FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM - HER FIRST LOVE

"We're going to New York this weekend," Christopher announced, and the members of the royal family assembled in the dining hall gawked at him in surprise. It was more of a shock than a surprise for them. The King grinned at their confused faces. He demanded Alastair clear his schedule so that he could join them on this short family vacation.

"This family holiday is necessary for all of us. We all are so busy with our work we hardly spend time with family. I'm sure the children will be delighted if we could enjoy our time together," Christopher said, winking at his granddaughters. Gisela and Helena high-fived each other in celebration, grinning from ear to ear.

"A change of place and new atmosphere will keep everyone happy and active," Christopher reasoned when Alastair complained about the sudden plans. He had important meetings, and he never approved of someone interfering with his work, forcing him to change his decisions. It irked him that he had to alter his schedule.

"You work too hard, my son.. Take a break for a few days and relax. Gretta deserves your time too," he advised, and Alastair had no choice but to give in to his father's polite request. Forcing a smile, he accepted his father's proposal. Grinning in satisfaction, Christopher sipped his coffee.

He noticed the happy faces of the women at the breakfast table. Gretta and Myra were whispering their plans about shopping while his granddaughters were busy, orally mapping out their entire schedule, where they would go and what they would do during their stay in the city of New York.

The King usually wouldn't appreciate the noise while eating food, but after seeing the excitement on their happy faces, he decided to allow them to have their fun for once. Christopher felt the warmth spreading inside when his wife Catherine smiled at him in appreciation. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles in return.

Catherine hardly showed any warm feelings towards her husband these days. She was disappointed and tired of witnessing his cruel ways of dealing with life. She never forgave him for what he did to her eldest son Alastair. But Christopher would never regret his decisions. He had to do it to protect his son from that gold digger.

'Mariana could never hold the candle to Gretta.'

Christopher had to do whatever it took to protect his family's reputation. How could he regret when Gretta suited his son and his royal family so perfectly? He was proud of the choice he made for his beloved son.

The sound of the knife and fork clinking violently against the crystal plates brought him out of his short reverie. The King didn't miss the sour expression looming over his sons' faces. It was unusual for them to make such disturbing noises on the breakfast table. They both were fighting against the food, pouring their frustration and anger out on it.

Christopher eyed the delicious healthy food on their plates, toasted olive bread with good Greek cheese, scrambled eggs, and freshly sliced seasonal fruits. Both Alastair and Johnathan were scowling at the food while stabbing the fork against it.

Johnathan was worried about his life. Alexander would kill him in a heartbeat the moment he set his foot in New York. Why would Johnathan dig his own grave by landing himself at Alexander's home?

'Did you forget your deal with Alexander, father?'

Johnathan wondered why his father wanted him to break their agreement with the devil. The validity of his extended lifeline would expire the moment he crossed paths with the mafia lord.

Meanwhile, Alastair tried to understand what could be his father's motive behind this sudden plan. He knew the bastard enough to know it couldn't just be a family vacation as he wanted them to believe. After all, why would Christopher Castellanos let Alastair visit Alexander's home?

Though Alexander had his business set almost all over the world, he chose New York to be the base, and Christopher was aware of it. It didn't make sense to Alastair that his father suddenly arranged this unexpected vacation where he had the chance of coming face to face with his biggest enemy.

Alastair never set foot in Italy and the USA. He had kept his promise to his father that he would never meet Alexander again in his life. He had cut all ties with all of his best friends.

Alastair declined every business proposal he received from these two countries to avoid the consequences of meeting his best friend.

'Alexander would never trust me again.'

Alastair thought with a bitter smile. He knew his best friend would never forgive him for betraying.

'I let him down after all.'

Swallowing the half-chewed piece of bread, he washed it down with water. With his usual excuse of getting late for work, he left the dining hall.

Christopher bit back the smile. He was aware of what his sons were thinking. He was no fool to put their lives in danger deliberately. Alexander would be too busy either fighting or reuniting with Alastair to even think about harming Johnathan. No matter what, he would never hurt his best friend by killing his brother in front of him.

Taking another sip of his coffee, Christopher looked at his favourite granddaughter Gisela. She seemed too excited to visit New York City, and her grandfather shared the same emotions. He couldn't wait to meet Alexander's son in person.

When Christopher heard the name Ace Hunter for the first time from detective Nicos, he still had a little doubt lurking in the back of his head if the boy was really Alexander's son or not. Anyone could have that last name, and Christopher didn't remember how the boy looked when he met him years ago. But he definitely remembered the boy's name, and it wasn't Ace for sure.

The boy didn't look like his father, except for the smile. It seemed Alexander took after his father's rigid features while his son inherited both his maternal and paternal grandparents' looks. The King had laughed at that information when Alastair shared it.

'That little devil was surely special.'

After learning his real name, he got the stamp of approval which confirmed the boy's identity as Alexander's son. Christopher had immediately dialled his assistant's number yesterday, not caring that it was almost midnight and ordered him to make arrangements for his family to fly to New York City.

The first thing he heard in the morning from his assistant was that everything was ready and they could fly this weekend.

It would be worth seeing the expression on Alexander's face when he suddenly encounters Alastair after all these years.

'How wonderful it would be to catch him off-guard!'

In New York City,

Alexander double-checked the messages and all the details Mathew had sent him this morning. He had reported that everything was in order in Italy, and his parents were out of harm's way. Baresis couldn't dare enough to touch Francesco Carlo. Mathew would stay the night and would proceed to California the next day. 

The Baresi family never contacted Johnathan again, and there was nothing new or suspicious about Johnathan's activity. 

However, there was a regular transaction of money through the prince's bank account. As per Mathew's information, the prince deposited a large sum of money into his mistress' bank account again. As usual, she had withdrawn half of the money from it only to make donations to charity institutions. 

Alexander knew he would find the clue only through these money transactions. Unfortunately, it led him nowhere to this date. The charity institutions had no traces of Hera, nor did the staff working there knew anything about her. Alexander's men kept digging, but all these NGOs appeared to be clean.