Destined Hearts Ch. 08

"I have to go back to work." Ethan said with a sigh. "I am currently working with Antonio on his new songs and videos. I will call you later."

"Okay."

They parted ways and Praveen went to feed little Ryan. When he was done, he gave him to one of the maids and went to the kitchen to prepare something for everyone. After all, he didn't have anything to do since he didn't work plus he loved cooking.

Meanwhile, Emma was seated in the living room watching one of her favorite shows. She needed to relax and just forget about everything that was happening in the house. She was suddenly surprised by Praveen who was holding on to a tray of tea and some snacks.

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. She quickly shifted her gaze to him, looking at him as if he had just grown another head. The boy was looking at her with a smile which she thought was annoying as fuck.

"What?" She said.

"I just thought you might like some snacks while you enjoy your show." He beamed, putting the tray on the small table near her. He pulled it closer to her, enjoying the incredulous look on her face. "One of the maids told me that you like having tea and snacks while you watch T.V."

"You were informed right." She said with a smile, making Praveen smile even brighter. Then out of the blue, she lost the smile on her face and got serious. "But if I needed snacks I know where the kitchen is and there are a lot of maids in this house."

"I know that." He said, not losing the smile on his face.

"But I made all these specially for you." He added. "I even made you cookies which I thought would..."

"Would you please stop your nonsense?" Emma snapped, furiously getting up from the chair. "I told you I would be observing you. That doesn't mean that I have accepted you. I am only tolerating you because of everyone else in this house and..."

"But aunt..."

"Don't..." She clenched her teeth, opening her eyes wider. "...don't talk while I am talking. I hate that and I already told you that."

Praveen got hurt but he maintained his smile. "I understand. I just thought..."

"What?" She folded her arms on her chest. "That you'd put me under your palms with your cookies and tea like you've done to everyone else."

Praveen shook his head in fear. "No, you are misunderstanding me, aunt. I told you that it is my duty to do these things for you. I am the son in law of this house."

"Son... in law?" She laughed. "Until I approve of you or maybe Antonio accepts you, you are nothing but a trespasser in this house. Don't let those..." She grimaced, pointing to his clothes. "...deceive you that you are a part of us because it takes more than just designer clothes to be a Gonzalez. It requires class, poise, elegancy and beauty. So if I were you, I wouldn't take what I said the other day seriously and get too comfortable. Your very presence is pathetic."

She quickly turned and passed him angrily. "I'll watch the show in my room since your presence has ruined it. Next time, learn to keep to yourself instead of ruining other people's things."

She left and he remained standing there looking lost and confused. He hadn't done anything at all by trying to make her feel better and comfortable. And here he had been thinking things were gonna get easy but he had been wrong.

Could she be mad because of what had happened the other day, he thought as he slowly picked up the tray from the table? Or may Andrea had gotten to her and poisoned her once again. It was just too confusing.

He started going to the kitchen but stopped when he saw Antonio standing in the door way, holding his jacket. His shirt was half buttoned and his hairy chest was exposed. He had his black designer's trouser and brown shoes on. He looked really handsome in the things he had been wearing. After all, Praveen had picked it for him and left it on the bed.

Praveen's eyes met with Antonio and he couldn't read the guy's mind. He was probably happy. He just increased his pace and went into the kitchen.

Antonio on the other had no idea why he saw that kind of sadness in Praveen's eyes. He loved seeing him suffer but maybe his aunt shouldn't have said what she had said. He hated Praveen but the poor boy was just trying to make her feel better.

Why was he even thinking about it? Of course, the guy deserved everything that was happening to him because he invaded everyone's privacy. He was the reason why he couldn't completely be with his boyfriend. It was his fault that Ethan had completely changed. It was like everything he touched, everything simply changed in favor of him.

The guy had even stolen his granny and his mother. They never saw anything past Praveen. Praveen this... Praveen that...

He just shook his head and went up to his room to freshen up.

***

"You can't be serious." Bruce said, shaking his head. "Please, tell me you are joking."

"I am not." Antonio said as he took Bruce's hand, placing a kiss on it. "I told you this because I don't want to hide anything from and not because I want to hurt you."

