Three days later, my fiance sent Mr. Isaac to pick me up. Before then, I had already spoken to Pierre, telling him that I would be away for a couple of days. I was quite surprised to see Mr. Isaac after so long.

"Mr. Isaac! It's so good to see you again," I spoke while he took my baggage from me. "How have you been?"

The man almost smiled. "I'm doing good. Thank you for asking and congratulations."

I was about to ask him why until I noticed his gaze darting to the ring on my finger.

"Oh." I gave an airy laugh. "Why thank you, Mr. Isaac."

He took my baggage downstairs while I followed closely behind. After adjusting my scarf around my neck, I ducked into the car as he held it open for me. A few moments later, the car revved and we zoomed off.

I pulled out my phone to text Kendall. Earlier that day, we had jogged together and she promised to visit before I had to go away. By the looks of it, she didn't make it before then.

"Hey👋," I wrote, adding a waving emoji. "I'm already off, just so you know. Don't bother coming around anymore."

I didn't get a reply until about close to an hour later.

"Omg😱!!!" She texted back with a horrified face emoji. "I'm so sorry, babe. Had an emergency photo shoot and only picked up the phone now. Have an amazing time with your fiance😘 and don't forget to send pictures😉."

"Wait, pictures of what?"

"You know what I mean😏…"

I really didn't know what she meant but instead of pushing for answers, I chose to let sleeping dogs lie. I also got a call from Somadina. When I looked out of the window, I saw that we had already gotten to the heart of the city; where I used to hang out before.

Nostalgia arose in me once again and I reached underneath my scarf to hold my infinity-shaped pendant. Feeling gloomy all of a sudden, I let out a sigh and laid back my head for a light drowse.

"Miss…" I barely heard Mr. Isaac say while lightly tapping my shoulder.

"Mmhmmm…" I stirred before my emerald eyes fluttered open. I noticed that our conveyance was stationary but for good measure, I asked. "Have we arrived?"

He nodded, prompting me to sluggishly grab my things and clamber out of the vehicle. Mr. Isaac offered his hand at one point in case I needed help coming out but I waved a hand to show that I didn't need any help.

Once I had successfully alighted the vehicle, my jaw dropped instantly. All traces of sleep left me because of what I witnessed right then. I felt like I had just stepped into an entirely different zone of wealth.

The compound wasn't large but the building… It was so…exquisite—yes, that had to be the word because asides from that, I couldn't think of anything with which I could use to describe it. I recalled a particular structure that I had seen when I first came to the city. The one that was made almost entirely out of glass. The structure before me reminded me so much of it.

Mr. Isaac spoke while I was still frozen in time, enthralled by all that was before me. "Would you like to go inside, Miss?"

Snapping back to reality, I shook my head. "Yes, please."

As we approached the fancy house, I noticed hefty men patrolling the environment and I made a mental note to ask my fiance about it when I saw him. The entranceway was embellished with many paintings and there was an elevator at the end of it. This amazed me. Mr. Isaac ushered me into it and proceeded to manipulate its buttons before we started to ascend.

An aged, petite woman was waiting eagerly at the other side of the elevator once it stopped. "Welcome, Miss."

"Thank you." I stepped out of the elevator while Mr. Isaac ventured further into the sitting room to keep my bags. Then, he made a U-turn, going back into the elevator. I understood immediately that he could go no further.

"I am Madame Bijou. Please follow me, Miss." The aged woman voiced and turned. She proceeded to carry my bag, prompting me to rush to stop her.

"Please don't. I can handle that myself." I uttered, placing a hand over hers.

Allowing me to carry the weight of my baggage, she turned and I was sure she was trying to hide a smile. "Let me show you to your room. Follow me."

Wordlessly, I trailed behind her. She reminded me of Mr. Manuel for some reason and soon enough, she ushered me into a nice, big room with nearly the same theme colours that the rooms in my apartment did. There was also a queen-sized bed and an ensuite bathroom.

"Thank you," I muttered my appreciation, going further into the space.

Madame Bijou nodded. "Also, Mr. Numman will be back in an hour."

With that, she left, closing the door behind her. After watching the door for a moment, I ran my hands over the glossy finish of the walls and the polished wooden table of the vanity. The curtains seemed to be of high quality as well and the bed was simply heavenly to lie on. I didn't expect anything less and I knew that I would have to get used to much more than that.

Since Madam Bijou had informed me about Ro, I saw no need to call him, figuring out that he could be in the middle of a big meeting or something. What I did, however, was take a shower and have a change of clothes. Madam Bijou dropped by again to ask me if I would like to have a meal but I answered in the negative.

Pulling out my laptop, I was reviewing some companies and firms that I was interested in working with after my graduation. I had already prepared customized application drafts that I would send out to them shortly after my final exams.

By the time my fiance showed up, I was just concluding a call with the agent that was helping me get a house for my parents. I planned to move my family from the province and I looked forward to the day when they would all be living in the city. Ro was in on it as well but I had asked him to allow me to handle the payment for the house on my own.

Upon dropping my phone, a knock sounded on my room's door. By then, I was wearing a cashmere top and dress pants and once I was sure that I was decent, I moved toward the door. My jade eyes lit up at the sight of my fiance on the other side.

