Arranged love Episode 10 & 11

10/11
 
ARRANGED LOVE❤️
Episode 10
 
 
“Dinner is done.”
I managed to finish the dinner in a timely manner. Also, I made roasted herb potatoes and some salad with Italian dressing. Angela was helping with plating the food in a family style. Matthew had went off somewhere. As I set the table, I heard the front door open.
“That might be Adrian,” Angela said to me. I gave her a nod and walked over to the front to see that it was Adrian who had walked into the room. My hands were shaking. I hadn’t seen Adrian for a while so I was a bit nervous. I turned at the corner to see him there.
 
He didn’t look like he had been staying in the office for a long time. In fact, he looked re-ady to go to work. His clothes were smooth with no wrinkles. His hair was not in a mess. He had no facial hair showing.
He simply walked away to the stairs without looking at me. My mood went down a bit. I took a de-ep breath and walked back into the kitchen to finish setting the table. I took the bowl of risotto in my hands. “Did he see you?” she asked me.
What should I say?
“Adrian is here. He said that he will be down in a bit,” Matthew said and took the risotto bowl from my hands. “You don’t have to help. You are the guest,” I said to him as I tried to take the bowl from him but, he was taller than me
 
“It’s alright. I’m your brother in law. I’m suppose to help my little sister,” he said to me and walked to the dining table. “That goes for me too,” Angela said as she walked pas-sed me with the salad bowl and the plate of sliced steaks.
I took the plate of roasted potatoes and walked to the dining table. We sat down and waited for Adrian to come to dinner. Matthew walked to the wine shelf. “I should get some water,” I said to them and got up from the table. “I’ll go get them,” Angela offered to me.
“No. I’ll go,” I said to her and walked to the kitchen to get some water for everyone. After getting the waters, I walked to the table to see Adrian who was about to take his seat. He had changed into some more comfortable clothes but, they were still a bit formal like his work clothes.
He turned his head to me. I lowered my head and walked to the table with the tray of waters. Water was placed in front of everyone. “Thank you,” Angela said to me. “Your welcome,” I said to her with a small smile.
 
I placed the tray nearby and took my own seat. Adrian didn’t help. Matthew noticed it and said the prayer. “Thank you for the food,” we said in unison and started to pas-s the food around. After everyone had food on their plate, we started to eat and I could tell that Matthew and Angela was enjoying the food.
“This is amazing,” Matthew said and looked at me with a big smile on his face. “Thank you,” I said to him. “I wish I can cook as good as you,” Angela said and took a bite of the risotto. “What do you think Adrian?” Matthew asked his little brother.
“It’s great,” he said with a smile on his face. I felt my heart swell. He liked my cooking. It was the first time that he was tasting my food. Angela and Matthew gave each other a smile and continued to eat their food happily.
 
Matthew and Adrian talked about business while Angela and I talked about married life. She was telling me how Matthew would be ro-mantic every month. He would plan something ro-mantic for her. I wondered if Adrian would do something like that.
“That reminds me. Where are you two going for your honeymoon?” Angela asked Adrian and I. To be honest, I didn’t know if we were going to go on a honeymoon because Adrian was very busy with his work. Plus, he didn’t seem to like me.
“Great Britain.”
I looked at Adrian. Is he serious?
Matthew didn’t seem to believe him. “Why the Great Britain of all places?” he asked him. “Well, I love the history there. I want to go explore some historical sites and go to a few museums,” Adrian said and then looked at me.
 
Does he want me to pl@yalong or something?
“What about you Vera?” Angela asked me. “Um…” “She had been interested in English history since she was a little girl and wanted to go there. That’s the main reason why I planned for us to go there,” he explained to them. I didn’t know what to think especially at a short notice.
I was surprised that he knew my interest in English history. England was one of the places to go to on my bucket list. I never told him about it. Does he want our marriage to actually work? I was a bit excited. “That’s sounds good. I can’t wait to see pictures,” Angela said to us. Adrian had a smile on his face and continued to eat his dinner.
“So when are you guys going?” Matthew asked us. “In a few days. I alre-ady booked the h0tel and planned the whole two weeks there,” Adrian said and took a sip of his wine. In a few days! I can’t wait!
The rest of the evening was plea-sant.
 
