Destined Hearts Ch. 09

Now here he was, outside, wondering what he was doing there in the first place. It was already getting dark and his heart was racing for some reason. He was really mad, mad at something that he didn't want to think he was mad about. But he couldn't help it. He had even lost count of the number of alerts he had gotten about the hottest magazine in town. He was really pissed. It was like Praveen and whoever the idiot was had suddenly become a couple under his nose. It was so damn annoying.

"Honk!"

Antonio's heart gave a sharp pound in his chest when he heard a car honking. He suddenly raised his face towards the gate, seeing it opening wider. It was one of his cars, indicating that Praveen had finally returned. He felt some kind of wave take control of him, making his breaths come out harshly.

He gulped, gripping the glass harder, wondering why his mood had suddenly changed. Just when he was about to smile, something else happened that completely ruined his mood. It was a beautiful, light green, Porsche car, really expensive from the look of it. It was coming right behind his car.

He didn't need to be a genius to know whose car it was. It was Santiago's car. He felt something move inside of him, making him gulp audibly. He clenched his fists, throwing the glass harshly to the floor. It broke into pieces and he just stood there without moving an inch.

His car stopped at a distance from him and the car behind stopped too. It didn't take long before the idiot came out as if he was rushing somewhere. wait! He was rushing to open the other side of the door. He was dressed in a beautiful, green shirt that was folded at the wrists and a black shiny trouser with white shoes. His shirt was half way done, revealing his pretty thick muscular chest that Antonio wanted to stab.

He quickly opened the door as a smile lit up his face as if he was almost bowing his head, opening the door for someone he loved. Praveen came out and he was smiling brightly, chuckling loudly. Antonio could notice that Praveen was happy, happier than he had ever seen him before.

"We are here." Santiago said happily, slightly closing the door. He leaned on the car, still smiling at Praveen. "I really had a good time with you, Praveen."

Praveen took a deep breath and nodded. He really had a good day, away from all the troubles Antonio, Bruce, Andrea and Emma would have caused him. He was just hoping they weren't gonna give him any trouble. But who was he kidding? He knew that once he stepped inside, trouble was gonna be back.

"I also had a good time, Santiago." He confessed, folding his arms on his chest. "I never knew that rich men like you could be so good and..."

"What do you mean rich men?" Santiago raised his eyebrow. "I'm sure you are used to this from your husband. He's rich, remember?"

Praveen slightly lost his smile, nodding his head. "Yes! But aside from him, that is."

"Well, this is me." He opened his arms, looking at himself. "If we don't help people who are poor, then who will? I like doing charity and that's why I am like this. My mother always told me to be good to people and then good people will always come to me. And she was right..." He slowly moved his hands and held one of Praveen's hands, rubbing on it sweetly. "...I have met such a sweet person, Praveen. Thank you so much."

Praveen blushed, dropping his eyes to the ground. Where Antonio was standing, he clenched his fists harder as his jaws vibrated in anger. How dare Santiago touch Praveen, he thought as his entire body got engulfed in anger?

"Well, I don't know about that but the almighty sends us people for a reason." He raised his face, looking into Santiago's eyes. "Your mother was absolutely right. I am sure she would have been proud of you. What am I even saying?" He chuckled, rubbing on Santiago's hand. "She's proud of you. After everything that I saw today when we visited your two orphanages, I am really impressed. People love you so much and you're like a god to them. You've got everything."

Praveen laughed, dropping his eyes to the ground. He had no idea that Santiago was staring at him with eyes of love. They had become so close that they had become friends after visiting the two orphanages. Praveen had become so emotional after seeing all those kids that wanted to be adopted.

"Well, not quite everything." Santiago moaned as his heart started racing.

"What?" Praveen raised his face to stare into Santiago's serious face. "Why do you say that? What would a man like you lack?"

"Love!" He said in an emotional voice. "Antonio is a very lucky man to have found someone like you. I just hope that one day, I will find someone that will make me happy."

"And why's that?" Praveen was now confused. "You're a very handsome man and you can have any woman you want."

