MAMA 03– Casa Alcantara

TARDINESS was one of the negative traits that don't exist in his vocabulary. Nevertheless, Ira Miguel had to break his rule because of the annoying traffic jam. He could've requested his driver to give them a ride because the latter had better knowledge of shortcuts, but he didn't have the heart to do so. Sukrru needed to prepare for his daughter's eighteenth birthday celebration tonight. So off they go. 

It was already nine in the morning when they finally arrived at their destination. Chloe craned her head up to the arch of the lofty rustic ranch gates and perused the words Casa Alcantara that were

etched on it. She loved the charming curves of the wood panels matched with the eccentric iron handles dangling onto them. The car past a long driveway and she was dazzled by the verdant, bushy chain of tall trees on both sides of the pathway. There were beds of various roses, too. She was a city girl all her life, still, she knew how to honour nature's beauty. 

"Very homey," she murmured to no one. 

"Save your praises for later. Mom would love hearing that," Ira noted, letting out a mirthless laugh. 

"I'm not talking to you," Chloe snarled. She'd been ignoring him since they left the hotel. 

"Still salty about what happened back there?" 

"You know what? I've been thinking my karma is not in a good balance, that's why I ended up with you." 

"Of course, I'm one hell of good karma." He was sarcastic. 

"Maybe yes, maybe no." 

"Anyway, stay calm as possible. You don't want to embarrass us both in there, right?" 

She nodded mutely. Right after their staged wedding, Ira took everything under control and enlightened his parents about them. But not to the extent of confessing about the contract marriage and how the baby was conceived. It was like a blood compact between them as well as to the certain people whom he trusted the most. At the foyer, they were welcomed by the gorgeous matriarch, Helena Alcantara-Greyson together with her honourable spouse and a retired pilot, Raskov Greyson. 

Even though Chloe anticipated this confrontation to happen, still, she felt highkey uneasy right now. Her heart hammered inside her chest, yet she concocted to show her holiest, courteous smile to her in-laws. The word seemed foreign to her ears for it was her first to be addressed as a wife. For the umpteenth time, she reminded herself to dance to the tune, serve her purpose and keep her acting one hundred.

"Welcome home, hijo," Helena hugged her son instantly. "We missed you bigtime, Bubu bear." 

"Missed you, too, Mom," Ira planted a kiss on his mother's cheek. "You don't have to call me Bubu bear for Pete's sake."

Chloe caught a glimpse of his awkward smile which she found utterly ludicrous. Helena pulled away from their hug and giddily pinched both of his prominent sexy cheeks. She could tell Ira got his undeniable good looks from his mestiza Filipina mom while the authoritative manner was from his half-Turkish, half-Italian father. Such a great combination of DNA, she ought to herself. Not too long they were all settled in the spacious lounge area where a middle-aged woman showed up to serve assorted refreshments and tarts. It was as if Chloe's eyes drifted into glowing hearts when she noticed the mango tapioca lined up in the selection. It was one of her comfort potions whenever she had dysmenorrhea, or whenever she was stressed.  

"Mom, you do realize that I'm already a family man now, right?" Ira chuckled, yanking his mother's hand away from his face. "Please stop squeezing my cheek as if I'm still your five-year-old errand boy." 

"I know, I know," said Helena, tapping his jaw gently. 

"Nice to see you again, Miguel," his father greeted him, too. That was the latter's pet name for Ira. 

"Hey, dad. I'm sorry we came late for the family breakfast." 

Raskov shook his head. "No, no. It's alright, son. We could do it again anytime soon, especially now that you're here." 

"By the way, this is my lovely wife, Chloe," Ira announced in a sleek voice. 

His dad extended an arm which she sensibly took for a handshake. "Pleased to meet you, young lady. I hope my son is not giving you a terrible headache this early." 

"The pleasure is mine, sir." She replied with the utmost respect. "As for the headache, um, so far everything is tolerable up to this moment."

The old man let out a crispy laugh before disengaging his hand on hers. It was then

Helena turned into Chloe, smiled and cocooned her into a warm, affectionate embrace. Chloe slightly flinched because she didn't expect it. Afterwards, her mother-in-law pulled away from their hug and gaze at her. The fondness in the old woman's eyes was too sincere to withstand. Her being intimidated earlier was now gone, making her realize that his parents were warm, nice, and kind people. 

"Welcome to the family, hija. We've been looking forward to meeting you since Ira told us about your intimate wedding in Japan."

"Thank you, ma'am," Chloe politely denoted.  

"Call me Mommy from now on," Helena assured her and added, "your mom-in-law wants to have a solid bond with you, sweetheart. I hope you don't mind." 

Shaking her head, she said, "None at all, M-mommy." 

"Anyway, congratulations to the new momma! I am excited to see your baby bump swelling gorgeously."

"Yeah. Me, too." 

The matron beamed at her pleasingly; so genuine she could only return the favor. The conversation went on from getting to know her family background which she carefully answered one by one. Chloe had to lie about her true identity to protect her alibi. Instead, she told them the same information she disclosed to her husband. After some time the topic was shifted to business. She learned that the Greysons dominantly conquered the line of logistics companies in the country. Aside from that, they hold fifteen franchises that offer high-end brands of clothing to malls that are currently operating in the market. Her extended folks were extremely loaded.

But when Helena excused herself to attend to something in the kitchen, boredom knocked on her. She even struggled not to yawn nor blink her eyes. That would be rude, bish! She wouldn't want to leave a bad reputation on the very day of their meet and greet. Her eyes wandered around to find something that would pique her interest. It was as if a light bulb flickered when her gaze stopped at the snazzy grand staircase. The design was so pleasant to the eye and reminded her of the Victorian era mixed with a modern touch.  

Honestly, their heritage house in Alabang was also big, but not as spacious as the Greyson's French-Mediterranean themed mansion.

She then scowled as she looked at the magnificent chandeliers in a daze. Because Chloe's mother, Norma Bersales, was a former interior designer, she felt nostalgic. Her gorgeous mother had a huge influence on her understanding of house design and everything related to it. With that in mind, she suddenly missed her. So much that she had to hold back the tears. Now was not the time for her to be overly dramatic. She believed she was just overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the past three months including today, yes. 

"Hey, babe, you okay?" Ira asked her out of the blue. "Your face is kind of bland. What's going on?" 

Sluggishly, she diverted her attention to him. 

"Nothing. It's just that I'm tired." It was partly true because she was starting to have a pounding headache and was feeling dizzy, too. 

"Do you want to rest now? C'mon, I'll show you to our room," he offered, slinking his arm around her waist. 

Their gazes met. For a minute there, she felt the urge to lay her head against his chest but chose to stop herself from doing it. As she was about to move away from him a nerve in her temple ticked furiously. Chloe felt her body slowly getting numb; her sight became vague. She heard Ira calling her name in a muffled voice as well as the faint noises coming from god-knows-where before everything went black.