Destined Hearts Ch. 02

"Not only my compound but my house as well." Victoria barked. "I thought you were my friend and honestly I have tolerated your foolishness for long now. How dare you say that to Praveen?"

"Are you talking to me like that because of this boy?" Meg bellowed, angrily pointing at Praveen. "You should remember that our friendship started way before this boy..."

"Yes!" She nodded. "And I am ending it now because I can't have a friend like you. Grace and I were friends way before I even met you. Praveen is like a son to me and I will not tolerate anyone insulting him. So before I do something stupid I want you to get out of my sight and don't ever come back here."

"Are you telling me that you are going..."

"Go away!" She yelled in her face. "I don't want to see you and I don't ever wanna talk to you. Leave!"

Meg chuckled bitterly, clenching her fists. "Fine!" She stumped her feet on the ground. "But let me tell you this, Victoria. You shall remember my words one day and you will come and beg me. I thought I was coming to see a friend but..."

"From you?" Victoria laughed. "Really? What help can I get from a selfish woman like you? I don't need your help so get out of here before I do something stupid and please," She warned. "The next time I will catch you insulting Praveen, you and I will have problems."

Meg was really disappointed. She just turned and left angrily. But Victoria didn't care about anything. She turned around and went to Praveen. She could see the pain he was in and she honestly understood him.

"You shouldn't have done what you did." He said sheepishly. "She was your friend."

"Yes!" Victoria wrapped her arm around him. "She used to be my friend but you are like a son to me and God punish me if I should throw you out or do anything to you."

Praveen looked at her and he got a little better.

"Just like Mike and my children, I love you so much." She said sincerely. "That's why I can't tolerate anyone saying bad things about you."

Praveen smiled brightly at his aunt and hugged her tightly. He had no idea what he had done to deserve such good people in his life. They were simply the best.

"I don't want you to be sad anymore." She cupped his cheeks. "Besides, you should be smiling right now. Very soon, you will be meeting your future husband and smiling will make you even more handsome."

Praveen blushed and looked away.

"See!" She said, rubbing on his cheeks. "Even blushing makes you so handsome. I am sure he will fall deeply in love with you at first sight and I will make sure of that."

"What do you mean?" He looked at her. "I don't understand."

"No!" She smiled, dropping her hands. "I will tell you later. Now I have to go and continue what I was doing. We still have a lot to do before the visitors come. Let's go inside."

Praveen nodded and both of them went back inside the house.

***

Antonio was standing in his room, staring into the mirror and looking into his reflection. He was dressed beautifully in a blue designer's shirt with his sexy chest exposed. He had a black designer's trouser on, white shoes designer's shoes and his hair was perfectly combed. He was wearing the most expensive cologne because he had no choice anyway.

His clothes were expensive and so was everything on him but his mood was really foul. Antonio's heart was pounding so deeply in his chest, his face was red with anger, his body trembled in anger, his muscles had contracted, his blood was boiling and his fists were clenched. Antonio's jaws were shaking terribly and his anger kept on increasing every second that passed.

The door to his room opened and his anger just went to another level. He could hear footsteps but he definitely didn't care about who had come into the room.

"Are you ready?" It was Andrea. "Mom and the others are waiting outside."

He took a quick glance at her and sighed. She was looking really beautiful in a yellow short dress, yellow high heeled shoes and curled hair. Her makeup was sparkly and she just owned what she was wearing.

"Ah..." That was the word that came out of his mouth.

"Antonio!" She walked to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Please, try to improve your mood, okay? We shouldn't let anyone see you like that. Besides, remember what we talked about?"

"I know what we talked about, Andrea." He groaned. "But I really can't help myself. Do you actually know how I am feeling right now? I regret coming back here and maybe I should have been married before coming back here."

"This won't be permanent." She smiled. "Just put a smile on that gorgeous face of yours and let's go before mom comes out here and makes some drama."

"But..."

"Come on!" She coiled his arm and started leading him out. Antonio had no choice.

They both went outside the house where they found some of the family members were already inside the cars. The only one out was Emilia and she was looking at the door waiting for her son to come out so that they could leave already. She was looking amazing in a beautiful blue dress with high heeled shoes and her hair tied. She didn't put makeup on but she was beautiful.

