The following day, a car arrived at the Stewart mansion. A white Escalade as I peeped from the attic windows of my room.

I didn't get a wink of sleep the whole night. My eyelids burned at the lack of moisture but I didn't even care.

"They're here for me." I whisper to myself. Okay, this was really happening.

Emily was not here, this was really happening. I was getting married to him still.

Maybe I should have slept actually, maybe then, I could wake and this would all be a bad dream. I'd have asked one of my siblings to pinch me awake but we weren't that close.

Not a minute after, a knock came, incessantly and loud. "Brianna, it's time to go." That was Ezra. "Dad said to bring you downstairs. Are your bags packed?"

That was my cue, it wasn't a dream, it never was. It was my reality and it was time to face it.

I didn't respond, there was no need to. I was really leaving now.

I moved forward towards my small door frame and yanked it open. "I'm still set, I just need a little help..." He left.

Ezra had always been weird, he was about twenty six now and still lived here with us. Not like he had much of a choice, the whole family lived here. This house didn't live much independence for its habitants.

He was the exact replica of father, same cold grey eyes, thinly sliced lips and dismissive stare. If anything were to happen to father, he would be fit as a replacement. He already worked closely with him as COO at the company.

Letting out a soft sigh, I began dragging my suitcase out, one after the other. I didn't have much, but I suppose if I was moving my whole life, I needed at least three suitcases.

Well, I had four boxes and a duffel bag. They carried my entire life and existence.

After dragging the final bag out of the door, I stopped to take a final look of the place I'd called my home, it wasn't grand or perfect but it was mine. I'd come to love my little basement room.

Closing doors as I closed the final chapter of my life here at the Stewart house, I make my way down the stairs.

Struggling with one box and duffel bag, I trudge my way down. Below the stairs I find an unfamiliar face, a man clad in an all black fitted suit. He looked like he came straight out of a spy movie scene.

"Miss, do you have more luggage to haul down the stairs?, the man asked.

I stared confused, not sure who he was speaking to.

"Me? Are you talking to me?"

He let out a small smile that seemed to make his already small eyes smaller. "Yes, miss. Of course. Now do you have any more luggage?"

"Oh, uhm. Yes.. I do," I stuttered, heat crawling up my neck at the sudden niceties. "There are a couple boxes more up there." I gestured up the stairs.

He nodded and got to it, carrying the boxes in twos, he brought down the rest of my luggage. All I could do was watch awkwardly.

He hauled them all to the vehicle and I was left in the living room of the place I called home.

No one was home to bid me farewell. Not father, not mother. Not any of my other siblings. I knew they didn't care much but this was glaringly obvious.

I let out a deep breath, my nostrils filling with the home smell I'd grown accustomed to. It didn't smell wake or homey, it smelled like a clean, artic igloo. An unmemorable scent.

As I move to head out of the house or the last time, thinking if I'd ever have the chance to return, father walked in.

"Be on your best possible behavior, child." His voice thundered as he stood at the top of the stairs. "You will not soil our good name. Okay?"

My heart thudded, he came. It wasn't for a teary farewell but he came. I guess that was good enough.

"Yes father."

With one last cold glance, he walked away. And I bid my farewell to the only home I'd ever known.

After about an hour, we arrived at the Maserati estate. It was magnificent and expansive. We drove through the automated gateway that led to the most beautiful home I'd ever seen.

I started to blink as I watched through the windows, maybe this really was a dream. It was nowhere near what I expected.

I expected a dungeon like stonewall building that resembled the ones that mother gothel lived. Not this.

When we got to the entrance of the main building and I couldn't keep my mouth closed. Up close, the house was even better. The building sat in the middle of an expansive stretch of land. Easily about five hectares.

I was welcomed at the entrance like royalty immediately I got down. My boxes and bag already being hauled inside.

"Welcome Young miss."

I stare dumbfounded around me. Unable to process what was happening. It was almost like I'd been expected.

My heart lurched in my chest. I wasn't used to this kind of greeting. I didn't even know what to say back.

"Just call me Brianna," I managed to say.

They stare at me in disbelief, yet said nothing.

O..Kay. That went well.

The man from earlier-the one who helped with my boxes and drove me here, whom I now know as Barrett-stepped in to rescue me.

"You may head inside now, miss," he said, gesturing for me to go in.

The inside was even more beautiful than the outside. It strangely felt warm.

So warm that it took me off guard. The lighting was soft, the décor tasteful-nothing overwhelming, nothing trying too hard.

It looked like something I would have chosen myself, if I ever had a place of my own. I was beyond amazed. It all felt so surreal.

I couldn't help but think, This was what Emily ran away from, what I now have and where my reality was now fixed.

And still, as I looked around, there was no sign of Adrian-the man I was supposed to be marrying.

I walked quietly into the living area, my eyes wide as I took in every detail of the strangely contradictory house.

"Mr. Maserati will be here soon," Barrett informed me.

He looked older than I was. Handsome too, I had noticed earlier. He wasn't the glaring type of handsome though, not the one that knocked your heart off or swept you off your feet.

He was the quiet type, the type that slowly caught up to you in a moment of sudden realization. And you wondered how you never saw it, how you never noticed sooner.

I must have been staring at him for long, because he suddenly cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

Oh my God.

