Their chopper landed in Regatta Spring, Ariana could feel her heart retreat behind her chest muscle at the out come of their visit. There was a police car waiting for them and two SUVs lined the perimeter of the helipad.
"One has the guards in it while the other is the one we will move around with," Calhoun explained pointing out to the vehicles.
He got up and held her hands, leading her out of the helicopter. An attendant had already moved their bags to the car and all they had to do his walk to the vehicles on their own.
"Mr. Lawson, welcome to Regatta Spring," The man said with a slight bow of his head.
"Thank you," Calhoun said giving the man a firm handshake. "Meet my Fiancée, Miss Ariana Brown," Calhoun said.
The man bowed further and smiled as his eyes met that of Ariana. "A pleasure to meet you ma'am. Please let's move to the car, the whether by this time of the year can be a little strange," He said.
Ariana looked up to the sky and she saw the clouds pooling in. Though her large glasses made it a bit hard to tell if they were rain clouds or not, but there were clouds. And truly, by this time of the year, rain could fall at any moment. Even with a clear sky.
The attendant pulled the door open for them and Calhoun let Ariana step in first before he went in after her. The doors got locked and their journey started.
"Babe, you will have to lead the driver at this point," he said. He passed her his phone and took it from him. The maps on the screen made her understand what he wanted her to do. Initially, she thought she would have to point out every turning but the map made it easier. All she had to do was pin point her house on the map and a route was planned out and locked for the car to follow.
"What about the other vehicle?" Ariana whispered.
"I have sent the map to them. Unless the address you entered is wrong: they should not have a problem getting there." Calhoun replied as he presses away on his phone.
Ariana found herself lost at the man sitting by her side. He had cancelled major contracts just so he could be with her at a time like this. God knew she wouldn't be able to face her parents on her own. They had broken her heart. They had cheated her and they were not even remorseful about it. Especially her father.
Home was no longer the sanctuary it use to do. Home was now just a place she had to go to because her crazy ex- boyfriend tried to kill himself.
She felt hands around her shoulders and she turned to look up at Calhoun.
"You are too quiet. What's wrong?" He whispered to her.
She blinked and turned her head down. Maybe it was time she told him who the people they were going to meet were exactly.
"You are in your home town. You should be pointing out ice scream shops and other fun places you used to go to... You are not doing any of that. Come on, talk to me," Calhoun insisted.
"This place... It doesn't bring back fun memories anymore," Ariana started.
Calhoun fell silence as hr wanted to hear this part of her. It had to have been something huge for Ariana one to be moody about something.
"The last time I came here... That was when Alice fired me. At that point in my life, I thought coming me will clear my head. There were so many things happening. I didn't know what to do. I thought home would bring me peace, but the pain it brought was worst than seeing Ethan and Sofia together," she breathed.
Calhoun frowned. He took her hands and tried to comfort her the little way he could.
"I had been working my ass off. Toiling and receiving thousands of insult from Alice and Sofia, just so my parents could be fine. It was always one demand to another. The worst was when my mother said my dad had a very chronic disease and if I didn't send money he might not make it..." As she spoke her lungs constricted in pain and she was teleported to that very moment of her life once again.
"I sent them everything i had. All the money Alice paid me off with, I sent it to them! I didn't want my dad to die you see," she said with a painful laugh.
"But it was a lie. My father was never sick. They just needed me to keep sending them money. They needed me to keep working and sending them money like a slave!" At this point her hands were shaking and Calhoun had to squeeze them.
"I almost accepted to marry Ethan even after I found out about his cheating escapades with Sofia because I became that desperate to safe a father that didn't even need saving in the face place!" Her emotions had overwhelmed her and her shoulders shook as she fought back the tears.
Calhoun could almost feel her pain weighing down on his heart. He couldn't even imagine understanding parents who would do this to their own child just for money! But looking back to his uncle Benson and his wife, Lily, he believed people like that existed. Lily could sell her own children for money as well. the woman was that desperate.
"It's okay, Ariana. I am here now. Everything will be fine," he said pulling her into his chest.
They stayed this way until the car finally reached the Brown's house.
"We are here sir," the driver called from his compartment.
Ariana hadn't spoken to her parents in months now. She didn't know what they were up to currently or how they would even react but it was too late to back down now. They were there already.
"Are you ready?" Calhoun whispered in a gentle voice and Ariana nodded squeezing his hands.
With him by her side, she could face the worst of situations without fear.