LEGACY AND LOVE

ChapterThree

"It's time, and you look super amazing to," Emma said as we stood in front of the mirror in my room. I didn't know what to say; I was extremely nervous and scared. "Am I ready for this, Emma?" I asked.

"You're the first of the Grandes too, so don't let anyone, not even the first of the Reeds, put you off. You've faced more people internationally than this, so address them with a queen's aura," Emma said.

She continued, clearing her throat, "Let's make welcome, the first of the Grandes, bold as ever, crowned with intellect, the face of Grande, the CEO, Queen Alexandra..." Emma said, clapping while we smiled together. We hugged ourselves and headed downstairs to see King and Queen Grande, and we were just in time.

"Williams, is the car ready?" Dad asked Williams, who was standing by our family portrait. "Yes, sir," Williams replied, looking at me and smiling as he said, "You look gorgeous, Miss Grande. You'd win the woman of the night."

I smiled, and my parents did too. Mum and Dad hugged Emma, and I did as well. She walked us to the car and waved at us as we moved. I watched how Mum was cuddled with Dad, and I smiled at their love story, which gets intriguing as the day goes by. I wondered how my own love story would start and the kind of people I would meet there, except for Ethan, of course, who I already know, and the witch, Michelle. Somehow I could meet a man, and gosh I wasn’t getting younger… Immediately, I got snapped out of my thoughts by Williams' words, "We've arrived at the Centurion Camp, Sir Grande."

The guards alighted from the parade vehicles to do what has always been done for the Grandes. The door of the car opened, and my feet dropped on the red carpet like magic. Shoes were fitted, and I walked like I was prepared for the night all my life, side by side with my parents. Different cinematographers shone their lights, and though I've attended dinners, this ignited a different feeling, like I'm the spotlight.

"Hola," couldn't get out of our lips till we finally got in and met a light-skinned man with well-trimmed beards, in a tailored suit, standing close to a box where all invites are dropped. Approaching him with elegance, my parents handed over their invites to him, and I did the same. We were ushered in by one of the guards while Williams stayed at the door. The guard was leading us to our reserved seats when my parents got stopped by Ethan's father, the CEO of the Derlins group.

"Mr. Derlins, so good to see you," my dad said. "It's always a pleasure to see your family," Mr. Donald Derlins said, smiling as he turned to me, "You're welcome, Miss Grande." "Thank you, Mr. Donald," I responded, still wearing a smile.

Immediately, Mum chipped in a question, "Where's Ethan?"

"Over here, Queen Grande," Ethan said, showing up from behind, grabbing Mum's hand, and giving her a peck on the hand. "Oh, my handsome Ethan, I would want you as a son if I had my way," Mum said.

Ethan smiled handsomely as he said, "You look stunning as always, and I know where Alexandra got her beauty." Immediately, our eyes met, and I smiled awkwardly, and said, "Hi, Ethan."

"The woman of the night, hello, mademoiselle," Ethan said. Both families stared at us, smiling, and suddenly Mr. Donald cleared his throat, and said, "Why don't we leave the young folks to have a moment?" They all whispered to themselves as they left Ethan and I.

"There they go again," I said, rolling my eyes, as Ethan laughed. "What's funny?" I asked, almost getting upset.

"Hey, chill, ma'am. They're just teasing... and I don't like you for the records, but I'm going to propose to you someday," he jokingly said.

"In your dreams, Ethy," I said, not minding it was a joke.

"Why didn't Emma come? You guys go almost everywhere together, except your office, though," Ethan asked.

"Dad said it isn't time yet for her to be in this gathering, and I absolutely think so too, cos I met a crazy Reed on my last shopping, and Emma almost got bullied," I said.

Ethan turned his face sideways and said, "The Reeds, huh? They never change."

I stared, lost in thought, as I said, "How do you get to know about the ways of the Reeds, and I don't, and you're just a year older than I am?"

Ethan smiled and said, "I'm the first son of the Derlins. We are privileged to deep secrets from age 10... and for the records, it's a year and three months." Immediately I scoffed. I'm Aries, while Ethan is Cancer.

We looked around to admire the aesthetics, and it was impeccable. Then I caught sight of the badge on the wine card on the table.

"Hey, Ethan, remember that Peak contract that comes once in six years?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do. The Reeds won the last one," Ethan replied.

"Ohhh, that makes the badge here... well, the contract reopens soon, and I'm looking forward to it. Dad would be so happy if we get it," I said.

"Really? How soon?" he exclaimed, continuing, "It's a battleground for the four groups- The Reeds, Grandes, Derlins, and Leonas. It's always been secured by the Reeds since the 4th edition, and this upcoming edition is the 10th edition. You think we stand a chance?"

I scoffed, continuing, "It's possible. You can do it for the Derlins. It's a fair competition, isn't it? We will contest and see how it goes."

Ethan stared at me, smiling, and out of the blue said, "You're extremely beautiful today." I couldn't help but get irritated at his off-the-cuff compliment, so I waved it off and walked away to grab a drink.

I headed to a table filled with glasses of wine, so I picked up a glass of wine, sipping gently as I heard a voice behind me: "That's my favorite wine." The voice said.

