HIS Queen, HER Billionaire

BONDING TIME

CHAPTER 2

At the Weston residence...

As soon as Alik opened the door of their room, the loud and excited voices of kids and adults on the ground floor were heard by them. He grabbed Elisha’s shoulders while she carried Elik and guided them towards the stairs.

“Hello! Hello! Hello!” The excited greetings, kisses, and hugs met them as soon as they landed below the stairs. The voices sounded even louder when they greeted them excitedly.

“Oh! You are here, and breakfast is almost ready.” Aliyah, their mom, happily informed them while she guided the servers to place the dishes on the table.

“Are you done shopping, Elisha?” Khalie asked with high spirits; she’s the twin sister of Alik. Khalie loves shopping. She always accompanied Elisha and took her to the best shopping areas in Manila. The sisters-in-law have a good relationship.

“Yes, I think we got all we need,” Elisha replied. She likewise enjoyed shopping with Khalie and their mom Aliyah. The two ladies were the best in everything. They were not only good wives; they were successful entrepreneurs too.

Aliyah was an acclaimed architect, and Khalie has a degree in interior design. Together they put up an art gallery that showcased their exemplary works. The mother and daughter team has talent at painting, too. Their contemporary art pieces sell like hotcakes and are highly in demand. They catered to both the elite corporate and individual markets.

The ladies talked while setting the breakfast table, their kids played in one corner of the room.

Khalie and Luke were blessed with two beautiful kids, LK, 8 years old, and Arabella, 5 years old. Elik was an unexpected addition in the third generation of the Weston Clan. They just found out about Elik’s existence a few months ago.

Several minutes later, the gentlemen joined the ladies and took their respective places. Khalan, a respectable aristocrat and the head of the family, was in his 60’s but looked like a handsome man in only his 50’s. He was followed by Luke, the business partner of Alik --a business genius in his 30’s. He's a devoted husband to Alik’s twin sister Khalie and a responsible father to their two children.

The Lord blessed the entire Weston family with an impressionable married life. Their wonderful love stories were unmatched in their social circle. They were a perfect example of successful and happily married couples, highly admired and respected in their community.

The Westons were also known for their humility and philanthropic work and they've been working with several organizations around the globe.

“Your mom and I will visit you every month,” Khalan remarked. He’s a man of few words, but when he utters something, everyone listens.

“That’s great, Dad!” Alik delightedly agreed to what his father declared. He and his wife would welcome them to visit the Kingdom anytime they pleased.

“I guess Khalie and I will go there too--frequently; now that the head office is in Manila, we don’t need to be in London often,” Luke uttered. The family business KD Corporation used to have their head office in London. However, he and Alik decided to transfer the Head Office operations to Manila for Luke to manage it easily.

“We will also start the development of the kingdom; therefore, I need you at Giorginia frequently. I don’t want to be so visible on business matters. We have yet to identify friends and enemies,” Alik remarked. They would test the waters in Georgia, and although they held the best interest in the place, they weren't expecting to please and appease everyone. He wouldn’t want to be wrongly accused by the kingdom's elders and other influential people.

“That’s right, don’t worry, brother. I’m at your back!” Luke promised.

While the men talked about business, the ladies looked at each other and decided to stop them.

“Gentlemen, please! Stop talking about business when you are with the family.” Khalie interrupted their conversation. She just cited the family rule, which men always forget. No business agenda when everyone was present. That was the rule that the men in their family unconsciously violated from time to time.

The men laughed while they resumed their conversation, exploring another topic not related to business.

“Are we expecting a baby soon?” Alik changed the topic, asking Luke.

Luke glanced at him meaningfully and heaved a long sigh...then replied to Alik.

“Are you talking to me?” Luke uttered the words, smiling like a fox.

“Who else would I ask? Are you expecting me to ask that question to Dad?” Alik teased, their meaningful glances denoting it was about time to liven up the conversation in the dining area.

Khalan and Aliyah almost spit out the coffee they were drinking. Alik’s sense of humor was hilarious! Despite Khalan and Aliyah’s unimaginable young appearance, they were hardly capable of conceiving another child.

Everyone laughed. Then Khalie, the naughty lady of the family, uttered.

“Gosh! These men…” Khalie scolded them.

Everyone laughed again.

“You don’t want us to talk about business; what else follows but talk about the women in our lives?” Luke expressed what was in everybody’s thoughts.

“Talk about other topics but not babies. Goodness, you think we were refrigerators where you could store your sperm and leave us to carry it for months.” Khalie scolded again.

“At least you don’t look like one! You all looked gorgeous. You don’t expect us to hold our urges, don’t you bratty?” Alik said cockily and glanced at Luke to help out.

But before Luke could utter flattering or hilarious words, Elisha spoke.

“Alik! Eat..just eat,” Elisha uttered to stop her husband from being cocky. At that table, Alik was the best one to utter words that would make all the ladies blush in an instant.

“As you please, sweetheart!” Alik uttered obediently and pressed the hand of his wife while he smiled at her endearingly.

The gesture did not escape Khalie’s watchful eyes. Then she bickered...

“I never imagined you would be so obedient, rasky!” RASKY as in rascal. Khalie was fond of calling Alik names. It’s her term of endearment to Alik, while Alik always called her BRATTY, as in brat, pertaining to her hard-headed nature.

“Oh, I learned to express cockiness away from the naked eye!” Alik uttered mischievously. Meaning his cockiness had been expressed to his wife.

The sausage choked Elisha as she placed it in her mouth. She repeatedly coughed until she was able to swallow the food. She silently uttered, “Bastard!” referring to her husband.

Everyone laughed while Alik coaxed his coughing wife.

Alik was only cocky and mischievous in front of his family. In the business circle, he remained cold, serious, and distant. He was feared by his contemporaries.

“Alright, children, stop this naughtiness,” Aliyah uttered jokingly. She specifically called them “children” because everyone was acting like a child...which was not bad at all since it was part of their bonding.

From out of the blue, a small voice was heard by the adults...

“Children?” To the surprise of everyone, LK, the eldest among the grandchildren, uttered confused and amused. He couldn’t associate his parents with the word “children”, however. He also thought that they were adults behaving like children, which made it really amusing for him.

“See, you now confused our grandchild,” Khalan uttered mockingly.

Everybody laughed at the dining table, including the kids. Their family was never normal. They mock, tease, and express love so differently from all other families, they know. Their unique way of expressing their endearment was admired by many.

As soon as they finished having breakfast, the men left for work. Luke, Alik, and Khalan went together in a single car. Khalan had retired many years ago. Alik took over the family business. However, Alik would temporarily relinquish his role as the business head to follow the kingdom's protocol, and Khalan would step in. But the men agreed that it would only be temporary. Meanwhile, Alik will find a way to overturn the kingdom's protocol. Accordingly, “No consort of the Queen should have a business interest outside the kingdom.”

Such a ruling was signed and implemented from the time the Kingdom Laws were published for the first time. It was hard to amend it because the elders of the kingdom opposed any amendments. Alik was required to follow the law if he would like to marry the Queen.

Alik and Luke thought of a decoy or a way to comply with the law and marry the Queen. They made it appear that Alik would relinquish his role in the family business. However, secretly, Alik remained the head of the family business. He would continue to work by giving directives, but someone else would implement them, in which case Khalan had to step in as his front.

Alik and Elisha agreed to find a way to overturn or amend the law and other protocols which were no longer applicable. It was the main agenda of the couple, which would make Elisha’s leadership significantly challenging. She would possibly do something that previous leaders did not attempt, but she was confident of her husband's brilliance. Together they could make a difference.

Would they be able to do it?