"There you are." She smiled brightly when she saw her son and her daughter coming out. "You have no idea how long I have been waiting for you."

"What?" Andrea chuckled nervously. "It's only been five minutes. It's not like we are going to see a king or something." She rolled her eyes.

"You don't understand. They have probably been waiting for us for long." She rushed to her son. "Antonio, honey..." She smiled, coiling her arm with his. "...you are riding with me."

She went to a beautiful car with Antonio and she was smiling. Her son was gonna meet Praveen finally. The cars started moving. It wasn't gonna be long before they reached Praveen's house and she was gonna be happy her son was gonna see Praveen.

"Antonio!" She cupped his hand in hers. "My son, I am really happy right now. I know that you are still sad but I am sure you are gonna love him. Praveen is beautiful, intelligent, kind and really nice. You are gonna love him."

Antonio just looked at his mother without saying to her.

"Oh! You have no idea how it feels to know that your little boy will be starting another life with someone special." She said in her emotional voice but he didn't care. "Please, just take it easy, okay."

Antonio just nodded without saying anything to his mother.

The rest of the way went quiet for the two of them. Antonio just stared outside, hoping for the cars to just breakdown so that he could be saved from a disaster. He was still hoping he was gonna control himself because honestly, there was just a lot that was on his mind and he had no idea if he was gonna control himself when he saw the boy.

What seemed like hours for Emilia seemed like seconds for Antonio. They finally arrived at the place and boy was Emilia joyful. She couldn't lose the smile on her face. Meanwhile, Antonio couldn't understand what he was doing at such a filthy place. Not only was the place not in his league but it was out of town, almost in the slums and he didn't appreciate it. Seeing that place made his blood boil even more and his anger to intensify. He couldn't believe it.

"We are here?" Emilia beamed, quickly opening the door. "We are finally here. Let's go."

When Antonio got out of the car, gosh, he was so irritated with the place. Fuck! He could have sworn the air felt different. What the fuck was he doing at such a place?

Everyone got out of their cars and they all started heading towards the door. They were looking around the place and most of them were definitely not happy, especially Antonio and Andrea. They were so damn pissed.

"So this is where my future grandson in law lives?" Granny smiled, moving her eyes from place to place.

"Yes!" Emilia exclaimed, getting really anxious. "I told all of you that he is from a humble background."

"Well, I am not complaining." She chuckled, raising her hands as if she was surrendering. "I know that you and my son cannot make any mistake. But I am really excited right now. Let's go and meet him."

Emilia smiled at her mother in law and they started heading towards the door.

"What the fuck are my doing in such a place?" Antonio thought, clenching his fists. Anger could be seen in his face because it was starting to turn red. "This is too much. I gotta talk to mom before things get worse. I don't care anymore."

He took a harsh breath and started heading to his mother. But before he reached her, he felt someone grab his wrist. He looked passed his shoulder and saw Andrea shaking her head, signaling him to stop. He groaned and just stood still.

Meanwhile, Emilia reached the door and knocked. Antonio just stood there looking like a statue without even moving an inch. Suddenly a woman opened the door smiling like she had just seen God. She wasn't even dressed for specially, just an ordinary dress but she was at least beautiful.

"Hey!" Victoria gasped, smiling at the entire family. "You are here."

"Victoria," Emilia beamed brightly, taking a deep breath. "You know I wouldn't miss this for the world. I have waited for so long for this. We are here for serious business today."

"Okay, please come inside." She opened the door wider so that the guests could come inside.

Victoria and her family started coming inside and Victoria's happiness was overflowing. There were two handsome men with her but she didn't need to guess who Antonio was. God! He was really handsome, more handsome than he had seen him in magazines. She could already picture him with Praveen and they were gonna be the perfect couple.

When they went inside the living room, they could see that Victoria had made some wonderful decorations in the living room. It was marvelous. The guests sat and Victoria knew she had to make them comfortable.

"Well, you are welcome to my house." She said followed by a warm smile.

