His Black Secret

Chapter 9

Mom you know you can tell me the truth if this old man pushed you down the stairs right?
I say with a smirk while my mum laughs. My dad just shakes his head.

"Shush boy that's the love of my life you are talking about".
dad replies with a fake scowl.

My mum smiles lovingly at Him and he returns it.
It's always fun teasing my dad. He can be so strict and serious except in the few circumstances when he's feeling all lovey with my mum.

Though Basel Switzerland is the last place I expected to spend my week, the frantic call I received from my father about my mum falling down the stairs and getting rushed to the hospital made me change my mind immediately.

She slipped and fell off the stairs spraining a few bones.
And though she's going to be ok and sent home in a few days as said by the doctor, I still can't help being worried. I think it's a sign that my parents are really getting old and I should be visiting more.
Owning a business takes all your time and focus. But now that it's off the ground and doing so well , I guess it's time I pay attention to my family and visit more.

I still haven't told them about my divorce yet, and I don't even know when I plan to.
I will hate the pity and " I told you so"looks from them especially from my mother.
She was not with the idea of us getting married for the baby from day one. She's always insisted that marriage is a big deal and a having a baby together shouldn't be a reason to want to tie the knot.
But I was adamant and wanted to proof her wrong because I knew Iris and trusted her.

And now look at as us, after just 2 years we are like strangers.

Guess momma never lied.

My phone rings at that moment and I excuse myself to take it.

It's Iris and she wanted to know why she had to hear about my trip from my secretary.

Here we go...

As the days go by, most of my mom's side of the family to visits and Luca, my cousin is no exception.
My mum is basically his mum too.

He lives and work in Zurich now. We have been close since we were kids because we are almost the same age and he practically lived with us growing up.
It's always great seeing him.

It's a surprising warm Friday night for winter.
I enter "Soho Bar" searching for Luca and immediately spot him sitting at the bar sipping a beer.

I walk over and sit on the empty chair next to him. I tap his shoulder as soon as he lifts the glass to his lips making him spill a little of the drink in the process.
I laugh hard as he rolls his eyes and mutters "Arschloch".

I'm about to ask what beer he ordered when a waitress approaches and ask if we will need a table.
We reply yes she leads us to a secluded corner with a little privacy and leaves to bring our order.

It's just a chill night with us talking about work, my divorce and him impregnating a girl he met at the club.
Luca can be so wild and not so careful most times. So it's no suprise to me. He's always been a wild child growing up.

I tell him about Noa but decide to downplay my feelings for her when he becomes too nosey.

I don't want to jinx it since i just met her and trying to be very careful with her, considering our working relationship and my current marital issue.

"Should we go downstairs to club or go to Paddy Reilly's?" Luca asks me smirking. He loves "Paddy Reilly's" and always wants to visit whenever he is in Basel.
I laugh and shake my head while following him out after settling the bill.
"Paddy Reilly's" is packed as usual so we opt for the vip which is spacious and less crowded, because believe it or not the virus is very much still around and people are being reckless and careless.

We see Tobe who is more of Lucas' friend than mine at the Vip with a couple of people and join them since Lucas automatically headed there.

We used to hang out, growing up but i never became friends with him because he was too wild for me. He's more like Luca in that department and it was no surprise when became friends when they met.

I don't intend to drink much since I return to London tomorrow.
I don't need to be looking like a zombie at my very first meeting with a potential investor.
***

I wake up the next morning with a mild hangover, but nothing a cold shower and ginger honey tea couldn't fix.

I can't say same for Luca who is looking quite the opposite.
Last night was wild, it escalated especially for Luca after seeing Tobe.
I had to practically drug him out of the Paddy Reilly's before he went crazy on the drinking and spending.

" hey mom, how are you feeling today? Dad need any help?" I intentionally shout just to annoy Luca who looks like the shit sitting at the table with my mum.
I hug my mum and turn to help my dad who is making pancakes.

" Man, must you shout?" Lucas groaned which got us all laughing.

After eating, I finally gather the courage to tell my parents about the divorce and let just say I was right about their reaction.

But they actually took it well than I imagined. In the end though, I'm ok and that's all that matters.

Luca goes back to bed while I pack and prepare for my journey back to London.

It is a good flight though and in 2 hours I am in my suit changing and rushing down to my meeting.

Luckily it's in the restaurant of  "Mondrian Shoreditch" the same hotel My penthouse suit is so I'm good to go.

Henning Markgraf is a household name when it comes to Real Estate in Germany and having him invest in my business will help it immensely.
.
Everything goes on smoothly and we decide to sign all the documents on Monday. I had a feeling that he will come on board the first time we talked and I am not disappointed.

We drink to new partnership and have a few talks until he gets a call and had to join an important meeting on Microsoft Teams. We say our final goodbye and I move to the bar to ask for the bill to be added to my tab when I hear loud whisper and cursing.

I turn to surprisingly see "Noa" fumingly leaving a table.

it's been a while! Hopefully this Long chapter makes up for it!

NB: imagining him speaking swiss german with his family throughout his stay.

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