I turned to see who was behind me and saw a breathtaking man in a nice black suit with a white shirt, three buttons open, revealing his chest. My eyes narrowed to his eyes, and as he blinked, smiling, with his hand carefully caressing his hair, my heart sank for the first time in a long while, and my world stopped for a while.

But it was reawakened by his voice, as charming as his face, with his hand reaching out for a handshake: "I'm Fred Reeds, and you are?"

I was still startled but managed to mutter words more eloquently: "Alexandra Grande."

He smiled and said, "Nice to meet you." Immediately, I put my acts together and showed courtesy as I replied, "Pleasure is mine."

"Looks like you're my favorite person for tonight, 'cause you have my favorite drink," he said.

"So, everyone gets to be that for having your favorite drink?" I managed to say.

"Not certainly, just the beautiful ones," he replied, and we laughed.

Took a deep breath as he said, “I never get enough of this place anytime I visit. From the lakes, pool side, beach side, ball room…” “A ball room? What for?” I asked. “For lovers dance I guess” he said and we laughed

"May I show you around, Miss Grande?" Fred asked.

"That would be nice," I said, smiling.

This one seems different, I said in my head smiling. “What do you do, apart from the Grandes fortune?” Fred asked. I was intrigued ‘cause no one has ever asked me that in the 23 years of my life. Everyone feels there’s no life away from my family’s fortune. “This is quite a rare question, and most persons often ride on my dad for letting me pursue my career outside my family’s fortune” I said. “Truthfully it’s odd” he replied. As we walked through the side door, we approached a lake side and I found myself in a serene environment, surrounded by the soothing sounds of nature. The lake was filled with swans, and the beauty of the scene took my breath away. Fred and I strolled along the lake, engaging in conversation that flowed effortlessly. It was such a gigantic building. “This is beautiful”, I said staring at the lake full of swans. I turned to him and caught him staring at me as he replied “…and you are?” I didn’t know what was going on with my mind but this was too fast for me. I didn’t get the time to process his words before my heart starts fluttering and before I could get a perfect response he said smiling, “I was kidding… Let’s take a walk to the beach side?” and I just affirmed inaudibly. We were quiet for a while and I was just about to be courageous to break the silence but we heard footsteps hurriedly approaching us from behind, and we turned to see and it was his staff. “Is there a problem Tiana?” He asked and she replied amidst trying to catch her breath, “The Wine Gala begins in 5 minutes and I was asked to inform you.” “Alright, I’ll be there” he replied.

I had almost got caught up that I forgot the main reason for coming. “I enjoyed your company and it’s a sad thing that we didn’t get enough time to go round…How about we do this again?” He asked. Deep down I wanted to say yes, just to see what’s more to the man before me but like my mum will always say, “…Be a queen”. So I replied smiling , “I will think about it”. “That’s fine by me,” he responded, taking my hand and putting a ring on it. “There’s a QR scan code in it; text me,” he said, winking his eye and giving me a peck on the same hand the ring was on.

After this, we made our way to the Gala venue through a different route, which had an elevator with a sound system. I noticed a cube-like object with a red light in it. We alighted and dispersed to join the crowd. I was centered on finding my Parents and technically, they found me before I did. “Where did you go?”, Mum asked sounding worried. “I just took a stroll”, I replied. She gave me a worried look and asked “Without Ethan?…At least take him with you, he is a good company and he can defend you against all odds”. I rolled my eyes and said “Mum, don’t please…” And Dad responded just in time “Ladies, the party is about to start, let’s get to our seats.” As we walked to our seats, Dad whispered to Mum, "Go easy on her." I felt relieved, hoping Mum would ease up on teasing me about Ethan and instead focus on the handsome prince I'd met, if only she knew. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and anticipation. The heirs of the four prominent families were introduced, and each of us was given the opportunity to deliver a speech. The Loenas were the first and Loena Carly did amazing. She was just like me, a female heir. Then Ethan took the floor, and made everyone proud and mum smiled all through. I took the floor and like the woman of the night I had more attention than I could ever dream of. Got different compliments and I could see “proud parents” written all over my Parents. The Reeds put an icing on the cake. The Reeds had more male than female. I haven’t seen a female heir on their radar for the number of times I’ve researched. The first of the Reeds had his time and a toast was raised to all 4 of us. Still in the moment my eyes caught sight of Fred Reeds as he stood by his Dad and cheered the leading heir. Food and drinks were served and we made our exit before the party ended ‘cause Dad had to rest as a result of his back pain. Williams drove us home and as the night drew to a close, I reflected on the events of the evening. I had met someone who had left a lasting impression on me. The ring on my finger, with the QR scan code, seemed to hold a promise of something more and I couldn’t wait to tell Emma about everything and somewhat, Cecilia too. Unfortunately, when we got home, Emma had slept and I had to take in all my excitement and head straight to my room. After I had my shower and was in my PJs ready to sleep, I looked at the ring on my finger again, I felt a sense of excitement and trepidation. I knew that this was just the beginning of a new chapter in my life. The question was, what lay ahead?