Destined Hearts Ch. 10

Antonio on the other hand was silent. He had no idea what to say to Ethan or how to talk to him. First it was the photo shoot and now his music videos too had to feature Praveen. This joke was not funny anymore, he thought as he looked at his boyfriend who was equally staring at Ethan, hating him even more.

"What?" Bruce's mouth was shaking. His heart was pounding deeper in his chest and fear had already gotten inside of him. "What are you saying Ethan, Praveen..."

"Do you have a problem with it?" Ethan asked, losing the smile on his face.

Bruce's mouth shook visibly as everyone in the living room stared at him, all except for Praveen whose eyes were still glued on Ethan.

"No, it's just that, you know..."

"Well, I guess there's no problem." Ethan was trying to be as nice to Bruce as he could be. "As long as Antonio and Praveen agree then there's no problem."

Bruce diverted his eyes to his boyfriend, looking at him with puppy eyes. There was absolutely no way that he was gonna allow Antonio to agree to that. Antonio's songs were romantic and there was no way he was gonna allow him to be romancing on set with Praveen. First of all, his plan had been to convince Antonio to put him in the video, not Praveen.

When Antonio stared in his boyfriend's eyes, he saw nothing but pain. His boyfriend was gonna be in pain, especially if he agreed to Ethan's suggestion.

"Err..."

"There's nothing to think about." Emilia chuckled nervously. "They are married and I think it will be for the best since the last photo shoot didn't work out."

Antonio tried to open his mouth but couldn't utter any word at all. He again looked at Bruce and saw the anger on his face. He wanted to say no, he really did. But what could he do in that situation? His mother had already agreed and he had lost the right of saying something at that moment.

"Shouldn't this decision be made by Antonio?" Emma was really upset. Why was Praveen so highly favored in the house? She was really tired of him. "I mean, this is his career and I am sorry to say but Praveen isn't a model or famous. He's just an ordinary boy from a village and you can't risk ruining your..."

"I think you should keep quiet, Emma." Granny said, looking at her in anger. "Didn't those models too start from nowhere?"

"No, granny... I... I think aunt is right." Praveen said without even looking at her. "I know nothing about modeling or how to act in that video. Let someone else do it. There are many models out there that are..."

"Nothing like you." Emilia chimed in, holding his hands sweetly and then smiled brightly when she felt him get tense. "You are my son in law and I believe in you, we all believe in you. Don't you wanna help your husband get to the top?"

Praveen raised his face to stare at his husband and saw him looking at him. Their eyes met and Praveen dropped them. He knew he had to be careful and though the guy was an idiot, Praveen knew he had to help him, not that he deserved it. But there was something else that was scaring him more than the music video itself, being close to Antonio.

"Yes, mother." He breathed in deeply.

"Good!" Granny smiled brightly. "It is settled then. So when are they supposed to start shooting? I can't wait already."

Ethan smiled at granny's question. "Two days from now as we are still choosing the various locations. Praveen has to appear in the three songs that are pending from Antonio's previous singles."

Ethan was really excited that his heart was already racing. Deep down, he could feel the pressure rising in Bruce's heart and he could already feel the anger emanating from him. He was just so happy. He just wished the guy could leave Antonio alone.

He glanced at Bruce, seeing his fists clenching. "I know what's on your mind, Bruce." He thought as an evil grin brightened up his face. "I will not let you succeed in your plans. I promised you that no matter what you do, I will bring Antonio and Praveen together. If I won't succeed in this then I am not Antonio's best friend."

"Wow!" Celine's hands were holding her cheeks. "This will be great since Praveen's identity will get to be revealed in Antonio's videos." She saw all the faces looking at her in confusion. "Come on, people do not know who the model that appeared on the cover of the magazine is and if they get to know that he's none other than our Praveen, Antonio's spouse, what do you think it will do to Antonio's image?"

"Right!" Ethan agreed, nodding abruptly. "Of course, you're right Celine. Antonio will be one of the most sort after celebrities, I tell."

Bruce had heard enough of the non-sense. He couldn't stay there anymore. He just angrily got up from the chair.

"Excuse me!" And walked away.

When Emilia saw him, she didn't appreciate his behavior. "What's his problem?" She asked, shrugging.

