A Woman's Empire

LXV

CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE:

Audrielle sat at the outdoor dining table, large black sunglasses covering her eyes as her body tried to fight off the hangover with the help of some aspirin. Leo sat across from her, reading through emails with his opened laptop and a plate of breakfast food in front of them. Suddenly Antonio appeared, his face expression groggy as he strode out with  a cup of coffee in his hands.

"You look like shit." Leo muttered to his younger brother and Audrielle giggled when he received the middle finger.

"How are you feeling Audrielle?" Antonio asked as he took a seat next to her. Audrielle groaned and threw her head back, the headache she had seeming to never disappear.

"Like shit." She said and Leo let out a snicker as he cut into his bacon.

"That's what happens when you two get drunk. You face the consequences in the morning."

Audrielle and Antonio sat opposite of him and scowled at his sarcastic comment as they fell back into silence. The only noise surrounding them were the small waves colliding with the yacht and the seagulls flying through the bright blue sky.

When Leo finished eating his breakfast, he closed his laptop screen and stood up, retreating back to inside. "We're leaving for Vegas at noon. I need to meet with a few business partners that attended last night and then I'll come back and we'll go, okay?"

Audrielle nodded her head and Leo went to place a kiss on her lips but she quickly turned her head, his lips brushing against her cheek instead. Something inside of Leo's chest faltered but instead of showing the hurt, he gulped and tightened his jaw before walking back into the yacht, deciding to leave her alone for the day and focus on business instead.

When Leo had disappeared out of her sight, Audrielle turned her attention to Antonio who sat next to her, sipping away at the refreshing lemon water. Antonio looked like he had drowned. He looked terrible.

"We drank too much last night." Audrielle giggled and Antonio sent her a lopsided grin. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Audrielle's shoulder.

"That expensive champagne and tequila shots were just too good to pass up on." Antonio laughed and Audrielle smiled, reaching for her glass of water. The weather was hot and she wasn't planning on doing much. Just relaxing on the boat and trying to cure her hangover was what she was worried about.

After a few silent minutes, Audrielle gently shrugged Antonio's head off of her shoulder and stood up. "I better ring Camilla and check up on Orlando to see how much trouble he's caused."

"I don't think that kid could cause any trouble. He's an angel and with his adorable face you wouldn't be able to stay mad at him for long."

Audrielle laughed and collected their empty glasses, walking back into the yacht and heading to her bedroom. Grabbing her phone off of the nightstand, she scrolled through her contacts and found Camilla's number. After a few rings, Camilla picked up and the phone beeped to let Audrielle know they were currently in a video chat.

Camilla's face appeared on screen and Audrielle smiled warmly, waving.

"Audrielle! How's Miami? Is my son treating you well?"

"It's amazing. Very lively but the weather's hot. Leo's doing okay, I may have gotten a bit too drunk last night though." Camilla cracked out laughing and Audrielle laughed along.

"We all drink a little more than we should from time to time."

"How's Orlando. Is he staying out of trouble?"

Camilla smiled and then looked away from the camera, walking through the house. "We've just finished dinner and he and Stella are on the couch watching a movie." Camilla said, turning the camera around to show Orlando snuggled up next to Stella. Audrielle smiled warmly at the sight of her son. She missed him. A lot.

"Hey sweetie! How have you been?" Audrielle called out and Camilla walked closer to him.

"Here, Orlando. Mamma's on the phone. Say hi!" Orlando looked surprised and snapped his head around the room but once his gaze locked with the phone, he screamed.

"Mommy! Hi!" Orlando squealed, snatching the phone out of Camilla's hands.

"Hi son. I miss you."

"I miss you too mamma. Where's daddy?" Orlando innocently asked.

"He's busy at the moment, maybe we can video chat all together tomorrow, yeah?" Audrielle replied, tears pricking her eyes and threatening to fall. It was an odd feeling being away from the person she had raised for the past five years by herself. Living a life without him even if it was just a couple of weeks. Those couple of weeks felt like months, maybe even years.

"Oh. That's okay. Aunt Stella and me are watching a dog movie. One of the dogs look like Skip!" Orlando explained and Audrielle laughed, shaking her head in amusement.

"Honey, we say Aunt Stella and I."

"Sorry mamma."

"Thanks okay. Uncle Ant is here with me, I'll go find him."

Audrielle walked outside to see Antonio sitting where she had left him. Holding the phone up, Antonio saw Orlando's face and he grinned.

"Uncle Ant! Hi!"

"Hey kid! How have you been? Causing Grandma any trouble?"

Orlando giggled and shook his head. "You bet ya Uncle Ant. Don't tell mamma but I stay up late."

Antonio chuckled and Audrielle gasped, pretending to be shocked.

"Oh you little rebel."

"Hey! I heard that young man!" Audrielle exclaimed and Orlando burst out giggling. It was like music to Audrielle's ears. The innocence and happiness the kid had.

"I'm joking mamma." Orlando replied, trying to wink at Antonio through the phone but he just squeezed his eyes, blinking.

"I've got to go trouble, here's your mom."

"Bye Uncle Ant!"

Antonio waved goodbye and handed the phone back to Audrielle. She headed back to the bedroom, talking to Orlando about the little things in life. Like how blue the water and sky was in Miami. And how big the boats were. Or the fast red cars that went flying past were.

"Mamma's got to go now honey. I love you." Audrielle mumbled and Orlando sleepily smiled.

"Okay. Goodnight Mamma, I love you too."

"Goodnight sweetie." Audrielle smiled, ending the call and tucking her phone into her pocket. She began to pack her belongings, getting ready for the flight to Vegas when she broke down into a sob. She missed Orlando. She wanted to be a role model for him, someone he admired yet here she was, crying on the floor of a multi million dollar yacht with an evil man as her arranged husband.

Audrielle wanted to promise Orlando a world full of happiness and colour. She wanted him to grow up not caring about the bad guys in alley ways or "potential business partners''. She wanted her son to grow up and have a childhood. A bright and loving one.