 
Few days later…….
“Did I forget anything?”
Today, we were going to the airport to fly to England. We were going to fly from JFK International Airport to Heathrow International Airport. I never had flown in a plane longer than three hours,
Knock…knock…..
Who could that be? I walked to the door and opened it to reveal Lorenzo. “Are you re-ady Vera?” he asked me. “Yes. I am,” I said to him and proceeded to gr-ab my luggage. “I’ll get that for you,” he said to me and took the luggage off my be-d with no problem.
 
“Follow me,” he told me. I followed him out of my room to the living room where Adrian sat with his l@pt©p open. Looks like he is doing business as usual. As we walked down the stairs, Adrian closed his l@pt©p and stood from the couch.
“Let’s get going. We have business to attend to,” he said to Lorenzo. I was confused. Business? “Yes. Of course sir,” he told him. We walked into the elevator and waited for the elevator to go down. I had many thoughts come to my head.
What did he mean by business? Aren’t we going to our honeymoon?
I looked up at Adrian’s eyes to see that he had the distant look. He was de-ep in thought. I let out a breath and waited for the elevator doors to open. Once the doors opened, we walked to the car that was in the front.
I felt someone’s hand on my back that made me jump. I turned my head a bit to see that it was Adrian next to me. He helped me into the car before he got inside himself. Lorenzo sat in the front with the driver.
 
Once Adrian sat in his seat, he opened his l@pt©p and started to work again. I knew to not bother him with his work or anything. I reached in my bag and started to re-ad one of my new books. The book was a r0m@nç£between a rich man and a poor woman who was arranged to be married.
In a way, it as like me. I was from a poor family in a way. Adrian was from a rich family. Our grandparents had arranged our marriage. We got married without complaints to our grandparents. I wondered if we would have a happy ending like the book.
We got to the airport a bit later than we should have because the traffic was very bad. Adrian helped me out of the car and placed his hand on my back again to guide me throu-gh the terminal. I kept my head down and let him guide me to our plane.
I didn’t want to look at the faces of people around us. Will they know my connection to Adrian? Nob©dy knew my face or anything. The media only knew that Adrian was married but, they haven’t discovered my identity yet.
 
Soon, we got to the gate. The lady at the front gave us a smile. “Hello. Welcome. plea-se let me see your ticket and pas-sport plea-se,” she said to us. The thought popped in my head. My pas-sport! I forgot!}
I was a bit afraid to say anything now. My pas-sport was at home. I never brou-ght my pas-sport anywhere because I never flew out of the country in my life. The only time that I used my pas-sport was at the bank when I opened my bank account.
With a bit of fear, I looked up at Adrian who reached into his brief case for his pas-sport. I felt bad that if I said anything now, we would be late for our honeymoon. Next thing I knew, I saw something in his hands. He had two pas-sports.
“Here is mine and my wife’s pas-sports and tickets,” he said to the lady. How did he get my pas-sport?
The lady gave him a smile and took the pas-sports and tickets gladly. I looked over the counter a bit to see that my pas-sport was br@nd new.
 
My new pas-sport had my new surname. When did he get that made? It takes a couple months to get a new pas-sport. After a few minutes, she gave him the pas-sports and tickets. “Have a good flight,” she told us.
Adrian put the pas-sports away in his brief case and we continued our way to the plane. We were taking the pri-vate jet. Adrian had me go up the stairs to the plane first and followed behind me. Once inside the plane, I recognized the flight attendants.
The female flight attendant had a hvge smile when she saw Adrian who was behind me. The male flight attendant had a hvge smile on his face when he saw me. I got a creepy shiver go up my spine. They bowed to us.
“Welcome back Mr. and Mrs. Minetti,” they said in unison. Shyly, I gave them a smile. They walked over to us and took our jackets. Adrian took his seat and I took mine at the opposite side of the plane. Immediately, he placed his brief case on the seat next to him and started to work on his l@pt©p.
 
