BRIANNA'S P. O. V
It's been days since i found out about Mr Craine's engagement. I have not been able to move on from the fact that Mr Craine belongs to someone else. I feel really bad and broken. I never thought that I will be affected this way. I didn't feel this bad after what Harry did to me. I didn't know love could be this strong. I have not been attending lectures, I have not been eating properly. It feels like I have no reason to be alive. The worst is that my mum keep reminding me that Mr Craine is very much older than me. According to her Mr Craine is supposed to be a father figure in my life. Unfortunately for me I don't see him as a father. I see him as a man I want to make love to, as a man I want to wake up and see him next to me. The pain is too much.
"Anna"
I heard my mum calling
"Oh God she is back again to remind me that Mr Craine is way out of my league" I said to myself
She called my name for like five times but I didn't respond. I wasn't in the mood to listen to her telling me how bad my life will be if I don't forget Mr Craine.
"Miss Bennett"
I heard a deep male voice. it's sounded so familiar
"Brianna is me Michael open the door" the person said
Just then I realised who it was.
"Oh my goodness Mr Craine is here but what is he doing here? Maybe he got to know I haven't been attending lectures" I said to myself
"Brianna" he called again
I quickly went to the door and opened it
"Hello Miss Bennett" he said calmly
I stared down without responding. I raised my head and realised he was staring somewhere. I followed his eyes. He was looking at my room.
"Oh my goodness, I didn't know my room was this messy" I said to myself
He entered after gently pushing me aside. He looked around
"Miss Bennett, why do you have a messy room" he asked
"I will clean it right now" I said without looking at him
He looks stressed. It obvious his Engagement is the cause.
He walked out and I started picking up my clothes and things. He returns with a broom and other cleaning materials. He pulled up his shirt and started picking my clothes and folding them
"Mr Craine what are you doing" I asked
He ignored me and continued
Together, we placed everything in the laundry basket. I was so embarrassed. He didn't mind picking up my panties and brassieres. Some were even used.
After picking up everything, he started sweeping the room
"Sir please let me do it" I said
"Brianna have you taken a shower" he asked
"No" I said
"Have you eaten" he asked
"No" I said
"Go and shower while I do the cleaning after that I will prepare something for you to eat" he said
Without saying a word, I went to the bathroom.
MICHAEL'S P. O. V
I drove as fast as I could and soon I got to Miss Bennett's house. Her mother opened the door for me. She looked a bit angry. I ignored that and greeted her. She didn't respond. I asked if Brianna was at home and if I could see her.
"Mr Craine I told you that my daughter will only be hurt by you. I thought you loved her. Why did you get engaged without telling her. My daughter is now hurting because of this" she said angrily
I was shocked at what she said
"Me? Engaged? When" I said confusedly
"My daughter is heartbroken because she has fallen in love with you. You are now getting married to someone else. Please Sir go away don't hurt my daughter anymore" she said
She was about to close the door when I stopped her
"Mrs Bennett I am not Engaged. I haven't hurt your daughter. In fact I have been trying to contact her for days but she keeps ignoring me" I said
"If you didn't get engaged then who did" she asked
"My son did" I replied
She allowed me in
"Where is Brianna" I asked
"She has been in her room for days. She doesn't eat properly and she mostly cries" she said
I was confused by what she was saying just then something hit my mind. I turned to her
"Mrs Bennett did you say Brianna has fallen in love with me" I asked
She nodded slightly
"When, how? I thought she has a boyfriend" I said
"Mr Craine I am really scared for my daughter. I have never seen her like this not even when Harry did wrong to her. Please I wish that you let my daughter be" she said with tears in her eyes
"Mrs Bennett I wish I could but I love your daughter so much. I want to be part of her life. I have never felt this way for a woman. It's been more than twenty years since I felt my heart beat the way it beats when your daughter is near me. Please forgive me I can't grant your wish" I said
"Mr Craine what about your children's mother" she asked
I stood there for a while without saying a word
"Are you divorce, is she dead, are you separated" she asked
After a while I decided to open up
"Neither of those. My children don't have a mother" I said
"What? How" she asked
"My children are adopted. I am a single father to them" I answered
She looked at me with a surprise
"I can't believe this. You adopted children. But why" she asked
"Mrs Bennett I really struggled to earn money when I was young. Sometimes I had to sleep on an empty stomach (she gasps) I slept by the roadsides, on corridors of people's houses, sometimes too in churches. So when I started getting rich, I decided not to let anyone go through what I went through so I decided to take care of street children, orphans, drug addicts and many more" I said
"Oh my goodness. Do your children know" she asked
"Yes they do" I said
"You are really a great man indeed" she said
I blushed a bit
"Mrs Bennett I can't grant your wish because I have been selfless all my life. Now I have decided to be selfish for once. Please call Brianna" I said
Soon, I heard her knocking and calling Brianna but she didn't respond so I decided to try
"Mr Craine she is upset with me because I condemned her feelings for you" she said
I gave her a slight nod. I started knocking and calling Brianna.
