Mistakenly Eaten

1. Exiling Nicholas

The thick old fashioned glass, created a loud thud as it hit the glass top of the bar counter. The hand that held it slid over on the table, sliding the glass away at once and folding over, with Nicholas placing his hand over on his arm and slumping down, keeping his eyes closed.

His beard all grown out over his face, quite thick and bushy but still did nothing to hide the sharp of his jawline. Even though his beard was a mess over his face, smiting his cheeks with messy hair scattered all over, but the sharp contours over his cheeks, were still evident. His thin and sharp nose stretched slightly, laying resting over on his arm, that he snuggled over and shifted his face down, disturbed by the voices around him, that made him knit his thick eyebrows over his ocean blue eyes, that laid closed and resting, but yet his long lashes that batted over on the fabric of his blue shirt, added to his beauty. His arms that he had spread over on the bar, were bare up till his elbows, with his cuffs rolled over, flashing his forearms, that consisted of sharp cuts.

His expensive wrist watch that was wrapped around over his left wrist, only was a rift for him, as it annoyed him and his sleep, becoming a nuisance for him, as the large dial annoyed him by touching his forehead over and over again.

Grunting his lifted his head up and removed the watch from his wrist, throwing it over on his side.

The bartender came in towards him, to ask if he needed anything else but paused when he saw how angrily the man smashed his watch on the bar. If he could treat his, that much expensive watch that way, it wasn’t going to be a surprise if the bartender disturbed him and would have his head smashed by Nicholas as well.

Nicholas was definitely intoxicated, as he simply didn’t care that the room was bustling with a loud crowd and the DJ in that stood in the high corner of the room dropped a loud beat, making the people on the dance floor with changing lights and swirling disco spotlights, dance even harder than they already were dancing.

Around the entire dancing crowd, that consisted of people all of ages, from little children to adults to elder, stood another crowd of the same age and taste, watching those who dance with a bright smile on their faces.

Across that crowd, stood Camila, Nicholas’s sister, who held her drink in one hand and grabbed her triplet brother, who was almost an identical twin to Nicholas.

“Hey! Luke”, she called her brother and then pointed towards, at the bar where their brother Nicholas was lying down, with his head perched over the bar and his whiskey glass placed empty in front of him.

“Ugh! God! Still?” asked Lucas, obviously distasted with Nicholas’s choice of sulking over all alone by the bar.

“Yes!” she grunted in what could be almost dubbed as disgust.

She flipped her ginger locks over her shoulder and moved her sleek body in the tight sleeveless gown that she wore, with no one even believing the fact that the woman had that body at the age of thirty six, that also after having three kids.

Her sharp round face still sparked with youth and her skin glowed with love, as her eyes landed on her tall husband, who was the apple of her eyes.

The handsome lad turned his way towards her, walking past the entire crowd that he kept entertained.

His beard turned thick over his jawline and maturity resided over his face, with a very obvious stature of his age being obvious on his face. but his body was still broad and quite bulky, just the way Camila had seen him the very first day she had met him and fallen in love with him.

“Dr. Xavier!” she nodded at him and leaned forward, pulling him for a kiss.

The man in question, smiled, feeling pride in holding his wife in his arms.

“I love it when you call me that.” He whispered in her ear and Luke on the other hand simply grunted in disgust.

“Ugh! I am still here.” He told the two.

Even after a decade of his sister being married with three kids, that he loved with his dear life, Luke still was not able to accept the fact that his sister had a man in her life.

Camila simply rolled her eyes, turning around and c*****g an eyebrow at her brother, expressing it quite evidently that she was judging his audacity.

“You are married with two kids of your own!” she told him and just as the mere mention, made Arya appear next to Lucas.

Her brunette hair were pulled up in a pony tail, letting lose on the other end, where they bunched up like flowers, resting just right above the small of her back.

