Brandon entered his parents' mansion with quick steps, frowning, heading straight upstairs.
"Brandon!"
The man immediately stopped and turned, seeing his mother on the ground floor sofa in the white-themed living room with luxurious furniture dominated by white and cream colors.
"We need to talk," Casilla said as she stood up and placed her magazine on the table. The middle-aged woman wearing a knee-length black skirt with a blue top and a luxurious watch walked towards the stairs but halted as her son descended immediately.
She furrowed her brow, not liking the sight of her son looking grumpy and worn out.
"You look really messy," she said.
"It's none of your business," Brandon replied, turning his gaze away. 'If Victoria had accepted me back, maybe I would have expressed all my frustration to my mother right away!' he thought.
"I really don't understand what's bothering you... You've messed up my plan that you had previously agreed to," Casilla said irritably. "How could you ignore Aurora when you've already chosen her to be your future wife?"
"Just give her a lot of money; I'm not ready to marry her," Brandon replied curtly.
"Why did you choose her if you can't marry her? You should have chosen another girl who fits your criteria..."
"Aurora fits my criteria!" Brandon interrupted his mother. "But I can't marry her... Physically, she may be attractive, but she can't steal my heart... And it seems like no one can steal my heart, so don't ever expect to see me get married this year... I mean, married in your way... Let me choose my way!" he asserted, then went back upstairs.
"Brandon..." Casilla stopped him.
He immediately turned to her, annoyed.
"You can't make decisions as you please... We can't just cancel your relationship with her like that because it's part of the consequences since you chose her... It's part of the prize of the contest we've set!" Casilla said with a worried look. "I already know that she left her boyfriend to join the contest, and her family also knows that you chose her... Cancelling your wedding plans would only embarrass her in front of her family... She would feel..."
"Mom..." Brandon interrupted his mother. "From what you've said, I can tell that she's not the loyal type, she's a deceiver and a player!"
"How can you say that?"
"Of course... It means that as long as she was dating that guy, she didn't love him because she could leave him right away when she found out about the contest I held to find a wife... It means she deceived that guy and played with his feelings... And she's not loyal. She didn't think about his feelings... I don't like girls like that!" Brandon sneered and shook his head, expressing disgust towards Aurora.
Casilla sighed.
"But she did it because she has liked you for a long time," she said.
"If she liked me for a long time, she shouldn't have accepted that guy as her boyfriend!" Brandon retorted.
"Maybe she did have feelings for that guy, but when she had the chance to be with you, she didn't want to waste it..."
"Ah, whatever!" Brandon exclaimed with frustration, turning to walk upstairs. "Whatever you say, whatever the reason, she's not attractive to me... I won't marry her!"
"Brandon... you can't just decide like that!" Casilla exclaimed, but Brandon continued to ignore her.
The middle-aged woman sighed, turning her face back to the sofa but her mind kept focusing on her son, who had changed a lot after that party night.
'I think I need to find out what happened while he was in Kansas. He seemed fond of Aurora before... But after that night, he changed and even refused to vacation with her. It's really strange, especially since before he was resigned to marrying the most attractive girl that night,' she thought anxiously. 'Or maybe he met Victoria again? But where did they meet? Wasn't Victoria in Canada?'
Casilla became increasingly anxious, remembering Brandon's rebellion after she drove Victoria away five years ago, but he never acknowledged their relationship until she suggested finding a wife through the contest. Yet today, her son behaved just like when he lost Victoria.
"I need to ask David to investigate everything," she said to herself, quickly grabbing her phone from the table and trying to contact David.
"David?"
"Mrs. Casilla Smith."
"Where are you?" Casilla asked anxiously.
"Um, I'm in Kansas... I have to finish Brandon's work," David explained, sounding nervous.
"He's here now... But his decision surprised me; he suddenly didn't want to marry Aurora even though he chose her at the contest party. Do you know what happened to him that made him change his mind?"
"Um... I... I don't know."
"Didn't you always accompany him? You should know what happened to him, you know who he met... Maybe that could be the trigger for his change," Casilla said irritably. "You should remember that I hired you to be his assistant and also to watch over his every move. I don't want him to do anything wrong!"
"I understand, Ma'am. And indeed, he didn't do anything strange lately... And I don't know why he changed his mind because after dancing with that girl, he chose to be alone in his room... So, there was no closeness between them except when they danced," David explained, perhaps lying.
Casilla frowned, feeling strange about David's answer. She quickly ended the call and her attention shifted to Brandon, who came out of his room and immediately went downstairs with a large suitcase.
"I need to take my favorite things... After this, I will focus on my new business in Kansas," Brandon said with a blank stare.
Casilla stood up immediately. "I thought you would leave tomorrow because it's already late now."
"No..."
"Brandon..." Casilla approached Brandon, who stopped on the ground floor near the stairs, looking at him suspiciously. "I don't know what's bothering you... But you should be honest with me, maybe I can help you."
Brandon just stayed silent but in his heart, he said, 'If I tell you this, maybe you'll immediately ruin my plan. Maybe you'll immediately meet Victoria and ask her to stay away from me... You're a wolf in sheep's clothing!'
"Maybe you can stay here and talk to your father... Your brother..." Casilla suggested hopefully.
"No..." Brandon shook his head. "I won't go straight to Kansas... I'll go somewhere to meet my friend. It's very important."
"But your family is also important to you..."
Brandon fell silent, staring deeply at his mother, remembering Victoria's explanation and also Juliana's which made him very disappointed and angry with her, but he had to restrain himself now.
"Sorry... Maybe some other time," he said, then left immediately. 'It's better if I don't see you rather than I can't control my emotions and will be angry... It will ruin my plan,' he thought.
Casilla remained silent, feeling disappointed, and increasingly puzzled by Brandon's behavior, until David's explanation began to echo in her mind.
'David said he never got close to Aurora again after they danced. That means there's something that changed him... And maybe that something is at the party,' she thought, then reached for her phone on the table.
"Carl, I need you to go to the hotel where Brandon held the contest party. You have to ask for the CCTV footage from the time Brandon danced with Aurora until it ended," she said once she was connected to someone.
"Alright..."
"Pay whatever they ask for. I just want a complete recording from every side of the ballroom!"