Raging Love Ch. 08

Travis was confused. "Why would..."

"Because all the Gonzalez wealth us yours."

Travis looked at Santiago with a raised eyebrow and then he burst into laughter, touching his chest. He found it really funny but when he looked at Santiago and saw that seriousness in his eyes, he stopped laughing and frowned, shaking his head.

"Tell me you're joking!"

Santiago shook his head. "I am not. When Mr. Gonzalez died, he left his entire wealth in your name, Praveen Garcia. The only way that wealth could have been transferred is if you had signed power of attorney papers, which you didn't."

Travis was looking like a deer caught in headlight.

"According to the will, Antonio was to become the custodian of the wealth after your marriage and only the owner if you transferred the wealth into his name." Santiago continued. "Andrea tried six years ago to get possession of the wealth by getting Antonio's signature but she failed. That was also when she found out that the wealth wasn't theirs. Since then, she has been trying to forge your signature but has failed.

I don't know what you're going to do with this information but..."

"No!" Travis shook his head, turning his back to Santiago. "This gives me a great idea, the final brawl. I suffered in that house when I should have been the one enjoying the wealth. I was treated like trash and thrown out like a dog."

Travis turned again and faced Santiago, taking his hands into his. "With what has happened today, I am sure that Andrea and Bruce will become more vicious, more desperate. But I will use that to my advantage and finally expose the truth. But I will need your help, Santiago. More than ever, I need your help."

"I am always at your service. You know how much I love you."

Travis felt his eyes get teary and he threw himself on that muscular chest, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much. I love you too."

And when Santiago wrapped his arms around him, Travis slightly closed his eyes and just enjoyed the warmth the man was giving him.

'Please, almighty, give me the strength to conquer my enemies.' He prayed in his heart. 'Let nothing go wrong, please.'

***

Antonio's eyes were on his beautiful tablet, staring at it like he expected something out of it while his hands gripped the device harder. Antonio felt like a vessel of anger, feeling as it slipped through his entire system, giving him a really terrible headache. His heart was pounding deeper in his chest while his breaths were harsh.

Antonio was really mad and anyone in their right frame of mind knew better than to talk to him or disturb him. His shirt was completely unbuttoned and he was breathing like an animal.

Antonio was looking at a video, a video of Bruce's drama and insults. The video had only been uploaded like two hours back but there were over a billion comments and they all made Antonio really mad. He couldn't believe someone he called his husband chosen to humiliate him like that.

'I wonder why Antonio had to marry such an excuse of a husband in the first place.' One of the comments read. 'He doesn't even care about his husband's wellbeing. I pity the sexy hunk. He doesn't deserve this.'

'It's a shame how these celebrities like showing us that they've got a perfect life when all they have is a shitty life. Anyway, nothing is hidden under the sun.'

'Lol...' One of them wrote. '...so Bruce the model just turned to Bruce the drunkard/disrespectful drunkard bitch! Funny. I wish I was there.'

There were a lot of rude comments and Antonio saw that his fans were really disappointed with what had happened. Some of the comments were also directed at him, insulting him and telling him that he was an asshole for tolerating such nonsense.

'Birds of the same feather if you ask me. Antonio is a huge asshole and the Gonzalez are no angels either. They're wolf in sheep's clothing.'

"Fuck!" Antonio groaned, throwing the tablet harshly to the floor. It broke to pieces.

Everyone's hearts jumped violently and they all gasped. It was almost 3.am and everything was getting worse. They were unable to sleep because they kept on receiving calls from almost everyone. Emma was seated on the floor looking like she was mourning. She still couldn't get over the fact that someone she had trusted had betrayed her trust and humiliated her. On top of that, she had thousands of texts from her friends telling her that they didn't wanna see her.

Suddenly as the family was in a moment of silence...

"Oh my head..." Bruce moaned softly.

As soon as they heard his voice, all of them quickly diverted their attention to where he had been sleeping on the couch. They saw him slowly raising his head while massaging it. He first took his feet down and then sat up slowly, mourning in pain.

Bruce had a terrible headache and he didn't know what had happened. The last thing he remembered was being in the room. And now he had woken up and had no idea what had happened and with a really terrible headache.

"God!" He groaned.

