I
The engagement ceremony of Atty. Garette's father and his fiancee were set by seven o'clock in the evening. It was held in one of the most prestigious hotels in Dallas, Texas.
Atty. Garette and his friends were just on time when they arrived at the hotel. When the four gentlemen walked along the corridor of the hotel, all eyes were set on them, especially on women. Some women even ogled them and giggled and followed them with such fantasizing looks.
When they entered the venue of the engagement party, Atty. Garette's father, Don Raffy Le Brione was already in the front sitting in his wheelchair. Beside him was a woman wearing a silver semi-gown and a headdress whose white transparent, lacy layer at the back flowed artistically, covering half of the woman's golden long, wavy hair.
Atty. Garette's eyes narrowed. The woman's back was somewhat familiar to him but he tried to dismiss the idea that was trying to sneak into his mind.
His three lawyer friends were elbowing each other and he knew why. The voluptuous body of his father's bride was visible on her fitted semi-gown that emphasized her tiny waist and wide rounded hips. They could not yet see her face, as she was facing Don Raffy, who was talking to her.
The party started with the guests ticking their wine glasses with their forks. It means a request for the soon-to-be couple to have a kiss.It was the bride-to-be who lowered her head and kissed the groom's right cheek.
Atty. Garette's three lawyer friends once again elbowed each other. The bride-to-be was about to turn her back to face them.
They all waited for that moment when the bride would turn her back and face them, and when that moment came, Attorneys Greg, Paolo, and Hector were all gaping in awe.
Atty. Garette on one hand automatically furrowed, then slowly, his face dimmed and his eyes narrowed. "What the hell!" he cursed in his mind when he fully grasped the realization that his soon-to-be Step-Mom was the woman he kissed last night!
Atty. Garette, intensely looked at the woman with his squinting eyes, while his father was inquisitively eyeing him.
Don Raffy Le Brione could fathom the whirlpool of emotions that his son's handsome face has been emitting. He could understand the awe, the doubt, the questioning look then anger thereafter that flashed suddenly in his son's handsome face. He then looked at his fiancee and he was satisfied with what he saw; he could clearly see the same vortex of expressions of Garette, in her pretty face.
II
Throughout the engagement ceremony, Atty. Garette has been silent. He will only speak a bit when being asked by anyone present at the event. His eyes would most of the time shoot his father's fiancee with those squinting eyes of his.
His soon-to-be step-mom would never even give him a glance of one or two.
"Garette what is it? I noticed your mood since the time that we arrived here in the hotel a while ago." Atty. Hector asked his best buddy. He could feel that something seemed to be wrong, especially the way his friend looked at his soon-to-be stepmom.
Garette looked at Greg shaking his head. "Nothing. I just remembered something about that woman," he murmured thereafter.
"I see. Don't tell me you had a one-night stand with her in the past?" Atty. Greg murmured back grinning. He knew Garette so much when it comes to women.
Atty. Garette will never take a woman to bed twice. Once he tasted a woman already, he would dump her and would never look back at her. That was why there were a lot of women who cursed Garette to death.
"Another woman who cursed you to death?" Atty. Greg whispered to Atty. Garette again with a little tone of teasing.
Atty. Garette made a short laugh when he heard what his friend just muttered.
"Nope," he simply retorted.
"Then why were you looking at her as if you wanted to kill her?" with raised eyebrows Atty. Greg questioned his friend, who just laughed again.
"Just keep quiet Greg. You are like a parrot; you talk and talk," he sneered at him, motioning to him to keep quiet.
Suddenly, they heard the guests cheering and stirring their forks and spoons on their glasses again, teasing the newly engaged couple to kiss each other after the woman accepted the diamond engagement ring offered by Don Raffy.
It was like a millisecond only when the bride-to-be touched the lips of her groom-to-be as she bent to reach him, yet the guests cheered more as they saw the newly engaged couple share their second kiss.
Atty. Garette's heart stopped beating as he saw her lips touch his father's lips. His lips quivered as he remembered the kiss they shared last night. His eyes squinted more thinking about what his father and his bride-to-be would do on the first night of their honeymoon after they got married. He does not want to think about it. He did not know but he wanted to stop time and never let that moment happen.
He made a deep breath trying to remove some silly scenes clouding his mind. He tried to focus on his food but it seemed like the food on his plate was all tasteless. As he looked up, he saw the bride-to-be stood-up and whispering something to his father. Atty. Garette waited for a second before he also stood up and followed the woman.
When the bride-to-be turned her heels down the stairs going to the women's comfort room of the hotel, he followed her there. Upon checking that no one was around, Atty. Garette opened the women's comfort room and locked it thereafter. He stood there waiting for the woman to get out of one of the cubicles.
"What are you doing here?!" the woman exclaimed when she surprisingly saw inside the comfort room, the man, who kissed her last night.