She hadn’t had her hair cut in a while, since Lucas loved them long and asked her to grow them out. Her hazel eyes still sparkled with love, every time she looked at her husband. Her waist once petite, had slightly bulked up only because she was a mother of two and also not hit the gym or her training arena in a while, where she still practiced free style fighting, since she was a trained fighter. Something that Lucas feared and adored about her at the same time.

“I am sorry, if my husband was being an annoying botherly nuisance, just like he always had been.”

She apologized to Camila, who shrugged at her.

“Honestly, it is better if my brothers annoy me. That is what I am actually afraid of.”

She pointed towards the bar across the ballroom, where Nicholas was all perched down, sulking in sorrow and heartbreak and Arya simply sighed, as Luke placed a hand around her waist and pulled her closer.

“He still hasn’t moved on?” she asked, “It has been six months now!”

“When did you guys last see him?” Xavier stepped ahead and inquired.

“Around a month ago in Spain!” Lucas informed.

“We saw him three weeks ago in New York!”

“He said the same thing to you guys?” Arya chimed in, curious what Nicholas talked about with the brain-working couple.

Camila nodded, “That he will never move on from…”

“Cheryl!” Arya completed her sentence. “Poor guy is too heart broken.” She stated, her voice full of sorrow and dismay for the poor man.

“Honestly! I don’t even get it why is he still so sad about that blond bitch.” Lucas murmured under his breath, earning a smack and a discerning look from his wife.

“Tch!” she clicked her tone in disapproval for his choice of words.

“What? She f*****g left him at the altar! How could you ask me to not to cuss that woman, who hurt my brother so badly.”

“Is it really that you are mad about?” Arya c****d.

“Yeah and not the fact that while everyone was rushing around the venue to look for Cheryl, Henry ended up throwing sauce on your suit and till this date you blame Cheryl for that incident.”

“That suit was tailor made, customized and hand stitched, made out of pure linen extracted from the hair of a rare duck breed found only in Ireland. How could you guys not realize…”

“Hate to interrupt you…” Xavier cut Luke off, in the midst of his rant about how much he loved and adored the suit that was ruined by his nephew, “… but I am honestly really worried about Nicholas.”

“It has been six months. He should show some sort of improvement. Do you think, he sulks more in to depression, whenever he is at a gathering like this. Maybe he is traumatized by gatherings and it’s a trigger for him?”

Camila nodded, “He had been keeping himself busy with his work and dad told me that business has been going great for the past six months. So, I guess he is channeling his anger and energy in his work and the moment he is alone and away from office, he gets depressed maybe.”

“Oh! You don’t even know how he is at work.” Arya cooed, rolling her eyes and took a sip of her bellini.

“What do you mean?” Camila asked, intrigued.

“Well, we are working on a project for hotel supplies together for a new hotel that he is opening in New York and whenever we have meetings, I see the way he acts around office. His staff used to be so happy to have him around but now they are all scared of him. He just yells at people for no reason, picks up new projects every day, works till one or two past midnight and shows up at sharp eight at work. Everyone in the office is just tired of him.”

“Yikes! Even at work, he is making his heart break quite evident.”

Camila said, turning towards Nicholas once again but this time she was surprised to find him not all alone by the bar.

But instead found their cousin, Salvador, who was around Nicholas’s age and his best friend, sitting on the bar stool next to Nicholas.

He was turned towards Nicholas and obviously trying to have a conversation with the guy, who had his eyes closed and his face unbothered by whatever his friend was saying to him.

Salva wore a brown dress shirt, his jet black hair puffed in a sleek style that rested on his head over on one side. His dark grey eyes completed the dark beard he had grown around his chiseled jaw.

He ran his hand through his beard, almost tugging the hair over on his chin, from where his beard was grown out. Annoyed by Nicholas’s irresponsive behavior, Salva decided to give up and simply got up from his seat and walked towards his cousins.

“f**k this s**t!” he told them grabbing the glass of whiskey out of Lucas’s hands and gulped it down in a single go.

