2. Gifts

Enzo Denver Mondragon

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"Don't smile too much, Enzo. It's fucking disgusting, bro!" Linus Leone smirked and shook his head.

"Just tell me that you are jealous, Leone. Why don't you settle down like us—four?" Conrad said with open arms.

"I don't think it will happen soon to Linus Leone, Conrad. This lion is not ordinary like you," Xavion snorted.

I slightly shook my head while listening to them.

"You are all a bunch of crazy peps!" Linus let out a short laugh and smirked again.

The boys are here at the Monde Rock Bar gathering at my so-called Batchelor's party. Next week is the biggest event of my life, and after that, I will no longer be a bachelor because I will marry the most beautiful woman I have met.

"What sort of a bachelor party is this? Where's the dancing girls?" Glenn complained as he looked around.

He was right, this is probably a boring one, but I like it like this. I don't want a complicated bachelor's party, and I'm sure Kylie will never approve if there's a woman inside.

"Not all in a bachelor's party where a girl is dancing, entertaining your erection, Glenn," Norman chuckled, and the rest of the boys laughed.

"Come on, Hendrix, do your march. The boys are getting bored," Marco throws a joke at Hendrix.

I swirled my glass of wine, then took a sip. The boys' laugh faded as they looked at the cold-blooded prince down the corner, looking so effing serious, staring at his phone.

He finally realized that we were looking at him. He returned a cold expression towards us, ignoring us as if we didn't exist in his world.

"Don't joke around with our cold-blooded prince, Marco. You don't want to walk without a head later, right?" Drew chuckled.

Norman stood between the two. "Trust me, Hendrix is already good," he winked." He is the kindest amongst us all here, right?" he said, looking at everyone with a twitching, silent smile.

Once again, everyone burst into laughter.

"What a load of crap! Am I the one getting married and being put in jail?" Hendrix mouthed sarcastically as he shifted a gaze at me.

"Your woman is kind of wicked, Enzo. I bet you will shed tears of blood after the wedding," he smirked and looked away. He is now heading towards the counter bar to get more whiskey. I slightly chuckled and shook my head.

Xavion got up from his seat and gave me a wink. He is now walking towards Hendrix's location. Hendrix sat down on the chair at the bar counter. The bartender, Noy, served Hendrix a drink. Xavion then sat beside him. The boys kept their business, and the place was again covered in laughter and jokes.

I let out a groan as I leaned back against the headrest. Conrad then tapped my shoulder and sat down beside me.

"Are you sure about this, Enzo?" Conrad sighed.

"I know you should think a thousand times, Enzo. But if your heart tells you what you want, then there's no point in asking if you're sure about this," Glenn advised. It was a confident answer to Conrad's question. He then sat down beside me. I'm in between the two.

"Fair enough, that's true!" a voice from behind.

I laughed slightly, nodded at the two, and whirled my body to see him and the other boys, too. It was Atticus. He looks fresh and is carrying a box in his hand.

"How's the criminal? So, are we going to start now?" Atticus chuckled as he strode towards me. The boys made some noise to welcome him. He put the box on the table, and the boys surrounded him.

"Yo, Atticus Art. How are you, man?" I gave him a brotherly hug, and the bastard tightly hugged me. Everyone laughed.

Conrad expressed his dissatisfaction by saying, "This is not acceptable. It appears that there is favoritism at play between those two."

"Art, is an empty box your gift for the groom-to-be?" Norman jokingly asked.

The boys laughed as I raised my fingers to indicate a quotation. I jerked up, laughing as everyone was having fun with each other. Drew Mondragon rose to his feet and checked the box, causing everyone to go quiet.

"Damn, gold bars!" Drew clicked his tongue, smiling evilly at me.

"Really?" Glenn, who appeared unsettled, laughed as he approached the pair and peered into the box.

"Don't get it out, Glenn. I will do the honor," Atticus uttered.

I chuckled, and everyone went quiet again. Linus and Hendrix were serious, looking at the boys. They are all smiling wickedly at me. I slightly shook my head, feeling shy at this tradition.

This is the tradition of the Mondragon Billionaire's Boys Club.

Everyone should give something to the groom as a gift. Money, land, business proposal, or whatever it is that will help us start another business again as a married man.

This has been going on for generations. We help each other, have each other's backs, and stand together through thick and thin.

"Hang on, Malcolm is calling," Xavion announced. He swiped his phone and answered it. He puts his phone on the table for everyone to see Malcolm.

"How's everyone? How are you, mate?" Malcolm asked me. As soon as he saw me, he grinned.

"I'm good, Malc. How are you doing?" I raised my right hand for a cheers as I held a beer glass.

Malcom is a farmer in Australia. He owns a big dairy and meat farm and is very successful in his business ventures.

