Chapter 1. The estate

Sitting in the car, I feel suffocated by how the seat belt wrapped around me. I sat still, quietly looking out the window and watching the trees pass by. By how many trees and greens were around, I could tell we weren't in the city anymore. I was used to the change of constantly different settings. I was very familiar with change. It has happened all my life; I can never stay in one place for too long.

My life was entirely in my father's hands, and he did whatever he felt without acknowledging me and my opinion. Only his opinion matters. He never asks before making decisions regarding me; he just does things without my consent.

Here I was for the 5th time moving again. We moved the first time because of his new job offer, the second time because of his gambling problems, the third time because of his drinking problems, the fourth time, I guess, sadly, because of my mother's death, and the fifth time again his new job offer. I try to support my dad as much as I can. He goes through a lot, and the most I can do is offer emotional support, but sometimes I don't understand him and his way of thinking.

I don't feel sad or had any remorse at my mother dying; honestly, she was a piece of shit; I hated her. She was a selfish, selfless woman. She's the whole reason why my dad got into drinking and all that illegal gambling.

My father was madly in love with my mother; they were high school sweethearts. After graduating, they decided to move out of their parent's place and started living together. After a few years married, then they ended up having me. Yay me. No matter how much my dad loved her, she was a cheater and a liar. She was playing the fuck out of my dad, and he was too blinded by love to notice that. While in a relationship with my dad, she was also out there dating other men and using them for money.

After my dad found out, she argued with him, saying she was just doing it for the money and nothing else; my dad disagreed. Whenever she came home with stacks of cash, I would sit at the staircase and watch them fight. My dad told her he would work extra hard to provide twice the money she was getting from those other guys, but that never really phased her.

I was too young to know about money, but I'm pretty sure we weren't broke; we had a house stacked with food, furniture, and every living necessities. My mom only wanted the money to dress and make herself look good. She was greedy. God, every time I think about her, I just want to throw up.

My dad started gambling after he had gone out to a party and won about $8,000. It was pure luck. Then, after that, thinking he knew the game and was undefeated, he started doing it more, and each time, he lost harder than the last. My dad claims that moving to a new place would be very different this time for us. But... We're moving to a stranger's home. He got a job offer from the company owner of his old job's place.

"Is everything okay, Sie?" (note: this is short for Sierra, you can pronounce it as a sigh, Put them together, Sigh era.)

Oh, now he cares. Does that mean he now wanna know about my feelings? Hah, I doubt it.

"Yes, I'm fine," I answered flatly, dismissing him and staring out the window.

"You're such a good liar that I'm not even sure you're telling the truth or the opposite." I can hear the bitterness in his tone, but I'm gonna ignore it; I don't wanna start any more problems.

"Well, Henry-" I started, but he snapped his angry eyes at me as a warning. My dad and I had lost our connections when I was younger. He's my father, but he's put me through a lot of emotional stress that sometimes I can't even bring myself to call him dad.

I cleared my throat and continued, "I mean, Dad, look, I'm not saying that you're not a good worker or anything, but don't you think it's weird? You were at the bottom, and now Mr. Armsberg gave you this big-ass promotion. Not only that, but it's so far away," I said, throwing both my arms up in defeat.

"It's not far, Sie, and I've had a good relationship with Mr. Armsberg. Don't you remember him and his kids?"

"What makes you think I'll remember things from when I was a little girl? God, I don't even remember what I ate this morning," I said, rolling my eyes, causing him to chuckle.

Mr. Armsberg is an old friend of my dad. To others, It might not seem that suspicious as they'll take it as an old friend helping out his friend and daughter, but to me, it is; not only is the job paying well, but he gave me a full scholarship to one of his colleges, like what?? And to top it off, He's letting me and my dad stay at their estates. I refuse to fucking believe it; there has to be a catch, honestly. Like, where was he this whole time? Then, once I turn 18, he wanna show up out of nowhere, "wanting to help."