“Whoa! Between you and Nick, he is the heart broken one, why are you acting like that?” Arya snickered, earning a glaring look from Salvador, that made her immediately shut up.

“I am honestly tired of him.” He complained. “I mean, I get it maybe he is in pain more than we can imagine and it not easy to get over someone you have loved so much but that b***h left him at the altar and literally stood him up like a f*****g coward and ran away without giving any reason. He tried to contact her and even visited her house so many times but she just vanished without a hint.”

“I offered to have her tracked down.” Lucas added in, showing off his strength, power and ability to hunt down any human being on earth, “You know for me, it is apiece of cake.”

He shrugged, earning a snarling glare from everyone in the room.

“You know, if we want her tracked down, we’d probably ask from someone, who could get her alive or at least in one piece.” Camila stated, making it obvious how his brother did a job most of the times.

“Hey! We guarantee finding a person, terms and conditions are not very specific in our business. Besides, we specialize in illegal trade and money laundering.” He immediately shifted the topic, as soon as his ethics and methods were put in to question.

Arya shook her head, “Guys! I am actually very worried for Nicholas. He can’t stay like this forever.”

“I thought he was using his work to stay distracted and whenever he was away from work, he sulked in sorrow but it only looks like his condition at work is even worse.”

“I just asked him if he wanted to go to Bali and he said no.” Salvador told everyone.

That single piece of information alone made everyone gasp out loud.

“Oh Gosh! This is actually serious.” Xavier informed everyone, “Nick loves Bali, there is no way he could every say no to it.”

“I hate Bali!” Salva exclaimed, “And yet for him, I was willing to use that last card but listening to his response, I think I am about to raise my hands up in my defense. I don’t think there is anything that could help him.”

As the group of five stood, with their heads joined together, discussing the condition of the poor heart broken guy, a loud beep interrupted everybody in the ball room, making people scrunch their noses and hold out their hands over their ears.

A loud tap on the microphone placed over on a stand, up on the stage, that was set up next to the DJs booth, made everyone look in to that particular direction and found the old couple, that was the center of the attention of the entire event.

The party that everyone was enjoying and dancing to, which was a family affair, was thrown in honor of the thirty eight anniversary of Alejandro and Rachel Santiago.

Alejandro Santiago and Rachel Santiago; the perfect couple as one would describe. They still had that love and elegance that every couple wished to have at their age.

People still turned their heads their way and looked at them in complete and utter awe, as they walked with one another, exclaiming the haughtiness and passion right off their body language and they radiated a perfect picture of bliss, that they radiated ever since their days as a young couple and to all of that, they just added more maturity and grace.

Of course their physical appearances had changed, ever since the last time they were discussed as a young couple. Their hair greyed with major streaks of white prominent and eyes wrinkled around the corners. Skin freckled skin and spotted but covered perfectly with certain procedures that they may or may have not gotten done. Because every time someone from the family asked them what was their secret to look so radiant and graceful even after forty years of being together and the would simply shrug and say, it is their love for one another.

A scorn stretched around the lips, with wrinkled skin running down their necks but they still would compete hands off against a twice younger couple yet still win.

Alejandro chimed and spoke up in the mic.

“Thank you everyone for coming today.”

He rose his glass up in the air for a toast and everyone clapped back to rejoice the beautiful moment.

“My wife and I are grateful for such a wonderful family that has loved us endlessly for the past forty years and even showed up today. Although, I know her brothers still hate me…”

He pointed towards the two old men, around Alejandro’s age in the crowd, who also stood next to each other and rose their hands up in the air, agreeing without hesitation with Alejandro’s words.

“Huh! Honestly, I feel a little better now.” Xavier whispered in to Camila’s ears, making her nudge her elbow in to her stomach.

“And I am honestly glad that her father didn’t show up. I don’t hate that old man but he still hates that I scored his daughter.” Alejandro joked, making everyone in the room laugh out loud, including his wife, who stood next to him, with her arm entangled with his.

