CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT**MARIANNA**“Tyler is the one behind all of these.” Stanley spoke up and loud gasps rang out throughout the cafeteria. Even I was shocked that he mentioned Tyler’s name.“I’m the one behind this?!” Tyler exclaimed loudly, disbelief evident on his face and his voice too.“Really? Tyler is the one behind this?” Principal Raymond asked as he gestured at the cafeteria that was covered with all sorts of foods. Surely, Tyler have not done this sort of thing before.“Yes Sir, Tyler is the one.” Stanley bobbed his head.“But Sir! This stinky girl here called Marianna was the first person to empty a plate of spaghetti and sauce on me. Have you seen me?” Tyler pointed at his head and clothes.“You’re the one behind this?” Principal Raymond turned his accusing glare towards me and I squirmed as a result of fear. “Erm… huh…” I stuttered, not quite knowing what to say with that scary glare of his that is focused on me.“Answer me with well-formed words!” He barked and I jumpe
CHAPTER FORTY NINE**MARIANNA**"Marianna!""Marianna!" I heard someone's voice penetrate my sleep. I mumbled some inaudible things before I turned my head. I was drifting off to sleep again when the person shook me."Marianna! Wake up!" The person said loudly and I opened my eyes slowly. The person that was trying to wake me up was Tyler."What happened?" I raised my head from the table and rubbed my eyes."You slept off and it's late already. There's nobody left in the school. The students have served their detention and left." He explained."Oh shit!" I sprang up when I heard that. I winced in pain when I felt the effect of how I sprang up in my knee. For a moment there, I forget that my knee was bruised."Why didn't you wake me?" I asked, ignoring the pain in my knee as we walked out of the cafeteria together."You were tired and you seemed to be enjoying your sleep." He uttered."Acting like a gentleman, eh?" I quizzed teasingly."Fuck being a gentleman," He rolled his eyes, "I w
CHAPTER FIFTY**BRIANNA**"Brianna, report to my office right now." Mr. Adrian's voice rang out from the intercom and then it got silent, no greetings, just an order. What was I expecting? I stood up and left my office begrudgingly. I didn't feel like doing anything today. I just want to sit and do nothing but that's not possible since I had to work. I got to Mr. Adrian's office and went inside without bothering to knock."Good morning sir." I greeted grumpily."Good morning, Brianna," he responded coolly, "take a seat." He gestured towards the chairs that are in front of his desk and I sat down on one of them. I hope I am safe this morning with the way he offered me a seat. If he tries to kill me, I'll scream so loud everybody in the building will hear my screams, even though it means losing my voice."Is there something wrong, Sir?" I spoke up when the silence in the room was becoming uncomfortable."I have something to ask from you but let's start with this first." He said before
CHAPTER FIFTY ONE**BRIANNA** After more than a hour of driving on the road, the car finally pulled over in the parking lot of the mall. It was by far the biggest mall I have ever seen, people were trooping in and out of the mall and it made me wonder who the owner was, the person will be so freaking rich."Are you going to get down or you're just going to keep staring at the mall like you haven't seen one in your life?" Mr. Adrian's voice came up and snapped me out of my reverie and I rolled my eyes at his ridiculous statement. He never ceases to get me angry and that makes me want to punch his handsome face or give him a brain-reseting slap."Oh please, like seeing a big mall is a sort of achievement." I said coolly."Seeing one is not an achievement but owning one is." He said with a smug smirk on his face and got down from the car. It clicked in my head at that moment that he was the owner of the mall. Just how many industries are under his name? He has a tech company, automobi
CHAPTER FIFTY TWO**BRIANNA** Apparently, it turned out that Isabella dragged me to a secluded room that was different from the main mall. The room was filled with lots of racks and different varieties of clothes were hung on the racks, ranging from fancy to formal and to casual clothes. And let me add that they were all designer clothes. I was awestricken by the different types of clothes in the room. The amount of clothes here could start up a boutique meant for females only on its own. That's how much the clothes are."So this is where we are going to get you a perfect dress for the gala." Isabella stood in the middle of the room and gestured around with her arms spread wide."I feel like I'm in dress heaven." I said gushingly and she bursted into laughter."You're funny." She giggled and a grin broke out on my face."I'm flattered, you're one of the few people that have ever told me that. Thank you." I uttered with a small smile."Don't sweat it. Now let's start looking for your
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE**BRIANNA**After trying on more than one thousand dresses (I'm just exaggerating, I've only tried on like fifteen dresses) and showing them to Mr. Adrian with him rejecting them because they were either too revealing, too concealing, too long, too short or whatever, I finally came out of the dressing room for the umpteenth time with a scowl on my face. I was even sweating as a result of putting on a dress and stripping right back out of it because he was not satisfied with it, it felt like I was doing a sort of exercise against my wish.The dress that I'm putting on now is a red velvet fishtail dress with thin straps. The upper part is black with sweetheart neckline, pearls adorned the upper part. The dress showed a little bit of cleavage but I was okay with it. The dress came along with lush forearm length black satin gloves that felt good on the skin and a snow-white arctic fur boa shawl scarf.Isabella raked her eyes over my body and nodded with a smile playing
