Brianna, thinking that her grandfather would find it difficult to control his anger at the decision she had made with Dester to leave his house immediately, and not wanting to face his fury, preferred to wait for Dester in his room. There, she showered and changed her clothes. There was nothing interesting on TV, so she took her father's book out of one of the suitcases and started reading. The story was moving, and at times she cried. Overcome with emotion, she heard a knock on the door. She got up, quickly wiped away her tears and went to answer it. Another employee came to call her. Her fiancé was already waiting for her. Brianna put the book back in her bag and asked the employee to help her downstairs with them.
When he arrived in the lobby, his grandparents were waiting. Her grandmother couldn't hide her tears, and her grandfather was playing strong, when everyone could see that he was struggling not to fall apart. She felt no pity, but hugged him for the last time, and smelled the scent of each one of them to keep in her memory as soon as her grandmother let go of her.
The farewell was brief, and Brianna liked it that way. She only felt safe with her money once they had boarded Dester's jet and it started moving. She planned to stop at a bank in the United States and open an account in his name. She already had every move planned out.
As soon as they arrived in the United States, she asked Dester to stop at the bank that her friends had told her about. He stopped without asking any questions. She then deposited it and left it open that it would be joint with her heir.
She got back into the car after two hours at the bank and Dester was calm, as if she hadn't been gone long. She wondered why he wasn't annoyed by the wait, but kept quiet. She feared he might want something in return.
They traveled for a few hours, and when they arrived in the district, Brianna was impressed. Her grandfather had said that she wouldn't be surprised, as they lived in a similar way, but what she saw was not at all like what she had seen in magazines about the United States. There were children running everywhere, dirty and barefoot, and women in short shorts sitting on the sidewalks. There were also houses made in shapes she had never seen before. It was a cluster of small houses on top of each other, without a trailer, and some with only plastic on the windows. Did Dester live in such a house?
His curiosity came to an end when they arrived at a property with a huge gate and men armed with rifles guarding the entrance. As soon as they saw and recognized the boss, they opened the gates.
They walked for a few minutes and arrived at the house. It wasn't as big as she was used to, but it seemed spacious. She noticed that there was a pond nearby when she looked at the surrounding land, and knew that this was where she would take refuge when she needed to think. She went downstairs and Dester took her hand, leading her to the entrance of the house.
The staff came to welcome him. And unlike in his grandfather's house, they talked as equals, with their boss, and didn't wear uniforms. The women were wearing shorts and tops, and the men just shorts, leaving their chests showing.
Brianna was surprised, but she didn't think it was a bad thing. She liked knowing that she could make friends there. One of the staff took her bags and guided her to her room. She left her alone and said that she would call her for coffee soon.
Brianna realized that the room wasn't as large as her own, nor did it have a bathroom. But it was enough for her. She put her few clothes in the closet and went out to explore the house. She was surprised that it only had one floor. But it was big. She had made a mistake. There were four bedrooms. All painted white, which made her realize that Dester had been waiting for her for some time. Her room was pink, as was the bedspread and the pillows. She couldn't find any room that could be his. And that worried her. Was he thinking of sharing his room with her? The bed was so small... And she didn't want to give herself to him until she found the blue-eyed man.
The employee met her in the corridor, coming out of one of the rooms and smiled.
"We've prepared the coffee. Would you like to come over?"
"Sure." Brianna said, noticing that the woman was brunette, with jambo-colored skin, and had a beautiful, friendly smile.
As they walked, Brianna asked her name.
"I'm Rose. And you?"
"Brianna. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose. Have you been working here long?"
"Since I was thirteen."
"Wow! I guess Dester is older than I thought."
The woman looked at her.
"Why?"
"You must be twenty-six by now, and if you've been working for Dester since you were thirteen..."
"No. I met him when I was still a child. He's thirty-five and I'm forty-five."
"But... He wasn't brought up here, was he?" Brianna asked, surprised that the woman looked so much younger.
"No. But he used to come during the summer vacation."
"Um..."
They reached the place Rose called the dining counter, and saw that the counter was set with various dishes, cookies, cakes, coffee, juice, but there was no one else.
"Where's Dester?"
"He's... He's on his way. Sit down and help yourself. He won't be long." Rose said, and left.
Brianna sat down, but didn't help herself. A bad feeling took hold of her heart. Something she hadn't expected was about to happen and she knew she wouldn't like it. It didn't take long for her thoughts to become well-founded.
Dester entered the dining counter, sat down with her at the table and served himself.
"Did you like the house?
"Yes. It's... Big. But I walked around, and I didn't see your room."
"Yes. You didn't, because I don't stay here. I'm staying in a bigger house further down the road. As you're still only my fiancée, I thought you'd like it if you didn't live under the same roof as me for the time being. Besides..."
"No. I don't like it. If you brought me here so we could get to know each other better, how are we going to do that with you somewhere else?" Brianna interrupted him.
"I come to see you every day. My house is not far from here. But... I must warn you, Brianna, not to get used to this place. This is just a stopover for our final destination."