New Home, New Family

Melina stood on the tarmac of the runaway waiting for Steven to say his goodbyes to the pilot and air hostess. The two were twins and the kids of Steven. And from the looks of the two, it seemed they had gotten their mother's looks.

Steven had tried to get Melina to go to the nearby car and let Gabriel take her to JR's home but Melina felt it would be rude to leave. It was the polite thing to do after someone had traveled hundreds of miles to accompany on a flight.

"Well, I'd best get going now. You two stay out of trouble, you heard?" Steven said to the twins, smiling a little.

"Only if trouble doesn't come looking for us." The air hostess, Lesa replied back.

Steven shook his head and turned to me. "Well, I guess we should get going. The boss is waiting for us back at home and it's getting a little late."

Melina nodded her head in agreement. The sun was starting to set behind them and she didn't want to keep a person like JR waiting. They seemed quite powerful and rich with everything that had happened so far.

Steven guided Melina to the waiting car and again opened the door for her. She hopped in to see Gabriel was listening to something on the radio. Gabriel looked up in the rear-view mirror to see her and quickly switched the radio off.

His dark brown eyes looked guilty, making Melina wonder what he was listening to. Steven soon hopped inside the car taking the passenger seat and distracting Melina from her thoughts. Gabriel started the car and drove out of the airport and into rush hour traffic.

***

After a two hour long drive in heavy traffic the car finally pulled to a stop. Melina looked out the window to see they had stopped outside a grand mansion. It was a brick house, at least two storeys high, and had an antique look to it.

There was a fountain in the middle of the round driveway with a marble statue of what looked to be an angel. Steven quickly got out of the car and opened the door for Melina.

Stepping outside the car, Melina followed Steven up the mansion's stairs as Gabriel pulled away with the car. When they reached the top, Melina saw an elderly man standing at the huge double doors. He looked to be a butler, with a suit like Steven's and a white towel over his one arm.

As they got closer the old man smiled, the wrinkles around his gray eyes creasing. "Steven, I see that you have brought Miss Melina back. It's so nice to have you back. It's been a long time."

What?! A long time? But Melina had never been here, had she? Melina tried to rack through her brain to see if she could remember anything about this place but she couldn't. This place was something you'd remember.

Seeing the confusion in Melina's face, the old man chuckled a little. Bowing he said, "I guess you were too young to remember. Anyway, my name is Andrew. I'm the caretaker of this house."

"I see…" Melina mumbled, still unsure about the answer. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here miss. Please follow me inside. It's getting late and will be cold soon."

Andrew turned away and opened the doors, gesturing for Melina to enter the house. Stepping inside Melina saw that the mansion was just as grand inside as it was outside.

Dark brown wood covered almost every surface and in the center of the mansion was a huge gray marble stairway that led to the second floor. Andrew led them straight upstairs. They walked through the hallway passing a massive portrait of a woman.

Melina stopped to stare at the beautiful woman. She had long, midnight black hair, blue eyes like the ocean and dark bronze skin. She was sitting down wearing an evening gown and had the brightest smile on her face.

"Who is this?" Melina wondered, completely mesmerized by the woman's beauty. She looked quite familiar too, maybe a famous celebrity, Melina thought.

"Ah, that's the late mistress. Such a wonderful lady." Andrew suddenly exclaimed with a sad look on his face. "The master was so sad when she passed away. And her poor children…"

Andrew looked at Melina for a second, lost in thought before turning away. "Come on then. The master is waiting for us."

They continued making their way through the hallway until they got to the end of it. There stood double doors engraved with a purple peacock. Andrew knocked on the door and said, "Master, the young miss and Steven have arrived."

.A voice echoed from inside replying, "Let them in then Andrew."

Andrew grabbed the golden door handle of the left door and pulled it open. He gestured for Melina to go inside. Melina did, stepping inside the room to find a luxurious office.

The office was quite big, with several French doors, two leading to balconies. The doors had purple and gold curtains and every other surface was covered in a dark brown wood or gold. In the center back of the room was a desk with a man sitting in the chair.