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR**BRIANNA**I explained everything to my mom and Marianna and they were surprised, they were especially shocked at the part where I told them that he asked me to be his date to a gala. I told them that I’ll be his date but excluded the part where he’ll pay me for my services.“Wow, I like your boss. He’s so nice.” Marianna gushed and I rolled my eyes.“He’s not nice, he’s crazy.” I said simply.“Shush, you don’t talk about somebody that did you a favor that way.” Mum scolded and I grumbled underneath my breath. If only they knew how he acts.“He’s the one that dropped you off, right? I heard the sound of a car.” Mom quizzed with curiosity evident in her voice.“Yeah, he’s the one.” I nodded.“I knew it. And you’re telling me that he’s not nice, he’s the perfect definition of a gentleman.” Mom grinned.“Oh mom, if only you know how he really is. I’m the one that has to deal with him every day so I know how he truly behaves.” I uttered, already tired of them praising
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE(NEXT DAY); 3 P.M.**BRIANNA**It is afternoon now; mom and I came back from shopping some minutes ago and we also bought her drugs. Now, we are resting while I was also anticipating the arrival of the makeup artists. I was feeling all jittery as the time Mr. Adrian was going to pick me up drew closer and I couldn’t help but wonder how the gala would be like.I went upstairs to take a shower before coming back downstairs to await the arrival of the artists. I didn’t realize when I slept off on the couch and ventured into a dreamless nap. I woke up to my mum calling me.“Brianna, Brianna!” She called and I opened my eyes, allowing it to slowly adjust to the afternoon sunlight seeping in from the open curtains before proceeding to close my eyes again.“Hmm?” I hummed in askance, rubbing my eyes with hands.“The makeup artists are here.” She said but I couldn’t quite clearly make out what she said because of sleepy haze I was in.“What?” I murmured sleepily.“The makeu
CHAPTER SEVENTY SEVENTWO MONTHS LATER**BRIANNA**Adrian really fulfilled his promise about paying for my mom's treatment. After we came back from our trip to Spain, Adrian got in contact with his personal doctor and my mom was admitted in their hospital. She has been in the hospital for a month and few weeks now and finally got home today."It's good to have you home, mom." I said as I hugged her again. She was looking more healthy and wasn't as skinny as she was before. "It's good to be home." She chuckled as she hugged me back. I missed inhaling her flowery scent."Thanks for everything, Adrian. I couldn't imagine this happening without your help." I said to Adrian who was sitting on the couch and he smiled at me briefly."It's fine, no need for you to thank me." He uttered."Okay! What do y'all want for lunch? Homemade food or should we order?" I asked enthusiastically."We should definitely order." Marianna chipped in excitedly."Pizza and soda, anyone?" I asked."Yes!" Everybo
CHAPTER SEVENTY SIX**BRIANNA**I was woken up by the loud sound of the blender coming from downstairs. It sounded like a machine was in the house or something. I looked around me and noticed that I was laying on the blood and was covered by the duvet. I raised the duvet and saw that I was naked underneath it. It was at that moment, I remembered everything that happened last night. My cheeks flamed hot when I remembered every single details of what happened. How will I face Adrian after what happened last night?A frustrated groan left my mouth.After some minutes, I heard footsteps coming towards my room so I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. I heard him walk into the room and I also heard the clatter of something being dropped on the bedside table. I peeled my eyes open slightly to see what he was doing and I saw him open the curtains, letting the sunlight inside and the room became brighter."I know you're awake." I heard him say, with his back facing me and I flinched slightl
CHAPTER SEVENTY FIVEEVENING; AROUND 7 P.M.**BRIANNA**We were just getting home after a long day of visiting Museo Nacional del Prado. I must admit, that was the best museum I have ever been to in my life. Not like I have been to any museum, but I have a feeling that that would be the best one ever.We saw a lot of paintings by popular artists. Some of them were The Garden of Early Delights, a triptych oil painting by Hieronymus Bosch; we also saw Las Meninas, a painting by Diego Velazquez and we saw the painting "Saturn Devouring His Son" by Francisco Goya. Saturn Devouring His Son was the one that captivated me the most and I didn't even know the reason why.Back to the present time, Adrian and I just stepped into the house with me on his back. He gave me a piggyback ride on our way home because of how tired I was. Now, he was helping me take off my sneakers."You're so sweet." I murmured while playing with his hair as he his sitting on the floor in front of me."I do my best." H
