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Alessandro’s POV

"Welcome, dear," Grandma grinned, as I embraced her in a warm hug.

"You look radiant, ma. The ever gorgeous beauty of Santos Island," I grinned, when we broke the hug.

"Oh, please, dear," She scoffed, but giggled anyway. "It's so nice seeing you again. You know I was thinking; what if I never get to see my Alessandro's children before I pass on?"

“Stop thinking like that, ma.” I chided her, and she just gave me a bored look, as we both headed into the dining room, where my mother was sitting and already plating her own food.

Upon seeing Grandma and I, she darted us a smile before averting her focus back to her food.

You see, Grandma had finished her last dose of chemotherapy a week ago, after undergoing a brain tumor removal surgery a month back.

We had all been scared when her neurologist told us that her tumor could metastasize as cancer into her liver and other vital organs.

Thankfully, that didn't happen and now, she was up and active on both feet, without the aid of a walker.

So Grandma has decided to celebrate her miraculous recovery with an exquisite lunch, which was a combination of various mouthwatering seafood with charcuterie.

"Hi, my love," My mother greeted, as I helped Grandma onto a dining chair.

"Hi," I muttered, before taking my seat while avoiding eye contact with her.

After Catherine left, mother had been elated and over the moon with happiness.

She had always wanted me to marry Laura since I was eighteen because she belonged to a wealthy family unlike Catherine who was an orphan.

Mother had never for once concealed her hatred for her during our marriage and had united with Laura and I to make living unbearable for Catherine.

Once when Catherine had complained to grandma about Laura and I, she had gone to my place, with my permission and had insulted the life out of her.

She never for once saw Catherine as a person but as a nonentity.

Hell, she had even told her that she wasn't worthy enough to carry my kids.

As I thought of the past, I couldn't help but blame myself for the umpteenth time for being the most awful husband ever.

The poor girl hadn't committed a crime by loving me yet I made her feel worthless everyday.

Truthfully, I doubted all the apologies in the world could ever make her forgive me.

After I regained my senses and realized how much of a brute I was, I started seeing mother in another light.

I couldn't bring myself to show her the slightest hint of affection like I used to do in the past.

At least I knew and accepted the fact that I was a horrible person, mother on the other hand didn't.

She was always right.

"How is work?" Mother asked. "By the way, what's up with your line? Everytime I call you, it never goes through."

"It's probably the fault of the service provider," I fibbed, ignoring her former question.

She quickly deduced from my curt tone that I used in responding to her that I wasn't in the mood for chit chatting and stopped bugging me.

I had blocked her from calling or texting any of my lines some years ago, and I didn't see her coming out of my block list in the future.

"Do you like the charcuterie?" Grandma asked, as a maid dished some food into her plate. "I specifically asked the chef to make it for you. It's still your favorite, right?"

"Yes, ma, I really like it," I responded, placing a forkful of the pieces of meat and vegetables into my mouth as I recalled a time in the past when Catherine had made a charcuterie board for me, on my birthday.

It was about two years into our marriage, on my twenty-seventh birthday.

I had come home from work to find a delicious looking charcuterie board and chicken lasagna on the dining table, with Catherine grinning at me as she wished me a happy birthday.

However, I had ignored her and the food and had gone to bed.

I had broken her heart in one of the worst ways ever but she didn't even let out a squeak of complaint.

Instead, she had packed the food into a lunch bag and had placed it in my car the next day.

And like the jerk I was, I had thrown it into a nearby trashcan while she watched, appalled.

"You came alone. Where is Laura?" Mother asked, as the maids cleared the table after we finished eating.

"Bring the cheesecake and truffles that I made last night, dear," Grandma said to a maid, who nodded before leaving.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw mum roll her eyes before sipping her wine.

"You didn't answer me, Alessandro," She said. "Why didn't you bring Laura with you today?"

"Why would he bring a homewrecker to my house?" Grandma spat, glaring at mother who scoffed before muttering something incoherent.

After I divorced Catherine, Grandma had barred me from her house and threatened to file a restraining order against me if I continued to show up.

For almost three years, my grandmother didn't speak to me or even contact me.

She had even told me to my face that for all she cared, I was dead to her.

She had cut ties with me and was about to legally disown me when she got diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Miraculously, she had let me visit her at the hospital and soon, everything went back to normal.

Well, with the exception of Catherine returning.

"What homewrecker?" Mother spat. "If anything, that bit-Catherine came between Alessandro and Laura. They were the perfect couple, ma. Imagine if they had gotten married fresh out of college. Ima-"

"Shut up, Viola," Grandma snapped. "Don't you know how to give up and shut that thing you call a mouth? Why did I even invite you here?"

"I wonder, myself," Mother muttered underneath her breath, but Grandma heard it and shook her head.

"You are shameless and pathetic," She said. "Why do you even hate the poor girl? She has been gone for the last five years yet you are still so bitter for no reason."

"Catherine is nothing but a shameless golddigger of a whore and a useless pretender," Mother spat, and I saw red.

"That's enough, mother," I seethed. "Neither you nor anyone else is allowed to insult her, am I clear?"

Mother seemed appalled. "What?"

On the other hand, grandma darted me a nod as she smiled proudly.

Ignoring her, I muttered. "Let's just eat peacefully like adults, alright?"

"Whatever," She snorted and stood up. "I'm out of here. I can't be with people who hate me."

"Good, and don't ever come back here!" Grandma yelled after her as she stormed out of the dining room.

"I don't intend on coming back either," She yelled back.

"That woman is such a nutcase," Grandma remarked, and I couldn’t help but agree.

+

Later that day when I got home, I took a shower then retired to the study to review some documents.

I had taken the day off to attend Grandma's invitation to lunch.

As usual, the thoughts of Catherine clouded my mind as I worked and before I knew it, I was dialing Marco's number.

"Good afternoon, sir." He greeted, after picking up.

"Afternoon, so have you managed to find anything related to Catherine?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, no, sir," He responded, and I scrubbed my hands over my face.

"Okay, thanks. You can get back to work now," I said, and hung up, with despair blooming in my heart.