CHAPTER 13: WINNING OVER

XANDER’S P.O.V

My soul was truly satisfied seeing Cara so happy. Seeing the bond between the two sisters reminded me of how close I was to my brother. “Joyce, this is Alexander, Xander for short. He is the guy I told you about, my fiancé” Cara said, her voice filled with excitement. “Ah, so we finally meet in person,” Joyce said to me, Cara’s face filled with confusion. “The pleasure is mine,” I said, shaking her hand gently and politely. “Meet in person? What? What are you talking about?” Cara questioned, her eyebrows creased in confusion but her smile did not leave her lips. “How do you think he got our address, hey Cara? Did he dream about it?” Joyce mocked Cara. “Well, I was so filled with excitement when I realized that he is bringing me home that I didn’t think about how he got our address” Cara explained, shrugging her shoulders. “Well there is my silly sister that I missed so much,” Joyce teased. “I see that you have grown quite a lot since I left, even though it hasn’t even been a year yet,” Cara said. “Whatever” Joyce said, playfully rolling her eyes at Cara. “You have put on some weight but your attitude is obese. Anyways, how did you get our address,” Cara’s question was directed to me. “Well, your sister called the other day while you were in the shower and I answered your phone. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have invaded your privacy but it led to something good, didn’t it?” I explained. “Yeah, I guess that it did. I’ll forgive you this time but don’t do it again” she warned. “ Yes, Ma’am” I teased her, making Cara glare at me while Joyce laughed. “Okay, I don’t know about you guys but I’m freezing. Let’s go inside” said Joyce. Grabbing our luggage from the car, Cara and I headed inside the little cosy cottage.

“Hello sweetheart,” a middle-aged woman greeted Cara, whom I assumed to be Cara’s mother. “Mum!!!” Cara squealed in excitement as she ran towards the lady and took her in an embrace, confirming my suspicion to be correct. “Mum, I missed you so much,” Cara said. “I missed you too my dear,” Her mum said back to her. “Mum, this is Xander, my fiancé. Xander this is my mum, Macia” Cara introduced us after they have pulled apart. “Fiancé? He doesn’t have my approval yet!” Macia said coldly, just as I was about to greet her. It was clear that she did not like me, I was clueless about the reason why. Cara looked at me, worry shown on her face, all I could do was give her a nod, assuring her that everything will be okay. “Come! Dinner is cooked, you must be starving,” Macia called, the house filled with a delicious aroma that had my stomach grumbling.

“So, you were Cara’s employer. Am I correct?” Cara’s mother asked the obvious. “Yes I was, but now-” she cut me off. “So what would a man as rich as yourself, who can have any woman that he desires, want with a servant?” Macia asked, I swear that her glare almost burnt holes in me. “Mum!” Cara scolded at my defense while I heard Joyce gasp in shock at her mother’s words. “Firstly Miss Macia, with all respect Cara is a medical student, who through unfortunate events landed up the job of a servant,” I said. “Secondly, Cara is not just any woman, in fact, she is far from the ordinary. She is amazing in every way possible. Cara gives me a kind of happiness that my money cannot buy and for that I would always be grateful to her,” I explained, Cara’s hand settled on top of mine as she gave me a gentle reassuring squeeze. “Your words can fool Cara but I would need much more than words to believe you Mr. Alexander La’Vardo” her mother challenged me. “That won’t be a problem. The two days that Cara and I are staying here should be enough for you to see our love” I said, accepting her challenge.

