Chapter 170

Chapter 170
'Rico. 

"How is Mia?" Mum eagerly asks whisking eggs. 

"She is, okay," I answer with a slight smile. I woke up early to surprise her with breakfast in bed. My mum being the best, was already up and offered to help me. I pour the freshly squeezed orange juice into a glass and set it on a tray. 

"I am so proud of you, Rico, seeing you care this much for Mia makes me feel at ease. We have come a long way, baby, promise one thing?" Mother turns to me and palms my cheeks. She has unshed tears in her eyes and I wonder if I did wrong. 

"Anything, mum" I assure with a nod. 

"Baby, promise me you will never take advantage of that girl. You should never treat her the way your dad treated me. She is carrying our babies son, be careful with her, yeah?." Her voice breaks and I deeply furrow my brows. Why in hell will I do that? 

"Hey, mum of course. You know I will never lay my hand on her" I frantically shake my head in refusal. I can't imagine doing that. 

"She is your responsibility, Rico. She only has you. If you know you won't treat her right, don't even think about marrying her" Mum lets my face go and turns to the stove. "Your brother is stupid. Do you know Kay didn't return home last night? The baby cried all night until I had to subdue him" She sadly mumbles and I softly squeeze her shoulder. Maybe it's my turn to punch him. 

Speaking of the Idiot, he walks in the kitchen looking like shit. His hair is ruffled and he has dark circles around his eyes. Without wasting time, I walk to him and deliver a hard punch to his jaw. Carl stumbles back, and I kick him in the stomach so hard that he falls to his knees. 

"The fuck, Rico?" He grunts spitting blood on my floor, and that earns him another punch. 

"That is enough, Rico" Mum holds my shoulder and I squat down to Carl's level. 

"You are hurting her, Carl. If you continue this way, you are going to lose your wife, do you know that?" I hold the back of his head and slightly pull him forward. 

My brother tiredly sits on the floor and looks at me in defeat. 

"I am scared. She is not picking up my calls, Rico. We have fought a lot of times but she never leaves. The least she does is avoid me" Carl stressfully runs his hands in his hair and I stretch my hands to him. 

When I pull him up, I motion for the seat and he slowly takes it. He looks beat. 

"I am not perfect either, brother, but you need to at least be there for her. Just don't let this happen again" I grab a mug of coffee and fill it for him.  

"Men, I hate your punches" He caresses his jaw with a wince and I smirk placing the cup in front of him. 

"I have always wanted to do that. You always hit me when I make Mia cry, thought I should return the favor" I chuckle and he glares at me. 

The front door opens and a feverish Fabio rushes in. 

"Is Mia awake? Maxim accepted the invitation. He will be here in the evening" He says in one breath and we share glances with my brother. So soon. 

"So fast?" Mia says with a yawn joining us. My surprise just got ruined. But she never wakes up this early. 

"I was shocked too but I think it's for the better" Fabio mumbles without hiding his excitement.  

"In that case, call Nikolai and Alessio. Also, prepare the contract. You remember every detail, right?" Mia asks and takes a sit beside Carl. 

"Yes I know what to write, boss," Fabio says with a chuckle.

"Okay, this means the party should be tomorrow evening. Prepare everyone, and let's meet up before Maxim shows up". 

"Should we invite him home or I should book a restaurant?" 

" Inviting him home will be more appropriate considering we are offering him a peace treaty"

"Okay, boss. Got it. Oh! and I have a message from Neera. She completed the assignment" Fabio smirks and Mia simply nods her head. I forgot to tell her that. My bad. 

"Tell her to report right away then. I am meeting my friends in an hour" She glances at her watch and sighs. I can tell she is still sleepy. 

"Hey, baby?" I move to Mia and kiss her cheek. 

"Morning, Rico" She kisses my cheek back before looking at Carl. "Hi, Carl?" she waves at my brother eyeing his swollen jaw.  

"Morning dear" Carl answers, lifting the cup to his lips. 

"Kay is the one who woke me up. She wants me to meet her at her dad's" The cup Carl is holding is quickly placed on the table and his hopeful eyes go back to Mia. 

"Look, Mia. I am sorry, okay? Please, have her talk to me" My brother holds Mia's hands and leans forward. He looks pitiful. 

"Of course. I like you, and I like Kay too. So I am going to be your marriage peacemaker from now on. Promise you won't repeat what you did?" She glares at Carl who frequently nods. 

"Of course sweetheart. I won't, I promise" 

"Good" Mia pulls out her phone and dials Kay's number. "I already talked to her, be sincere and let her know you will do better" She informs passing the phone to him and he scampers away from the dining room. 

"I missed waking up beside you" Mia turns to me with a smile and I gently peck her lips. She is beautiful even straight from the bed. 

"I didn't want my baby to starve, so I came to make her breakfast before she wakes up" I murmur, and smirk when her face blushes. She blushes a lot. 

"Can I have orange juice, please?" Mia winks and I chuckle. She causes my heart to skip even with the little actions. 

"Yes, ma'am" I playfully bow and she swats my arm chuckling in amusement. 

After feeding her to her contentment, her new guards picked her up to meet her friends. Carl managed to convince his wife to come back and she agreed to give him a chance. 

It's 3 pm now and we just received a call to meet up at Mia's house.  

"Do you think he will agree to her plan?" I ask my brother who is currently driving us to her place. Mia must be up to something. I know she won't just easily give him what he wants and call it a truce. No. That man has troubled her so much. 

"Hoping for the best, Rico" Don't you want this to end?" Carl briefly glances at me before looking back at the road. 

"Of course, I will be the happiest" When this is over, Mia will finally drop the Mafia and she will be all mine. I can't wait to finally have a peaceful life with her.  

"We are here" The car pulls up in the large compound where many other cars are already packed. The environment is too quiet and I can tell everyone is tense. We don't know what to expect but in meetings like this, there is always a blood spill when the two parties fail to agree. 

"Be careful, brother. Maxim is full of surprises" Carl squeezes my shoulder getting out of the car and I follow suit. 

Is inviting the enemy here a good Idea? I shake off my doubts and decide to trust Mia. 

She knows Maxim better.