**Edited**
The grand, tall black gates with golden embellishments opened as I stared at them in amazement. My heart was beating so fast that I was scared it would pop right out of my chest. I was about to meet my potential family soon... But, I couldn't help thinking about the disappointment I would feel if they turned out to not be my real family.
But the curious thoughts of the Monrovas invaded my head. What were they like...? My parents... My siblings... Grandparents... Or if I even had any of those.
"Miss Pennie, we have arrived at the Monrovas' mansion." The voice made me jump.
I guess this was it...
"Welcome to the Monrovas' household." Mr. Kandra announced as I stepped out of the car. "If you like, you can go freshen up in the guest suite and rest a bit before you go to the main living room to meet the Masters and young Masters."
This wasn't just another household. This was a mansion. Meant to fit probably 30 families... They lived here?! The grand buildings in front of me almost made my knees weak as I have never seen anything this luxurious in my entire life. There was no way my family was somewhere inside this castle meant for kings and queens.
"Um... okay, thank you. That would be really great." I smiled at him, thankful for the offer because I felt sweaty and gross, nowhere near the shape I wanted to meet my potential family in. I wish I would've had time to freshen up at home.
"I'll send a maid in to help you get ready, Miss." Mr. Kandra spoke as the two young men in black suits opened the massive double doors to let me into the castle-like mansion.
The inside smiled like fresh laundry and there was definitely a hint of lavender lingering around. The dark wood and furniture of the place made it feel like I was standing in a movie, with A-listers and celebrities. No. Royals. There was also soft music playing from somewhere, but it totally went with the royalty setting.
I was so lost in thoughts from the luxurious atmosphere of the place that I forgot to answer Mr. Kandra.
"Thank you, Mr. Kandra." I turned to him and nodded before he did the same.
It wasn't long after that that I saw a girl in a black dress that went to her knees walking towards us. Her black sleek heels made clicking noises against the wooden floor as she stopped a few feet in front of me.
"Greetings, Miss Pennie." The gorgeous girl smiled brightly, "My name is Anne, I'll be helping you get ready today. Please follow me, this way."
I smiled back at her before following her to the right side of the mansion. There were probably endless hallways in this place and without a GPS, I didn't know how anyone could get around here without getting lost. The place was like a maze inside.
Even the doors looked classy. White doors with gold knobs. I wouldn't be surprised if they were real gold. The further we walked, the more doors I saw. There were probably about hundreds of rooms in this mansion, if not more...
Anne finally turned to another hallway and we continued walking down the hall before stopping in front of the room with double doors that I assumed to be the guest room Mr. Kandra was talking about earlier.
"Your bath is prepared, Miss. You can freshen up and get a change of clothes after you're done." Anne said sweetly before closing the bedroom door as she walked outside, leaving me alone in the huge guest room.
The bed was four times the size of my tiny one at home and the walls were painted the same color as the walls outside. There were multiple paintings on the wall near the sitting area with the fireplace that was burning. In the corner was a small coffee table with a few magazines on top.
I walked inside to the right of the bedroom to the bathroom, to find a tub full of water and flower petals. The sides of the tub had a few bottles of some types of oil and mini-size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and bathing cream.
Everything here was fancy. Too fancy...
I took off my clothes and stepped into the tub as the warm water relaxed the pressures on my shoulders that I didn't even realize I had. But I didn't blame myself as I thought of the anxiety from thinking about meeting the Monrova family soon...
"Miss, your clothes are here for your selection." Anne's voice broke through my train of thought and I stepped outside, pulling the big purple towel neatly folded on the corner of the side over my freshly cleaned body.
"Thank you, Anne!" I replied back, not even knowing if she were still there or not.
Selection... What does that mean...?
I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection. The nervousness was clearly visible when I caught myself biting my lips. My long, straight dark brown hair hung lazily a bit above my waist while my pale complexion lacked even more colors today, maybe because I was about to find out my future.
I walked outside and realized what Anne meant by selection. The left bare wall of the room was now covered by racks of clothes which were still wrapped in plastic bags. A wide selection of innumerable different styles and colors.
"Anne... What is all this...?" Baffled was an understatement.
"Miss, these are the clothes prepared for you to choose for the meeting with the Masters and Misses." Anne smiled at me, completely oblivious to my shock.
"I have to choose?" I never had a good sense of fashion. How was I supposed to do this?