"Hey, Stella-Mea," he uttered with a charming smile.

Stepping closer, I hugged him without paying attention to the other word he had used. His cologne filled my nostrils and he had to bend forward a bit. "How was work?"

"Stressful, as always and how was your journey?" He replied.

"All good. I wanted to call but I noticed that may have been in an important meeting and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Is that so?" He asked. "How do you like your room, by the way?"

With a glance at the said room, I smiled. "I love it. Thanks."

"Madame Bijou mentioned that you hadn't eaten anything since you came so, how does dinner sound?"

"Ok, let me just change my clothes," I turned but he held my hand.

"Why? What you have on is okay—wait, do you think we're going somewhere for dinner?" I nodded and he continued. "I meant for us to have dinner here. Madame Bijou's a great cook—unless you want us to go somewhere."

"Now I understand." I tucked some of my ginger strands behind my ear, feeling a bit embarrassed. "No, I actually wanted to take a break from all the dining out and I'm curious to see what her food tastes like."

Ro preferred to stay in his work clothes which was a deep blue bespoke suit however, he did take off his jacket before we settled down to eat. Before picking up utensils, I said grace and didn't miss the strange look that crossed Ro's features right after.

We then became shrouded in a comfortable silence as we ate. The food was quite tasty and I would make sure to thank Madame Bijou well for it. Then, some thoughts occurred to me.

"I saw these thugs when Mr. Isaac was bringing me here. Why are they here?" I inquired right after I'd swallowed some food.

Ro's silver-grey eyes met mine for a moment before they returned downwards to his food. "They're the security detail. Because of my status, I have to keep them around."

"That many of them?"

"Of course, I take some of them with me wherever I go."

"Really? But you don't bring them with you when you come to visit me, do you?"

A smirk appeared on his face as he shook his head slightly. "That would be impractical of me now, wouldn't it Stella-Mea? I use disguises and carry out extra safety precautions still."

Bobbing my head in understanding, I continued with my food.

"You'll be having them around you too, you know."

"Huh?"

"Your status is changing and with such comes security threats." My fiance elucidated. "I can't afford for anything to happen to you, Stella-Mea."

"Ok then, as long as it doesn't affect my work."

"Work?" Ro seemed surprised, prompting me to raise a brow at him. We had already agreed that I would quit modelling once I graduated and asides from that, I didn't have any work. So, I was sure he understood what I was talking about.

"You don't expect me to become a housewife, do you?" I questioned him before lifting my water glass.

"Of course not, Stella-Mea. However, we will have to discuss at a later time the terms on which your work will happen." He spoke. "Your safety is on the line here."

Seeing how the energy had changed, I gave an exasperated sigh and continued with my food. I could feel Rowen's piercing eyes watching me closely before he reached out to place a hand over mine.

"I'm sorry, Stella-Mea. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset—I understand that my safety is of utmost importance to you but I don't want it to get in the way of everything," I told him, dropping my fork. "And what's that you keep calling me? What does Stella-Mea mean?"

"It's Latin. Stella-Mea means my star."

I was a bit taken aback and a smile spread across my lips before I knew it. "Oh."

For dessert, we were having chocolate cake. Madame Bijou placed the cake before us and while she was cutting us slices, Ro began. "So, have you fully procured the house you were planning on?"

"Not yet but I was just speaking to the agent right before you came around," I informed him.

We spoke briefly about the journey to the province that we were planning to go on so we could officially announce our engagement to my family. I was very excited about it but when he brought up going to visit the Numman Estate where his mom was, I was quite reluctant. Not only did I not like the idea but I was going to do anything I could so I wouldn't have to go.

When we were done with dinner, he took me upstairs to the roof of the building. The air was cold and the wind distorted my hair but the wonderful view from there astounded me greatly.

I struggled to keep my mouth from dropping open. "Wow, the view from up here is breathtaking."

"I can't argue with that but I'd rather stare at you all day long."

His gaze was intent on me when I turned to him, my face quickly becoming ruddy.

He shuffled closer to me. "You know, there's this charity ball that I have to attend tomorrow and-"

"-and you would like for me to come with you?" I smiled, taking the words right off his lips.

His silver-grey irises gleamed with so much intensity as he peered down at me. As they roved my reddened face, a smile curled his sensual lips. One of his hands settled on my back, drawing me closer before he intertwined our fingers, raising it so he could place a kiss on my engagement ring.

"I'd love it if you accompanied me but I hope you know what would mean and I hope you're ready for it." He finally spoke.

I very well knew what it meant; we would be announcing ourselves to the world as an official couple and there was no going back from there. Our original plan was for everyone to know during the wedding but plans change and I was letting it happen.

I could only imagine all the elites that would frequent that occasion and for a moment, I was frightful. It would be my first time mingling with people of such influence and I couldn't afford to make a fool out of myself.

The evening of the next day was sure to change my social standing forever and I wasn't sure I was ready. If I opted out, I would be giving some other women the chance to mess around with my man but it wasn't like he would succumb to them or anything. Still, could I do this?

"I do know and I am ready for it. I guess it's high time the world comes to know about us."