Chapter 67
Tuesday. Four days before the wedding...
Emiliano Villalobos did not know what to think or feel when Don Alonzo de la Cruz invited him to the hacienda that morning.
Surely, Carlos had not told his father about Aurelia. While talking on the phone last night, Villalobos realised Carlos was not going to say anything to his father.
Don Alonzo must have sent for him for a different reason entirely. It was not strange for prospective in-laws to spend time together few days to a wedding.
He wished he could see Carlos’s sister in order to have a few words with her. The whore was trying to pervert his daughter. He honestly wished he could tell Don Alonzo about her being a homosexual. But that would not bode well. Getting the man angered was the last thing he wanted. There was no point getting revenge on the de la Cruz girl if it would end up destroying his own plans. Someday, she would get what was coming to her. The degenerate!
As he drove into the hacienda grounds, he chuckled to himself. Soon, he would have easy access to the hacienda. He would be spending more time with Don Alonzo, and this would in turn propel him faster to his political dreams.
He imagined how his grand kids would be de la Cruzes, too. He would ask Aurelia to name her first son after him. “Emiliano de la Cruz,” he whispered to himself. In his mind, the name sounded right. She was not going to refuse him that.
Soon, a young man dressed in a pair of brown slacks and grey tee shirt came to meet him at he was arriving the gigantic house. The person flagged him down, and he stepped on the brake. He wound down the window glass and stated with an air of importance, not even caring to smile, “I am here to see my in-law, Don Alonzo.”
The man gave him a bright smile and said, “Good morning, sir. Don Alonzo is expecting you in his study. I am to pack your car in the garage. Someone will meet you at the door and take you to see him.”
Villalobos stopped the car engine and got down from the car. He handed his car key to the valet. Without a word, he turned away and made his way to the front door while adjusting his suit and tie.
At the door, he met another man he estimated to be about his age. This man was dressed as a butler in the real sense – waist coat, starched white shirt, black pants, and a black bowtie. The butler greeted him first, “Good morning, sir. I believe you are Señor Emiliano Villalobos, and you are here as Don Alonzo’s guest.”
Villalobos gave a stiff nod.
“Please, come along, sir.”
Villalobos scanned the large house in one glance. Soon, he would have easy access to this. He was giddy with excitement as he walked towards the stairs.
Soon, he was standing at the oak door of the study. He could not help but notice that the door looked more expensive than his did. He felt jealousy gnaw at him.
The butler knocked, and Don Alonzo responded, granting them permission to step into his study.
And the space was huge! On the wall opposite the door, there was a huge image of a woman who looked like Don Alonzo, obviously his mother. Villalobos had not always lived in Puerto Cruz, and he only knew little of the town’s history. However, the little he knew was enough to make him realise that the de la Cruz were the actual owners of Puerto Cruz, and as such, getting connected to them was a boost to his life’s ambition.
“Don Alonzo!” He greeted him with a big smile, and hurried to meet him at the desk.
Don Alonzo stood and walked away from his seat beside the window in a bid to meet him halfway. Villalobos felt flattered by this.
Standing close to him, he had to look up to hold his gaze. The man was taller than him by six inches at least. But he was not going to feel intimidated by him, and so he puffed his chest.
“Emiliano.” Don Alonzo shook his hand, and placed his left hand over his own palm. Villalobos felt uncomfortable with this. He knew this was a power move of some sort. Nonetheless, he was not going to let that deter him.
“Thank you for inviting me over,” he gushed, as it was too hard to hide his excitement.
“And thank you for honoring the invitation.”
The handshake ended and Don Alonzo gestured to another part of the spacious room. “Let’s sit over there. Less formal.”
Villalobos grinned and as he turned in the direction his host pointed, he saw the de la Cruz girl. He was taken aback. What could she be doing here? How had he not noticed she was around? She stood up and gave him a tight smile, “Good morning, sir. Welcome.”
“Good morning,” he managed to say without letting his disgust show.
He sat at the seat Don Alonzo offered and saw he was facing the man and his daughter. His gaze trailed to the painting of Don Alonzo’s mother. It would not have been far from the truth if someone said Don Alonzo’s daughter posed for it. The semblance was almost eerie.
“I know you are wondering why I invited you over,” Don Alonzo’s voice pulled back his train of thoughts.
“Well, it is not every time I get an invite to your hacienda.” He adjusted his suit once more in a bid to cover his protruding belly. There was no way Don Alonzo was younger than him, yet the man looked as though he was about 10 years younger than him.
“Yes.” Don Alonzo turned to his daughter. “Mija, please, you will have to excuse us.”
Villalobos almost laughed at the sight before him. What kind of father talked to his child like they were equals. From the look on the girl’s face, it seemed as though she was about to protest. But Don Alonzo gave a firm nod.
They exchanged a look. Was that a code language between the two, Villalobos wondered.
The girl looked at him with intensity. Her green eyes almost scorched him. What was going on with her? Was she not satisfied in trying to make Aurelia an abomination just like her? He wished he could say something. But his better judgement made him keep shut.
When she left, Don Alonzo turned his attention back to him.
“Yes, Emiliano,” he started, “I was talking with my daughter earlier, and you came before we were done.”
“I could tell.”
“I have invited you here so we could talk about cancelling the wedding between our children.”
“What?!!” Emiliano could not believe what he just heard. “Why?”
“I think there is no need for us to have an arranged marriage between our children. This does not stop us from doing business together.”
“But our children are in love with each other. Carlos is head over heels for my daughter. He has told me that himself.”
“But does your daughter really love him? Is that what she has told you?”
“My daughter loves your son, sir.”
“I don’t think they should get married under this circumstance. I know how arranged marriages can be detrimental to the parties involved.”
Villalobos was too stunned to say anything. Was this fool trying to stop the wedding?
Don Alonzo went on, “We can have our business deal. We don’t need a marriage for that.”
“But that would only strengthen our bond.”
“This is not the olden days. If our children decide to still get married, it is up to them. But I don’t want a situation whereby the marriage is as a result of business.”
“Aurelia is very much in love with your son.”
“So you say. And you also say Carlos loves her. Which is beautiful. And in that case, I believe they don’t have to get married on Saturday. I think they would need more time to know themselves. Let both parties know what they are getting into.”
“Oh...” Villalobos was too shocked.
“Emiliano, are you telling me you do not know that your daughter is in love with my daughter?”
Villalobos looked stunned. He turned beet red. It was as though someone punched him in the guts. His mind tried to process several things within a few seconds. Why was Don Alonzo acting all cool and relaxed despite knowing of his daughter’s perversion? Was that the reason he was calling off the wedding, so that his daughter could be with Aurelia?
“No!” he yelled. He almost jumped out of his seat. “My daughter is not like your daughter. My daughter is not a homosexual. My daughter is a decent young woman, and she is in love with Carlos. That is what she told me. There is no way Aurelia is a homosexual.”
Don Alonzo simply stared at him silence.