"Yes, Miss." Anne giggled a bit, probably at my failure in being a girl.
I walked over to the racks of clothes and just settled for a light pink dress from a designer whose name I couldn't even pronounce even if I tried. It was simple with no design or embellishment but somehow looked graceful and elegant enough.
This was all just for today, right? This dream was going to end and I'd have to return this dress that probably cost about a few thousand dollars to go back to my jeans and t-shirts. This wasn't mine, it was just for me to borrow. This all belonged to the real Miss Monrova they were all looking for, not mine.
Everything here wasn't yours, Pennie. They couldn't possibly be.
"You look beautiful, Miss." Anne's expression made my heart feel warm as she let out a small gasp when I walked out of the bathroom after changing into the dress.
Anne spent what seemed to be forever doing my hair and make-up. I asked her about where she came from and how she ended up working here. She looked so happy talking about her family, especially her brother who was now in University so she had to work to help her parents support him through college.
How admirable... She sacrificed her own opportunity for her brother. It was the sibling love that I could never understand growing up as an orphan.
After a while, she was finally done.
Anne stepped back and I looked at my reflection, completely didn't recognize who I was looking at. My dark brown hair was now softly curled with two delicate braids wrapping my head. My face still looked like mine, but just... enhanced. I have never worn this much makeup before so this was still new to me.
"All ready to meet the Boss." Anne whistled, proud of herself.
"Thank you, Anne. So much." Even though I had just met her, I felt like I made a new friend.
"The pleasure was all mine, Miss. Now come on, I'll take you to Emp's office." She looked so excited like I was about to meet my family for the first time. But, I had to resist the urge to think of it that way. I didn't have the heart to get my hopes up knowing how unrealistic this was.
Anne led me through the luxurious maze once again and I realized I would never be able to get used to how grand and elegant this place was. Just even walking through the halls made me feel like I was in some fairytale. Everything was shiny and all the furniture along with the decorations looked like they were more expensive than my life.
We walked through another hallway before Anne stopped abruptly, making me nearly bump into her. She turned to look down the hallway to our right and bowed her head. I looked down the hall to see who she was saying hello to and saw a tall, built guy dressed in a white dress shirt that wasn't buttoned up all the way and khaki pants that were cuffed at his ankles.
His dark brown hair was sleeked back, contrasting his pale skin so well. His dark eyes were staring at me as he tilted his head and his lips stretched into a smirk like he was amused by what he saw. What was so amusing?
"Young Master Wren." Anne's soft voice broke through my thoughts and I looked away embarrassedly. I was staring at the guy. He probably thought I was weird.
The stranger didn't respond but I could hear him approaching us.
"Who is this?" Right when I thought he couldn't look any more perfect, his voice made my knees go weak. What was wrong with me?
"This is Miss Pennie, Young Master," Anne answered as she looked up at him. "She might be Miss Ariella we have been looking for.
Young master? That meant he was a member of this family. No surprise there. He looked like a prince who was raised in this lavish lifestyle. This was someone who seemed like he fit in here, unlike me.
"Ah, another potential." The stranger was now leaning against the wall only a few feet away from us. "Are Zach and Grandfather sure she's the real one? Not another money-hungry fake?"
"You..." What did he mean by that? I started but stopped myself because I didn't even know whether I was really this beloved Ariella Monrova they were all looking for.
"Ah, there must have been a mistake in the evidence somewhere. I mean... Look at her..." His head was still tilted as he slowly looked me up and down like he was studying a rare specie. What made it even worse was his mocking and degrading tone.
My jaw dropped at how rude he was. It wasn't even ten minutes since we met and he didn't even know me yet he was already making hurtful assumptions about me. I held my tongue, not wanting to cause a scene with some stranger I just met. His family owned the place, I didn't have any place to argue with him.
Plus, I was probably never going to see him again anyway.
"Well, nice chat. See you at dinner, Miss Pennie." He scoffed after flashing us a last smirk then walked away, leaving me standing there utterly speechless with hurt filled up in my stomach.
"I apologize, Miss Pennie." Anne looked at me with eyes full of guilt and confusion. "I don't understand why Master Wren is behaving this way... He's usually never like this..."
Then he must already hate my guts at first sight.
"It's okay, Anne." I smiled to soothe the situation. "I won't be staying here long anyways."