My Mother's Boyfriend

Make The Announcement

Alejandro

"Me toma por estupido?" (Do you think I'm stupid) I grate out not caring that I am speaking another language but knowing they could figure out what it means by the last word alone.

Play me for a fool? Hah.

First, eyeing the girl who plays innocent, then I pin her father with my steel gaze. The wrinkled old lady had better shut her fcuking mouth because I would not hold back this time. She has disrespected me enough the last time I was here and only because of Uma, I took it. Not to mention the times before.

But eventually, they would pay.

Uma’s reputation meant so much to her and her family seemed to enjoy her being smeared all over the tabloids, negatively.

The old man is being dragged inside by then, but my man holds him behind me, and his son and him exchange glances. Gosh, I have no idea how Uma could have allowed that leach to lay next to her. His appearance was so... disgusting.

“Answer me, somebody?” I placed both my hands on my narrow waist, showing my impatience when nobody spoke. I want an explanation from these sore losers whom I have come to rescue in their time of debt, yet again, but apparently, the price was too high for them to keep.

The price is Uma’s name to be cleared.

The mother and son give me baffled stares. "Anybody?" I turn to the old man behind me, near the door's entrance, but he returns my question with an equally blank look. Henry, the man who has been tailing them, is silent as he stands next to the old man while Marcus stands behind us all to prevent any attempted drama.

They are trying to get the girl out of my grasp. I knew they would have done something sketchy, hence the reason I had them followed. Trying to take my plata (money) that they call dirty, and the girl married to someone else, so I could be clouded and framed for the de@th of Uma.

My eyes return to the agitated girl who had her head bent.

My phone rings then, and I take it out of my pocket, a deep furrow setting between my eyebrows. My mother. She has been after me to get married for the past few months and, really, it’s quite irritating when I must avoid family dinners now because she has resorted to bringing home dates to eat with us.

Potential wives.

Hmm, I have it all sorted out Mama.

My plan had been to introduce the girl casually into the family, though I had not quite figured out how yet. But I figured I still had some months to do so. Oh well.

Answering the call, I look the girl- Maya- straight in her eyes while my mother starts the call without missing a beat. “Alejandro, Martha is a decent woman. The way you left her at dinner was disrespectful!”

She is talking about me walking away when I spotted another one of her debutants, already seated at our table at dinner last night. Almost seated, I grimaced and left- my own house. This is because I did tell her I was seeing someone, but she refused to believe it until I brought the girl home.

Now, I say, “Si, Mama. I am bringing her.” See, I did not tell my mother about my plans with the pesky Patels because Mama has a way of meddling in everything in my life and I did not want her to interfere in this matter with Uma. Plus, I was not altogether certain that I wanted to go forward with this development, but since the girl will now be staying with me, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.

She is silent- for the first time in months. No, I lie she had prattled her mouth when she heard about Uma’s de@th when my name had been thrown in then she’d gone quiet- possibly plotting who her future daughter-in-law would be. I suppose she must be in shock, now.

Maya lifted her head up when she heard my words, and I eyed her father while I spoke. His facial features are neutral.

“What? Who? I don’t believe you-”

“Make the announcement Mama. Maya Patel.” I say clearly and Maya's wide eyes meet mine.

Seriously? Why the surprised look when she already knows? Sending her away was their plan to dupe me? I would have found her no matter where they sent her because my men were tailing their every move. Each one of them has a tail- even the boy who just left on the yellow school bus.

Speaking of- I reach into my pocket and remove the child’s cell phone, at the same time, I hung up because my mother was prattling useless words to my ear. I grate out, “She is coming with me.” I place the boy’s phone on the highest shelf of the cabinet where I stood, knowing Russell Patel knew it was his son’s phone I had answered three days ago when he called. I had thought it was the girl’s that day and even forgot I had taken it until I was leaving their house. Only when I was almost home did I realise I still gripped the thing, but I was nobody’s caddy-boy to drive back to the filthy home to drop it off.

Patel had called the boy and I answered just to jeer him a bit, thinking it was the girl's phone. But now that I have him where I want him, I no longer need the phone.

