Bram walked me to the elevator where Chantal was waiting already. He kissed my head before Chantal and I entered. He made sure that I was inside the elevator and we stared at each other as the door closed. I sighed and watched Chantal press the button to Bram's floor. He did not answer my question about Alicia at the restaurant.
It made me nervous. This only meant that I was right. My brother was probably dating Bram's ex-girlfriend! I was only speculating but my instinct was never wrong before. I shook my head and looked up to check the floor indicator. I wanted to call my mother and asked her if she knew anything about the new woman in Roland's life.
When the elevator opened Maria was already waiting for us. I walked out of the elevator and opened my bag to find my phone.
"I received a call from Madam Credence, Miss," Maria said to me. This made me stop on my tracks.
"What did she say?" I asked, surprised.
"She said that she wants to meet you at her home," Maria explained further, her hands clasped together at the front, "I already called Jonas and I told him to wait for you and Chantal at the lobby."
"Okay," I responded. Chantal and I walked back to the elevator. I inserted my phone back into my bag and closed it.
I removed my shoes once I was inside the LS500. The three of us were driving to my mother-in-law's house. I had heard of this private village before. It was mentioned on the news in the past. A lot of politicians, business people and celebrities resided there.
We reached the house in less than twenty minutes. Chantal opened the door for me and a maid guided me towards Mama Credence's lanai. She was wearing her boyfriend style dress in white. She smiled when she saw me then the maid took her two corgis away. She greeted me with a kiss on both of my cheeks and told me to come with her to the library.
She made me sit on a leather settee and she sat on a single sofa with the same brown color. The color of the sofa complimented Mama Credence's morena skin. She was wearing her hair in a bob, a little shorter than her younger sister, Aunt Calla. She probably dyed it in black because I saw her old pictures in the other house. Her hair color was brown, just like Bram's.
She looked a lot like Aunt Calla but with soft features. She had wrinkled skin but it did not bother her at all. I recalled when Don Agustin was still alive, one of the doctors asked for her age. She said that she was 65 years old.
"Your mother called me," Mama Credence told me. She clasped her hands on her lap.
I was stunned for a moment. When I recovered I asked, "What did she say?" My mother usually called me everytime she spoke with Mama Credence.
"They were asking if they could spend some time with you." Mama Credence leaned back to the sofa and crossed her legs.
"Um…I don't understand why she did that," I explained nervously, "She could have called and asked me."
"My dear, Bram ordered them to never see you again," Mama Credence explained to me. She placed her hands on the armrest of the sofa.
"But why?" My jaw-dropped. Suddenly it was very hard to breathe.
"When I told Bram the real reason why you're doing this. He got very protective of you," Mama Credence explained further, "That was one of the reasons why he agreed to do this. In case you didn't know, people close to him knew his girlfriend was Alicia. So he was really against this marriage from the beginning."
When I heard those words from Mama Credence, I felt like I wanted to disappear. I could not speak. I looked down and tried my best not to cry. I had never felt so little in my entire life.
"What matters now is he changed his mind," Mama Credence continued.
I looked up to her and shook my head, "I'm really sorry that I made things complicated for your family," I blinked very fast so my tears would not fall.
"I told Bram that Atty. Silas talked to us about his request. If you remember, Bram wanted to shorten the duration of the contract?" Mama Credence verified.
I glanced up to her and nodded, "What did he say?"
"He said he changed his mind and left it as it is," Mama Credence answered me.
"If there's anything that I could do to make this better from Bram, I would do it, " I told Mama Credence and bit my lower lip.
"There is something that you could do," Then she gazed at me, "Be a good wife to my son."
I released a long breath and gave her a nervous smile. I was expecting the worst but Mama Credence surprised me with her answer. She stood up and I did too.
"This was my parents house. I grew up here and Bram used to stay here when he was on vacation," she said then she walked towards the painting at my back.
It was a painting of a woman on a field. The wind was blowing her hair and her white dress. And she was holding her white hat in place so the wind would not take it away.
"My husband painted this when he was still courting me," Mama Credence explained. She probably noticed that I was staring at the painting.
"It looks alive," I commented. My eyes were still on the painting.
Mama Credence laughed softly, "You're the third person who said that about this painting."
"I don't know. It felt like it was moving when you looked at it," I turned to Mama Credence as I explained.
"Bram said the same thing when he was a teenager," Mama Credence commented as she shook her head.
She touched the right side frame of the painting and pulled it to the right. It opened like a door. At the back was a safety deposit box. I looked away when she pressed the buttons for the passcode. She put out a black suede box and placed it on the office table in the room. She opened it and inside was a delicate ruby head piece.
Mama Credence turned it to me, "My mother-in-law gave this to me as a wedding present. She said that ruby is a protective stone. I've read somewhere that ruby is associated with improved energy, concentration, loyalty, honor, and compassion. I want you to wear this tomorrow night at Bram's induction."
I placed my right hand to my chest, "This is a bit too much, mama." I shook my head in disbelief.
"You are married to my son, aren't you?" She asked me intently.
"But, it's just a…" I was not able to finish.
"Do you want to know the other reason why Bram changed his mind regarding the contract?" She leaned forward so her face would be closer to mine.
"What was the other reason?" I asked curiously.
"He said he liked you," then she closed the box of the head piece.
She walked towards one of the book shelves and pulled a drawer. She pulled out a black paper bag, placed the suede box inside, then handed it to me, "I will only ask one thing though?" Her expression became serious.
"What is it?" I asked as I clasped the string of the paper bag tightly.
"Promise me that you will trust, support, and protect my son no matter what?" Mama Credence said sternly.
I sighed and nodded, "I promise."