Antonio couldn't utter a word. He just smiled faintly when she looked at him although he was really irritated.

"Thank you so much." Granny said happily. "We should be the ones thanking you for welcoming us to your house knowing what we've come here to do."

"It's no problem."

Emilia's two children, Mike and Julia came to greet the guests and they were the happiest kids ever. They were just ordinary beautiful children but they were definitely raised well and Victoria was impressed.

At first everyone including Antonio mistook Mike for Praveen but it was cleared when Victoria introduced them as her children, Mike and Julia. It seemed everyone was eager to meet him, except for Antonio who was dying to get out of that hell his mother had imposed on him.

"Mike and Julia, why don't you get our guests some refreshments?" Victoria said. "I am pretty sure they are thirsty."

Mike and Julia went to the kitchen and they came back with some juice which they served to the guests. Granny thanked them for their hospitality but...

"Okay, we've been here for quite some time and..." Granny paused, looking all around. "...I don't see my future grandson in law. Isn't he here or something?"

"Oh!" Victoria cleared her throat. "He is here and..." She moved her eyes to her son. "Mike, please go and get him."

"Yes, mom." Mike said with a smile.

Mike left and granny continued talking with Victoria, still appreciating her and telling her how warm and cozy her house was. She also asked questions about Praveen because she was eager to know everything about him though Emilia had told her almost everything she knew about him.

Finally, the moment they had been waiting for arrived. Mike came back and he was with the shy looking beautiful boy. Praveen was dressed in a beautiful blue shirt with white stripes, a black skinny jean and brown sandals. He was looking simple but really beautiful. After all, he didn't have any fancy clothes.

His curled hair was tied into a ponytail, revealing his pretty face and wonderful skin. He was wearing spectacles but he was still really beautiful in them.

On the other hand, the first thing that happened when Antonio saw Praveen was irritation. He got irritated to the point that he just wanted to get out of that place. The boy himself, the way he was walking and fuck, those glasses just got him so mad. What was his mother thinking, he thought as he looked away? Fuck! The boy wasn't even half his class. It was so annoying but it was all thanks to his fucking mother that he had to suffer like that.

Meanwhile, Antonio wasn't even looking at the guests. His eyes were on the floor because he was just too shy, nervous and anxious at the same time. His heart was pounding deep in his chest and he was starting to sweat. Emilia's entire family had come to see him and it was making him really nervous.

"Oh my God," Granny covered her mouth, staring at her daughter in law with her eyes wide open. "Emilia, why didn't you tell me this boy was so beautiful?"

That statement from granny made Praveen blush so much that he almost ran away.

"Mother, I told you he was really beautiful."

Praveen walked with Mike to the living room and stopped. He stood beside his aunt and that was the time when he raised his eyes. Shit! His eyes just landed on Antonio, his husband to be. His heart simply stopped beating... he held his breath... his body felt hot and cold at the same time... his emotions got out of control and he remained motionless.

Antonio was even more handsome than he looked in magazines he had seen. His hair was perfectly combed and his body was just amazing. The way his chest was exposed was dreamy. Everything in that room disappeared except for the two of them. Time stopped and Praveen felt a cool breeze hit his face.

Though Antonio wasn't looking at him, Praveen was sure that his eyes were just as beautiful. But he didn't want to be caught staring so he moved his eyes and looked somewhere else.

Emilia smiled brightly, getting up from the chair. She held Praveen and just smiled at her family. The time had come for the introduction to begin.

"This is Praveen Garcia, the boy I have been telling you about." She blurted, patting on his back. "Praveen, this is my family."

She started introducing him to them one by one. She first introduced him to her eldest son and his wife then went to introduce him to her daughter who gave him a fake smile. She introduced him to her mother in law who seemed more than happy and then she lastly introduced him to her son, Antonio.

Antonio raised his face, stared into those annoying eyes and just smiled faintly before looking away. Praveen didn't even notice because he had been busy blushing.

"Well, I must say you are very handsome." Granny said abruptly. "You are just perfect for my grandson. I know that you two will look good together." Praveen couldn't help but blush. "Why don't you come and sit with me?"

Praveen nodded and went to sit with her.

