who'd believe the charming CEO married her for his selfish reasons, and her greedy dad? He'd support Wilson if it brings in—
She stopped, something else rushing into her mind.
Quickly, she sat up, crossed her legs, fetched her phone from under the pillow, and clicked on the search engine.
DeVille. She typed, and pressed search. A few seconds later, the popular family came up. She scrolled through their names. Her eyes hovered above the names of the DeVilles, starting from Marco DeVille down to the scumbag she married, but there wasn't any Tristan DeVille.
Clearing off the search, she typed... T...r...i and was about to type s when a cold breeze brushed past the back of her neck. Her fingers froze as she remembered his finger trailing down her neck. The cold sensation she got, and her fear mixed together.
"Shit." She cleared off the search, her eyes catching the time. 8:00 PM, and she can't remember the last time something passed through her mouth today.
As if hearing her thoughts, her stomach grumbled. She rubbed her stomach, climbed down the bed, wore her fluffy flops, and left the room.
Getting to the kitchen, she held the fridge handle and opened it.
Her eyes widened when she found the fridge almost empty. No food, no fruit, not a single ingredient needed to prepare a meal. Closing the fridge, she began checking the shelves. Up the shelf. Down. Inside, but found the entire thing empty.
"What am I going to cook?" She mumbled out loud.
"Shame and dignity aren't supposed to coexist together. Sadly, my fiancé's wife lacks both of them," someone's cruel voice said, walking in her heels that clicked on the floor, slowly and mockingly.
Sapphire recognized the voice without needing to turn. It might have been once they met, but that voice was something Sapphire could never forget.
Turning around, she saw the expected lady, the side of her lips tugging with a mocking smirk as she got to the kitchen counter and dropped the thing which Sapphire had guessed to be groceries on the table.
"You wanna do your wifely duty? You wanna cook for Wilson even after making it clear that you're nothing but a placeholder in his life?" Yvonne asked, the mocking smirk ceasing from her lips. "Poor thing."
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[DEVILLE'S EMPIRE]
"Tristan," Rosa's voice broke the family out of the initial long stare that felt as if a strong, powerful stranger had walked inside the room.
"Welcome home, son," Theodore said next.
Tristan gave a quiet nod, the aura around him making the family's eyes follow him instead of focusing on their dinner. He pretended not to notice until he got to the chair left for him—between Gramps Marco and Wilson.
"Returning home doesn't make it okay for you to make us wait for a long time," Wilson said before Tristan could have his chair.
"You got married, and I couldn't congratulate you." Tristan faced him. "Congratulations...little brother."
"The wedding is in the past. There's no need to do these shady formalities now."
"Shady?" Tristan chuckled, his long finger sliding through the headrest of the chair.
"This—"
Rosa held Wilson's hand. He looked at her, and she gave him a sign to shut up.
Tristan was about to sit down when another voice broke out from the stairs.
"It's true! My eyes aren't f*****g playing tricks on me, right? Tristan is here!" Tracy screamed, excitement laced in her voice.
She sprinted down the stairs, her sneakers making a hilarious sprinting noise on the stairs.
She had barely reached him when she wrapped her arms around him from the back.
"Finally, you're here!"
Tristan stilled.
"I missed you."
"That's enough Tracy, let him have his seat." Marco interfered, his first time talking since Tristan arrived.
Tracy unwrapped her arms with a frown. "There's nothing wrong in celebrating my brother whom I haven't seen for months."
"Have your seat, Tracy. Celebration can come another time," Tristan spoke up, and took his seat.
The frown disappeared from Tracy's face as she went and took her chair next to Theodore and Rosa.
"You didn't attend the reception, why?" Tracy asked.
"I attended the wedding because of Gramps' insistence."
"Marco also said you visited home, and you didn't bother to wait for us? Me? You don't know how crazy I've been since Marco arranged the dinner. You left the wedding immediately, and didn't even give us a chance to at least see you."
"Is that going to be a problem?" he asked with a slight tease in his voice.
Tracy's lips stretched but she didn't reply. Her eyes hovered around Tristan. "You look so different."
"Different means many things. It depends on the actual context."