“And till this date, scoring his daughter is my biggest achievement.” Alejandro smirked, earning a hoot from Luke and Camila, making even Rachel blush hard.

“Honey!” Rachel rubbed her hands across her husband’s chest.

“Hey! Why is my glass f*****g empty?”

A loud yell went across the entire room, making every single person turn towards the bar, where Nicholas slammed his glass on the bar’s crystal counter, complaining to the bartender to fill his glass up.

Anxious that everyone in the room was looking at him and might be offended because of the fuss, the bartender immediately filled up Nicholas’s glass, who gulped down the entire drink in a single moment and once again, slumped his head back on the table.

Every single person, rolled their eyes and turned back towards the stage to give the due attention to the couple, who was supposed to be happy but of course had an adult child to look after and worry about.

At one end, love was being celebrated and by the bar stood their very son, sunken in sadness and gloomy with depression over being heart broken by the woman he deemed to be perfect for him.

Rachel cleared her throat and leaned towards her husband, whispering something to him in the ear.

Alejandro nodded and smile slightly, trying his best to look happy with the decision.

“As many of you know that it has been a decade since I pulled back from work and retired. Giving the reigns of both of my businesses to my sons.”

Lucas felt a slightly tensed as he heard his father’s words. He could tell that whenever his father talked about business on such occasions it only meant that something fuss worthy was about to happen.

“But I have been quite free lately and when I retired, I thought that I would enjoy my time with my wife and live a life full of peace but I think, I have been too much at peace. So, I have decided to go back to work.”

Everyone gasped, shocked at Alejandro’s decision.

When he retired and handed over his businesses, the illegal trading business to Lucas and the legal front clean enterprise business to Nicholas, he seemed like the happiest man on Earth and everyone had thought that he would simply enjoy his time on his own but his decision to go back to work only deemed to be a shocking news to everyone.

“I really hope you guys would welcome me back.”

He stated, getting down from the stage along with his wife and Lucas and Arya immediately rushed towards the couple, with Camila and Xavier following right behind them.

“Dad! I am not letting you get back and in to my work! It is very dangerous.” Lucas immediately refused to let Alejandro meddle with his work. Or what was initially Alejandro’s work but Lucas had definitely changed things in his own way and didn’t want his father to distort or interfere with what he had done with the business.

“Or maybe you just don’t want him to know the mess you have created in the name of expanding business?” Camila cooed at her brother, who turned towards her and tugged a strand of her hair, warning her to stay shut.

Camila winced in pain and attacked Lucas’s ear, taking her petty revenge from him.

“Ouch!” Lucas complained and their respective spouses intervened, moving the two away from one another.

“Will you two just grow up, ever?” Arya complained.

“Oh! You have known this just for four years! Imagine what I have witnesses and tolerated the past ten years.” Xavier scoffed.

“Stop it you two! Not everything is about you guys.” Rachel finally intervened, making everyone look at her with surprise.

“What?” Camila inquired.

“Dad, is not joining back my business?” Lucas chimed in excitement, relived that his business was still under his control and command.

Alejandro sighed in exasperation, “Luke! Do I really look like someone who would give a s**t about work, especially the one you do? I got rid of it when I handed you over and I honestly don’t care how much mess you create. That is your mess now.” He admitted with complete honesty.

“Then, why did you just say that…” Luke rose the question but Alejandro cut him off.

His tone was obviously full of regret and sorrow as he explained the reason behind his announcement.

“Because of that!” Alejandro pointed towards his other son, who was sulking by a corner dipped in alcohol and drowned in complete depression, signifying the very last and extreme stage of misery and despair.

“Nicholas?” inquired Salva.

“Yes! Nicholas!” Rachel urged, grunting in aggression, “Him! We need to do something about him.”

“Thank you! I have been saying that for the past six months.” Salva complained, walking forward to stand next to Rachel.

“Aunt! I have been crying about this for the past six months. Nicholas is not going to get better on his own and that’s why, we need to do something for him.”

“Correct!”