Three pairs of eyes widen in front of me and the old man who is behind me probably has the same gaze too. I do not care much to turning around to see- he is unimportant. The father, Russell, slithers a step forward- he doesn’t, but he is a snake in tall grass to me because of the pain he inflicted on Uma. Holding my hand up, he halts his step, and another one of my men, Henry, rushes forward to ensure he stays put.

I know of their plan. They do not care for Uma and if her name is dragged through the dirt, they will find joy in it. But I am here to put an end to it. I came up with the plan to use her daughter as my fiancé to curb the wild talk that are spreading about Uma after someone circulated a photo of us, with me holding her hand as she got into my limousine.

That was the night we were going to the opera. I am surprised that more photos weren’t showing up by now as I have been intentionally avoiding being seen. But I guess the perpetrator- her husband most likely, was buying time. He was thickening the plot, just waiting to add more fire to the already low blaze.

“Come with me,” I grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled her with me towards the door, but she seemed to have found strength in the premises of her home because she tugged her hand back, refusing to leave. Obviously, I tug harder, and she stumbles forward, crying out.

She has the ugliest platform shoes I have ever seen on her feet and my gaze travels up her checker-style, knee-length red dress to her docile face that is framed by two plaits. The only thing missing is huge glasses to finish her typical look. Everything about her is revolting and I am soon to be married to her just to solve her mother’s case, which I fear will grow cold.

The police are such sh!ts, closing the case as unsolved.

“You will stay with me from now until the wedding,” I say to her, and her frown deepens, adding to her stupid look.

“Wha-” she turned to give her father a helpless stare and, before he could even open his mouth, I pointed at him with both my middle and index fingers trusted forward as a forewarning.

Just to concrete it, I let out, “Call the cops? Why not? She’s over eighteen, Russell, and this is America. Your sick claim on her ends as of today. I dare you to call them and see how fast you get nothing.” The threat of no dinero (money) always does the trick.

The girl’s eyes circle, and she stills her tugging, but the pleading expression remains on her facial structure. I am vexed by it because I am seeing live what Uma has claimed about them. Maya hero-worships her father and expects him to save her.

She’s fcuked up mentally already. That’s the way they live, Uma had said to me. A woman is always second to a man. A girl always waits for the elder male to make the decisions in the household. If he says shut up, she does not speak. I am curious as to if the grandfather goes against what the father says, who will trump who. Hmm.

“Oh, Patel, ha-ha, might I remind you about the money you attained from me? Twice...I keep my receipts so...paper trail and all.” It’s a threat and him being the coward he is, stays in place.

His mother, no doubt, gambled out the money I had paid her, which worked to my advantage. I wonder if she told him this sh*thole dump they live in, is legally now mine? By the looks of it, I doubt, but that is their family drama, not mine.

This time, It’s Russell who needs the dough, even better. I figured since the old lady kept important details from her son, and he in his bitterness towards his wife, leaked the story about me and Uma, who’s to say what others kept secrets they had? Was I targeting the wrong Patel after all?

Had he known about the money before, he would have most likely kept quiet. I think. We shall see in the upcoming months. His company is in trouble, and I financed the payments he needed. Well, I handed him a quarter of what he needed, the rest he shall receive once the marriage is signed.

Ah, the shambles this family is in.

My grip on the fragile wrist of the girl tightens as I drag her out of the house, down the three steps, and out to the street where my rover is parked. None of the people inside follow us.

Meanwhile, a nod of my head sends one of my men to the back-seat of the vehicle she was in and extracts the bag. It is only when I open the bag when we are halfway home that I see it’s full of papers and books.

What in the actual fcuk?

She is sobbing away on the other side of the back-seat we occupy and does not see me searching through her things. Huh. I had been under the impression that she was going into hiding and she had just been on her way to study?

Knowing Patel, I figured he was attempting to weasel himself out of our deal.

Well, it’s not my fault. I did not know she was going to school, still. Fcuk- how long have we been keeping a watchful eye on them, and I have only seen the boy leaving. Never her. Her mother, Uma, had stated months ago she was doing her A Levels or something somewhere, so I had assumed she was done with school.

I’ve never been to anything higher than high school, so I don’t know how it works, truthfully.

Anyway, it’s better this way when I can keep an eye on her. I did not trust Uma’s in-laws, nor her husband... including her kids.