Chapter 92 Home:)

Chapter 92 Home:)
Alezandra's P.O.V

I was gaping at my surroundings the moment the car came to a halt behind two giant gates. It wasn't for long before they began to move, the heavy iron sliding apart with an eerie smoothness that made me realize they were remote controlled.

I blinked....

Then blinked again.

The gates opened to a place I'd only ever read about in fairytale books growing up.

A long driveway stretched ahead of us, winding through beautiful, perfectly manicured lawns that looked too flawless to be real. The grass was impossibly green, trimmed so evenly it looked as though someone had gone over it with a ruler and a pair of scissors. Massive hedges lined either side of the drive, sculpted into elegant shapes, while towering cypress trees stood like silent guards leading us deeper onto the estate.

I slowly leaned forward in my seat, my hand instinctively pressing against the cool glass of the window.

"What the fuck..." I breathed.

There was no other way to describe it.
The villa at the end of the driveway was massive.

Three stories of cream-colored stone rose proudly against the backdrop of the afternoon sky. Floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the sunlight, while balconies wrapped around portions of the upper levels. Ivy climbed sections of the exterior walls, softening the intimidating grandeur of the place.
A fountain stood proudly in the center of a circular driveway.

Water cascaded down multiple tiers, sparkling beneath the sunlight.

The entire thing looked unreal.

Like someone had plucked it straight from the pages of a romance novel and dropped it into the Greek countryside.

Even Liam was glued to his window.
His mouth had fallen open somewhere between the gates and the fountain.

"Whoa..." he whispered.

I tore my eyes away from the villa long enough to glance over at him.

His nose was practically pressed against the glass.

"You seeing this?" Liam voice called from the other side of the car.

I let out a shaky laugh.

"I'm trying to process it."

Because how exactly was I supposed to react?

This wasn't Andrea's vacation home or somewhere we're renting for a few weeks.

This wasn't a temporary arrangement until we figured things out.

This... this beautiful place was home.

Realization settled heavily in my chest and I glanced towards Andrea- he sat beside me looking completely unbothered, his attention fixated on his phone as he typed away at an email. As though bringing people to live inside castles was an ordinary Tuesday occurrence.

Oh, the bastard.

I couldn't seem to look away from him for the longest while.

"You didn't tell me we were moving into Buckingham Palace."

Andrea finally lifted his eyes from his phone.
His gaze shifted toward the windows before returning to me.

"It's not that impressive."

I nearly choked...

Liam twisted around in his seat.

"Papa."

"Hm?"

"You know you're wealthy, right?"

Andrea blinked.

"I've been made aware."

This time Liam pointed dramatically toward the villa.

"No, I mean really rich."

A small smile tugged at Andrea's mouth.

"I suppose."

I scoffed.
"'I suppose,'" I mimicked. Terribly.

"Andrea, people with fountains in their driveways don't get to say 'I suppose.'"

He slid his phone into his pocket before turning fully toward me.

"You don't like it?"

I looked back outside.

The closer we got, the more details I noticed.
Flower beds exploded with color around the villa.

Stone pathways curved through gardens blooming with roses and lavender, the Olive trees dotted the landscape. Then off to the side, I caught sight of what looked suspiciously like a tennis court, then another structure further back.

"Is that another house?" Frowning, I turned to look at Andrea.

Shortly after returning my attention back to the view, he followed my line of sight.

"Si, the guest house."

I nodded.

"You have a guest house."

"You say that like it's strange, bella."

"It is strange..."

"It's practical."

I laughed in disbelief.

"Holy shit. Normal people have a guest room. You're making me, a millionaire feel poor."

"Normal people don't have guests staying for months at a time."

"You sound ridiculous, darling." I teased, not being able to move from the window.

"You'll get used to it."

I wasn't entirely convinced I would.

The car continued forward before finally slowing to a stop beneath the covered entrance.

I looked up to see massive marble columns framing the front doors. The doors themselves were enormous, crafted from dark wood with intricate carvings decorating their surface. Then I noticed people- more specially, a line of individuals stood near the entrance as if they're waiting on something... Or someone.

Men and women- some dressed formally while others were in some sort of uniforms.

Every single one of them stood with perfect posture.

Shit, that made me sat upright.

"...Andrea."

"Hm?"

"Why are there people standing outside? Most importantly, who are those people?" He lazily glanced towards the front entrance.

"Oh."

...Oh?

"Oh?"

"No need to be alarmed they're staff."

I turned to stare at him.

"They've lined up outside." I pointed out, just in case he hadn't noticed.

"To greet us."

"To greet us?" My voice rose an octave.

Liam looked between us.

"Like royalty?"

"No," Andrea answered immediately.

I looked back at the line of people waiting for us.

"They literally lined up." Andrea frowned slightly, maybe a tad bit irritated by my reaction.

"It's tradition."

"Since when do YOU have traditions?"

"You say that as though I was raised by wolves."

"I don't know, Andrea. The jury's still out on that one."

Liam snorted.

I pressed my palms against my knees as nervousness settled in my stomach.

Every single person outside looked polished and composed.

Meanwhile I had spent the last few days with my hair in a messy bun complaining about hotel food.

I glanced down at myself.

"Should I have changed?" I frowned looking at my outfit, it looked as if I wasn't even trying to look presentable. Then again, I was not expecting this.

Andrea reached over, taking my hand into his, his thumb brushed across my knuckles and I sighed trying my best to relax my nerves.

"You look as beautiful as yesterday's sunset."I get that he was trying to makee feel better, but it was hardly working.

"I look like I survived international travel."

"You always look beautiful."

I hated that my face warmed at his words.

Liam sighed dramatically from the opposite seat.

"Ew."

Andrea didn't even glance at him.

"I wasn't speaking to you."

"I know," Liam muttered.

"Still PDA."

"How do you know what thateans?" I looked at Liam.... Who ignored me.

The driver stepped out first and a moment later my door was opened. Warm air drifted inside the vehicle and I looked towards the people waiting by the entrance. Some offered polite smiles while others remained professionally neutral.

I suddenly became very aware that this wasn't New York.

This wasn't the life I'd known- hell, this definitely wasn't the future I'd planned.

I glanced at Andrea who picked up on my nervousness almost immediately, he squeezed my hand once reassuringly and it seemed to settle my nerves a bit.

"Ready, Bella?"

Nope. Absolutely not.

I looked back toward the villa that looked like something out of every childhood fantasy I'd ever had.

From the giant doors to the flawless gardens, the magical fountain and lastly, the staff lined up waiting to welcome us. Then I looked down at the engagement ring sitting on my finger.

I had run away from my wedding. I left behind everything I'd ever known, crossed an ocean for the man beside me.

Maybe I wasn't ready- maybe I would never be ready. But as Andrea stepped out first before turning back to offer me his hand, his dark eyes fixed solely on me as though none of this meant anything if I wasn't standing beside him, I realized something.

Fairytales had never really been about castles.

They had always been about the person waiting for you inside them.

Taking a deep breath, I slipped my hand into his.

"Okay," I whispered, stepping out of the car and also taking Liam's hand.

"Let's see this fucking castle."