When he eventually opened his eyes, his vision blurred for a second but he was able to see clearly. He got the shock of his life when he opened his eyes and saw everyone staring at him with frowns on their faces. He looked at all of them and none seemed happy.

"What's going on?" He muttered. Then he gasped, quickly getting up from the couch. "Oh my God! The fast... everyone must be waiting for..."

But Bruce didn't even finish his sentence as he heard loud claps. He quickly looked in the direction and found his husband walking towards him, clapping and his face was stern. He got surprised because he had no idea what was happening.

"Wow! The drama king has finally woken up. Wow! Isn't he amazing?" Antonio chuckled bitterly, feeling like beating the crap out of him. "Wow! Such a wonderful performance, my love. You deserve an award, seriously."

Tears formed in Bruce's eyes. "What are you talking about, baby? Why are you talking to me like that? Is the fast over and..."

"The fast?" Antonio laughed, shaking his head. "Which fast are you talking about? We only had a drinking and insulting fest. Is it the one you're talking about? It was amazing."

Bruce looked at everyone and got shocked when not anyone was coming to his aid. "Baby, I am confused. What are you..."

"You wanna know? Okay, I will show you."

Antonio furiously gripped Ethan's phone, played the video and gave it to Bruce. When Bruce's eyes landed on that video, he felt like a thousand arrows had just pierced his heart. Tears soon flooded his face in billions and he shook his head uncontrollably, feeling a shiver going down his spine. It was like all emotions had taken control of him at the same time. It hurt like fuck.

"No, I..."

"I have never been so humiliated my entire life!" Antonio roared, making Bruce almost jump out of his skin. "And here I was thinking that my husband was gonna observe the fast for me and maybe... just maybe we were gonna be happy but what did I get..." He snapped. "...a stupid drunkard who insulted everyone and ruined everything."

Bruce sobbed, shaking his head. "No, Antonio... I don't know how that happened."

Antonio raised his eyebrow and laughed, looking at Bruce in disgust. "You don't know how it happened. Did someone take you by force and shove a bottle of beer into your stupid mouth or were you suddenly possessed by a demon?"

Bruce was confused. He was trying to remember but nothing was coming into his mind. He couldn't remember taking anything that day. All he remembered was that he had been fasting for his husband.

"My family reputation, my name has been put on the line because of your drama!" Antonio barked. "Now everyone out there thinks our family is characterless and that this is the kind of behavior that we tolerate."

"I swear..." Bruce tried to hold his husband's hand but he withdrew it like Bruce was contagious or something and hissed, breaking Bruce's heart. "...please, I don't know what had happened. I swear on my life. I would never do anything to humiliate you and..."

"Once! Just fucking once, I thought you were gonna do something for your husband. But maybe I was expecting fucking too much from you!"

"No, baby..." Bruce cried, putting his hands together. "...you know how important that fast was to me. I would never do anything to ruin it."

Antonio chuckled bitterly. "And yet you did. Wow!"

Bruce needed help. He knew that he wasn't gonna convince his husband. Someone always came to his help whenever his husband was mad like that. He rushed to Emma, knelt before her and took her hands.

"Aunt, please..." He pleaded, rubbing on her hands sweetly. "...you know me very well. I would never do that on purpose. You know I had been preparing for this day for a long time. Why would I ruin it for you?"

But Emma simply withdrew her hands from his, standing up furiously. Her eyes were really red and she never thought she could be mad at a person that she considered her ally. She wanted to hug him, kiss him and wipe his tears away but the pain she felt at that time was too much.

"I can't believe you would do this, Bruce!" Emma said angrily. "I trusted you and I believed in you. All that I was expecting from you was just to pity me and our family. I just wanted us to be spared from shame but you not only insulted my friends but my trust and my dignity as well.

You insulted me." She pointed at herself, feeling tears building. "You humiliated me and our family. Why didn't you just reject the fast than pretend you were fasting and drink in privacy just to insult all of us? You poisoned our family and for this..." She paused and pointed at him. "...I don't think I'll ever forgive you or forget how you ruined my image today."

"No, please..." Bruce quickly rose from the floor, putting his hands together. "...don't say that, aunt. You know I'd never survive without your love or support."

"I will never support you because you're a disgrace to all sons in law." She added.