"Who knows?" Granny said with a chuckle. "But I don't know, I don't like him." She was being honest about it that Antonio got really worried when he heard the tone of her voice. Her granny never spoke like that about anybody. "Now aren't we glad Praveen got married to Antonio instead of someone like that?"

Everyone in the living room laughed jokingly except for Antonio who didn't find it funny. It was his boyfriend they were talking about, someone that he loved. Emma too rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She didn't like Praveen at all. She preferred Bruce because he was classy, elegant, rich and really famous. That was the kind of boy she had wanted Antonio to marry and not the idiot that they'd forced on him.

***

Bruce was in Andrea's room, really mad. He was moving about from side to side trying to think straight. He was so angry and so much in pain that he didn't even know what hurt the most. He'd expected his boyfriend to reject Ethan's plan for his sake and suggest something else and not just sit there like a pumpkin.

"Babe!" He heard Antonio's voice.

He quickly turned and found him entering while folding his sleeves, looking really sexy. But that didn't matter.

"I am sorry." Antonio felt he owed his boyfriend an apology. "I had no idea that..."

"You had no idea?" Bruce chuckled in pain, clenching his fists. "You had no idea or you are really enjoying this?"

"Babe?" He tried to hold his hands but Bruce retaliated. "Try and understand me."

"Of course," He smiled in pain. "I will try and understand that your mother and your granny agreed to it and to make them happy, you couldn't disagree. Did you even try to think for once what this was gonna do to me?" He fumed, tears building in his eyes. "Do you even know how much I love you?"

"I love you too and I thought of you the entire time." Antonio knew very well that Bruce was in so much pain. "And I know it hurts you as much as it does right now and..."

"Well," Bruce got really closer, staring at Antonio sternly. "If you care about me and if you love me as much as you do, you're gonna have to reject the suggestion everyone's making."

"What?" Antonio laughed. He actually laughed because what his boyfriend had just said sounded like a really big joke. "Are you serious? Do you know what that will do to me? We're actually talking about my image in this industry."

"Does that matter more than I do?" Bruce pointed at himself, getting closer to Antonio.

"I didn't say that." He defended himself. "But you know it's impossible. That might actually ruin me and my music. My fans are very important to me and so are my business partners and..."

"To hell with them!" Bruce rasped as his foot stamped on the floor so hard that it felt like Antonio's heart had just been stamped. "I don't give a fuck about them."

Antonio's heart crushed right there on the floor. His heart actually bled for the first time since he had started dating his boyfriend. His body felt really hot and cold at the same time and he fixed his gaze on Bruce while he froze where he stood. He failed to believe what he had just heard from his boyfriend. It was as if something had just cut him. Then suddenly a wave of emotions took control of his body.

"Bruce, I have supported you in your career and I have always stood by you." His voice was really low but the tone he used broke Bruce. "You've had romantic photo shoots with numerous guys and not for once have you heard me complain."

"But that..."

"That was what?" He yelled in Bruce's face, making him take a few steps back. Bruce's heart jumped. "You don't care about my career. You don't even care about what's important to me. This also proves that you don't trust me."

Bruce wanted to speak to defend himself but he felt his tongue get really heavy. He couldn't open his mouth.

"How many times do I have to say that I love you? What the fuck do you want me to do in order to prove that I fucking love you a lot?" He was getting really tired with all the drama. "The other day, it was about the photo shoot and today it's about the music video. I am sick of trying to prove my love to you. This will be nothing but a fucking music video and if you don't believe that I love you then that's your problem Bruce."

He furiously turned and left the room, banging the door so hard that Bruce could have sworn the ground shook.

"Fuck!" He screamed, throwing the pillows that were on the bed. "Why does everything seem to be going in the wrong direction?"

He kicked the pillow on the flow in anger, sending it flying to the door just as Andrea was furiously entering the room. She looked around her room, opened the door, got out and came back inside. She found Bruce panting, his fists trembling and his face looking red. He was mad.

Andrea was looking sexy in a black designer's dress that looked like it was designed by angels, red high heels and her hair curled and then tied. Her makeup was on point. She was looking really cute but her mood was foul.

