Love And Fate

★ One ★

She fiddled with the hem of her dress in the back seat of the car then she looked up catching a glimpse of the mansion as the driver pulled into the compound, the space was quite huge, and she turned to her left still looking at the double doors as the car sped to the garage.
She watched silently as servants quickly surrounded the car when it halted, the driver quickly turned off the engine announcing they had arrived.

She barely responded to him as her mind clouded with thousand and one ways meeting her grandmother could turn out, she felt nervous, too nervous to move, she sat glued to the seat as the driver waited patiently for her.

Blowing air out of her lips, she opened the door finally stepping out, many greetings and welcome words were thrown at her from every direction and she nodded and smiled nervously at everyone, a maid walked towards her smiling politely.

"Welcome miss, please follow me. Your grandma is expecting you"
The maid said, nodding briefly at Serene.

Serene began following the maid into the mansion, when they got to the entrance, the girl pushed the double doors wide open and waited patiently for her to enter, the movement only made Serene more nervous, Serene sighed deeply then entered. The maid closed the doors behind them as they moved through the hallway to the living room.

The maid stopped at the entrance of the spacious hall, stepping aside for Serene to enter the room.
Serene stepped into the hall with high ceilings and the most expensive-looking chandeliers and sofas.
At the far end sat a woman with graying hair, she sat elegantly with crossed legs and an air of superiority. Upon seeing Serene, the woman slowly stood up to meet her.

"You may go" The old woman's gaze landed on the maid, bowing her head slightly, the maid turned around leaving the hall. Serene watched the maid's retreating figure afraid to face the intimidating woman, nevertheless, her head slowly turned to the woman in front of her, she realized the woman was watching her expectantly, so she cleared her throat before speaking up.

"Good morning Grandma" Her voice came out slightly shaky.

"Welcome Serene, I was beginning to think your mother didn't train you well"
The woman's voice came through, she spoke slowly with a foreign accent, a tight smile appeared on her wrinkling face making the corners of her eyes wrinkle too.
Her glassy old eyes watched Serene quietly, amazed at the beautiful woman her granddaughter had grown into, she'd have many suitors, she thought.

Serene gulped at the mention of her mother, she felt a pang in her chest as she thought of her mother, her gone world.
She smiled though, her eyes almost as glassy as the old lady in front of her.

"Sit my dear, you must be tired. How was your journey?"

Serene took her seat, her hands between her thighs, she looked around the hall, admiring the decor and how elegant the place looked.

"It was fine Ma'am" Serene replied.
She thought of saying more, but shut her mouth, she looked around the room again taking in small details.

"Very good, your aunt and cousins are out, so is your uncle too, you can have some rest before they come back"

The old lady spoke into an intercom Serene hadn't noticed was there.

Soon a maid came in and directed Serene to her room.
Serene sat on a couch in her room thinking of what to do.

Her luggage was already in her room, and she watched silently as the maid arranged all her stuff in the right places.
She took in the spacious room, it was sky blue themed with a queen-sized bed, the marbled floor looked sparkly and there was a painting right above the bed.
The ceiling-to-floor glass window gave a clear sight of a balcony and the surrounding beyond.
She stood up deciding to help the maid but the girl politely refused, Serene only sighed in defeat moving to sit on the bed.
She took out her laptop from her bag pack.

She had no friends, no social life, it was quite difficult for her sometimes, and now that her parents were gone, she felt more lost, she felt she had nothing at all doing with her life, she had planned to go to the university that year, her parents even helped her choose some schools in the country, but everything went down the drain after their unfortunate death.

Being the only successor of her parents' wealth and many properties, it was advised that she moved to stay with the only relatives she had, her grandmother and uncle with his family.

She closed her laptop not knowing what to do, she lay silently on the bed as she watched the maid at work, and soon she drifted off to sleep.