Married To My Ex-Husband’s Rival by Jobet GraySon

Chapter Nineteen

Richard's POV.

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It was around 6:00 p.m. when | arrived at my parent's place. | had already told them that | would be

coming, so | knew that they were most likely expectingwith wild grins on their faces.

| knew that my mother would be especially excited to see me, mostly because | hardly ever visited.

and the reason was that | always wanted to avoid talking about marriage with them.

As soon as | drove into the Romero mansion, | spotted Martin, the family butler, already waiting in

front. | didn’t need to be told that he was waiting for me, and | was pretty sure that my mother had

sent him to escortin. She sometimes forgot that I lived in the house for quite a few years before

moving out, because according to her, | had beca stranger to my own home.

After stepping out of the car, Martin rushed over towith a smile on his face. “Good evening,

Young Master,” he greeted.

“It’s Mr. Romero to you, Martin,” | quickly corrected, hating the fact that he still referred to me

by a title that | had obviously outgrown.

“I apologize, Sir, but it’s going to be a little confusing to refer to both you and your father by the stitle

I'm a little too old to think of a new title for you, so I'd appreciate it if you

tella different way to refer to you,” he requested, and | almost rolled my eyes

stopped myself.

at him, but |

“How about you just callRichard? | have no problem with that,” | responded, “And don’t even think

of arguing with me, Martin. I'm in no mood for your tics.”

“Understood, Mr. Richard,” he said, and | shot him an unimpressed glare before shaking my head and heading

into the house.

On getting in, | realized that nothing about the place had changed, and | almost shuddered in disgust because if

there was one thing | hated the most, it had to be the overly loud aesthetic of the Romero

mansion.

Growing up, my mother had made it her life's mission to turn the mansion into a palace-like place. She used

colors like gold and cream for the painting, and don’t even getstarted on the ancient artifacts that would

make you think that the place was ssort of museum.

Chapter Nineteen

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As soon as | walked past the hallway and the first living room area, | noticed that my parents were already

waiting forby the corridor that led to the dining room.

The moment they saw me, my mother literally ran up towith a wide grin on her face.

“Oh, my baby is here!” she squealed in excitement as she huggedtightly, while my dad stood a few feet

away and simply watched us.

“I've missed you so much, Richie bear, but your father wouldn't letcsee you, and you didn’t seem all

that interested in seeingeither. But that’s out of the way, my dear. What's more important tois how're

you doing. Hope you've been good?” she questioned playfully and | sighed.

“As you can see Mom, I'm doing just great. And even if you might not believe me, I've definitely

missed you and Dad a lot,” | replied, and she scoffed.

“Liar, she accused with an eye roll. “Haven't you been eating, dear? You've gotten so much thinner than |

remember. Have things been rough on you at work?” she asked worriedly.

| shook my head and smiled. “No, Mum. Everything has been just fine. | didn’t lose weight, I've only been

working out,” | replied.

My mom opened her mouth to say something, most probably to reprimand me, but thankfully, my dad

quick to chin with a serious look on his face.

“Can | talk to my son now, or do you still have a thousand and one things to talk to him about

first?” he asked with feigned anger and my mother rolled her eyes.

“Nobody's stopping you,” she hissed before stepping aside.

My father immediately pulledin for a hug, once my mom had stepped out of the way, and | couldn't

help but chuckle at my father’s over-the-top greeting. He was always one for theatrics.

“Dad,” | said, trying to hide my amusement as he pulledinto a bone-crushing hug, “you act like it's been

years since we last saw each other. You do recall that we saw each other just last week, right?”

He releasedand gavea playful shove. “Oh, con, Richard. Seeing each other at work and seeing each

other at hare two different things. You know that.”

| rolled my eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Sure, Dad. Whatever you say. Now, can you both

stop love-bombingand letget straight to dinner? I'm starving”

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Chapter Nineteen

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My mom's smile widened, and she immediately started to leadto the dining area. “It’s a good thing

you're hungry son, because I've spent all day preparing your favorite dishes!”

| followed the enticing aroma into the dining room, my father trailing behind me. The table was

beautifully set, a spread fit for a king. My mother’s cooking was legendary, and she always went out

of her way to pamperwhenever | chome.

It was as if she was trying to do everything she could to keepfrom hating the place | called home

for a few good years.

After a while of digging into the food, Dad would suddenly start to stare at me, his expression.

turning a little too serious for my liking.

“Richard,” my father said, setting his fork down and givinga penetrating look. “Tell us the real

reason you decided to show up out of the blue. You've never been one to just drop by, even during th

holidays.”

My mother let out a sharp hiss, her eyes narrowing as she spoke. “Must Richard always have a reason

to visit us? Can't he just cbecause he wanted to see his parents?”

My father rolled his eyes. “Martha, don’t be so naive. You know Richard better than that. There's

always a reason behind his actions. He's not the type to show up without something on his mind.”

| sighed, realizing that there was no point in trying to pretend with them any longer. My parents had

always seen right through me, and this moment was no exception.

“You're right, Dad, | admitted. “There is a reason | cto visit. And it’s a big one.” | paused,

taking a moment to gather my thoughts before continuing. “I'm engaged, and my girlfriend and | are

getting married in a week.”