Bruce couldn't believe he was hearing that from Emma. "No! I swear, I would never..."

"You keep on saying you would never." Emma got closer, breathing like a monster. "Then why did you get drunk if you were fasting?"

Bruce sobbed. "I didn't. I only..."

Then it hit right there. He remembered what had happened, how he had found Antonio's note and how he had eaten the food to please his husband.

"Yes!" Bruce quickly rubbed his tears. "I was fasting but then... I found a tray that my husband left me in the room together with a note. I drank the juice and ate the muffins and..."

"Excuse me!" Antonio barked, furiously walking to Bruce. He angrily turned him and looked at him. Antonio was so damn mad. "What the fuck did you just say? I left a tray of food for you? Am I insane? Why in the world would I do that? Are you accusing me of getting you drunk?"

Bruce shook his head abruptly. "That's not what I meant. I only ate the food that you left me. I swear... You said that this event wasn't important to you and you begged me to..."

"Will you stop it?" Antonio snapped, pointing his shaky finger at him. "Why would I do that? When did I even talk to you today?"

"You left a note that..." He tried to get the note from where he had put it in his pocket but found that it was not there. "...I swear." He sobbed, shaking his head. "...please, you've got to remember. I found your food and..."

"Bruce, what are you talking about?" Ethan asked. "Antonio couldn't have done that. He's been with Eduardo and I the entire day. And..."

"What are you trying to do, Ethan?" Antonio chuckled bitterly. "Isn't it clear that he's lying? He can't just accept the fact that he fucking messed up. Because of him, we're all here suffering for it."

Bruce felt really weak and hot. It was like he was melting and it hurt like hell. He could remember very well what had happened but no one believed him.

"Maybe someone had spiked my drink." Bruce sobbed. "I would never do this to the family. You know how important all this is to me." He felt to his knees and held Antonio's legs tightly. "Please, forgive me for this. I didn't do it on purpose. I swear someone else is trying to..."

"Will you stop it?" Antonio furiously gripped Bruce's arms painfully and got him up, looking into his eyes angrily. Bruce winced because it was painful. "Now you listen to me and listen very well, I will not let you destroy my family together with yourself, do you understand?"

"Ouch!" Bruce winced, trying to let loose but he just got hurt more. "You're hurting me."

"I don't care about what you do behind my back, you can drink and you can even pretend to love and care for me." He warned, breathing heavily. "I don't give a fuck about that. But I will not let you ruin my family and my reputation. Find a way to fix this mess you've caused because I will kill you if you don't."

He let Bruce go and the man fell to the floor with a thud, making everyone cover their mouths. Then he furiously turned and started heading towards the staircase with his fists clenched.

"Please, my love..." Bruce yelled. "...don't do this to me. I love you so much."

Antonio took a glance behind. "I don't!"

With those words, he stormed out of there. Bruce felt a cold breeze hit his face as soon as he heard those words from Antonio. It was like his heart was frozen and he couldn't feel it beat. His husband just said he didn't love him and it hurt like hell. It was like the blood in his veins had just turned to poison. He couldn't even cry.

He looked at Emma and the woman just looked away and stormed out of there. Everyone else started leaving too except for Andrea who was standing there staring at him. Bruce had no idea what was in her mind.

"Are you mad at me too?" He sobbed, slowly rubbing his tears. "You don't believe me too?"

"I want to." Andrea said angrily, cat-walking to him. "But you know how important this night was to me. I told you my plans and as if that wasn't enough, you got drunk and insulted our guests and Aunt Emma. Our family reputation is in shambles and it's all because of you."

"You also know how important this night was to me too." Bruce got up weakly. "Do you think I'd ever ruin it? You know how hard I have been trying to please Antonio and now that I had an opportunity, do you think I would ruin it just like that? I am not at fault here, Andrea. We were together and I only left you to go and freshen up. Someone had played a trick on me, someone that doesn't want to see me and Antonio together."

"Travis?" Andrea laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Can you hear yourself? The guy wasn't even here."

"But somebody played with me?" Bruce's voice rose slightly. "They know Antonio is my weakness and they used that. I only drank that juice because I thought it was from Antonio and..." He sobbed. "...now look what happened."

Andrea raised her hands like she was surrendering. "I really need some time alone. I can't deal with this right now."

