Page 59 of The Switch: A Friends To Lovers Romance

Chapter Seventeen

“Uh, Luke!” Ashanti’s voice warbled to the kitchen. “Can you come out here? Now please!”

Luke slapped the faucet down so the stream of water stopped. He snagged the kitchen towel folded over the oven’s handle and covered his hand in the damp cloth. Ashanti sounded nervous. Who could be at the door?

“I’m coming!” he yelled as she strode into the next room. “What’s so urgent that you…?” Luke stopped short when he saw his grandparents standing in the doorway. “Yeye?”

Victor Zhang, better known as Yeye to his grandchildren, arched an eyebrow at him.

Yeye wore a plaid shirt over a grey T-shirt. His black pants were baggy and his leather shoes were so scuffed they looked seconds away from falling apart.

When Yeye first came to Belize, he was only twenty-two. He did tailoring in a wooden shanty deep in the Belizean ghetto. Years of hard work—and a few loans—allowed him to expand that shop.

Now, Yeye owned several large department stores as well as restaurants and coffee houses. Because of his determination and vision, his children had never known the struggles he experienced as a young man living in poverty.

Despite his vast wealth, Yeye dressed and spoke humbly. He gave generously to charities and was involved in numerous organizations, including a scholarship fund that offered students in his old neighborhood opportunities to go to high school.

Respecting elders was a part of their culture, but even if that were not so, Yeye’s wisdom and wit would have earned Luke’s admiration.

Next, Luke’s eyes fell on his grandmother who waited beside her husband. Nai Nai stood tall and proud despite being a couple inches past five feet. Her hair was devoid of grey and lay in a sophisticated coif over her forehead.

Nai Nai’s dark eyes were lined with wrinkles that deepened whenever she smiled. Which was often. She wore minimal makeup, but the warmth in her soul shone through the golden cadence of her skin and gave her a youthful glow.

If Yeye was the head of the family, Nai Nai was the backbone.

Yeye spent his life building an empire to give his family a better future, and Nai Nai did all she could to keep their family together.

Luke respected her immensely and was honored that she would visit his shabby apartment. Even if he had a feeling this wasn’t a social call.

“Can we come in, Luke?” His grandfather asked hoarsely.

Ashanti backed away from the door until she stood beside him. Her bottom lip was between her teeth and she chewed it like taffy. “Luke… did you invite them?”

“No,” he mumbled to her before lowering his gaze and speaking to his grandfather. “Make yourselves at home.”

Luke heard the patter of footsteps as his grandfather ambled in, followed by his grandmother, three of his uncles, and four of his aunts. His parents were the last to enter, but when he saw them his bewilderment faded.

Mom’s behind this. That means it definitely won’t be good.

His mother avoided Luke’s gaze as she passed, but Yong Chung pierced him and Ashanti with a scathing glare before he found the last available seat in the living room.

“What’s going on?” Ashanti hissed in his ear. “Is randomly visiting relatives a tradition you never shared with me?”

He shook his head.

Fear lingered in Ashanti’s big brown eyes. He’d never seen her so shaken.

“You okay?” he asked.

She leaned over and replied, “I guess this is what you feel like when you’re the only Asian in the room.”

Luke glanced at all his relatives and almost chuckled. “You really think this is the best time to be making jokes?”

Ashanti shrugged.

Luke realized everyone was staring at them and straightened. Silence echoed in the room, mounting the tension he already felt.

His mother had called an emergency Zhang meeting. He didn’t see Uncle Eddie here, which meant she’d gone to great lengths not to inform his one and only ally.

---