"Uh... This is my room and I have been warning you not to mess it up." She warned as she angrily picked up a pillow and threw it harshly at him. "Look, sweetie, I have told you that if you want to scream, cry, vent or do whatever crazy thing you want, I absolutely have no problem with it. But you have to do it at your house or the hotel you are staying at. You can even burn it if you want. I absolutely don't give two hoots about it."

Bruce rolled his eyes, ragingly sitting on the bed. "What do you want me to do?" His voice sounded like some grating noise. "That boy always finds ways to make me mad and this time he has stepped on my last nerve. I won't spare him."

Andrea could tell from Bruce's tone that his day hadn't been good either.

"And Antonio is not making things any easier for me either." He literally yelled.

Andrea sighed, throwing her handbag on the bed while she folded her arms on her chest. "Yeah, I saw him angrily leaving. What did you do?"

"Me?" He chuckled mockingly as he got up. "I didn't do anything. Can you imagine..."

Bruce started narrating the story to Andrea about Ethan's suggestion up to the time Antonio had left the room.

"...and just like that, he got upset and I am yet to find out what I did wrong by asking my boyfriend to reject the proposal."

Andrea laughed softly, losing the smile on her face. "This boy is becoming a big thorn in our flesh and that thorn keeps on getting bigger and bigger every day. I am simply sick of it. I am just from my first date with that... that..." She didn't even know what to call him. "...all he did was talk about that bitch, praising him like he's an angel or something." She felt sick to the core. "Praveen this, Praveen that. I am simply done hearing that name.

And can you imagine where he took me for our date. He thinks I am mother Theresa or something. I have never been on such a boring date my entire life. If he's that boring and dry on a date, can you imagine him during..." She convulsed, shaking her head. "...sex, disgusting."

Bruce looked at Andrea and she got worried. "I am really worried." He said softly, feeling tears building in his eyes. "That boy is becoming dangerous. He's pulling Antonio closer to him day by day and..."

"Not on my watch, our watch!" Andrea sounded dangerous. "This game has already started and baby, it is our destiny to win."

"What do we do?" Bruce gripped his hair harder, not minding the pain. "I can't handle him anyway."

Hearing that question, Andrea's face lit up with an evil grin. "This boring date wasn't that useless, baby." She cupped his cheeks, rubbing on them sweetly. "While that idiot was busy talking non-sense, I was able to come up with a plan on how we can get rid of that idiot for good. He'll never return."

"Really?" Bruce gasped, feeling his heart racing. "What's that?"

"I'll tell you but first..." She pointed. "...we are gonna have to play along with something for a short period of time."

Bruce tried to speak...

"And of course, stop that boy from appearing in that music video."

Bruce smiled. "That's great."

Andrea was an evil genius. She had an evil plan up her sleeve and it required starting immediate work.

"I am sorry Praveen but you leave me with no choice." She thought. "You have to leave this house one way or another. That will surely happen or my name is not Andrea."

It was on!

***

Praveen finished tying the band and he was busy checking himself in the mirror. He had tied his hair into a ponytail which by the way made his face to be in full view. He was looking really young but very handsome. He slowly took his spectacles and wore them which made him look like a nerd but he loved it since he was already used to it.

"Wow, Praveen..." He said in a sweet voice. "...now you can start your day with the Lord's blessings." He slowly bowed.

He was dressed in a dark blue T-shirt that looked gorgeous on him, a green skinny jean and black sandals on his feet. He was looking really simple but he loved it like.

He took a deep breath, taking a final look in the mirror before...

"Wow, he's ready for another embarrassing moment." He heard Antonio's voice and wanted to respond but he decided it was best to ignore him. "Must be really good getting all these opportunities to be famous right?"

Praveen simply rolled his eyes, picked up his phone and started getting out of the room.

"Just don't embarrass me on that set because I will kill you."

"Look, I don't like it as much as you don't." Praveen said rudely, still heading for the door. "I would have preferred it if it was Santiago."

With those words, Praveen got out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah, right!" Antonio said softly, heading straight to the bathroom. There was a part of him that was really excited that he had got another opportunity to do something with Praveen.

Shit! What was wrong with him, he thought? His boyfriend had just argued with him and he seemed not concerned. Okay, something was majorly wrong with him.

Meanwhile, Praveen was almost heading downstairs when someone pulled him furiously behind.

"Antonio, what the hell is wrong with you. I told you..."