Bruce walked away and stood at distance, his back to Antonio. He was really mad but he didn't wanna show it because he wanted his boyfriend to not know that he was very angry. But he couldn't just help it at all.

"And how do think this makes me feel?"

Antonio slowly walked towards Bruce, looking at him with a brilliant smile on his face. Bruce was looking so yummy, delicious and absolutely beautiful. He was a wearing a bright yellow shirt with his chest exposed, all for Antonio to admire. He was wearing a tight, skinny pant with brown dots and green snickers all of which were designer's. His short hair which he had died golden brown was tied with a band and pulled back, revealing his beautiful face. Antonio had never seen a creature so beautiful.

He chuckled and then went behind him, wrapping his arms tightly around him. Then he kissed his neck and breathed on it, enjoying the expensive exotic cologne that hit his nose.

"I know you don't like this but..."

"You have to do it for your family." Bruce sighed, shaking his head. "I know you have to do this for your family but... but I can't help but feel jealous that you'll be close to that stupid boy."

"I don't feel anything for him."

"I know that..." Bruce dropped his neck, giving Antonio's lips more access. Fuck, Antonio's lips felt heavenly on his neck. His breaths were like fire and they were giving Bruce wild thoughts. "...but put yourself in my shoes. The world has never seen us together on any photos and now you're about to present them with you and that... that..." He didn't even know the words to use on Praveen. He visibly hated him so much.

"Baby..." Antonio held him closer, slowly turning to face him. He raised his head with his chin and looked in his eyes. "...our marriage is just for show and you know that. You're the one that I love. He... he is just a phase that that will pass away. I will get rid of him very soon." He said, getting a smile from Bruce. Bruce's smile somehow made him feel really happy and he pressed a peck on his lips. "Very soon, our love story will be known by everyone. You will be known as the handsome husband of Antonio Gonzalez, Bruce Gonzalez."

A smile appeared on the side of Bruce's lips. He wrapped arms around Antonio and pressed his head on his shoulder. Antonio held his waist and both of them found themselves in a tight hug. Antonio was busy smiling but Bruce had a big frown on his head. He was really mad.

*

"Then what are you gonna do about it?" Andrea asked, her legs on her table, sitting like a boss in beautiful blue high heeled shoes. "Are you gonna just let it happen?"

She was putting on a blue, expensive, red designer's dress and her hair tied in a ponytail. Her makeup was on point and she was acting as if she didn't care. She was still hatching a plan to make Praveen leave the house early and she swore she was gonna jump at any opportunity that was gonna present itself to her.

"Of course not..." Bruce said harshly, moving from side to side. She was with Andrea in her room and they were getting ready to go out before Andrea asked him what was wrong. "Do you think I am stupid? Do you think I am gonna let that boy be that close to my boyfriend, Andrea?"

"I don't know." She dropped her legs, smiling brightly. "It's actually up to you, Bruce. I am gonna let you handle this one."

"But..." He paused and looked into her eyes. "What do you think I should do? The photo shoot is just a day away and I..."

"You're are intelligent, Bruce." Andrea sighed. "You will figure this out. You can also let them take the photo if you want."

"Are you crazy?" Bruce's eyes widened. "Why would I do that? You know that boy is intelligent and he'll jump at every opportunity to seduce Antonio. I will not allow him to do that."

"Right now..." Andrea got up from the bed and slowly started moving. "...I am only thinking about finding a way to get rid of him. I don't care about the photo shoot or anything he does. All I want is to find an opportunity to get him out of the house. So you're gonna have to think about this alone, darling, okay?" She smiled.

Bruce just looked at her wondering what was wrong with her. He had expected her to help him come up with a plan to ruin the photo shoot or make it turn into his favor but turns out that it was all in vain. She was more concerned about her future plans.

"But Andrea, aren't we supposed to be working together here?" He complained. "Do you want this boy to..."

"My brother is not stupid." Andrea rolled her eyes in frustration. "He will not fall for that boy. He loves you too much to do that. We were supposed to go somewhere, weren't we?" She asked, dropping her hands to her gorgeous hips. "I wanna get out of this house because the environment has been polluted. Shall we?"