Quietly, I took a book out of my bag and started to re-ad. “May I get you anything?” I looked up to see the male flight attendant. “Not right now. Thank you for asking,” I said and turned my attention back to my book.
Ping….
“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Minetti. This is your captain Steven Spizale with first officer Jordan Michael. We will be taking flight momentarily. At this time plea-se put on your seatbelt. Again, we will take flight shortly.”
I placed my book on my l@p and buckled my seatbelt. Once I buckled my belt, I took my book out of my bag and started to re-ad. Soon, I heard the roar of the engines that were turned on. The plane started to make it’s way to the runway.
I looked out of the window to see that we were on the runway. Luckily, nob©dy was in front of us. Soon, the plane drove down the runway to get some lift. Near the middle of the runway, I knew that were weren’t on the ground.
Ping…
The sound indicated that we could take our belts off. I didn’t dare to take mine off. A memory c@m£ to mind. A memory that I never wanted to experience ever again.
Flashback…
 
Age 8….
We were on a flight home from visiting my father’s brother in Seattle. My parents sat with my brother on the midsection of the plane in first clas-s. I sat with a close family friend Margaret in the economy section of the plane at the window seat.
My parents knew her since their childhood. She was my brother’s godmother. She knew of my situation with my parents. She would spend more time with me than my brother. I saw her as a mother figure.
“Ladies and Gentleman this is your flight attendant speaking. We are in our final descent. plea-se put your seats in an upright position. Also, plea-se put your seatbelt on. We are in our final descent. Thank you for flying with us on American Airlines. We hope to many of you flying back home.”
 
“We are almost home Vera,” Margaret told me. “Yay.” I was happy that the plane would land soon. I really wanted to go home and re-ad some books that I had gotten from my friends. “How long?” I asked her.
“About fifteen minutes,” she said to me. I gave her a nod and returned to my attention at the magazine in my hands. In two minutes, I looked out the window to see that there were droplets on the window.
It was sprinkling outside. I didn’t think anything of it. I returned my attention to the magazine.
I didn’t know how long I was re-ading. Next thing I knew…..
BOOM!!!!!!
Everyone started to scream throu-ghout the fuselage. “Get down!” I felt Margaret trying to bend over me so that I wouldn’t get hurt from the bags and other items that were sto-red in the comp@rtments above us.
I could feel that the fuselage was twirling around and next thing I knew, we felt a ha-rd landing. Once everything settled down, Margaret re-moved herself off of me. I looked down to see that my belt had un-buckled itself.
 
“We nee-d to get out,” she told me as she took a handkerchief and cover my nose and mouth. The cabin was filling with smoke. I was in shock to say anything. Everyone in the cabin started to evacuate from the plane from the back in panic. Margaret managed to unbuckle her seatbelt unlike the others who’s seatbelt buckles were jammed.
She got up and got me out of my seat. She guided me out of the plane. I could see that there was a whole on the back of the plane and the cabin was a bit dark. What happen to the tail? “We nee-d to keep moving,” she reminded me.
As we walked throu-gh the opening, I could see that the ends of the wires were sparking. “Keep moving Vera. It’s alright,” I heard Margaret behind me. I closed my eyes and kept moving until the light from the outside blinded my eyes.
“We are out!”
 