"Calm and more composed."
Tristan's lips twitched, as he lifted the first fork into his mouth.
He chewed slowly, feeling the secret glare Wilson passed to him.
"Tracy is right. Where have you been?" Wilson asked.
"Enough of the questions. He just returned," Theodore said calmly, and, surprisingly, everybody followed.
The dinner started, all eating in silence except for their cutleries that clinked on the plates, while Tristan could barely eat, not when the family refused to stop their stare.
The dinner kept going, trying to be peaceful, but Tristan knew better. Not when everyone had something to say. Shutting them up is a formality that they rarely know.
His phone interrupted the dinner. He didn't spare anyone a glance before opening the text.
His expression changed.
"Is something wrong?" Theodore asked.
"I'll have to leave. It's work."
Wilson dropped his fork with a clink so loud that it got the attention of everyone. "Now that he brought up the topic of work, I'd be the first to ask. What do you do?"
Annoying as it may sound, Tristan had already predicted this move from him.
"Now you want to know my work?"
"You are part of the family. It's wrong to keep it away from us."
"Impressive. You know keeping secrets from family is wrong?"
Wilson furrowed his brow. "What are you trying to say?"
Tristan went silent, arranging his stuff.
"You aren't saying anything, Marco? He was invited here for a reason. Tell me," Wilson urged.
Tristan raised his brow. "Is something wrong?"
"Apparently, Marco wants to hand over the business to Wilson," Rosa explained, digging her knife into the hot sauce chicken wings.
"I didn't mention Wilson," Marco said, catching the whole family's interest.
"You didn't mention him, but it's crystal clear," Theodore replied.
"What's crystal clear?" Marco questioned.
"That I'm the one who's going to handle the family business." Wilson's tone went slightly high.
Marco raised the big glass and took a slow sip. Dropping the glass, he cleared his throat before talking.
"DeVille's group started before I was born. It got to this height because I proved myself capable of handling the business. It isn't something that anybody can handle."
"Where are you heading at?" Rosa released her cutlery. "Everyone here knows Wilson has been handling the business since he came of age."
"I agree with mom," Wilson nodded. "The daily trends are always about us, and the latest contract I just signed with Stanley has taken the company to great heights."
"I'm not condemning your efforts, Wilson," Marco cleared his throat again, then continued, this time his eyes on Tristan. "In three days' time, there'll be another dinner. If you can come here with your wife, you'll get a chance in the business."
"What!?" Wilson sprang up. "The hell are you saying, Grandpa!? Tristan! Wife! The business!"
"Marco..." Rosa stretched while Theodore looked without a single word.
Tracy secretly smiled.
"Think about it. If you can get a wife in three days, I'll give you a fair chance in the business," Marco continued.
"It's f*****g not possible to get a wife in three days!" Wilson lost his cool. "Look at him, he doesn't look like someone who's dating, talk less of a wife. He doesn't have a single idea about the business. He's this family's ghost whom we have long forgotten. How could he just return, and you're thinking of including him in the business?"
"He's part of the family. It's kinda his right." Tracy shrugged.
"Family? Don't f*****g joke with me. We all know he—"
"Wilson!" Marco thundered. "Keep your mouth shut."
"I won't!" Wilson snapped. "How could he just return and you're—"
"What if I do it?" Tristan cut him, his words menacing through the cold air. He stood, coming face to face with Wilson. Wilson had to look up a bit to meet his eyes since Tristan's height was quite noticeable even though Wilson isn't short. "What if I say I'm suddenly interested in the family's business?"
Wilson chuckled. "You can't do it. A dead person can't return and claim what was never his. And as for a wife, if you didn't have any romantic relationship with somebody, forget three days, you wouldn't be able to find one even in a month."
Something dark crossed into Tristan's eyes. Both gazes clashed. Wilson with a death glare, and Tristan with a pure blank expression. The stare went on. The family watched in silence until Tristan broke the silence with a word that crashed every ego in Wilson.
"I'm not interested in the family's business, but challenges like this—" he gave a boyish smile, tilting his head to look at Marco. "Prepare the dinner. In three days' time, I'll be here—with my wife beside me."
- Writer