Seeing Melina walk in, the man stood up, an aura of power and danger surrounding him. He smiled as he walked towards the group, a small smile on his face. He had black eyes with silver hair and a chiseled face with a pale skin tone.

The man looked as though Michelangelo had carved him, fitting perfectly into his black suit and long coat, not a wrinkle in sight on his face and clothes.

"Thank you for bringing Melina safely back to me Steven." Steven nodded his head and the man turned to look at Melina. "Melina, it's nice to see you. I'm James Rana or JR as some people call me."

"It's nice to meet you too sir." Melina felt the urge to bow but decided not to instead continuing, "Um… thanks for taking me in. It seems you were my only relative."

James smiled. "No worries my dear. I see you have grown up and look quite beautiful. Just like your mother. May her soul rest in peace."

"You knew my parents?"

"Yes. I knew them quite well. Anyway…" James looked at Andrew. "Please get some refreshments and take Melina's belongings to her room. We have much to discuss and I'm sure Melina would like something to eat and drink."

"You don't-"

"Of course master." Andrew bowed, gesturing for the bag. Melina hesitated, the bag having everything precious to her inside, but Andrew smiled softly, saying, "Don't worry miss. I'll make sure to handle it with care."

Melina handed the bag to Andrew. He then turned away leaving the room with Steven. After the door closed behind Steven, James gestured for Melina to take a seat in one of the large leather chairs in front of the oak desk.

James sat back down in his seat behind the desk and looked at Melina. Grabbing some papers from a pile next to him, he handed it to Melina.

"These are your school transfer papers. You'll be starting next week Monday. Steven's youngest child will be accompanying you. Please do keep him nearby."

Melina looked at the papers and grasped in shock. She was enrolled into one of the most exclusive private schools in the country – Colston High. Only the richest and most elite families went to that school. It was where they sent their children to study and make connections with other elite families.

"I…How…"

She stared at James not understanding what was going on. James sighed a little frustrated. "I see Margret and Thomas didn't tell you about me. But I guess it was maybe for the best. As you may have guessed I've got a bit of money…"

Melina just stared at the man. A bit of money was an understatement. Melina thought. He's basically rolling in cash just looking at everything. The fact he got me into Colston and in such little time…

"I own a few large businesses and it's made me a little high profile. Of course, it also means I have a few enemies. And seeing as how you were coming to live here, I thought it would be best if you went to a school with high security. You are quite important to me…

"At the moment there are some things going on that I don't want you to get hurt in the crossfire…" James's face darkened for a second but then he went back to a neutral look. "But it will still be best if you keep Michael close by. The boy's trained-"

The door suddenly slammed open and two young men, around their earlier twenties, rushed in, Andrew following close behind with a tray.

"Young masters please wait…" Andrew huffed.

The two ignored him, making their way straight to Melina. Melina looked at the two seeing a close resemblance to James. Must be his sons. Melina thought to herself.

The one had James face and eyes but his hair was midnight black, slightly curling at the ends. He wore street clothes, a t-shirt with ripped jeans. The other has the same build and hair color as James, however, he looked a little like the woman in the portrait with the same blue eyes. His silver hair was shorter than the other but he still looked quite handsome in a suit and long coat similar to James' outfit.

"Father! How could you not tell us Melina was coming!" The man with the street clothes yelled as he got to the desk.

"Kai, please." The other said, putting a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Father was probably just explaining everything…"

"Still to not tell us Jason. How could you? We've been waiting ten years to see Melina."

James just stared at the two for a minute before replying, "Well, I knew you would act like this. If you were a little more mature I would have told you. But you just proved to me that you're incapable of containing yourself."

The two went quiet and Andrew made his way to the desk with the gold tray. "I apologize, master. They saw me with the tray and-"

"It's fine Andrew. You are not at fault. I was going to have you call them later but I guess you won't need to. Please make sure preparations are ready for dinner. Jason can serve tea."

Andrew nodded, leaving the tray on the desk and walking out the room. Kai grabbed the chair next to Melina and Jason moved to serve tea.

"Now that everyone is here, I believe I owe you an explanation for all this drama. It must be quite confusing for you, Melina."