Once outside, I took a de-ep breath of fresh we-t air. “Come on. We nee-d to get away from the plane,” Margaret reminded me. We weren’t out of danger. We continued our way off the runway and onto a nearby hill. Luckily, I got away with some scr@p£s on my legs and arms.
I looked at the plane to see that people were sliding down the escape slides. “Where is mom and dad. Where’s David?” Even though that I wasn’t close to them, I was worried about them since I wasn’t with them.
Sirens of the fire trucks filled my ears. People were still evacuating the plane. The smoke was rising in the air. I could see little bits of flame behind the plane from my view. Once the fire trucks were there, the firefighters coordinated everyone.
Still, I didn’t see my parents anywhere. A security officer walked up to us with blankets in his hands. He gave one blanket to Margaret while the other to me. Margaret helped wra-p the blanket around me. I did’ realize how cold I was.
 
“You nee-d to get on the bus that is right at the middle of the runway. It will take you to the terminal where you can find your love ones,” he informed us. “Thank you officer,” Margaret said to him. We walked with many of the people to the bus.
Once at the terminal, we were esc-rted to a room where everyone were getting refreshments and waiting waiting for some news. “Margaret!” We turned our attention to the voice. It was my mother with tears in her eyes.
She ran straight to Margaret and gave her a hvg. “Are you alright?” she asked her. I looked behind my mother to see father and David. They walked up to us. “Yes, I’m fine. Vera is too,” she told them. They didn’t seem concerned about me.
David gave me a small smile and turned his attention back to Margaret.
End of Flashback
 
Episode 11
 
“Ma’am.”
I c@m£ out of my memories and looked up to see the male flight attendant in front of me. “Do you nee-d anything?” he asked me. Do I nee-d something? I looked at my watch to see that I had day dreamed for a few hours.
 
“Um..a glas-s of water with a slice of lemon would be nice,” I told her. He gave me a smile. “Certainly,” he said to me and walked away. Did I really daydreamed that long? I looked over at Adrian who was flir-ting with the female flight attendant.
My heart felt crushed from the sight.
Listen Vera. He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t have feelings for you. You shouldn’t have feelings for him. I let out a quiet de-ep sigh and returned my attention to my book and waited for my water.
In my heart, I felt some hope that he had feelings for me. We were going to our honeymoon after all.
 
“Mr. Minetti. This is your captain speaking. plea-se put your seat in an upright position and buckle up. We are in our final descent. We will be landing at Heathrow International Airport shortly. Thank you for flying with us and hope you again on the way back home.”
The flight was very long. I didn’t get any sleep. To be honest, I didn’t like slee-ping on the plane but, I was exhausted from being awake for over ten hours. I closed my book and packed everything in my bag.
 
Looking out of the window, the runway was in view. Almost there . I sat up in my seat and closed my eyes. As the time went by, I counted down in my head. 5-4-3-2-1. Next thing I knew, I felt the plane j£rk forward a bit. We had landed on the runway safely.
I looked out of the window to see that the plane was slowing down on the runway. It didn’t take too long for the plane to come to a complete st©p at the end of the runway. The plane taxied to a terminal for pri-vate jets.
 
Bing….
The lights for the belts c@m£ on. I un-buckled my belt and got up from my seat. I had to say that my legs nee-ded some stretching but, I knew that I shouldn’t in front of the flight attendants. I might embarras-s Adrian.
Adrian got his brief case and walked near the exit. I made my way next to him while the flight attendants get our jackets. The male flight attendant got my jacket for me. “Here you are ma’am,” he said to me.
I gave him a small nod and took the jacket. I got the jacket on myself even though he was trying to help me. The flight attendant helped Adrian with his jacket. I walked to the exit to feel the cold breeze of England.
Here I am.
Looking below me, I could see that a car was waiting for us. Adrian gave me a little nudge forwards. I walked down the stairs and to the car. The driver opened the door for me and I sli-pped inside with ease.
 
Adrian sat on the other side. Lorenzo sat in the front. Immediately, he took his l@pt©p out of his bag and started to work.
Maybe he wants to get ahead so that we can have time together. The car started to move and drive out of the airport.
“Where to sir?” the driver asked Adrian. “Buckingham Palace,” Adrian told him. I looked out of the window and watched the scenery go by. It was amazing that I was here. London almost reminded me of New York…everyone was busy.
 