The boys came closer to see Malcolm on the screen. Xavion grabbed his phone and showed it to everyone. The rest of the boys greeted Malcolm until someone called, trying to join the conversation.

It was Travis Mondragon from Cordova.

"Please hold on for a moment. I will initiate a video call and add everyone to it." Xavion swiped the screen on his phone, adding Travis to the group and the rest of the boys in the line.

Malcolm is in Australia, and he's a dairy farmer. Travis joined the convo, and he's in Cordova, managing the Del Rio Farm—Vance pop-in with his humorous look like a dark angel.

Like Atticus, Vance works in the same industry in Italy.

Riftyn looks pathetic, like a man who lives in the woods away from civilization and is in England. While Dax is in Mexico, smiling like a shit lying on his bed.

"Are we all complete now. Should we start?" Atticus stated.

"Yes, let's get this going. Candy, my wife, is waiting for me. She's worried about this dancing lady inside the big cake." Conrad laughed as he quoted his hand. "To think there was none because all that are present are just the boys," he shrugged his shoulder.

All the boys laughed.

I stood up in front while everyone sat down. The box was beside me, and I was smiling evilly.

At last, this was my turn, and I can't wait to see what surprises these Mondragon lunatics would give me.

"Be happy, Enzo. Expand the genes and make more little doctors like you." Atticus patted my shoulder. He handed me a white envelope.

I slightly shook my head as I accepted it. I opened it before everyone, and the penny dropped to thirty-five million dollars in cold check cash.

Dammit. I swore in silence as I showed it to everyone. They all came noisy, cheering loudly.

Drew stood up and handed me a medium-sized white letter. I opened it. Inside was a twenty-million-dollar check. The boys were cheering again, making a lot of noise.

I laughed, feeling loved by these bastards. And the rest follows.

"I'm sorry, bro. This is all I can afford at the moment," Glenn said, handing me the Daniel Whiskey. We all laughed. He gave me ten million. I shook my head, and I felt so reddish.

This night will be over, and I will be sleeping with a lump sum of money. The rest of the boys wired their money to my bank account.

Hendrix cleared his throat as he approached me. I thought he would give me a small amount. I mean, I'm okay with that. Hendrix is known as the tightest among the boys regarding money.

"Build your dream hospital, bro," he said, patting my shoulder.

"Thanks, bro," I nodded and looked at the amount.

Damn, this cold-blooded prince is a magnet of love, and I overlooked that. I can't believe the amount of money he gives me. It was eighty million dollars.

"Is it enough to open a second branch of Paediatric Hospital?" Xavion furrowed his brows. He smiled at me.

"Nearly there. I might need a little bit more," I exclaimed, jerking up and laughing.

This is what we get as gifts from all my cousins. We are all boys. Our male gender has been dominant for generations. This tradition originated with our ancestors, who feared the extinction of their clan.

Most of the Mondragon during their time ended up not getting married.

That's why our ancestors set this type of game to encourage a Mondragon man to settle and find a good woman. There is no minimum amount, and everyone can give whatever is in their profit for a year. Whatever you can provide, it's alright. Like Travis in Cordova, he gave me a piece of land on their massive farm with hundreds of thousands of hectares.

The night was filled with laughter and unlimited beers, wine, etc. The Monde Rock Bar was shut for the night and is exclusive to us. Everyone jokingly picked on everyone's back.

My phone vibrated. I stood up and fished it out of my pocket. It was Kylie calling me.

"Hello, hon?" I excused myself from the boys and headed outside. I'm halfway drunk, but I can still manage myself.

"Hon? Where is it? I thought you bought it already? I was expecting it today!"

I put my phone a little bit away from my ear as Kylie's angry voice boomed.

I chuckled. "I will get it tomorrow, hon. I'm sorry. . . I'm with the boys. We are at the - "

"What!? What sort of excuse is that, Enzo!?" she cuts me off, growling like a tigress in the line.

"I was waiting the whole freaking day! And there you are, having fun with all your crazy cousins!" She screamed in the line.

I slightly chuckled and bit my lower lip. I composed myself and looked around me. It was pitch dark here, and there was not even a single star above me. I sighed and couldn't be bothered listening to her talking, screaming in anger in the line.

Oh, my darling love, Kylie Eve Fuentabella. . . Sometimes, I wonder what I like so much about her.

"I will get it tomorrow, hon," I softly said.

"You better be! Or else you will not have a bride!" She ended the call. I chuckled and shook my head lightly.

I'm having trouble understanding her. She reminds me of my young patients, who are both adorable and unpredictable. Despite her mood swings, I still care for her deeply. I love my Kylie. She's like my baby.

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C.M. LOUDEN