Chapter 24
“Hello.”I answered my mother’s call, leaning against the balcony railing in the house we’d been staying at.
We only had two weeks left for the movie to wrap up, so Bailey and I tried to spend every second we could together when we weren’t on set. We didn’t have to hide our relationship and were making up for lost time. I guess you could say we’d been playing house this whole time, and it would soon end.
It was easy to pretend this wouldn’t affect us when we weren’t in the States and away from everything right now since we were on a remote location shooting. Soon, reality would set in and make its voice heard, but I wasn’t looking forward to it.
Especially when it came to her team. They weren’t going to let this go, and it was only a matter of time before they declared war. They were just letting Bailey think she had control for a minute since she threatened to fire them when it came to her co-starring with me. They knew she wasn’t easily manipulated by them in reference to me, and I firmly believed they were waiting too.
We were all playing chess, and she basically checkmated them with her social media post of us, which broke the internet. In less than twenty-four hours, she got a hundred million likes on her picture of us. The second we touched ground in the States after the movie wrapped, we were both aware it would be pure and utter mayhem.
Right now, it was easier to just live in the bubble we created.
“Darling,” Mom greeted in a familiar tone of wanting something from me. “How are you?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m good. How are you?”
“Not so great. I have some bad news to share with you.”
“What’s going on?”
“Your grandfather passed away last night, and your father is beside himself.”
My eyes widened. I wasn’t entirely sure how to react or feel about it. “My condolences, Mom.”
“It would mean so much to your father if you could attend the funeral, Nicholas.”
“I’m in Australia filming a movie. I don’t thin?—”
“Aires, what will the press think if his oldest son isn’t here for him in his time of need?”
“It’d be such a travesty.”
“Nicholas Aires III, don’t you dare take that tone with me. I’m sure the director will understand. We’ll send the plane for you. It won’t be a problem. Plus, your grandfather’s lawyer will be reading his will, and it will be better if you’re in attendance for that.”
She wasn’t going to give up until I gave in. It was always her MO. “When and where is it?”
“In our summer home in England, darling. Where else would it be? You know how much your grandfather loved that estate. It was his favorite.”
I used to love that property too, but now it contained bad memories, and I didn’t care for visiting it much. Unless I was forced to in situations like these. It’d been a while since we all gathered for a funeral.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Great. I’ll call the pilot. See you soon, darling.” She hung up, and I shook my head, throwing my cell phone onto the lounger beside me.
“Aires,” Bailey announced, walking into the bedroom only wearing my hoodie.
“I’m out here.”
“Do you want to watch a movie?”
We finished filming for the day and weren’t due on set until noon the next day.
As soon as she took one look at me, she questioned, “Are you okay?”
“My grandfather died.”
Her mouth parted, and her hand flew to her heart. “Oh my God.” She rushed to my side. “I’m so sorry.” Throwing her arms around my waist, she hugged me to her. “What can I do for you? How can I help?”
“Bay, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“I need to get ahold of the director and see if I can fly out for the funeral.”
She peered up at me. “When is it?”
“Tuesday.”
“Alright.” She nodded. “Where is it?”
“In our summer home.”
She flinched, realizing what that meant.
“My mom is sending a plane. I’ll fly in and fly out the next day. It’ll be quick.”
“Okay, I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t have?—”
“I want to. Please.” She kissed my cheek. “Let me be there for you.”
“My family isn’t?—”
She shook her head, silencing me. “I don’t care what your family is or isn’t, Aires. You’re my boyfriend, and I?—”
“Boyfriend?” I half smiled. It was the first time she called me that.
“I mean, what else would you like me to call you? Lover? Best friend? Pain in the ass?”
“That last one belongs to you.”
She smirked with a concerned gaze for me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“My grandfather was nice to me, but I think it was mostly just to piss off his son.”
She swallowed hard. “Yeah, that generational trauma is hard to break.”
I scoffed. “That’s one way to define my family.”
“I don’t have a black dress with me, but I can send my assistant out for one. Do you want her to pick you up a suit?”
“That’d be great.”
“Let me call her real quick.” She hugged me tight for a second before grabbing her phone and returning to the bedroom.
I stayed out there, needing a moment to process my grandfather being gone and Bailey coming home with me to meet my family, which wasn’t an easy pill to swallow. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the first time they’ll meet someone, but this is the first time it will matter to me.
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