She soon opened the door and I saw how unkept she was and how messy her room looked. She stared down without responding to my greetings. I felt she was embarrassed. I signaled Mrs Bennett to go and I entered the room.
Soon I finished cleaning her room and went to the kitchen to prepare something for her. Mrs Bennett provided me with some foodstuffs and I cooked one of my simplest recipes.
BRIANNA'S P. O. V
I came out of the bathroom and saw my room neatly kept. He laid my bed and cleaned everywhere
"Mum thinks he is not good for me. No young boy like Harry or Max will do this for me" I said to myself
For the first time in days, I found myself smiling. I quickly got dressed and went out of my room. I smelled something really good. I saw Mr Craine and my mum sitting at the dinning table.
Mr Craine quickly got up and pulled out a chair for me. He offered me a glass of water. He served me with a plate of food. He sat next to me
"Can I feed you" he asked
I nodded because I was so excited that he was here. I was about to burst.
He started feeding me.
"Mr Craine I.....(I tried to talk but he placed his finger on my mouth"
"Sssssshhh you shouldn't talk when eating. We will talk after that" he said calmly
He didn't mind the fact that my mum was there he continued feeding me.
We heard the doorbell ring and mum went to open it. She came back with pamphlets
"Mr Craine this was dropped for you by your worker" she said
Mr Craine took it and opened it
"Brianna this are all you missed while you were not in school. Please try and study them" he said
"Thank you" I said
He fed me everything and after eating, he took permission from my mum and we went out for a walk. We walked around for a while and we sat on a bench at the area park
"Mr Craine... Brianna" we both called each other at the same time
I smiled shyly
"Please go first" he said
"Mr Craine I am sorry for not picking up your calls. I know you don't like it when I say sorry but please forgive me" I said
"Brianna what is going on with you" he asked
"I-i-i came to your house the other day and heard you were getting engaged. I got sad especially when I saw that you were getting engaged to a famous singer. She is so beautiful and I don't match her in anyway. I realised a commoner can't be a princess" I said
"Do you realise that you didn't make sense in what you just said" he said
"Huh" I said
"Brianna you should have come to me or maybe sent someone to call me. The famous singer you are talking about is not my fiancee nor my woman ( I gasped) she is my daughter. Fool" he said
I covered my mouth with my hands. I was shocked by Mr Craine's revelation
"I'm sorry for thinking this way about your daughter and you" I said
I hugged him
"The one who got engaged was my son Andrew" he said
"I'm sorry sir" I said
He nodded.
I placed my head on his chest
"Sir" I called
"Mmm" he responded
"Will you date a woman who is young enough to be your daughter" I asked
He moved my head from his chest and looked into my eyes
" If she has no problem with my age and is ready to face the world with me, then I will not only date her. I will marry her and start a family with her" he said
I couldn't contain my excitement I hugged him tightly
"I love you" I said unintentionally
I pulled away when I realised what I said. I turned a started running.
"Brianna, Brianna" Mr Craine called from behind
He started running after me. He caught me shortly
"Brianna why are you running" he asked
"It's embarrassing, I just told you my feelings" I said with my head down
He pulled my head up
"Bri, are you sure of your feelings" he asked
"Yes I love you. I have never felt this way for any man. Not even Harry or Max" I said with tears in my eyes
"Guess what baby we are in the same boat" he said
"I don't understand" I said
He chuckles and takes my face into his huge palms.
He affectionately and gently kisses both my cheeks
"I love you too baby girl" he said
I hugged him tightly.