Wrong! When his eyes landed on the person that had pulled him, it wasn't Antonio. The guy was wearing a foul look on his face with a band tied around his head. He was wearing a pink designer's shirt with his chest exposed, a sexy blue short and designer's sandals. He was a true model but Praveen didn't care.

"Wow, you can't even get my boyfriend's name out of your mouth." Bruce snapped, breathing like a soldier at war. "How many times will you..."

"Look, Bruce..." Praveen wasn't in the mood for arguments, really. "...today is kinda important to me and I'd appreciate it if you didn't ruin my mood."

"Oh," Bruce laughed, getting a bit closer to Praveen. "I see. But you won't ever have peace as long as you are trying to seduce my boyfriend. Why can't you go and find your own? There are a lot of guys out there and..."

"I don't care how many guys are out there." Praveen was losing his temper. "I am not hungry for a man and I am sick of trying to explain to you. Whatever you're thinking, whatever is in your mind, you should always remember that Antonio and I are legally married. I have a wedding ring..." He raised his hand, showing the beautiful ring on his finger. "...and the holy wedding chain." He showed it to Bruce, igniting the flame in Bruce's heart. "So our marriage should be none of your business.

I don't care what Antonio or you does. I have already told you to leave me alone."

"I will never leave you alone as long as you're the villain in our love story." He chuckled, starting to go round, Praveen, looking at him from head to toe in disgust. "You think you can compete with me." He was literally mocking the boy. "You don't stand a chance. Antonio might have married you but he's in love with me. It's me he wants to spend the rest of his life with. He detests you. Your very existence irritates him."

Harsh words! Praveen usually didn't care but right at that moment, he felt his heart breaking to pieces.

"Your marriage is a sham, just for show." He added. "But with me, Antonio is always happy, always smiling." He smiled himself, remembering his best moments with Antonio. "He's always himself, caring, sweet and angelic. He always shows me his best side and when we kiss..." He moaned sensually as if he was about to orgasm, rubbing his lips while Praveen stared at him. "...it is fire.

When we make love, it is ecstatic." Praveen slightly closed his eyes, fighting off his tears. Why was it hurting so much, he thought? "We're always on cloud 9."

Praveen looked away just as Bruce was getting closer to him.

"But you..." He laughed. "You've never experienced such things and you never will. He's always sad with you, shouting at you and hates you."

Praveen laughed softly at Bruce's words. "You're right." He was fighting off his tears. "Antonio is never happy with me, he's always shouting at me and has severally told me he hates me. But he's my husband and I am happy with what he does." He chuckled, remembering the couple of times he'd smiled at Antonio. "Whenever he comes with a problem, he shouts at me. Whenever he's not feeling well, he shouts at me and tells me he hates me.

Whenever something is wrong, he blames me." He pointed at himself. "But that's my job as his spouse. I like the fact that I am able to take away his problems when he shouts at me. I am able to take away his anger and bring him back to himself. That's the job of a good husband."

Bruce couldn't believe what Praveen had just told him. He got so upset that he couldn't even speak.

"You may get to experience his good side but as long as I help take away his problems, I am fine with it."

With those few words, Praveen quickly turned and left Bruce standing there like a statue. He was so mad that he just groaned and went back to Andrea's room. He had come with a plan to hurt Praveen but he was the one that got hurt. It was so annoying.

Meanwhile, Praveen was coming downstairs, reliving his encounter with Bruce. He felt he shouldn't have said all that he had said to him. Why did he even talk about Antonio like that, he thought as he rubbed his face?

He took a deep breath before suddenly bumping into someone. The next thing he felt was the sound of a phone on the floor. He quickly moved his eyes to the floor and saw a really expensive phone on the floor.

"Oh my God," He gasped, quickly kneeling down. "I didn't see you."

His hands went to the phone and just when he reached it, he felt another hand on his. He quickly moved his eyes up and looked in really lovely eyes that were staring at him, a cute smile that made him smile too and a really handsome face.

"You?"

He was dressed in a really beautiful black shirt that was tucked in a dark blue skinny trouser that made him look handsome. He was in casual with red snickers that seemed really expensive and his hair was combed perfectly. Seeing him, Praveen felt like he was alive. His mood changed there and then.