In the main streets of London, there were so many people. I wasn’t too surprised about the traffic too. Some streets were way to difficult to get throu-gh. but, the driver managed to get around the traffic very well.
Soon, we were near Buckingham Palace. The building was amazing. The driver parked the car not too far from the palace. Adrian, Lorenzo, and I walked up to the gates. I could see the guards in the front of the doors of the palace.
“Lorenzo, get the c@m£ra re-ady,” Adrian told him. “Yes sir,” Lorenzo said and took the c@m£ra out of his bag. Adrian took my hand and walked in front of the gate entrance. “re-ady,” Lorenzo said to us. Adrian wra-pped his arms around my w@!st and pu-ll-ed me towards him. I could feel the warms and tingles from his hands on my w@!st. It was comforting against the cold weather.
What should I do?
 
Subconsciously, I placed my hands on his che-st and rest my head over his heart. I could feel and hear his heart thump against his che-st. I wonder what he feels for me? I made sure to smile at the c@m£ra.
“1-2-3.”
Cli-ck!
Adrian pu-ll-ed me away from him gently and waited for Lorenzo to show him the c@m£ra. The picture c@m£ out really nice. I could see that Adrian didn’t smile wi-de but, it was enough to show that he was happy.
“Okay. Let’s go,” Adrian said. We walked back to the car and told the driver to take us to the h0tel.
 
Adrian had really spent a lot of money for a h0tel. He ended up getting a suite at a luxury h0tel in all of London. The suite was located on the highest floors of the h0tel and had a great view of the city. Everything inside was t©p quality. I was happy to see that there were two be-ds.
I walked over to the window and opened the curtains to see that view. I could see Buckingham Palace and the London Bridge.
Wow .
“Lorenzo. We nee-d to get going. You know that I hate to be late at a meeting,” Adrian told him. I turned to look at Adrian. “What?” Meeting?
 
Lorenzo gave him a nod. “Of course sir. I’ll get the car re-ady,” he told him and walked out of the room.
Adrian got his briefcase and looked at me. “You really think that we would come here for our honeymoon? You are so delusional,” he told me. I was speechless. All this time, I had thought that he wanted our marriage to work.
He walked to the for and open it a bit. Before he walked out, he looked at me. “My sole purpose is to do business here. Not to spend time with a poor girl like you,” he told me. His eyes were so cold when he said the words. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. My hands shook from the feeling….of rejection.
 
“You can have fun here on your own. Remember, don’t bother me when I’m here and anywhere for that matter,” he said and walked out of the room. He closed the door behind himself without looking at me again.
Once I knew that he was gone, I slid down on the floor and let the tears fall. He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t want things to work . He was right about one thing. I wasn’t a rich girl. I was a poor girl. A girl who was unwanted by her family except her grandparents.
I didn’t know how long I was on the floor but, when I was done crying, I could see that it was alre-ady night. Slowly, I got up from the floor and looked out the window. I took my glas-ses off to get a better look.
The city was filled with lights. On the London bridge, I could see that it was filled with cars.
You know what. I will have some fun on my own.
I wasn’t going to let him get me down on my trip here.
“Starting with dinner.”
 
I got my bag and walked not the bathroom to change into some nice clothes. Since it was cold out, I decided to wear some warm skinny jeans, a white turtle n£¢k sweater and a grey scarf. I made sure to straighten my hair down and wash my face of dried tears.
I applied little make up and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like a different person without my glas-ses. “Should I leave my glas-ses here?” I only wore my glas-ses because I wanted to look smart and not noticed by anyone. “I’ll just wear it. Protect my eyes from the wind.” I wore my black framed glas-ses.
 
Out of the bathroom, I got my white trench coat and brown high heeled books that I had packed. I only packed them because I had thought that I had to look a certain way when Adrian was around other people.
Once I was set, I got the h0tel key from the nightstand and walked out with my purse.
Here I come London
 
One week later……
I was really enjoying myself in London. Everyday, I would spend most of the time at a p@rticular area of the city. Yesterday, I spent the whole day at Westminster Abby. Westminster Abby was place where the coronation took place as well as the wedding of the royals.
 
