CHAPTER 11 [Love and Lies]

Travis raced his car towards his condo as he made a call to his father.

"What is it?" his dad asked in a bored voice as soon as he picked up.

"Dad…ummm….are you free tonight?" he asked nervously.

"Why?" his dad inquired with mild confusion.

"I want to have dinner with you tonight. If its fine?"

"What is the occasion? Did you do something? Is it another scandal? I won't help you with that. Your mother is already very disappointed with your unserious behavior."

"I know daddy and I am sorry for that." He stated in a guilty tone.

"There should be a good reason for this."

"There is. It would be better if the whole family would be here. I want to make an announcement."

"Ok. What about Alessandro?"

"Don't worry Dad I'll tell him myself later." He huffed out holding the steering wheel tightly.

He threw his phone on the passenger seat as he worked his way out of the heavy traffic.

He reached his house a little later. He had formulated the whole plan now what was left was to execute it and he hoped it to turn out well.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

"It has been so long Travis since I have seen you." His mother exclaimed as soon as he entered his parents' house. She pulled him in a tight hug with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, you're being emotional. I just came some days back to … talk to dad." He glanced at his father who was ignoring him.

"But you didn't meet me." She complained.

"I'm sorry mama! But now I am here and I …. got you some good news. I know you will be really happy when you listen to it." He said lovingly as he pulled his mother in a side hug.

They were still standing near the stair case when a shrill squeak broke out in the calm surrounding.

"Oh my God. Am I dreaming? Is my brother really here?" Sophia ran down the stairs and hugged her older brother.

"How's my sissy?" he chuckled as he picked her up and twirled around.

"Stop this. I am old now." She giggled while holding his shoulder.

"Might be but for me you will always be a little bun bun." He said as he put her down helping her steady on her feet.

"Seriously? Bun Bun? I am 25 you should stop calling me that." She huffed with fake annoyance on which Travis laughed. He found her sister adorable. Maybe she was old enough now but he could not stop himself from teasing her.

"Ok Kids as much I love to see you both enjoying but we need to have dinner. Its getting cold." Their mother said as she pulled them both inside the dining area where his father sat looking in his phone.

"Hi dad!" he said as he took a seat beside him.

"Oh and now you remember that you have a dad as well?" his father replied as he put his phone down.

"Sorry dad!" he giggled while holding his ears. His father laughed at his dorky attitude.

"Are you drunk? Is that why you are acting this way?" his father narrowed his eyes at him.

"No dad I am just… happy and excited to tell you the news." He said while looking down with a light blush spreading across his cheeks.

"You're making me curious. You never act like this." His father said with wide eyes looking at his son, thinking he had gone crazy.

"Curiosity kills the cat dad! Let's just eat first." He smiled mischievously as he plated some salad for himself.

"Your father is right. It is making me suspicious as well now but I'll wait." His mother butted in while serving her husband.

"Travis has always been a little off in the head mom. Have you not noticed?" Sophia said while taking a large gulp of orange juice.

"Shut up shorty!" Travis stuck out his tongue at her.

"Mom! Travis is mocking me." She whined while pulling her mother's sleeve.

"Geez! You two are grownups now so act like one as well please." As she pulled back her sleeve from her daughters grasp.

The whole dinner went by with little teasing here and there and the usual banter between Sophia and Travis. After dinner they all settled themselves in the living room. Comfortably talking, Mrs. Harrison noticed her whole family was there except for her oldest son. Gathering like these makes her emotional.

"What happened mom? Why are you crying?" Travis sat beside his mom and pulled her in his embrace.

"Why can't we all live like this always, together?" his mom replied while dabbing her eyes to get rid of the moistness.

"Mom…. You know why." His voice saddens. His mother nodded her head as she looked up at him.

"I know. But it's ok. I will cherish the moments we get to spend together." She gave him a bright smile and kissed his forehead.