“He wasn’t getting better by staying at work. In fact, all he does is stay at work and all of his employees are tired of him. Everyone at his office and honestly, even us, want him to take a break. All he does is work for eighteen hours and even in the six hours he is not at the office, he probably stays up and thinks about Cheryl and this needs to stop. I thought he would move on, on his own but I don’t see that happening any time soon.” Rachel finally put forth her concern.

“Now that is exactly what I am talking about.” Salva chimed even louder, happy that finally someone in the entire clan was thinking like him.

“And that’s why I have forced Alejandro to go back to work and take care of things, until Nicholas recovers and gets over his depression and finally decides to move on and adapt a healthy environment.”

“Whoa! That is actually very smart. I am very happy that you have decided to do that.” Salva clapped his hands in appreciation.

“And while Alejandro will take care of business, Salva here will take Nicholas to our private estate island in Ibiza.”

“Exactly that is what Salva would do… wait what?”

He turned his neck towards Rachel, who held no remorse or hesitation over on her face.

“What would Salva do?” he asked, referring to his own self in a third person’s perspective totally taken aback by Rachel’s words.

“You would take him to the island and keep him there until he gets better.”

“Why send Nick to the island?” Luke rose the question, slightly skeptical about his parents’ decision.

“Well, staying in the city and working and coming to all the gatherings is definitely not working for him. Maybe, he needs to connect with his own self and do a little self exploration in order to get better.” Rachel suggested.

“Actually that is honestly a very good idea.” Camila chipped in, “I am very impressed that you guys came up with this idea.”

“Your mom did! Don’t count me in! I didn’t want to go back to work.” Alejandro spat bitterly moving away from the crowd.

“Wait! You guys can’t throw me under the bus just like that. You know how much I hate staying on that island. It is stupid and isolated.” Salva complained.

“Oh! It’s nit entirely isolated. There are other people and it is just a ferry ride and a hop away from the town. You will be fine.”

Rachel was about to move away and try her best to get away by making Salva stick out for her plan but Salva chased her down.

“You can’t just ask me to do things like that. Why don’t you go the island? Besides, Nick is your son and your responsibility.”

He smirked, standing firmly in front of Rachel who simply threw a deadly glare at her nephew.

“Oh! Now he is my son and my responsibility but when you guys used to party at our house all the time and when you guys used to bring chicks over to my place, drink my husband’s booze and also party overseas on weekends when you guys were in college, you were not my responsibility. Shall I tell about all of that to your parents?”

She challenged, turning to look towards her brother and his wife, ready to rat Salva out.

Salva also turned in to the direction of his parents, who simply smiled and waved at their son and he gulped hard, knowing very well that if his aunt did rat him out, his parents would skin him alive and he wouldn’t have any place left to hide.

“But I also have work to look after and…”

“Your father hasn’t retired yet. He will take care of everything. Besides you go to office only once in two weeks. So, don’t play that card with me.” Rachel emphasized, making Salva groan in agitation, that she knew way too much.

“You are practically blackmailing him.” He complained.

“I did the same thing with my husband to make him go back to work. So, you can’t make me feel guilty about doing the same to you. Consider it is a p*****t of the debt of partying at my place for years.” She smirked, tapping on his shoulder, “Besides, you are also Nick’s best friend, so now it is your responsibility to help him recover and move out of his depression. Make him forget about that b***h who left my son at the Altar because of whom he had been in such a situation for the past six months. Enough with Cheryl, Nicholas needs to live on his own now. Ok?”

She stated, moving away from Salva who was left with nothing but to give in to Rachel’s demands.

He sighed in aggression, turning to look towards Nicholas who was drunk sliding down from the counter bar and finally landed on the ground, unconscious and unaware of his condition.

This only made Salva cry on the inside.

It was going to be one hell of a challenge for him to pull Nicholas out of that condition but he had to do that now, or else Rachel could have him killed.

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Well, are you guys intrigued to find out what would happen next? :D

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