The Single Mother

Chapter 24 - Phoenix King : Where's Sienna?

I couldn't recall drinking at my engagement party last night, so why did I awake with pounding headache? Could this headache relate to any of my underlying stress about my foreseeable future?

Planning a wedding seemed stressful; especially when you're a socialite and are required to impress people that you don't even care about or know on a personal level. On another note, pleasing Talla and giving her everything she needs was a priority for me and it appeared that it was taking a lot of physical and mental energy - which was something that I didn't really have since the passing of Nathan. 

Speaking of stress-induced headaches, my phone pinged indicating I received a text message. I groaned just thinking of the type of message my parents had left for me today. I was almost expecting a passive-aggressive message over something I said last night that "negatively impacted" the family name, but was surprised when the notification read that the text was from Alexander.

The text message had multiple typos and didn't make much sense in areas, which meant that Alex had either continued to party on from last night and was still drunk or a massive hangover. It honestly wouldn't have surprised me if it was the latter. Nathan and Alexander were best friends because of how similar their personalities were, and Nathan would have continued to party through the night.

Although he would never admit it, since Nathan's passing, Alexander was becoming more extreme in the party scene. Alexander's drinking habits were that he was hardcore drinking while at parties; he began mixing alcohols to become intoxicated quicker or he began incessant drinking early on in the night. There were certainly times were I was surprised that Alex was up and semi-functioning (with the help of aspirin or ibuprofen) before noon after a wild night.

Alex's text message read: Morning Nix! Awesome party last night, still pinching myself that you're no longer a single man. If Nathan was still here, he'd be proud of you. Do you need a hand cleaning up the house before the fiancée moves in later today?

Alex's text sent a waves of emotions washing over me.

I never thought I was going to settle down. While Nathan was the one who went out partying and was dragged to all the socialite events that my parents attended (where I presume he 'met' Talla and eventually developed an attraction towards her), I was always at home with a babysitter and reading about our business and the common law. In other words, I was trained to be a workaholic from an extremely young age.

However, when I was completely alone at night, I often thought about whether or not Nathan would be proud of me if he were still alive. If what my parents told me was true, Nathan wanted to be the one that Talla called her husband. Considering that my parents would do anything to improve our family and business reputation, and taking into account the Knight's own prestigious name, there was no issues in striking up a engagement for Talla and Nathan... that was until the fatal incident cancelled all of that. 

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"Have your parents told you when the wedding date will be sent?" Alexander asked as he assisted picking up empty alcohol cans and soda bottles.

I shook my head in response. At this point in time, I didn't want to worry about the wedding planning, and instead just wanted to focus on the preparation for Talla and Sienna to move in with me.

I was beginning to get nervous for Talla and Sienna to arrive. Time appeared to be ticking by slowly, and my anticipation was at an all-time high. I hadn't lived with anyone since I'd moved out of my parents' home, nearly five years ago. 

"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind?" Alex queried. "If you're regretting any of your decisions... I would be honoured to take your place."