"But I haven't met the right person." He simply said, licking his lips. "Sometimes when you meet the one you want, you might find that person is taken. But I hope that mine won't be taken when I meet her. I always thought my mother would find a good woman for me."

Praveen sighed gloomily, taking both of Santiago's hands. "I will be praying for you. The almighty shall give you a really good woman. I promise you, he will."

Santiago smiled brightly, nodding. "If only you knew, Praveen. I just hope you'll be happy." He thought as his nerves got the best of him. "Your husband is one lucky bastard, I swear."

He chuckled, letting go of Praveen's hands. "I gotta go now. I don't want to keep your family waiting."

"Alright," Praveen sighed, smiling softly. "Are you sure though, you don't wanna come inside?"

"No! Maybe later."

"Bye!"

They waved at each other and Santiago got into his car and drove off, waving at Praveen. Praveen waved back and watched as the car got out of his compound. He could feel that Santiago had really gone because he couldn't feel his presence.

He gave a gloomy sigh, slowly turning and almost bumped into Antonio who was standing right in front of him with his arms folded. Their eyes locked and for some reason, Praveen felt a shiver run down his spine. He couldn't read Antonio's face... it was blank.

"Welcome!" Antonio said harshly. "How did your day go? Did you enjoy the day with him and his crew telling you how cute you look together?"

"Antonio, I..."

"You left the house really early and you're coming back late." He chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. "You were smiling at each other as if..."

"Antonio, please." Praveen sighed, rubbing on his head. "I am really tired and I need to go inside and rest. I have had a really long day and I just wanna..."

"You've got to be kidding me." Antonio said harshly. "But who cares?" He shrugged. "You can do anything you want because it's your life. You can even move to his house if you wanted to. I don't care. After all, that would be good because I would finally get rid of you. I wonder what that guy even sees in you because you're a mess."

Praveen felt as if his heart had just been ripped to pieces with Antonio's words. He felt a cold wind blow on his face, making his body feel colder than it was. He stared at Antonio, frozen and wondering why he had said that to him. He was supposed to be used but he it hurt like hell.

"You know, I pity that guy because he is wasting his time with you." He said harshly, furiously dropping his hands. "If I were him, I wouldn't have even taken that photo with you. I wonder what even everyone saw when they saw that magazine. But guess they were just curious as to who had appeared in that magazine, beginner's luck. Very soon, that man will realize the mess he has gotten himself into and he'll abandon you."

Tears started forming in Praveen's eyes as his pain increased, getting worse by the second. He had been really happy but now, he was so hurt that he wanted to run away and cry. But something had him frozen where he stood. It was too much. He was just staring at the man that said those painful words to him.

"If I were him, I would start running away because you're a directionless car that's speeding." He gestured, chuckling bitterly. "Look at the mess you've made into my life and you only came recently. When will you realize that no matter what you do..." He chuckled bitterly, looking at the boy in tears. "...you'll never be able to reach that high status?"

Praveen looked away as a tear went down his cheeks. He quickly rubbed it before he looked at Antonio, hating the man that he was looking at. When was he gonna finally accept that Praveen was also a human being who got hurt, he thought as he felt something move deep in him?

"You might be used to using tricks to trap rich guys but... I don't think you'll always be successful."

"Well, Antonio, not everyone is like you." He said confidently, feeling a bit angry. "I agree that my status is not like yours or Santiago's but some people see past through that and one of them is Santiago. He associates with the poor..." He smiled, remembering how he had seen people at the orphanage happy. "...he likes to help and people love him. He is a good man and he doesn't care about status as long as other people are happy."

Hearing what Praveen had just said, Antonio felt anger slipping through him fast. His adrenaline started moving in his body with so much pressure that he could feel it take effect. He clenched his fists hard, his jaws shaking in anger.

"I am really tired and I don't want trouble. Excuse me!"

He moved to the other side and walked past Antonio, leaving him standing there like a statue. Antonio's anger had gotten to another level. Sure, he had spoken to Praveen in anger but he hadn't expected him to defend the bastard.