Bruce looked at his friend and simply sighed. He got up and the both of them left.

***

Praveen was seated on the couch in his room trying to make himself calm. He was really nervous, scared and only God knew what was going on his mind at that particular moment. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and brown skinny pants. His hair was tied with a band and he had his spectacles on.

Suddenly the door opened and he quickly moved his eyes to the door, hoping it was Antonio that had come. He got relieved when he saw Ethan coming inside with a brilliant smile. He was dressed in a pale white shirt with his chest exposed and a black trouser. He was looking really smart with his hair gelled and from the way he was looking, it was clear that he had just come from work.

"Hey," He greeted, rushing towards Praveen. "Are you ready? I am here to pick you up. I am sorry that Antonio couldn't pick you up himself."

Somehow, Praveen felt a little disappointed. First of all, Antonio wasn't supposed to work that day. He had just come up with a lame excuse that he wanted to go and finish up on a song that he had been working. He had gone really early in the morning and his mother had told him to pick Praveen so that they could go to the shoot at 10.

"It's okay, Ethan." He said, faking a smile while hiding his shaky hands. "I feel more comfortable driving with you, anyway. It's not like Antonio..."

"Oh come on," Ethan teased, winking at Praveen. "He's your husband and he's supposed to do this. He just had to put some final touches. We'll meet him at the shoot so you don't have to worry."

As if that was what was making Praveen really worried. If only Ethan knew what exactly was in his mind then he wouldn't have even asked or said that.

"Shall we?" He asked, playing with his car keys. "You and Antonio are the only ones they are waiting for. Everything is done."

Praveen couldn't say anything to Ethan because he was sure his voice was gonna be trembling. He just managed a nod and the both of them quickly left for the location after receiving goodbyes and good lucks from granny and Emilia. Granny even told him to "Break a leg"... Funny...

It didn't take long before they reached the location in about just half an hour. It was a big building, probably a modeling company or something because he saw many pictures of models outside it. It had to be about 13 floors or more. The surrounding was really big, absolutely adorable with beautiful flowers and many cars.

He could see cars, probably company cars and vans. There were people packing equipments probably for a shoot somewhere. Everyone he met was busy doing something or busy rushing somewhere. He was so caught up in the place that he didn't even realize that they had parked in front of the big entrance guarded by a guard. He only realized it when someone opened the side of his door.

It was a beautiful lady in white shirt and black skirt with flat shoes. She had short brown hair and green eyes. And best of all, she had a really big and bright smile on her beautiful face that he couldn't help but smile too.

"Hello, sir." She greeted the both of them.

"Hello," Ethan greeted, smiling back at her, almost like flirting. "Can you please take this beautiful boy inside?"

"Of course." The lady said, nodding her head. "His husband had just arrived and I am sure he is eagerly waiting for him. They are such a sweet couple, you know." She literally jumped from all the joy.

Ethan looked at Praveen and just laughed softly, shaking his head. "Yeah, right?"

"Of course," She nodded. "And they are such important people to our company, sir. Being the first to take their first couple shoot will not only boost our company image but also bring in a lot of money."

"You hear that?" Ethan beamed, squeezing Praveen's hand. "Go and give your fans what they want. I will see you later."

Praveen looked at Ethan in shock, looking at him wide eyed. "You're not coming?"

"And ruin your moment with your husband?" He laughed in tease, holding his chest. "No thank you but I think I will pass. Besides, as his manager I need to go back and check out what the crew are doing with the production of his music. So will see you later."

Praveen took a deep breath, getting out of the car. He waved at Ethan as he drove off. Then he looked at the woman who told him to follow her inside the building. It was beautiful and classy inside. Everyone treated him as if they knew him, smiling and greeting him.

They entered the elevator and found themselves on the 10th floor. As soon as the elevator opened, Praveen saw his husband busy talking to a cameraman with a smile on his face. The moment he saw him, his nerves got the best of him once again. His palms started getting sweaty and he struggled to bring his breaths under control.

