Raging Love Ch. 01

"Okay, baby..." Celine said excitedly. "...time to get dressed."

Celine laughed with her daughter and then turned. But as soon as she turned, she found Emilia staring towards the door, looking as if she was in so much pain. Seeing her like that, Celine felt really terrible. She put her daughter down and told her to run to their room. Steph nodded and then rushed to the room after kissing her granny.

Celine sighed, resting her arm on Emilia's shoulder. "You don't have to worry, mother!" She assured, squeezing her shoulder. "Very soon, everything will go back to the way it was. Antonio will eventually come back to you and realize that you just wanted what you thought was best for him."

Emilia sighed, fighting her tears. "For the past six years, that's all I have prayed for. But my prayers have never been answered. Sometimes I just feel like God is punishing me for bringing that boy into this house and..."

"No!" Celine said abruptly, shaking her head. "Who would have known this would happen? Pra..."

"Don't mention his name!" Emilia said sharply, slightly closing her eyes. "That name is forbidden in this house. He is gone and he's no longer part of our lives."

Celine took a deep breath, feeling a pain rise deep in her heart. "I am sorry."

"Mother, Antonio, Andrea and everyone else got hurt." She said weakly, chuckling bitterly. "I watched as my son's love slowly turned into hatred for me. I kinda deserve it. I brought this upon myself, Celine. But you..." She paused and caressed her cheek. "...you're truly an angel and Eduardo is lucky. You still talk to me despite what had happened, you and Eduardo. Thank you so much for this."

"Mom..." Celine quickly pulled Emilia into a tight and emotional hug. "You know how I hate hearing that from you." She pulled away, holding her hands tightly. "I love you so much and nothing will separate you and I. I promise that I will help you and your son to reunite, even if I have to use Stephanie. I will do it."

Emilia felt a tear rolling down. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome!" Celine smiled.

Emilia rubbed her tears and smiled. "I need to check up on mother."

Celine nodded and watched as her mother in law rushed out of the living room. She felt really sad for her, a woman that had once been full of life and happiness was looking so miserable.

'Six years, Praveen...' She thought, fighting her tears. '...six years and I still refuse to believe that you had done anything wrong. My heart still tells me you're innocent and... I wish to see you again, my brother.' She looked to the heavens and sighed. 'God, show me a way out of this. Please!'

She got out of her thoughts and rushed to the room.

***

Antonio was seated on his comfy chair, his chin resting on his fist which was resting on the beautiful table. He was staring at his staff from side to side, wondering why the hell he had to go through all that he was going through. He was in the conference room and all of his workers were in there and that sullen look on his face wasn't helping matters.

"So explain to me why the hell all of you came to the office late?" He literally yelled, a frown appearing on his face. "Do I need to do your jobs for you? I specifically told you that I needed all of you here for the meeting."

The workers looked at each other in fear.

"Can someone say something, damn it?" He furiously rose, hitting his hands furiously on the table. "Do you think I had built this company just so that your lazy asses can ruin things for me?"

"But, sir..." The marketing manager started, his voice breaking. "...we thought that..."

"You thought that what?" He hissed. "What do I need all of you here for if I am doing your jobs for you? You were supposed to do a very important presentation to the clients but as usual..." He chuckled bitterly, sitting furiously on the chair. "...I had to your jobs for you."

"Sir, we thought the meeting was too early and..."

"So you now tell me how to run my company, huh?" He snapped, shaking his head. He was staring at the woman that had just spoke.

"No, sir, I..."

"You're fired!" He said without any feeling of remorse. "Clear your desk in the next thirty minutes or..."

"No, please..." The woman threw herself on the floor, putting her hands together. Tears formed in her eyes as she stared at her boss. "...sir, you can't fire me. I didn't mean to question you or how you run..."

"Yet, you still did." He glowered, folding his arms on his chest. "Perhaps you're tired of working here."

The woman shook her head. "No! I..."

"The next time you question me, I'll make you and your family members jobless." He warned, pointing at her. "Now get out of here." He furiously looked at everyone. "That goes for all of you. Whatever I say, goes. If you can't live by my rules then you're welcome to quit! Get out!"