Antonio didn't understand what was happening to him or his mind. He was supposed to let Praveen do whatever that he wanted but he couldn't do it for some reason. He didn't even like the boy, right? He was in love with Bruce and he wanted to be with him, right? Then why was he acting like a jealous husband? He took a deep breath, sighed and followed Praveen into the house.

Praveen entered the house with a bright smile on his face, trying to mask his pain. He was expecting to find granny and Emilia but got disappointed when he didn't find them in the living room. Normally, they were supposed to be in the living room talking or watching something.

He lost the smile on his face, taking a gloomy sigh as he scanned the entire place. But to his disappointment, he couldn't see them anywhere. He took a turn to go to his room but something stopped him, a voice that sent shivers down his spine.

"Are you looking for your favorite granny and mother in law?" A voice chuckled behind him. "Well, they are not here. They left."

He took a gulp, slowly turning to find Emma looking at him with a smile which was full of mock. She was tying her hair in a ponytail, her entire face now in full view. His piercing brown eyes were now visible and Praveen couldn't help but get scared when she looked at him. It was as if she was killing him with her eyes.

She was wearing a black dress, white slippers and had a phone in her hand. Seeing her, his heart started pounding deep in his chest. He was really praying for her not to give him trouble but who was he kidding?

"Aunt, Emma... I was just looking for granny and..."

"They left after waiting for you for hours but you never showed up." She said, not losing the smile on her face. "Why they've suddenly given you so much importance compared to other people in this house, I will never know."

Praveen bit his top lip, trying to hide that he was scared. "Well, aunt, I don't understand what you're trying to say."

Emma chuckled sinisterly, getting closer to him. She was eyeing him as if he was the most disgusting thing she had ever set her eyes on. He just made her soul really disgusted.

"What I am trying to say is that I don't like you one bit." She snapped, furiously dropping her hands. "You are always up to something. First you stole my mother, my sister in law, got married to Antonio with your tricks and now you have managed to even turn my grandson against me. You were reluctant to take a photo with Antonio yet you just got romantic with another man on set."

Praveen's mouth opened wide, a gasp escaping his throat. "What? No! It's not what you think."

"And what am I thinking?"

"I don't understand why you hate me so much, aunt." He asked. "I thought you said you wanted to give me a chance to prove myself. What had..."

"That was before I knew exactly what you were up to." She hissed, making him take a step back. "Why would I take the risk of being one of your puppets? I will never accept you into this house or into Antonio's life and I am gonna personally enjoy you leaving this house. If I were you, I would enjoy my time here because very soon..." She paused, giving him an evil grin. "...you'll be leaving us."

Praveen's tears started building once again and he didn't even bother to rub them. "How do I show you that I never wanted this life?"

"Oh please!" She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "We both know that you're just a gold-digger who wants our money but not on my watch. You will never, ever get a dime because..."

"I swear I didn't." He couldn't hold his tears anymore. They came flowing in billions. "I am just a victim here, aunt, I swear. If only I could turn back the time then I'd set everything right."

"Of course, you know that's impossible. You've already made your way into our lives. But I don't blame you." She said harshly, breathing like a warrior on the battlefield. "I blame Emilia and mother for this. They knew what would have happened had I been here and no wonder they didn't tell me anything about this sham of a marriage. Had it been up to me, you wouldn't have even set your stupid eyes on him."

Praveen couldn't say anything anymore. He just dropped his eyes to the floor and let the tears flow. She was staring at him, enjoying seeing him at his weakest. He deserved everything and she was gonna make him suffer for it.

When Praveen raised his face to stare into her face, it was to wipe his face and walk away from there as quickly as he could. He was rushing towards the stairs that he didn't even know that Antonio was standing there, watching everything that had happened. Although he was mad at Praveen, there was something inside of him that made him hurt but he couldn't do anything.

Praveen stopped in his tracks, staring into his husband's face. He just sighed and rushed up the stairs. Reaching the room, he went into the bathroom, locked the door and went to the mirror where he stared at his reflection, seeing tears going down his face. He just wanted to cry and let it all go.

