Chapter 1969 - Emma's Baby Shower (9)

Ever since Gabriel moved into Becca's apartment, Becca was trying to find a way to tell Ben that she and Gabriel are in a serious relationship, but she couldn't find the right words, so she ended up almost avoiding him. Like right now.

"Oli, you need to behave, or we will not bring you to parties anymore.", Penny said sternly to Oliver who didn't show any intention of leaving Gabriel's lap. Penny gestured in the direction where they had a soft-play area and games set up for children. "Go and say 'hi' to other kids. You can play with Gabriel some other time."

Gabriel noticed that Oliver was not willing, and he patted his head. "How about tomorrow I take you out? You can see another big house with a nice playroom, and Denise will be there. Becca will join as well."

Becca nodded in agreement, knowing that Gabriel was talking about the Long mansion.

"Tomorrow. Promise?", Oliver extended his pinky finger to Gabriel.

Gabriel glanced at Penny and Ben. "If your mom and dad approve." He saw that Penny smiled in agreement and he hooked his pinky finger with Oliver's.

After they hooked pinkies in a promise, Oliver reluctantly scooted off Gabriel's lap and went to the area that was reserved for kids.

"Sorry, Gabriel. He can be a handful.", Penny apologized while taking her seat at the table next to Becca.

"He is a great boy. I hope that my kids will be smart and considerate like him."

Penny smiled slyly and nudged Becca with her elbow. "Those traits are from the Casano family's gene pool, so…"

Penny stopped talking when she heard Ben snorting in disapproval. She rolled her eyes internally and didn't want to comment because there were others around. But if it were just her and Ben, she would ask him, what's with the grumpy face? Didn't Gabriel come to meet Ben two days ago and ask for Becca's hand in marriage? Of course, Ben was shocked and outraged but touched at the same time, and he said that as long as Gabriel treats Becca well, and Becca was willing, he will not meddle. No matter how protective Ben is of Becca, her bright smile is telling him that his baby girl is happy with Gabriel. Also, Penny told Ben that if he dares to ruin this for Becca by meddling in her relationship, Penny will not forgive him. Ben agreed not to say anything, but it seems that snorts and grumpy faces are excluded from that deal.

Based on the lack of ring on Becca's finger, Penny assumed that Gabriel still didn't pop the question, so Penny told herself to act like she does not know anything because she does not want to spoil the surprise for Becca. And based on the way Gabriel is looking at Becca, Penny is confident that he will do a great job in making his proposal memorable.

Sean and Ryan stepped onto the terrace that is facing the garden and stirred commotion between girls of the younger generation. Most of them are aware that Ronin twins are Emma's brothers, and that Emma's background is not much (aka a nurse who ended up marrying Charles Smith), but there is something about Sean's and Ryan's cocky attitudes that makes them look like handsome rebels and girls can't help but ogle at them while secretly wishing for those rebels to corrupt them.

The Ronin twins started training with Allen and Julius three years ago, and they were not slacking. That contributed to them developing an outstanding physique that females (and some males) can't ignore.

Sean and Ryan glanced over the crowd with their matching lopsided smirks before making their way toward the group where Allen and Julius were. The fact that they ignored numerous gazes directed their way, only made them more mysterious in the eyes of the ladies.

As much as the Ronin twins enjoy the company of ladies, they keep their romantic conquests away from Emma's eyes (she is the only one who scolds them).

Angelo and Donnie don't meddle in the private lives of their children, each for their own reasons. Angelo feels that he has no right to intervene, considering that he missed nearly two decades of their lives, and their mother feels guilty for keeping Angelo's existence a secret for that same duration. At that time, Donnie was confident that she was doing the right thing, but now that she sees her kids interacting with Angelo without a hitch, she wonders if things would turn differently if Angelo was involved in their lives as their kids grew up. She can't change the past, but the worm of doubt grew inside her and she decided to step away and let her kids make their own decisions.

Mike cares about Sean and Ryan, but unless they are doing something reckless, he will let them be and charming girls for some quick fun is not considered reckless, in Mike's opinion.

That leaves Ronin brothers with only Emma who will point out their bad behavior. Well, Mike is with Tiffany (married), so Emma leaves Mike to his wife, but Emma frequently calls Sean and Ryan for a talk about their behavior. It used to work, but Emma feels that Sean and Ryan are slipping and that she can't reach them anymore. She would be blind not to notice that her brothers are agreeing with her robotically and that they can't wait for her to finish talking. That is why she asked Sarah if her brothers can join them for the outing at the White Rock Lake, but other than that, Emma got some other ideas as well.

In the study…

Charlie listened to Emma's ideas and to say that he was surprised and concerned would be an understatement.

"Are you sure about this?", Charlie asked Emma.

"No.", Emma responded bluntly. "But I think that there is potential. That is why I'm talking to you. I will need your help and your guidance."

"You are assuming that Sean and Ryan will agree to this."

"I will prefer that they cooperate, however, this is not up to them. Everyone knows that I am the next in line to take over Nero Armi. If they don't step down willingly, I will make them." Emma's eyes flashed in determination. 

After her talk with the Hill sisters, Emma realized that she was pushing away responsibilities but instead of disappearing, all that burden ended up on the shoulders of her brothers. She gathered her resolve to open her eyes and face the challenges head-on, with help from Charlie.

Emma saw that Charlie's shoulders relaxed a bit, which meant that he is considering it, so she decided to add a few more arguments in her favor.

"I am confident that the majority of Angelo's people will support me. They believe that the firstborn should inherit Angelo's position, and that is why even after all this time, Sean and Ryan didn't take over the organization fully. Angelo is officially acting as their mentor but we all know that he is ensuring that the troops are obedient. Once I show up, the only way for Sean and Ryan to take Capo position from me is if they prove me as incompetent or... if they eliminate me.", Emma ended in a small voice. She believes that her brothers will not do anything drastic, but even only saying those words was difficult.

Charlie puffed his cheeks while exhaling. He saw so many problems with Emma's plan that go beyond her being pregnant. The last thing he wanted to see was Emma engaging her brothers in a power struggle. He wondered, what happened that Emma found this unexpected motivation? Three years ago, Angelo approached Emma, and she refused him flatly. Since then, Angelo would bring up the point of Emma being the rightful heir, but Emma either ignored him or asked him to stop talking about it. This is not a game where she can change her mind whenever she feels like it. It is a big step and Charlie is more than willing to support her, but he wants to make sure that Emma is doing it for the right reasons. He knows that she wants to spare her brothers from the burden of responsibilities that should be hers, but what if she is decided on this step only because she is hormonal?

Before Charlie could voice his thoughts, Emma spoke again.

"Please, Charlie, just give it a chance. I'm not saying that this will work but I want to try. The first step is for me to get into Nero Armi and see how it works. Next, we will consider the possibility of Nero Armi cooperating with Smiths. Both are involved in arms deals and if we find a way to merge two organizations, it will be huge. Once merge happens, the two of us will decide the details related to how things will operate going forward, but the certain thing is that both Smiths and Nero Armi have a large network of contacts, and with Smiths as producers and Nero Armi as distributors, we can control a big portion of the market."

"You are forgetting that murky deals with arms from the Smith side are in Jarred's hands."

"I didn't forget that.", Emma responded right away. "But I also know that Jarred didn't hand it over to you only because you never showed interest in it."

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