I must have looked like a creep.

"Oh. Yes... yes," I finally replied. "I'll be waiting here for his return."

"Good, I shall now take my leave."

I nod as he turned to leave. And now I was left alone in the house, Adrian's house and I'm left to wonder who my soon to be husband is.

All I could hope for was that he won't be a terror. If he was half as handsome as Barrett was, I'd make do.

I sighed as I adjust to sit more comfortably on the sofa. I was beyond exhausted and if I wasn't careful, I'd probably doze off before he even arrived.

But I can't. That would be bad manners, and I'd die before I did anything to embarrass father or the family.

A yawn escapes me, as a lone tear drop from the corner of my right eye.

My eyes closed for a bit before the sound of heavy footsteps pierced through the air.

I jerked upright instantly, sitting stiff and alert.

I better hope there are no cameras here as there are back at home.

The man that appeared before me was gorgeous, in undeniable, unsubtle way. That was my first thought as I peered up at his frame sauntering towards me.

He was loudly handsome, he was the kind that swept you off your feet. The one that made your heart stutter.

The faint scar at the side of his eye did nothing to lessen the intensity of his appeal. If anything, it made him more striking.

His posture was straight and upright with a muscular but lean build.

There was something about his face-rugged yet soft-that seemed to shift with every emotion that touched it.

His ghostly grey eyes locked onto mine, piercing straight through me, a hint of warmth flickering within them as they creased slightly.

The tilt in his lips spreads wider as he drew closer, flashing his perfectly straight teeth at me, "Oh Mi Amor, you're finally here."

I froze the moment he stepped closer. Mi amor? Mi amor?

Was I in the wrong house? Why is he looking at me like a dog looks at a chew toy? Is this Adrian or his alter ego.

My face must depict the look of utter confusion and shock. I could be a mood chart.

My body refused to move, as if the air around me had thickened and pinned me in place. Before I could even make sense of it, he was already in front of me-pulling me into a hug.

It felt...weird. But warm, affectionate and loving. My heart thundered loudly in my chest, mirroring his that thudded for reasons I couldn't understand, I didn't hug him back.

I couldn't.

My arms stayed locked at my sides while my mind scrambled for something-anything-that explained what was happening. My thoughts felt distant, my mind cluttered like clothes in the boxes I brought here.

But I relished in that moment, I'd never been hugged. Not once in my whole life. I'd been orphaned since my last glimpse of consciousness. My adopted parents were...not exactly an affectionate bunch. So I couldn't really explain why his hug felt warm.

This... this isn't right.

He held me like he knew me. Like I belonged here.

Like I was expected.

But I didn't know what I had expected. I didn't know who I had expected to meet-but it wasn't him. Not this warmth. Not this familiarity.

Maybe this was a dream, I was still back at the Stewart home. Dreaming of an alternate universe where Adrian was the perfect man. Except it's not, the warmth in his embrace feels real, very real, same as my beating heart and my swiftly reddening ears.

When he finally pulled back, his hands stayed on my shoulders. His gaze searched my face like he was trying to read something I wasn't giving him.

I could only stare at him in bewilderment.

"Are you okay?" he asked quickly. His eyes wide as he observed my conflicted face, "Why are you so quiet? Were you treated badly? Were you not welcomed here?"

I said nothing.

My eyes dropped on instinct. My head followed after, bowing slightly the way it always did when I didn't know how to exist in a space without being noticed. Silence was safer. Silence didn't get me questioned. I'd never been asked this many questions at once before. Not even when I was in college.

He exhaled, frustrated now. His head tilting, curious.

"Are you angry at me?"

Then his voice softened again, as if he remembered something important.

"Oh-right. I arrived late, didn't I?" he exclaimed. " I got caught up trying to get our wedding bands. See?"

My breath caught faintly.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue ring box. He opened it.

And the world narrowed down to that single point of light.

The ring inside was beautiful, almost too beautiful. A diamond that caught every piece of light in the room. My eyes flickered at the sheer radiance of it.

I just stared at it. It was impossible not to.

It was a silver band encased with diamonds around the it. A stunning heart shaped diamond stone say on the middle like it was made for it. It was absolutely beautiful.

"Do you like it?" he asked. I peered over at him, finally dragging my eyes away from the ring. He looked unsure, boyish in an adorable way, like he needed assurance that he did a good job.

I was marveled, it was absolutely beautiful and I love it. But one thing say lodged in my throat, preventing me from speaking. Was this really meant for me? Or did he do all this expecting to give it to Emily?

Another issue was, why was he so nice and hospitable? I came here thinking I would be thrown into another basement or attic and treated similarly or maybe even worse than I'd been treated back at the house. But this was not expected.

I half expected dungeons, cellars, a gloomy house with even gloomier workers. But I'd been met with the exact opposite, the atmosphere was welcoming -so welcoming that it almost felt like a trap.

I couldn't place this behavior. Was it an elaborate trap to make me comfortable before breaking me? Was I on the set of another family reality show, to show how harmonious the family is? I'd done that one before at the Stewart house.

Regardless, I needed to confirm something first. Who was this? Like really?

I stepped backward, away from his firm hold on my shoulders. I will myself to look him in the eyes. "Who are you?"