She started walking away, leaving Bruce over there alone. Bruce cried because he had lost all his allies in that same night. It was painful. No matter what he did, it was like everything was backfiring. He didn't know what to do because he was now at the edge of losing Antonio and he couldn't afford that. But then...

'You will not get my blessings, I curse you. You will never be happy with him.' Granny's words from six years back hit. That had been the time Antonio had officially introduced Bruce, a month after Praveen went away. She was so damn mad and she was going insane by that time. 'I will never accept this relationship and the almighty will bear me witness.'

Bruce's heart began racing as he remembered those words. It was like she was standing right there, cursing him.

'No!" He thought, rubbing his tears slowly. 'I will not lose Antonio. He's my life and I'll do anything just to protect our relationship. I swear.'

He clenched his fists and swore that he was gonna get his husband back.

***

"Well, thank you so much gentlemen." Travis said, greeting the men in the room. "This was a really wonderful meeting and I really appreciate you for this."

The three men shook Travis' hand, all of them not missing that beautiful face. They were British men that Travis had just struck a deal with. He was very happy and nothing could describe how happy he was at that time.

"Well, you're a very tough business man and I must say that Tonzalez blue is very lucky to have you." One of them commented, making Travis blush. "You really impressed and I can't wait for you to visit my company and I show you around."

"All in a good time, sir!"

The men laughed and left Travis in the conference room smiling brightly. He took his blazer from the chair and wore it carefully. He was looking really beautiful in a blue bright shirt that was tucked in a black skinny jean with black shoes on his feet and a white blazer. His hair was tied in a simple ponytail but he sure looked amazing.

Travis took his files and was about to head out of the room when suddenly something caught his attention, Antonio. Antonio was seated in the chair with his mind elsewhere, looking like he was really mad. He was wearing a gorgeous red designer's suit with a green shirt inside. He was biting on his thumb but looking lost in thought.

At first, Travis felt pity for him but maybe the guy deserved it. He had chosen the life that he currently lived and if he had to pay for what had happened in the past with pain, Travis was okay with it. After all, he had suffered more than Antonio was doing there. So he deserved it. Travis found himself grinning evilly and he cleared his throat before approaching the man.

He snapped his fingers in Antonio's face and the man gasped, getting back to reality.

"What?" Antonio barked, hitting his fist on the table.

Travis frowned, taking a step back. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I am really sorry."

Antonio rose his face up and saw Travis looking at him with a blank face and he cursed, rubbing his face. "I am sorry. Is the meeting down? I was kinda lost. Did we strike a deal with them?"

Travis nodded. "Yeah! Thankfully, I managed to strike a deal with them. Anyway, you don't look so good. Maybe you should go and rest."

Antonio gave a sigh of frustration, getting up from the chair. "I know you heard about what happened at my house yesterday so don't pretend and I am sure that you know how people are reacting to it. It is just making me really worried and I don't know what to do. I..."

Heard it! He planned all of it and he was there too. "Mr. Gonzalez, I don't like pocking my nose in other people's businesses. You're right, I heard everything that happened but I don't know what people are saying."

Antonio was so confused and he felt like he was gonna burst. He hated Bruce so much and whatever love he had felt for him was no longer there. It had completely vanished. God knows how many people had called his music company just to ask about the issue. His fans were demanding answers and were calling him a hypocrite.

"Shit! I just don't know what to do." He groaned but he got closer to Travis, looking at him pitifully. "I could really use a friend right now. Would you..." he paused and took a deep breath. What was he doing? "...please go for lunch with me?"

Hearing Antonio's offer, Travis raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Are you being serious right now? I am sure you've got many friends that can go with you. You can call Paul. He's just..."

"Please!" Antonio took Travis hand and cupped it in his. "Please!"

Travis took a glance at the hand and then at Antonio. Then he sighed. "Okay, fine! I am hungry anyway. But you're paying for my lunch since you invited me."

Antonio managed a smile. "Definitely. Shall we?"

Travis smiled and the both of them left the conference room.

Meanwhile, downstairs Bruce had just entered Tonzalez blue building and he could already see the eyes of everyone on him, judging him. He was alone and he felt really nervous, stupid and he just wanted to run away from there. But he couldn't do it. He had to swallow his shame.