"So what's the announcement you wanted to make?" his father asked as he set down his cup of coffee.

"That….Ah yes I wanted to tell you guys that…" As he was about to say Sophia's loud shout made him stop.

"Wait…. We should get Sandro on the video call as well. This looks important and brother would love to hear it with us. I am sure. I'll get my laptop." Saying that she quickly ran up the stairs to her bedroom to get the said device.

"He's online. I'll call him immediately." She said while running down the stairs.

Mr and Mrs Bennett laughed at her childish behavior.

"Hello. How are you all?" Alessandro's voice sounded from the laptop as his face appears on the screen.

"We're fine big boy how are you? How's the work?" Mr. Bennett asked him with a small smile on his face.

"The usual dad. I am still working on this new case. It's between those construction companies I told you about." He said as he looked back at them through the screen, laying on his bed.

"Oh… I know. The dispute has been going on for a while."

"That's it. We called you Sandro because Travis apparently here have a big announcement. You can talk about work later." Mrs. Bennett spoke up.

"Oh yes yes…. I remember. What is this big news you are about tell us? Are you finally ready to take your life seriously?" Sandro said with a smile playing on his lips. Travis rolled his eyes at his older brother's playful behavior.

"Yes…Apparently…." He turned towards his parents and knelt down on the ground in front of them. Taking their hands in his own; he said, "Mom… Dad…. I love someone." He let out a sigh of relief looking up at his parents while nibbling his lips in anticipation. "I have proposed to her, she….. she umm agreed. Only if you give us your blessing…" he trailed off leaving his family awestruck.

Sophia recovered herself first as she shook her head while laughing nervously, "You are joking, right? It's a prank, right?"

"No Sophie… I am not lying."

"Wh-who is she?" his mother said in a quiet voice as she tried hard to control her tears.

"Evelyn. Evelyn Davis." He looked back at his father who's eyes were wide open.

"Evelyn. As in the new employee?" he asked bewildered to which Travis nodded.

"Do you approve of this?" he looked at his father with eagerness.

Mr. Bennett stood up while pulling up Travis with him and pulled him in a hug while patting his back affectionately.

"Finally! I am so proud of you my son. I am pleased with your choice."

"Bro are you serious? Like how many days did you dated?" Alessandro asked as he now sat attentive on his bed.

"We didn't date. It was just….love at first sight I guess…for me and when I asked her out she declined saying she didn't believe in any kind of relationship other than marriage….. so I proposed her." Travis answered his brother as he sat beside his mom who was still so overwhelmed and could not say anything.

"Marriage is a big responsibility. It's not just one time play. You need to be very sane to take that decision. Just make sure you aren't rushing anything." His brother replied seriously. The person who was a complete womanizer takes a big decision like marriage was making him worried.

"I know Sandro. I understand that. But sometimes you just don't need time to know that you want to spend the rest of your life with that person."

"I know! It's just very shocking to see you act this way but I am very happy for you." As he finally gave him a big thumbs up to show his approval.

"It will be your turn next Sandro." Their mother exclaimed to which he groaned.

"Okay." He dragged out the word. "I am out of this. So nice to see you happy, Travis. It's getting late I should head back to sleep. Bye~" and the call disconnected making the kids and the dad to laugh out while the mother only huffed out in annoyance.

"Oh My God I can't believe my brother is a committed man now. I will have a sister in law. Finally I will have another girl to talk about girly stuff. I met Evelyn on her first day at work. I really like her. She kept glancing at you and I was sure she was interested in you. It was just my guts instinct." Sophia chirped and kept ranting on as both of his parents laughed at her.

But Travis wasn't paying attention to it, his mind wandered somewhere. He smirked to himself as he recalled his marvelous acting in front of his family to make them believe him. Now what was left was the actual marriage. The sooner they get married the quicker he gets his position.

'A man blinded by passion can take any action just to achieve his goal even if it means deceiving the people he loves the most.'