Antonio was putting on a black designer's cargo short, an open shirt with a black vest inside. He had snickers on his feet but he looked hot! Wait! That came out wrong. Why would Praveen care how his husband looked like? He was such a dick.

He slowly started walking to him, slowly looking all around. There were a lot of things in that room and it was really big. He didn't need to be a genius to know that all of those were gonna be used as backgrounds for the shoot. Some had white backgrounds, flowers and some looked like beautiful beaches. He knew the crew thought it was gonna be romantic but there was nothing romantic about his and Antonio's relationship. It was a joke.

"There he is." The director, a 40 something man with short blonde hair said with a smile. "My name is Jack and I am the director of this shoot." He extended his hands to Praveen. "It is nice to meet you. God, you are gorgeous. Now I know why he was in a hurry to get married."

Praveen looked at Antonio and then smiled brightly at the director. "Thank you so much, Mr. director. But I don't think I am that gorgeous."

"Then tell me who doesn't say you are and I will tell you he's an idiot."

Praveen looked at Antonio and smiled at him in mock. "That's not necessary, sir."

They talked for a few seconds and Praveen found himself calming down. The director introduced them to the crew and they all seemed really happy to have them. They all commented on how cute the couple was, how Antonio had made a good choice and how they were all happy that one of their favorite celebrities had found a life partner blah-blah-blah...

But Praveen didn't care. He just smiled. In fact, Antonio too was smiling although he didn't like what was going. He should have been with Bruce and not some boy that was gonna ruin the entire photo shoot for him. He didn't like it.

The director ordered his people to take the two men to the respective rooms to be prepared. Antonio's room was just on the floor while Praveen's was on another floor. He was getting nervous and he was hoping it wasn't gonna be a disaster.

***

"Hey, can I remove the glasses?" The makeup artist said with a smile. "Do you not see clearly without them?"

Praveen looked at the artist with a puzzled look on his face. He was smiling and there was no way Praveen was gonna make him feel bad. He was usually against removing his glasses because... Well, just forget about it. But it was gonna be the second time he was gonna be removing them since his marriage.

"No!" He said with a soft chuckle. "Why don't you go ahead?"

The artist nodded and removed the glasses, placing them on the table. He continued his work on Praveen's face and didn't lose that smile on his face. Praveen's hair was already and it was covered by a cap to prevent it getting dirty or disorganized. The hairstylists too had done a great job.

His clothes were already in the room and the others were gonna be brought. He learnt that he was gonna try out five different looks. Looks like the people were really serious with the photos.

"You look really beautiful without your glasses." The makeup artist said as he continued his work. "In fact, if I didn't see you earlier in your glasses, I would have said I didn't know you. Why do you wear your glasses though? Do you have eye problems?"

Praveen remained quiet for a while, going down memory lane to the first time his mother had suggested he started wearing glasses.

"Well, it's kinda long story. But..." He sighed, smiling brightly. "...I sorta became a nerd in school so I am used to wearing them. Besides, I think I see better with them. These glasses are my life and..." He paused as he remembered something emotional. "...they were given to me by my mother so having them with me actually makes me feel as if she's still with me."

"That's sweet..." He commented. "And I bet Antonio loves seeing you in them."

Praveen blushed and just dropped his eyes to the ground.

The artist continued as the two chatted like two lost friends. It didn't take long before he was done and he left Praveen to get dressed. The clothes that had been brought were really beautiful. Praveen was now all alone and he had to be careful not to spoil either his hair or his makeup.

When he looked in the mirror, he noticed what the man had just said to him. He looked really, really different than he usually did. It was a look that he had almost forgotten about since he had started wearing glasses and acting nerdy. There was barely any makeup on his face and he had to admit that the people had done a great job.

He smiled brightly and opened the other door to go and get dressed. It didn't take him long to dress and he was ready. He was starting to get nervous again but remembered how Antonio had warned him the other day.

"You have to do this Praveen." He said, taking a deep breath. "He's not the only one that can pull this. You need to show him that you're not weak. Show him that you're very strong."

He took three deep breaths and felt some powerful energy entering him slowly. Now he was ready for the photo shoot. He quickly touched the knob and when he turned it... he got the surprise of his life when the door couldn't open.