IAtty. Garette stridden in wide steps until he was in front of the woman whose eyes were rolling to the sky in disbelief. She finds this arrogant man, insane. He saw her just gotten engaged and here he is again, who seemed to try to pester her again. She could not still forget, what he did to her last night. She looked at him with fiery eyes, lips sealed and arms crossed in her chest.But the man was never bothered by how the way she looked at him. He advanced his step more toward her until he was just one step away in front of her."Why did you want to marry my father?" Atty. Garette grabbed the woman's chin and looked at her with his piercing fiery eyes. He could not fathom until now, why a young and beautiful woman like her would want to marry his father, who aside from being old, he is also tied already in his wheelchair, because of his recent high blood attack that made a stroke out of his body. If not for money, what else could be her reason?"So, you are Garette, the only son
IWhen Atty. Garette stood up, he saw his Dad looking at him with such intensity while his soon-to-be stepmom never even dared to glare at him. He took the microphone and started to talk with such an air of a confident man."Thank you. Well, what will I say aside from congratulations Dad? Oh, alright, I just wanted to tell you Dad how much I admire you in everything even when choosing a step-mom for me and my sister. Your taste is overwhelmingly similar to mine," then he laughed to make his statement sound like a joke. "It was just a joke Dad but one thing I am sure of, I know you will have a happy life afterward, having a woman as young and as beautiful as that woman beside you." He added as he gestured his hand toward the place of the bride-to-be, smiling, but in his thoughts, it was a smirk actually.The guests cheered and applauded Atty. Garette. He beamed in his most charismatic smile and bowed his head jokingly."Wow, such a great message out there dude." Atty. Hector said smili
I Still thinking about what his father told him, Atty. Garette felt confused. This is the first time that he felt, his world might be turning upside down. Since the time that he steps his foot in his teen years, he already crazily knew that he wanted to be the best lawyer that he could be, which he could proudly say now that he did and would love to continue doing. Taking his father’s wishes would mean surrendering part or worst most of his lawyer’s job. Would he take it? “Hey, Dude, what’s eating you up? I could sense that something is bothering you.” It was Atty. Greg, who asked while taking a seat beside him. They were then at the side of the balcony of their mansion, where they could freely view the man-made waterfalls. Seeing the man-made waterfalls, Atty. Garette could not help to sigh. That waterfall was a landmark that would be engraved in his mind. It is where the turning point in his life has drastically moved to three hundred sixty-degree turns. “Hey,” Atty. Greg said ag
IHaving an understanding and great friends really makes someone’s life light and easy. When Atty. Garette, discussed with his three friends the wishes and conditions of his father, and they agreed to the arrangement that he will visit the office at least once a week and attend the hearings of the crucial cases, he handled. So, before they returned to Cambridge the next day, Atty. Garette had made up his mind already. “Dad, I accept your offer. Just give me at least a month to settle everything in our law firm,” he said as he sat on the couch in their living room, in front of his Dad.A warm smile suddenly flashes all over the face of Raffy O’ Brein. “Good son. Alright, I see you here then, a month from now,” he replied with joy in his voice.“But Dad, I cannot totally let go of my profession. I need to be in the office at least once a week and I need to attend the hearings of the crucial cases that I am currently in-charged,” he explained to his father, to which his father simply n
I“Holy cow, Hector, Brenda is coming. We need to go now.” Atty. Garette immediately stood up and walked going out of the restaurant followed by Atty. Hector, who just waved at the woman, who looked at them in return, while gritting her teeth.Brenda was the daughter of one of their clients, who made their law firm the retained counsel of his Company. The woman is actually an heiress to a motel conglomerate. “Garette, why are you running from Brenda? You had s*x already?” Atty. Hector's eyes were rolling like a ball in anticipation of Atty. Garette’s admittance.“Think what you want to think Hector, it might be true.” Atty. Garette grunted at Atty. Hector, and then walked fast going to their office. Upon arrival in the office, he gathered his things and decided to leave early. He has a hint that Brenda would follow him into his office.“Lina, if someone calls and looks for me, what your answer would be?” Atty. Garette asked, checking if her legal secretary still remembered his numbe
I“Oh, if only I can still handle your case Ms. Glacy, but my hands are truly tied right now because of family businesses and the current number of cases I handle. Don’t worry anyway, your case is in good hands with our assigned lawyer.” Atty. Garette replied to the woman after giving her an emotionless glance.Not too satisfied with Atty. Garette’s answer, Ms. Glacy smiled and replied, “That would be fine Atty. Garette, as long as I am allowed to call you or see you from time to time, should I have some confusion with what is happening in my case or complaints with your assigned Lawyer? Would that be okay Attorney? Garette?”His three Lawyer friends simultaneously looked at Atty. Garette, trying to control their laughter. They could already feel the hidden annoyance of Atty. Garette.Atty. Garette take a shot of the whisky in front of him and gave Ms. Glacy an expressionless look. “As long as it pertains to your case, that would be fine Ms. Glacy. I am a very busy man you know,” he
“What are you doing, Atty. Garette? Remove your hands from me,” she said, hissing, but he did not abide her. He even tightened his arm around her shoulders and kept her tucked beside him. When they sat down, Dianthe looked at Atty. Garette with disdain on her face. With raised eyebrows, Atty. Garette said in a very low voice, “Why, would you want to tell him that you are going to marry my father, who is more than twice your age?” His voice was mocking and she felt so disgusted. “Age does not matter, Atty. Garette; that is what I believed in,” spitefully, she replied to him. “Ow really? What if my father is a mere poor taho vendor? Would you still answer me like that?” With a smirk, he asked. “Yes. As long as he acts like a real human, a real man. Now satisfied with my answer, Atty. Garette?” She said while trying to paste a comical expression on her face. He laughed sarcastically and shook his head. “Really?” “Yeah, really,” she replied with a final tone. He just laughed again
I “Am I disturbing you?” Atty. Garette asked with a narrowed forehead. He entered his father’s room and did not even care if his fiancee was inside. Don Raffy looked up at his son and shook his head. “Not at all, son. I just asked Dianthe to change my shirt into something that I would feel more comfortable with.” “Ahh, I see. Dad, I need to hire my executive assistant, someone with experience in Resorts and Hotels, and it would be nice if she had a background working on a dairy farm and cattle ranch too.” Atty. Garette said while giving Dianthe a glance as she finally put on the new shirt of his father. Chuckling, Don Raffy shot his son with a mysterious smile. “No need Garette, I have already assigned Dianthe to assist you. We have hired a new male nurse to take care of me while she is working in the office with you.” Then he looked at Dianthe and smiled at her. The latter nodded and made a forced smile. Atty. Garette’s brows raised as he heard what his father had just said. He s