Defender's Heartbeat

Chapter 20

Everyone was getting ready for Pedro's wedding. Enzo, along with Diego, was one of the flower boys. These two were enough to mess up the whole ceremony, but I didn't say a word about that because it wasn't my place to tell, and no one asked for my opinion.

Everyone was busy with so many things. I was glad bodyguards were not responsible for any of the ceremony stuff other than security. I only had to keep an eye on Enzo, which I could happily do for my whole life. Enzo was not thrilled about the wedding. He seemed a bit nervous with all the buzzing.

"Why?" I asked him, noticing his uneasiness. He didn't say anything. Sometimes, he didn't know how to convert his feelings into words.

"Don't worry. All this hustle and bustle with the wedding preparations will only last a few days." I said to comfort Enzo. No one at home paid attention to Enzo during those busy days, as I, his bodyguard, paid for that responsibility. I let him sleep with me for a few nights because, since the kidnapping day, he had been having problems with sleeping. He always got scared from nightmares and cried and screamed from a dream every day. Although I discussed Enzo's nightmares with the family doctor, his medicine only worked for a few hours. When I spoke of Enzo's nightmares with Gerardo, he said the boy was just looking for attention, so he ignored it. I wanted to spend as much time with Enzo as possible while he was little. Enzo would soon grow into an adolescent. Enzo would shortly be a teenager, and as he grew older, he would lose the carefree innocence of childhood. So, I wanted to cherish all the precious moments before he changed.

The wedding day arrived, and the ceremony was quite dull. I kept an eye on Enzo the whole time. Gerardo's relatives were precisely like him, but the people on his wife's side were friendly and normal. Enzo didn't care about any of them. Pedro's wife Elena's relatives were also all right.

Both flower girls were interested in the flower boys, but the boys ignored them. Enzo and Diego were playing all over the place, and I had to follow Enzo wherever he went. The photographer wanted to take some photos of the flower girls kissing the flower boys' cheeks, but Enzo pushed one of the girls away. She fell and started to cry.

"That's not nice, Enzo. You should be kind to others," I whispered to him.

"I don't like her," he said.

"What about the other one? Can you take a photo with her?" I suggested.

"No," he said and ran off to play with Diego.

When the cake-cutting time came, they brought a massive cake, surprising everyone. It was a five-foot-tall masterpiece decorated with icing roses. It was truly gorgeous.

"Wow," I heard Enzo and Diego, sitting beside me, exclaim in unison.

"I want a bite," Enzo said.

"You'll get a bite," I assured him.

Suddenly, Enzo declared, "I want to touch it," and rushed towards the cake.

"Wait," I quickly grabbed him.

"Let me go," He began to writhe like an arrogant toddler.

"No, Boss. You can't touch it," I said as I dragged him outside before he could ruin the cake.

"Let me go," he started to hit me in anger.

"Why do you want to touch it so badly? There's no reason to touch it," I said harshly.

"I want to pluck the flowers and throw them away," He snapped.

"And why is that?" I asked.

"I'm angry," he said, wrapping his arms across his chest.

"Why?" I pressed.

"I don't know," he mumbled.

"Are you jealous because Pedro got a huge cake?" I asked.

"I hate Pedro," He spat.

"But he's your brother," I said.

"He hates me. He's mean. His cake is ugly," Enzo retorted.

He was jealous of Pedro for getting such a large cake. I guessed it was because he never got any attention from anyone other than me. He never had birthday parties, never received gifts or anything. So, he was jealous of Pedro.

"How can we calm you down now?" I asked him. "Will a hug work?" I suggested, smiling.

"No," he said, still angry.

"Let's try, though," I said, my smile persisting.

"No," he repeated, arms still wrapped tightly across his chest.

"Let's try," I insisted, dragging him closer and hugging him while he chuckled. "See, it worked," I said, releasing him.

Suddenly, we heard a commotion from inside, and I quickly stood up to look. The cake was on the floor, destroyed, and everyone was staring at it with open mouths. I saw a bunch of little brats, probably from Gerardo's relatives' side, gathered around the ruined cake. I hugged Enzo once more, thanking God because he wasn't the one who had done that.