It isn't adding up, he's doing all of this, providing for us, helping my dad get back on his feet, and he doesn't want anything in return???, yeah no, there's a catch. There has to be. "It's all in your head," he said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Dad, it's suspicious, but whatever." I decided to once again drop the topic, not wanting to start anything. I did promise to give us a father-daughter chance after all.

I don't remember much about Mr. Armsberg and his son. I wasn't interested in their lives. His son was always the quiet type, so he and I didn't talk much for me to even remember his name, but I do remember his daughter though, Isabel; I've always had a crush on her since I was younger.

The second time my parents moved, we stayed in a countryside area because my dad thought it would be good for him since he was trying to quit gambling. The countryside did him justice, but I guess it wasn't enough for him to overcome his gambling addiction. Isabel and her family had went there to visit because they were gonna buy the land; that's how my dad met them, I guess Mr. Armsberg got to know my dad because he was the one showing him around the town. Isabel and I always stayed behind to play while Mr. Armsberg's son followed his dad around. I don't remember anything about him; honestly, all I knew was that he was quiet and mature.

Isabel and I became very good friends in those few weeks we spent together, but when they moved away, I lost contact with her. She never left my mind. I guess it's because she was my only crush. I wonder how she's doing. I wonder if she'll remember me. She's probably even prettier than our last interaction. I mean of course she is; she's grown now. She's one of the reasons why I'm even moving with my dad. When we make it over there, I'm going to make my move on her. Hopefully, she likes girls too. I'd be sad if she rejected me.

"Sierra, please try to be nice to them; this is a great opportunity for us, okay, and I won't tolerate you ruining anything." He said in a serious tone as we started pulling up to their gates. "Okay, Dad, I won't ruin your life," I said sarcastically, looking at him under my lashes.

"I'm serious. This is the beginning of a new and better life; I know you are mad at me, but just get over it; you're going to a new college, a new house, and meeting new people. What more could you ask for." Alright, enough with the goody talk. "Fine," I responded, looking at the side of his face. "Thank you" He looked at me with a small smile and then back at the road.

We had entered the estate's gate about 5 minutes ago but. We still haven't reached their house—that's how big this place is. The Armsbergs' sure did have money.

After some time, the house finally came into view, and my God, it was beautiful and huge. Is this a mansion or a palace?? I had no words to describe the luxurious estate as my eyes landed on the golden water fountains. Then, I looked ahead to see a bunch of cars aligned perfectly in the big parking garage. There were like thirteen cars parked on display. Okay, maybe I was looking too much into this moving thing; these people were filthy rich. They have money; perhaps he really does just wants to help out an old friend and his only daughter. But, on the other hand, maybe he wants something in return... I don't know.

My dad pulled up to the big parking space and turned the car off before turning his body around to face me. "This is it, Sierra; remember what I said," he said and quickly exited the car without my reply. I followed after him after a few scanning around the vehicle to make sure I had my phone and purse.

As soon as I got out, I heard my dad's voice. "Mr. Armsberg! Hi, how are you," he said in an excited tone.

"Oh please, Henry, you know my name. We've been over this," I looked towards the entrance of the house to see a middle age man walking out down the stairs. He had a bright smile on his face as he approached my dad and pulled him into a side-bro hug.

I must say, for a man his age, Mr. Armsberg is really handsome and well-built. I let my eyes scan his whole face and stature. His jet-black hair shone under the bright sunlight, and the black strands draped over his forehead, casting a slight shadow over the top of his head. "Words can't describe how grateful my daughter and I are to you," my dad said, pulling me closer to him. His smile brightened when he turned his head, and his eyes landed on me. He had a dimple on his left checks, which deepened from the smile. "Ah yes, our little Sierra. My mistake; you're a big girl now," he said, chuckling. I didn't think it was funny, but I let out a small awkward smile to not be rude.

"How are you, my daughter? If I can call you that," he said while pulling me into a hug. Um why is this man calling me daughter?? Yeah, that's a no; he gotta go. "I'm good, Mr. Armsberg."