Everyone quickly got out of their seats and started rushing out of the conference room. They were scared of Antonio Gonzalez. He had been a sweet man before, maybe six years ago but ever since the scandal, his life had changed. He was a cold man, really harsh and didn't care about his workers. They worked in fear and though he had managed to build a very big empire and make a name for himself both in the business and music world, he was a really feared man.

"Incompetent idiots!" He muttered, getting off the chair.

Just as he was about to start getting out of the room, his phone began ringing and he quickly picked it. He listened to what the man on the other end had to say before...

"Look, I don't care what they have said." He said harshly, gripping the phone harder. "Tell them that I am not interested in their deal. If they won't pay by this evening, I am gonna terminate the contract and I don't need to remind them what's gonna happen once I terminate it. If I were them, I'd be looking for the man right now."

He cut the call and rushed out of the room. He just went straight to his fancy office and as soon as he opened the door, he got a really great surprise when he found Andrea seated on his chair with her legs on the table, staring at him with a really sexy smile.

She was looking really beautiful with her hair curled beautifully like a model and let loose, her beautiful face glowing with makeup and dressed in really expensive clothes, a white skinny jean, red top and silver high heeled shoes. Seeing her, Antonio couldn't help but smile brightly.

"Hey, what a surprise!" He gasped, rushing towards the desk. "When did you come back?"

Andrea chuckled and cat walked to her brother, hugging him tightly. "A few minutes ago actually. I didn't want to go straight to the house so I came here to see my brother." She pulled away and held his hands sweetly, smiling like she'd won a lottery.

"Don't you think it would have been better to rest?"

Andrea had come from attending a business meeting in Malaysia in her brother's place and it had gone great. It had been a week since she had left and she wouldn't have happier than she was to be back in the country. She had missed everyone, especially her loving brother.

"And miss out on the fun?" She chuckled happily, shaking her head. "No! In fact..." She paused and started fixing her brother's collar. "You and I are going out for lunch and then movies."

"What?" Antonio gasped, shaking his head. "Andrea, no. I still have a lot of work and besides, I have another meeting in the afternoon."

Andrea raised her eyebrow. "You work too much, Antonio. You need a break. You're the boss and I don't think you can ever deny your beautiful sister, can you?" She stared at him. "And besides, I called your husband and he is already on his way there. We're gonna meet him at the hotel and the the three of us will hang out together just like old times."

Antonio sighed, rubbing on his forehead. Though he didn't like the thought of being with Bruce, he couldn't deny his sister. "Okay, but only because I wanna know how the meeting went."

Andrea raised her hands like she was surrendering. "You're the boss."

Antonio laughed softly, shaking his head. He picked up his phone and car keys and they left.

***

Emilia was coming down the stairs with a really brilliant smile on her face, her eyes fixed right at the entrance. Her heart raced with joy as she saw the cute looking boy coming inside the house with a tired looking face. He was looking really cute in his blue uniform, holding his bag firmly. He had pitch black hair that was shaven on the sides and then combed backwards. He was really young but so good looking.

"Ryan!" Emilia chuckled happily as she rushed to him.

"Granny!" Ryan chirped and ran in his grandmother's arms. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Emilia smiled brightly as she kissed the little boy's cheeks, ruffling his hair. She held him tighter and felt some peace calm her down.

Emilia loved Ryan a lot and in the last six years, their bond had grown stronger. Ryan was now eleven years old, really intelligent at school and loved Emilia maybe even more than Emma. Emilia appreciated that because she missed such a time, especially with her son treating her like shit.

"How was your day?" Emilia asked, staring into his beautiful blue eyes.

Ryan nodded. "I am hungry!"

Emilia chuckled happily, combing his hair with her fingers. "I know." She sighed happily. "Why don't you go to your room, freshen up and then come down stairs? I will prepare something delicious for you and then you can tell me all about your day at school."

"Yes!" Ryan jumped excitedly.

He quickly left his bag with Emilia and ran towards the elevator. Emilia watched happily as he left and shook her head. She started going towards the staircase but before she even took a turn, something fell from Ryan's bag, a photo.