Antonio was about to explode in anger. His fists were clenched and he was only moments away from exploding. He had never seen anyone so irritating as the boy he was looking at. His mother just had to embarrass him. Bruce was hundred times better than the annoying brat.

Anyway, granny continued sitting with the boy. She was asking questions and appreciating him. She was only meeting him for the first time but she loved him already. She definitely knew her son didn't make a mistake by choosing such a boy for her grandson. The rest of Emilia's family was quiet and Emilia wanted her son and Antonio to get to know each other so she had an idea.

"Oh, mother..." She cleared her throat. "...it seems you've taken Praveen all to yourself. I think Antonio also wants to talk to him. After all, they are meeting for the first time and I am sure they are both dying to speak to each other."

"Fuck!" Antonio cursed, clenching his teeth.

Emilia held Praveen's hand, slowly rubbing on it. "I am sure you two would like to talk to each other. Why don't you go out, catch some air and try to get to know each other more."

Praveen stared at Antonio and smiled. He was nervous but he just nodded and got up from the chair. Then he slowly started going outside.

Antonio on the other hand didn't know if at all he was gonna continue with the charade. He just wanted to get out of there but it seemed as if his mother was controlling his life. It was annoying. But he had no choice. He got up from the chair and followed the boy behind.

Praveen got out of the house and he lost the smile on his face. He felt as if he was able to breathe. He had felt really suffocated inside and the cool air outside made him feel better. He was able to breathe again although he was still nervous, unsure and confused. He couldn't make anything of Antonio. The guy hadn't spoken a word to him.

His nervousness increased when he heard footsteps right behind him. He knew that Antonio was coming behind him. He started playing with his hands which were getting really sweaty by the second. He had no idea what to say? What if he said something wrong? He just had to be confident. Maybe the guy was as good as he had heard from Mike.

On the other hand, Antonio's anger was getting out of control with every step he made towards the brat. Fuck! If only he could rip that fucking ponytail off and kill him right there. He so fucking hated him more than he hated his enemies. But he knew he had to control himself.

He went and stood beside him, looking straight ahead.

Praveen took a quick glance at him and he just remained quiet. Both the men just remained quiet without even uttering a word. One thing that surprised Praveen was how harsh Antonio's breath was. He couldn't understand it but maybe that was the way he breathed.

The silence continued for a couple of minutes until things started getting awkward. Praveen was waiting for Antonio to start something and no way was Antonio going to start talking to him. His plan was to remain quiet until he went back home. Maybe the blat was going to get the message and...

"I heard you just came back from abroad a few days ago." Praveen spoke sheepishly, trying to hide his sweaty hands. He couldn't take the silence. He needed to say something. "How was your trip?"

Fuck, just the annoying boy's voice was making Antonio mad. He had just ruined his plans. He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, still holding his hands into fists.

"It... it was fine!"

"That's good and..." He paused and tried to get himself under control. "...your mother is very nice."

"Really?" Antonio sounded as if he didn't care at all. "That's uh... good."

Something about Antonio was making Praveen really nervous and uneasy. He was expecting him to say something but right at that moment, Praveen just wanted to hide and get away from that man.

On the other hand, Antonio was looking at Praveen as if he wanted to strangle him. He might have been looking innocent but that boy in front of him was the reason why his mother had slapped him, forced him to do what he didn't want to do and also the reason why he was staying away from his boyfriend. But he knew how to handle such bitchy boys.

Antonio had an idea. He cleared his throat and tried to be as calm as possible.

"How long have you known my mother?" He asked, interrogating the young man.

"Err..." Praveen turned and stared at him before quickly dropping his eyes. "Well, I used to see her visit my mother from time to time when I was young but she started visiting frequently after... err..." He paused and gulped. "...after our marriage was confirmed. So I have known her for quite some years."

"Fuck!" He clenched his fists, trying so hard to control his anger.

"Your family seems nice too." Praveen confessed.

Antonio couldn't answer. He just remained quiet, tried to think about his boyfriend which by the way failed because he was filled with nothing but anger inside of him. His head felt like it was spinning and his heart was like a washing machine.