The food was very interesting. i had some fish and ch!ps, english sandwiches, Sunday roast and other known english foods. Of course, I had some healthy foods like salad while I was here. I had some great tea and snacks. The scones were my absolute favorite. They were flaky and bu-ttery. Victorian cakes were good too.
I took many pictures. When I get home, I wanted to make a scra-p book of my adventure in London.
I hadn’t seen Adrian since he had left me in the suite. He hadn’t called me to see if I was okay. I figured that he had his own suite somewhere in the h0tel or at a different h0tel. Lorenzo hadn’t been around as well. Still, I felt hurt from his words a week ago.
Today, I was planning to go to the Tower of London. I knew a lot of history about the tower. Also, I wanted to try Yorkshire pudding somewhere in the area. I dressed very plainly and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked alright.
 
“I better get going.” I walked out of the suite and got a taxi to the Tower. “Is this your first time here in London ma’am,” the taxi driver asked me. “Yes it is,” I told him. I could see a smile on his face from his rear mirror. “Welcome to London,” he told me. “Thank you.”
Once at the tower, I got out and made my way closer to the building.
Buzz…buzz….
 
Huh?
I took my phone out and looked to see that it was from Adrian. What does he want? It was the first time that he ever called me. I answered the phone. “Hello?” “Where are you?” He sounded a bit irritated. There was no concern in his voice.
“I’m at the Tower of London,” I told him. “Stay right there. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he told me and hung up.
Huh?
 
I didn’t wait too long.
Adrian managed to find me with no problem. Lorenzo was right behind me. I met him halfway. “What are out doing here? I thought that you were in a business meeting,” I told him. I had thought that I wouldn’t see him for the whole trip. Something told me that he wasn’t here for me.
“We nee-d to take more ph0tos so that we can prove that we were on our honeymoon.” Thought so. I gave him a nod. He took my hand and guided me to the tower. Lorenzo followed behind us and took ph0tos.
As we walked throu-gh the tower, I looked around in amazement but, I was a bit scared that I would run into a ghost or something. There were stories about the place being haunted by those who were executed in the courtyard of the place.
 
Occasionally, I stood close to Adrian but, not too close. In my mind, I felt that I couldn’t trust him. In a way, I started to not believe in his words about our commitment in the marriage. But, I was going to try to stay truthful in the marriage even if my happiness suffers.
We spent about an hour walking around and taking ph0tos at various sp©ts. Once outside, Adrian let go of my hand and looked at his watch. “Lets go Lorenzo. We have a meeting in thirty minutes,” he told him. “Yes sir,” Lorenzo said. They walked away from me without a word.
I looked down at my hand. I could still feel him.
He doesn’t want you. Don’t have feelings for him.
I let out a breath and continued my journey in the surrounding area
 
Ring…ring….
I opened my eyes slowly to see that it was still dark outside. On the clock, it said that it was 2:23 am.
Who could be calling right now?
Slowly, I sat up and turned the lights on. When the lamp lit up, I closed my eyes immediately. I let my eyes adjust to the lighting of the room.
 
I got my phone and answered. “Hello?” I answered sleepily. “Is this Valeria Minetti?” I didn’t recognize the voice. “Yes. This is she,” I answered. “This is Dr. Martin Dwight,” I heard. He was my grandparent’s doctor.
“Oh. Hello. I didn’t recognize your voice,” I told him. I ru-bbe-d my eyes. “I’m sorry to have woken you but, I have some …terrible news,” he told me. Terrible news? “What is it?” He got my attention that I was now completely awake.
I heard a sigh on the other side.
“I’m sorry to say but, you grandparents were killed in an accident.”
My mind when blank. I felt the phone sl!pfrom my hand.
 
 
 
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