CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR **BRIANNA**"I lost my job at the restaurant." Cherry dropped a bombshell and I stared at her in surprise, trying to wrap my head around what she said."What did you just say?" I asked, what she said not fully registering in my head."I said that I lost my job at the restaurant." She said with a sad smile playing on her lips."How did that happen? When did that happen?" I asked the two questions that were on my mind."I didn't do anything offensive, I swear. I was just 20 minutes late because my aunt delayed me, I was helping her to do something. And not to talk of the traffic jam I met on the road. Mrs. Williams said something about the owner of the restaurant telling her to fire me the next time I came late to work and I guess today was not my lucky day." She explained sullenly, trying to smile but failing miserably, and my mind went to Mr. Adrian when she mentioned the owner of the restaurant. I wouldn't blame Mrs. Williams for firing her, it's all Mr. Adri
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE **BRIANNA**"It's me, Carlos, the guy that gave you a ride to an estate the other day." The guy said. "Which day was that?" I asked, trying to remember when he gave me a ride."I don't really remember the day but you said that it was your boss that sent you on an errand and the sun was scorching that very day." He explained. I thought back to that day and I remembered. How could I have forgotten so fast? "Oh! Carlos, I'm sorry for not remembering you. Foolish me." I said apologetically."It's fine. There must have been a lot on your mind," He replied, "How have you been doing?" "I've been doing great, thanks for asking. What about you?" I stated then asked."I've been doing well too. Is Adrian still acting like the asshole that he is? Is he sending you on stupid errands? Has he changed?" He asked all at once."Hey, calm down!" I chuckled before replying his questions, "Yes, Mr. Adrian is still being an asshole. No, he is not sending me on Stupids errands.
CHAPTER FORTY SIX **CHERRY** I woke up very early this morning and did all the necessary things that I had to do. I also prepared breakfast before taking my bath. When I was done in the bathroom, I came to my room and put on my panties and bra before wearing a white fitted button-down short sleeve shirt with a black on-the-knee frill peplum skirt. After I was done dressing up, I packed my hair into a ponytail since I didn't have time to style it. Then I did a little makeup of lipgloss, powder and mascara. I went to my shoe rack and slipped on a pair of cutout heels that has been at home for some time now without me using it, well it's time has come. When I was done dressing up, I took out a black handbag from my wardrobe and put in the essential things that I'll be needing for the interview. I also put in my small purse and phone before I walked out of my room. I had eaten breakfast before I went to take my bath so I didn't have any reason to wait behind. I saw my aunt and
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN|ROYAL GATE HIGHSCHOOL||LUNCH TIME||CAFETERIA| *MARIANNA* I walked into the cafeteria with Vanessa, the rest of our friends were already here. We came late because of the chemistry teacher who thought that it would be nice to take some minutes out of lunch break to teach us, it wasn't that nice because all I kept thinking of was the food that will be served at the cafeteria today. We went straight to the counter to get our food before we headed to the table where we sit for lunch break now, the table had become our favorite spot to eat. Vanessa and I took our seats and started gobbling up our food without as much as saying hi to the others that were also present at the table. I felt numerous eyes burning into my head and looked up to see them staring at me."What?!" I asked loudly but it sounded funny because of the food stuffed into my mouth."Slow down with the food or you'll choke." Damien was the first to speak up and that was when I realized
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 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