"You can call me Richard or Dad." I don't like the way this man is talking to me. Why on earth would I call him Dad? I don't even know him. Call me paranoid, but I think he's being a big-time weirdo.

"I'll stick with your name. And please don't call me daughter," I said, but it came out with a bit of sass and went straight over to my father's ears as disrespect. I don't understand why my dad isn't saying anything to this man. I don't even know him to be comfortable like that. Mr. Armsberg chuckled and said, "Let's go." As he turned around to make his way toward the house, my dad grabbed my arm harshly, making my eyes snap to his angry face. "Seriously, you're already starting? He was just joking around," he whisper-yelled in my ear.

"No, he wasn't; that shit was weird. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so rude," I said, gently pulling my arms away from him.

He stares down at me with disappointment written all over his face before releasing my arms from his hold.

As we turned around to follow Mr. Armsberg, I noticed he was looking at us. "A little bit of warning, stone doesn't like people touching what belongs to him," he said, glaring down at my father's hand that had held onto me. First of all, who the hell is Stone? And what did we touch that was his? The ground? I laughed in my head, thinking my joke was funny.

"Yes, yes, of course; come on, Sie." my dad said, walking to the house.

So he's really gonna dismiss what that man just said? Alright, I think I need to stop being the only one who's always thinking rationally.

We followed Mr. Armsberg as he showed us around the estate; he only showed us half of the house because it was way too big for us to explore everything around. He showed us the second floor and my dad's room. Mr. Armsberg stays on the third floor. I was getting confused as we concluded the tour when he showed us the kitchen. I wondered where I would stay; I wanted to stay close to my dad. I'm surprised I'm not sleeping in the same room or next to his room.

I didn't want to say anything to seem ungrateful or "Rude" like my dad had portrayed and warned me about. So I kept my mouth shut and just followed after them. We left the first mansion, and he guided us outside to one of his cars, where he stated that he was taking us to another mansion still in the same estate. Seriously, How rich are these people?

"This land was bought by my family years ago, and it can fit at least 3 houses".

We got in his car, and he drove for about 8 minutes before I noticed another mansion coming into view. My jaw almost dropped from how luxurious and extensive the second mansion was. It was even bigger than the first one.

We got out, and he turned toward me with a smile. "Alright, Sierra, you will be staying in this house on the third floor. My daughter is gonna be in the second. Come, I'll show you to your room," he said, walking inside the house. My dad quickly followed after him and didn't once meet my gaze. Why is he not saying anything about this? Weirdly, I have to be so far away from him.

Maybe only his daughter lives here, so he's trying to make me more comfortable, considering Isabel is also a girl.

I looked around the beautiful house decorated in such an elegant theme, something that I only thought existed in the movies. Considering my low status, I wasn't even able to dream of Luxurious places like these.

"If you don't feel like walking those gigantic stairs, we always have the elevator," he said with a chuckle, guiding us to the elevator. Finally, we made it to the third floor. Honestly, this place looks like it could fit up a whole family of 12. "Alright, Sierra, this is your room," he said, stopping in front of a door but not opening it.

"Am I the only one staying on this floor? ," I said because it seemed like a ghost town up here. My dad's head snapped towards me, and he glared down at me, warning me. I just asked a question, what is his problem?

Mr. Armsberg only looked down at me with a weird look in his eyes, something similar to amusement, but it wasn't; I couldn't exactly pinpoint the look. "Well, do you want to?"

"No, I just wanted to know; it seems quiet," he chuckled and said, "We'll let you settle down," he turned around to walk away, still not answering my question about who else was staying up here.

My dad turned to face me, "I'm not gonna warn you again, Sierra, don't fuck this up with your Brady behavior" What the fuck is happening...

"Dad, seriously? I didn't even do anything" he ignored me and walked out to Mr. Armsberg, who was waiting in the elevator. Before the door could close, Mr. Armsberg looked out with a dark smirk plastered on his face.

What was that all about?