Meanwhile, outside the room, Antonio was standing near the bed, his eyes fixed on the bathroom. He didn't need to be a genius to know what was going on in the bathroom. He could tell that Praveen was crying after all the insults that his aunt had given him down the stairs.

It felt really nice to insult Praveen and make him sad but what Antonio felt at that moment was something that he couldn't even understand or explain. Deep down, he was really mad because of what had happened and how Praveen had almost insulted him outside the house. But he felt, well... he didn't even know what he felt.

He went and sat on the bed then opened his tablet and went online to check out some of the trending things on social media, mostly his fan club. But the moment he just opened his browser, a picture popped up on his screen, an ad that made his blood boil.

"The picture that has people questioning their romance."

It was the same picture that Santiago and Praveen had taken, closer to each other. Seeing that picture, Antonio simply closed his tablet and threw it harder on the bed, feeling really angry. He groaned, clenching his fists as if he wanted to punch someone's stupid nose. His heart pounded so deep in his chest that he felt like he was gonna have a heart attack.

It didn't take long before Praveen opened the door to the bathroom, coming out with a towel which he was using to wipe his face. He threw the towel on the chair before going to the mirror to check himself out. He had been crying but his eyes looked really fine. They were not red or swollen. That made him feel at least happy.

He was still checking himself out before he heard his phone ringing. He got it out of his pocket and smiled when he saw who was calling.

"Hey, Santiago." HE chuckled happily.

"Hey! I was just checking up on you. Are you okay?"

Praveen smiled even brighter, nodding. "Yes! Thanks a lot for checking up on me. But you didn't have to. In fact, I was the one that was supposed to check up on you. You were the one that drove to your house and not me."

Santiago laughed on the other end. "Well, I am absolutely fine. Maybe I just wanted to say goodnight and to thank you for making my day really wonderful and special. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome and goodnight."

"Goodnight!"

Praveen cut the call and went to the couch smiling as brighter as ever. He was so tired that he just took his blanket and went to sleep on the couch without even realizing that Antonio was really staring at him, his jaws shaking like they were about to come out.

Antonio couldn't understand what was going with Praveen or with himself. He hated that Praveen was getting happiness from another man, someone that he had just met. He had expected him to be sad because of the insults that Emma had given him but he was now smiling. It was so... depressingly painful.

He couldn't stay there anymore. With a final look at the boy, Antonio turned and stormed out of the room.

***

"So, Praveen, how did your meeting with Santiago go yesterday? You kinda took longer than we had expected." Granny asked, looking at him with a smile.

"Well, I am sorry, granny that I took longer." He apologized, directing his gaze at her. "It's just that we went to visit some of his orphanages and foundations that I totally lost track of time. I am truly sorry."

"Orphanages?" Emilia gasped, not masking the surprise in her voice. "That boy is really something else. I knew there was something about him that I couldn't put my fingers on. He's just so..."

"Perfect!" Granny finished the sentence, gesturing with her hands. "Nowadays, it is very difficult to for rich people to be useful to the society. Only a few rich kids do such things."

"Yeah, and those few are the ones being constantly used by fraudsters." Emma commented, taking a sip of her juice. She had a mocking smile on. "Sometimes it is good to be tough so that some idiots can be sent to hell where they belong."

Praveen felt those words hit him like a billion cold winds at the same time. He didn't need to be a genius to know that Emma was talking about him. He gave her a quick glance and she gave him a sinister smile.

"What do you think, Praveen?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Granny asked, a bit angry. "It is not wrong to do something good for some people. Not every rich person out there should be rude. Sometimes, we should all participate in charity works."

She shook her head, diverting attention from her. She wanted to talk to Praveen again but she got worried when she found Antonio looking really quiet. "Antonio, are you okay? You seem really quiet. What's going on?"

Antonio raised his face, giving his granny a half smile. "I am alright. I was just thinking about something work related. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure!"

Everyone was seated at the table, having their breakfast in peace. Antonio was already dressed for work. He had a deep blue designer's slim fit suit on, a blood red shirt inside and black shoes on his feet that made him look really sexy. His hair was just combed backwards and his face was in full view. He was having his tea in peace, trying to forget about his troubles.