Emilia stopped in her tracks and then quickly turned and found the photo all the way up to the entrance. She quickly rushed there and leaned down to pick it up. But something happened, something that scared the shit out of her. The moment her eyes landed on that photo, she saw the person that was really there and before she came to terms with what she saw, her eyes again landed on a pair of cute designer's shoes.

Emilia felt her heart race instantly as a shiver ran down her spine all the way to her brain. She slowly moved her eyes up and when her eyes met with a pair of beautiful green eyes, she gasped in shock as her heart gave a sharp pound in her chest.

It was Antonio and he was staring down at her like he wanted to tear her to pieces. He was breathing heavily, his fists clenched and his jaws shaking. Seeing his state, Emilia felt like someone had just injected poison in her system. She had seen that look before and she knew that he was angry.

With a groan, Emilia quickly picked up the photo and then gripped it in her hand, hoping her son hadn't seen it. She was really scared and her hands visibly shook. She slowly rose to her feet and came face to face with her son. He was so damn mad.

"Antonio, I..."

Antonio raised his hand, gesturing his mother to keep quiet. He was so mad that his heart pounded so painfully in his chest.

"How dare you bring bad omen into my house?" He snapped, his finger becoming shaky. "How dare you?"

His voice was so loud that it scared the elderly woman. "Antonio, I... the thing is..."

"At least, you don't have to pretend that you regret everything and that you care about me." He chuckled bitterly, shaking his head angrily. "You simply don't care about anyone except your selfishness and this..." He furiously gripped the photo from her and without even looking at it ripped it to shreds and threw it on her face.

Emilia closed her eyes, trying to suppress her tears but they came rolling. She was so much in pain.

"You call me your son but you definitely don't care about me!" He glowered, his voice filling the entire living room. "You don't have to pretend anymore. You can continue living your fake dreams that... that..." He grimaced when he remembered the name of the person he had come to hate the most. "...he was such a nice man. He never cheated you!" He chuckled bitterly, reopening Emilia's wounds. "It's clearly visible on your face that you still live in dreams that..."

"Please..." Emilia sniveled, shaking her head.

"What?" Antonio snapped. "Don't you wanna see this family sad?" He yelled, making her take a step back. "You just want all of us to suffer but guess what?" He clenched his fist, yelling in her face. "No matter what you try to do, I am very strong. You can never ever bring me down. No matter what you do to me, you'll fail and let me warn you, mother..." He said it in such a way that Emilia's heart bled. "...if you wanna stay in this house then you better live by my rules otherwise you'll find yourself outside. I don't care about what you think you play in my life but I won't hesitate to throw you out."

He took one long angry look at her before he hissed and started leaving but...

"Just a minute, Antonio!"

Hearing that voice, Antonio quickly turned and found his brother coming towards him with the angriest look he had ever seen on him. He was wearing a black designer's suit, black shoes with his hair gelled. Eduardo rushed to him and stood in front of his mother, holding her tightly.

"How dare, Antonio!" He yelled, pointing angrily at her. "Who gave you the right to speak to my mother like that?"

To say Antonio was surprised would be an understatement. In the past six years, he had never heard his brother speak to him like that before.

"For so long, I have kept quiet but I won't allow you speak to mother like that."

"Eduardo, listen..."

"No, you listen!" Eduardo seethed, breathing like a predator. "Ever since that boy betrayed you, you've been venting your anger on her. First it was alcohol but all you do is shout at her." Emilia slowly rubbed her tears but they wouldn't go. She was so much in pain. "By constantly shouting at her, are you trying to prove that you're very strong? That you have no feelings whatsoever? That you don't care about anything?"

Antonio just stared at his brother, his face getting blank. His hands were slowly clenching and his anger was rising.

"That boy left our house six years ago and we've never heard from him, ever!" He yelled, raising his finger. Emilia was trying to stop him but he didn't even look at her once. "And this anger that you repeatedly express on mother is not meant for her but for yourself."

Antonio felt his eyes becoming watery. The pain that hit him at that point was unbearable. His fists began trembling uncontrollably and his breaths became really harsh. He was looking at his brother, feeling all the pain and anger getting intense.

"You're getting angry at that boy..." He chuckled bitterly, getting closer to him. "...because even today, you love him a lot."