CHAPTER SEVENTY FOUR**BRIANNA**I peeled my eyes open when I suddenly felt the bright rays of sunshine on my face. The first thing my eyes came in contact with was Adrian who had a small smile on his face."Good morning, Sunshine!" He greeted cheerily."Good morning." I replied out, my voice sounding like a frog's that I almost couldn't recognize it. "What time is it?" I asked, attempting to get into a sitting position but I quickly decided against it when a strong wave of headache hit me.I groaned loudly."You probably shouldn't do that. You're hungover." Adrian said, coming to sit beside me with a bottle of water and aspirin in hand."Ugh! How much did I drink last night?" I asked, moaning in pain."Around five shot glasses, I guess you're a lightweight because I wasn't even affected by the drink." He said with a teasing smile."Geez! How did I drink that much?" I exclaimed and took the bottle of water and aspirin from him when he offered them to me.I took the aspirin and gulped
CHAPTER SEVENTY THREETWO DAYS LATER**BRIANNA**After two days of meeting with the investors, Mr. Gomez and his partner finally decided to invest in A.C. Robotics (one of the companies under Adrian's name) and now, Adrian and I are going out to celebrate."Adrian, where exactly are we going?" I asked him for the umpteenth time. This is the question I have been asking him ever since we got into the car and he began driving to God knows where.He sighed exasperatedly at my question."You won't stop asking me this question till I answer you, right?" He grumbled."Nope!" I said, popping the 'p'."Fine, we're going to a club to celebrate our win." He finally answered."Wow, really?" I asked, my eyes lighting up."Yeah, we're going to drink and dance. But nobody is getting drunk, at least not me because I have to drive." He uttered."That's a cool idea." I clapped enthusiastically.Minutes later, Adrian pulled over in front of a building with "The Dinero Lounge" written in neon light. We a
CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO**BRIANNA**"Brianna... Wake up." I felt someone tap me but I snuggled closer to the soft pillow."Five more minutes mom..." I moaned and I heard a deep chuckle that didn't sound like my mother."Wake up, we're running late." I heard again ad the person shook me and I slowly peeled my eyes open. It took a second for me to remember that I wasn't at home and the person that was waking me was not my mom, but Adrian. I also remembered that I was no longer in California but in Madrid, Spain."Good morning, sunshine!" He smiled at me brightly."Good morning!" I said and tried to smile at him, but it came out more like a grimace."Ooh, you're not a morning person." He laughed."I hate mornings." I grumbled."Unfortunately, we have to go. It's almost 11 and the meeting with the investors is by 12. And I know it takes a while for y'all ladies to get dressed." He uttered and I quickly got out of bed."Thanks for waking me up. Let me go take my bath." I said and went towards
CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE**BRIANNA**"We will be landing in a minute!" The booming voice of the pilot woke me up from my nap. I raised my head from Adrian's shoulder and rubbed my eyes so that I could see clearly. Adrian was also asleep so I tapped him and he woke up."The pilot said that the plane will be landing soon." I muttered to him and he nodded."Flight attendants, prepare for landing please. Passengers, sit tight and buckle your seatbelts, we'll be landing now." The pilot announced once more.A few seconds later, I felt the pressure of the jet moving downwards and I gripped the armrest tightly, just like I did when we were about to take off. Turns out, I was still scared of flying.“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to A. C. Private Airport. Local time is 3:26 a.m. and the temperature is warm at 22°C.For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign. This will indicate that we have parked at the gate a
CHAPTER SEVENTY**BRIANNA**I woke up on a bed a few hours later. I looked out the window to see that we were still flying. The flight from California to Spain takes over eleven hours so it's understandable. Everywhere was dark and my stomach growled, reminding me that the last time I ate was in the morning.I strode to the main area of the jet to find Adrian in his laptop. He must be working. Me eyes raked over his body, stopping at the part where his shirt was unbuttoned and I could see his bare chest with curly hair around it.He must have seen me come in or noticed that I was seriously checking him out because he raised his head and our eyes locked. A playful smirk formed on his face."Checking me out, huh?" He asked playfully. "Don't worry, I'm all yours and I ain't going nowhere."He said that with a wink and my face went hot."I wasn't checking you out." I rolled my eyes."Hoe could one look so hot?" I muttered to myself and went to sit beside him."Huh huh, in sure you weren't
CHAPTER SIXTY NINE**BRIANNA**I got another shock when I set my eyes on the jet. The jet was coated in gold! Gold I tell you! I turned to face Adrian in surprise."Is that real gold?" I asked him dumbly and he laughed."Yes, it's real gold. You don't expect to see me having anything to do with fake gold do you?" He chuckled."Wow, you're really more richer than I thought." I breathed in surprise."Don't think too much about it. Let's go." He said as he intertwined his hand with mine and led me up the steps of the jet.I was more amazed when we were inside the jet. From where I was standing, I could see that it had eights seats, each the size of a single seater couch. And they even have tables in front of them. I feel like a villager right now."Close your mouth before a fly finds it way inside. Your jaw is practically on the floor right now." Adrian joked and I snapped my mouth close in embarrassment."Whatever." I grumbled and sauntered over to one of the seats. I planted my butt o