“Do you want to take this offer?” he asks, and my eyes shift from one of his to the other. There has been one clear answer to this question since Mrs. Lu handed me the contract, but I’ve been too afraid to admit it to myself.
“More than I’ve wanted anything in a very long time.” My father lets go of me and steps back, a proud grin covering his face.
“Then don’t let fear take it away from you. You’re a warrior, Nevaeh, one who never hides from anything. Are you going to back down from your dream life?” A small laugh escapes me while I wipe my tears and feel a weight lift off my shoulders.
I’m sure my anxiety is going to be as happy as a kid in a candy store because of all of the worrying I’m going to be doing on top of all of the change and new situations I’ll have to expose myself to. But this feels right. This feels like everything I’m meant to be doing at this point in my life.
“You should probably book a flight and go visit Monaco to check out apartments and familiarize yourself with the country before you move there. It makes it easier,” my father says as a tear drops down my cheeks.
He wipes it away and gives me a comforting smile.
Nova, Aileen? What do you think?I sign although I’ve made up my mind already.
“I think you’re going to have the time of your life without me,” my sister complains but then hugs me and tells me how proud she is.
Aileen does the same before all of them leave, including Papa. I think about talking to Mama, but usually, it’s best to leave her until she’s ready, which is mostly after Papa has spoken to her. He has this way of calming her, it’s always fascinated me. Whenever I’m angry, nothing and no one can calm me except myself.
After booking a flight and hotel, I stare at my screen. There’s only one person I want to call right now, one person I want to share this with. The man who has me all sorts of confused.
The rule stands. I can’t date a driver, especially not now when I have to write personal articles about them. It’s one of the conditions at the top of the contract Mrs. Lu gave me. But it says nothing about being friends with them, and, right now, I need a friend. One that I know will be happy for me.
The phone rings, and I fix my appearance eight times. For some reason, I video-called him because of an inexplicable desire to see his face. Maybe not inexplicable. After all, he’s the most gorgeous guy I’ve ever seen.
A few rings later, his face appears on my screen, making a happy feeling spread through my chest.
“Hi, beautiful. To what do I owe this honor?” he asks, smirking, and I feel heat rush into my cheeks in response.
“I was wondering if you had time this week to show me around my new home,” I say, but Adrian furrows his brows. “Well, I just thought since Monaco is your home country, you could show me the best spots.” Adrian’s eyes go wide before he looks away from the phone only to smile and look back at his screen.
“Are you kidding me? That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time!” An excited laugh leaves him. He lowers the phone and yells, “Val! Nevaeh is moving to Monaco!” She appears on my screen as both of them beam at me. I return their smiles, so grateful for the friendship they’ve given me.
“We’re going to have so much fun! Oh, and we will help you move, of course!” Val chimes in, and I feel tears flood my eyes.
This is slowly becoming the best day of my life.
“Actually, Val, I need your help apartment-hunting.”
An excited squeal leaves her, and we end up planning everything for my short trip to Monaco. I’m only staying for a few days, but Val is making sure I won’t be alone for a second of it.
“By the way, you are not staying at a hotel. Gabriel and I would love to have you stay with us.” I try to decline politely because I feel bad about intruding, but she won’t have it. “I will pick you up tomorrow,” Val simply says before disappearing so I can’t argue with her anymore.
Adrian is smiling when I look at his face again.
“What?” I ask, tilting my head to the side while a blush settles on my cheek.
I wish I knew why it keeps coming back when he looks at me. I’ve never blushed this much in my entire life.
“I was talking to James yesterday, about you more specifically, and I said to him ‘Man, I really wish Nevaeh would live here.’ Did you hear that,mon paradis?” he asks, and I narrow my eyes.
“Did you just call me heaven in French? Is that what you’ve been calling me every time I didn’t understand you?” I ask.
“Isn’t that your name?” he challenges, and I shake my head, hating and adoring how it makes me feel when he calls memonparadis.
“Stop calling me that,” I say, and Adrian chuckles.
“No. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And with that, he hangs up before I can respond.