A tear went down Antonio's cheek which he furiously rubbed and looked away for a second. But when he looked at his brother again, he was so damn pissed that he saw red. But one thing had him glued were he stood. He couldn't move.

Eduardo chuckled mockingly when he saw that look on his brother's face. "You can do whatever you want. You can continue this drama of being normal, hating on everyone and pretending to be strong. But remember this, Mr. Rodriguez..." He warned. "...however mom is, she's still better than you. All of us are better than you. Because she and all of us have accepted that whatever we went through had broken us. We were shattered but we did not run away from the truth like you."

Eduardo shook his head pitifully and held his crying mother tightly. "Let's go, mom!"

Emilia rubbed her tears and then stared at her angry and hurt looking son before she went away with Eduardo. She could tell that he was deeply hurt.

'...even today, you love that boy a lot!' Eduardo's words rang in Antonio's head.

Antonio groaned in anger and stormed out of the living room like the hounds of hell were after him. He went to his room and furiously closed the door that everyone in the house saw it. Then he quickly started rushing to the bathroom and reaching there, he furiously washed his face while trying to get rid of the words his brother had used on him. He was so much in pain. It hurt like hell.

He took a deep breath, raised his face only to stare into his reflection in the mirror. He could see the anger on his face and he could have sworn he saw his face turn red.

'You love that boy a lot!'

"No!" He hissed, clenching his fist. Even with water on his face, he could see tears in his eyes and it made him hate himself. "These are the last tears I will ever shed for you." His voice was so raw and really harsh. "I used to love you boundlessly but not for betrayal. Right now, my hatred is more boundless than my love. I used to be happy but you took all that away from me. But not anymore..." He angrily rubbed his face, his jaws shaking uncontrollably. "Enough of this distress and pain of getting reminded of you.

Now neither will I get distressed nor will I let anyone distress me." He chuckled bitterly, smiling like an evil warlock. "I will not live in the memories of a cheater or a whore. I hate cheaters!" He barked, hitting his hand on the mirror. "And you better pray that I don't set my eyes on you because now..." He laughed manically. "...all that love has turned to limitless hatred. Wherever you've been hiding... better not come out because you've made an eternal enemy. I hate you so much!"

Antonio continued looking in the mirror, vowing in his heart that he wasn't gonna suffer anymore.

***

The door to the classy two floor mansion that could easily pass for a king's palace opened and there emerged Vanessa, a really beautiful and classy woman wearing an orgasmic smile on her face while cat walking like she was on a model on the run way. Being rich, classy and really sexy for a woman of her age, Vanessa was known as a woman of high fashion.

She was wearing a brilliant blue designer's dress which reached her knees, designed by one of the best designer's in the world, red high heels on her feet and her hair curled and then just loose. It was a beautiful shoulder length caramel colored hair and her face was beautifully glowing with makeup. She was a happy woman and that day was just special for her.

Vanessa lived in a really beautiful, big, mansion with everything that any classy person would ever need. It had 23 bedrooms and each room had a luxurious modern bathroom, a walk in closet and a lot of other things. The compound was big with a luxury pool, a big garage, a huge security gate and surrounded by a high security wall fence. It was beautiful. The house was also surrounded by guards that offered extra protection and maids that helped keep the place clean.

"Finally!" Vanessa breathed when she saw a beautiful, black expensive car nearing where she was.

A smile popped up her face and she got goosebumps. She was really excited. The car parked right where she was and she quickly rushed to it. A black guard, dressed in a black designer's suit with black glasses got out and opened the back door.

Vanessa felt her heart miss a beat as soon as the door opened, revealing a beautiful blonde lady dressed in a pink dress with a white flat shoes and her hair tied in a ponytail. She had a smile on her face and Vanessa couldn't help but smile even brighter.

"Claudia!" Vanessa said, her eyes fixed on the car.

"Madame!" Claudia said with a brilliant smile.

"Where's he?"

"Err..." Claudia stammered, still wearing a smile on her gorgeous face. "He said he had to go somewhere really important. That's why he couldn't come with us. He took the other car and told us to come straight home."

Vanessa lost the smile on her face for a few seconds, folding her arms on her chest. She got a bit worried. "Somewhere? Where could he have gone? Did he say anything?"