C1 A surprise goes wrong

San Francisco,

She had a beautiful smile on her face as she reapplied the gloss on her lips, still not sure she looked perfect and good enough.

Staring at the reflecting image, she sighed as she placed the gloss back in her makeup purse.

"I already look perfect." She assured herself.

She looked out of the window, enjoying the view, not bothering to ask the driver questions like she had always done whenever she visited a place after a long while. Her thoughts were already occupied with bad childhood memories.

Her phone vibrated distracting her from her thoughts,she checked the call and to her dismay it was Emma, her best friend.She was expecting his call not Emma.

"Hey girl, Are you there yet?"Emma asked, sounding so excited.

"Yes, I got into the City like an hour ago?" She said, feeling guilty for not informing Emma.

" And you didn't inform me?What happened to the promise you made? Mia."

Mia took a long breath before replying, her thoughts had made her forget Emma.

"I'm really sorry, I've been so preoccupied that I forgot. I am really nervous." She whispered.

"You will be fine Mia,It's not a stranger you're going to see. It's your fiance and remember you're getting married in a week." Emma explained.

"I know all these Emma but…" she muttered 3,2,1 before continuing,"I resigned yesterday. I feel stupid for doing so."

There was no response from the other end, the call had disconnected just before she could tell her best friend the truth.

"Damn it! There is no signal." Mia cursed as she tried to call her again but it wasn't connecting.

"We are almost there ma'am" the driver said just in time, stopping her from smashing her phone.She sighed and quietly rechecked her face and hair.Satisfied,she smiled seductively at the mirror before putting it aside.

**

Alaston's Mansion

"Mum,I thought we talked about this?" He screamed despite trying not to sound rude.

"What is there to talk about, Antonio? It's Charlotte we're talking about, not just some random lady." His mum explained.

"You should have informed me before going to meet her family.I simply said I needed some time."

"Spare me those silly talks Antonio, I am your mother and I know you very well." She replied confidently.

"Then you should know I'm really upset and angry. I want to see dad now!" He rushed to the study upstairs, jumping the stairs without care.

"Be careful Antonio!" His mum called, "you will hurt yourself." She followed him but at a much slower pace than his.

He flung open the doors to his father's study without knocking.His reason was justified, he was angry and couldn't control his rage.

Luckily, his father wasn't in instead he met Aaron going through some files.

"It's you,You scared me Antonio." Aaron managed to say, he was visibly scared as to why the door had opened so fast and with such force.

"Where is father?" Antionio asked immediately.

"He went on a business trip to Alaska. Didn't he inform you about it?" Aaron asked, stamping a document.He hadn't noticed the angry look on Antonio's face.

Antonio gave no reply as he took some steps away but returned and banged the desk with his fist in rage ruining what Aaron was doing.

"What was that for?" He asked but then he noticed Antonio's rage,"Are you okay?"

Before Antionio could give a reply his mother spoke from behind.

"Your best friend is behaving childish and irresponsible."

"Irresponsible mum? And childish also?" He asked surprised.

"Yes Antonio. There was nothing wrong in seeing her parents.''His mum answered in defense.

"So you say there…you're so unbelievable mum."

"Believe it or not. The reality is that you're getting married to Charlotte next week."

"What!" This time it was from Aaron, he had watched them argue and bothered not to interfere in a family matter even though he was considered as a family.

"Yes Aaron, make your best friend understand that he has no option. He has to think about the future of the family before anything." She ordered before leaving.

"Why does mum want you to get married to Charlotte so soon?" Aaron immediately asked .

"I don't know…I have no problem with Charlotte but her timing is just so wrong."

"You want to enjoy the attention of the Ladies right?" Aaron asked with a deceptive wink.

"Don't go there Aaron, I'm in no mood for jokes."

"I need to talk to my father about this." He said searching his pockets for his phone.

"Do you think it will help?" Aaron asked, he knew Antionio's father would always do what his wife wanted.

"I guess I do , Father is more sensible."

A knock was heard and a maid dressed in a simple black gown and a neat White apron tied around her waist entered, bowing respectfully.

"Your presence is needed, Sir.The wedding designer just arrived." Said the maid.

"Damnit!" He flinged the papers on the table, Aaron had to intervene, stopping him from creating a mess he would later regret .

"Let's go out for a drive." He urged Antonio and also instructed the maid to clean the mess he had just made.

They got outside and it was unbelievably hot,the sun rays were enough to melt an ice cream in seconds.

"Where should we drive to?" Aaron asked as he wore his sunshades.

"Anywhere, just somewhere to cool off."

" I know the right place and the right car too."

Aaron moved forward and he pressed the red button in the car garage. The door slid open to reveal the latest black Mercedes he had just acquired but no he wasn't going for that, he walked to where the red spotless Bugatti was parked. It was his favorite and was suitable for the sunny weather.

Antionio said nothing as he entered and placed his seat belt in position before the car zoomed off.

**

The avenue was a long one, slightly narrow but was large enough to contain a moving vehicle and two pedestrians.The houses were separated from each other with a beautifully trimmed lawn as the numbers for each house were carved on each door post. She remembered his home number but what had he told her was the number?

"Err…28" she affirmed.

She had been observing the scenery for 15 minutes and hadn't bothered to call him to inform him about her arrival. Mia had already planned to surprise him.

"Are you lost lady?" A voice asked.

She immediately saw a middle aged woman, she looked pretty despite her age and her clothes looked really expensive.

" I'm not. I'm just trying to confirm an address." She answered politely.

"Can I see the address?" The woman spoke sweetly and her red blazing lips were irresistible to Mia's eyes.

"This is the address ma'am" she handed her phone to her while Mai took her time to observe the woman.

"This is the right address, just follow the numbers till you get to 28." She smiled as she returned the phone and walked away immediately.

Mia watched the figure till it was out of sight, the woman reminded Mia of her mother who she wished was still alive.Tears dripped down her cheeks but she composed herself before she created a scene and focused on surprising him.She walked the long road searching for his home number, the walk wasn't a long one, she found the house after 5 minutes and got excited immediately.

Her excitement made her forget she had earlier planned to recheck her makeup. Mia smiled as she knocked, ignoring the doorbell.

The door was left ajar and as she knocked it opened slowly making a creaking noise.

She was confused as many questions ran through her head,

Why was the door open? She thought twice on whether to call him or just go on with her surprise plan. After thinking deeply, she decided to call him.Mia brought her phone out and dialed his number.It rang and she heard a popular ring tone inside the house but it didn't bother her.

"It must be a coincidence," she thought.

He didn't take the call and she tried again, this time she heard the same ringtone again and it stopped right as she disconnected the call. This wasn't just a coincidence like she had thought earlier, he was definitely inside .

But why wasn't he taking her calls?

The only way she could find out was going inside and Mia entered immediately