The next day, Joyce, Cara and I went for a hike in the forest which was near Cara’s house. Joyce was really nice and I found out that she hasn’t been attending school because of their financial situation. I made a mental note to talk to Cara about it and offer to pay Joyce’s fees, after all she is my future sister-in-law. “How’s mums health?” Cara asked Joyce, distracting me from my thoughts. “Honestly I don’t know Cara. She seems fine one day and the next it seems like she won’t survive another year” A frown formed on Cara’s face hearing this. “What’s wrong with your mum?” I asked, completely lost in the situation. “She has cancer,” Joyce answered. “You never told me,” I said to Cara. “I really didn’t want to burden you with my problems” she said. “But we are a couple Cara and that’s what couples do. It’s part of the relationship and they don’t burden one another with problems but simply share them so they can get through them together” I explained to her. “Well…I guess you are right Xander. I’ve never really saw it that way, thank you for teaching me what love really is” she smiled looking into my eyes, not watching where she is going she tripped on a rock and slipped down a small bank. “Cara!” I yelled in fear and shock. “Are you okay?” I asked, as I went after her. “Yes” she responded. Picking her up into a standing position, she winced in pain. “I think that I sprained my foot” she said, taking a looked at it, I confirmed that she really did sprain her foot. “Let’s head back” I said, picking Cara up in my arms. “So romantic” Joyce said, walking behind me. “Well he is my Prince Charming, he is only doing his duty” Cara teased me. “Be careful of what you say, you might just slip out of my arms and fall” I joked. “Now really Cara. He really is a prince. He takes such good care of you and in his eyes he holds a whole heart filled with love for you. I need to find myself a man like that!” Joyce said, making me feel a little proud of myself. “If only your mum could see what you see” I unconsciously said. “She will, she just needs a little time” Cara’s words gave me hope.

As we entered the cottage, I heard a very familiar voice which made my blood boil. “Edwin?” Cara said in shock, setting eyes on the semi-muscular man, sitting in their longue and having tea with Macia. Cara and him broke up, why did he have to come, what is he doing here? “Cara, what happened to your leg” he rushed towards us but all his attention was focused on Cara as he completely ignored my existence. “What are you doing here?” Cara asked him the question that I wanted to. “I-I – er…let me see your leg, I will be able to tell if you need a doctor or not,” he said. “I already had a look at it, it’s just a small sprain. She would be fine but I will still have our family doctor look at it once we go home” I said to him as I laid Cara down on the couch. “You must be Xander,” he said. “Alexander” I corrected him, he didn’t earn my friendship to call me, Xander as yet. “You must be Edwin,” I said, while he shook my hand with a firm grip. “Edwin, would you like to stay for dinner?” Macia asked, she was probably the one who invited him over in the first place, hoping to get him and Cara back together. “Actually I was thinking that we should go out for dinner,” I said quickly. “I guess I shall head home then,” Edwin said. Yeah, now that’s a good idea, I thought to myself.

…

“Are you ready to order?” the waitress asked. “Yes, can I have the lobster platter, with half veg and half fries” I ordered. “Can you make that 2?” Cara said. “I really don’t know what to order, can I have a few more minutes,” Macia requested. “Sure,” said the waitress taking our orders and she left us alone. “Mum, what’s wrong? You have been flipping through the pages for the past 30 minutes?” Joyce asked. “If you can’t find anything that you like, we can go to another restaurant” I offered. “Everything is too expensive” she mumbled to herself. “Don’t look at the prices mum-in-law, your future son-in-law is treating you to dinner” I said, and her eyes lit up as if I just broke through a brick wall that was blocking the light out. “I misjudged you Xander and I’m not saying that because you are treating me to dinner but because I can see for myself that I was wrong about you. I was so rude to you, yet you are still so nice to me and that shows me that you are truly a nice person. I told you that I don’t accept you to be my son-in-law yet you are still persistent and that shows me that you truly love my Cara and let’s not forget the jealousy that I saw when Edwin was around” she said, finally accepting me. “So, does that mean that you would be attending our wedding?” I asked, making her burst into laughter. “Does that mean that you would have married my daughter, without my blessing?” she asked. I shrugged my shoulders, which made the rest of us laugh at my childishness and persistence.  Joyce and Macia ordered seafood platters which they truly enjoyed. Dinner went well and we all left the restaurant much happier than when we entered it…