The Billionaire's Forced Alliance

Chapter Twenty

She was something, Ben admitted, peering at her while she was deep in talks with Faith and Jean. Currently, all of them, except Vivian, were sitting on a huge, flattened, circular table of hardened rosewood table at the private corner of 'Food and Roses'. It was an eccentric restaurant in Austin with great food and authentic decor. Vivian had already informed that he couldn't join them because an important case study and assignment had showed up in his class.

As he looked around, he saw why Richard loved the restaurant. It was built upon a large area, open-spaced and breathable. Each and every set of chairs and tables were made from rosewood, and the scent of mint and rose was looming in the air. There were roses everywhere; various colours, but mostly, pink and red. The ceiling, the flower bouquets at every table, the curtains, the decorative items, everything had a touch of that magical flower on them.

Sarah was sitting just opposite to him, beside Faith and Jean who had taken up their own sweet time in talking. Beside him, he could hear Richard take a huff. "What's the matter?" He asked his dark-haired brother.

Richard looked at him. "Nothing much. Just tensed. So many things are left to be done."

Alex, who had been sitting beside them, patted Hope on her back. "Come on, Richie! We're the Hamiltons! We do everything last minute, and we ace it!"

"Yes, yes, take example of Alex here. He even married Faith last minute, after getting half married to Jean...." Ben blurted out, and then realising how funny it is, he laughed.

Alex coughed. "Now, Ben, don't open my mouth."

"What have I done? I don't do anything, last minute. I'm not a Hamilton, remember?"

"You act like you have no emotions, you're pretty  good with women, yet when the time comes, you show a complete structured character and fulfill your responsibilities to your full potential. Oh, no, you're definitely a Hamilton." Alex shrugged, sipping on his black coffee.

"Oh, my, this is so amazing!" Jean clapped her hands in enthusiasm. "Come on, show it to him!"

Faith smiled, taking out a box from her purse. "Honey, this is for you."

Alex forwarded his palm as his mouth curved up in a smile. "My goodness, baby, is it--" He stopped mid-sentence when he realised it was exactly what he had been thinking.

Ben clicked his tongue, realising way sooner than Alex. "Oh, oh, it's the Bvlgari Aluminium Watch from Chopard. The one you're wanting from weeks?"

Alex just took a good look at it, clearly overwhelmed. "Baby...you shouldn't have--"

Faith reached out and squeezed his arm. "I wanted to. I know you're Alexander Hamilton, and people expect you to revel in luxuries. But--they don't know how hardworking you are, and that, you don't even have time to buy anything for yourself. You always take care of others, so, I saved up....and---yeah, I got this for you."

"Baby, you know how much I love you, right?" Alex squirmed and little Hope wriggled in his arms, giving a cry. "Oh, I love you more than mamma, okay?" He assured the tiny munchkin.

Jean cleared his throat. "I have something to give to Richie Rich, too." She shuffled her handbag and took out a small red box. "You know, I never got you a ring. This is--a small something."

Ben noticed how Richard's stress was instantly converted into a liquid, melting joy. "Oh, wh--what?" He took the box out of her hands and pushed it open. There it was, lying in front of them, a platinum band with small diamonds jutted all over it. "What is this? Oh my god,"

"Don't be a drama queen, Rich." Jean chuckled. "Did you like it?"

"I love it, babe. Thank you so much." He kept the ring inside the box. "I can't wait to wear this! I can't wait to marry you!"