Chapter 3 The First Encounter

Daniel was the first to arrive at the apartment. He had been there sometime in recent years, but this time Laura's presence was noticeable in small things throughout the house. It was evident that they had been sharing the place for a good while.

For some reason, he felt nervous. This situation was very similar to when his mother set him up on dates with her friends' daughters, only this time he came of his own free will. Perhaps because this was the first time that the one waiting for approval was him.

A few minutes later the doorbell rang. It was Deanna. As soon as he saw her cross the threshold, he knew that all of this would be more difficult than he had thought. She entered with a huge smile and, in a few seconds, filled the place with her energy, as if she radiated a kind of warm light. Her hair was loose; her abundant caramel-colored mane covered her shoulders.

Daniel's first reaction was to stand up immediately, as if pushed by an invisible force. Seeing him, Deanna did not hesitate to approach him and stand in front of the tall, black-haired man.

"Nice to meet you, I am Deanna. Are you Daniel?" And she extended her hand with another smile.

"Nice to meet you, Deanna. I am Daniel, Harry's brother. It is a pleasure," he took her hand to shake it and felt that warmth radiating.

Laura came in with some drinks and snacks, and both women greeted each other. The atmosphere felt a little awkward, but Harry, with his usual chattiness, began to prepare the ground to alleviate the tension a bit. This meeting had to be a complete success if they wanted the plan to work. And it was, only not as they had planned.

"So you study with Harry and Laura," Daniel probed.

"Yes, we know each other from the university."

"And what do you study?"

"Opera singing."

"Mmmm..." Daniel replied with a hint of... disapproval?

Harry had warned him, he had warned him.

"Mmmm, what?"

"Nothing."

"You must have something to say, besides 'mmm'."

"Nothing... I respect artists very much."

"Perhaps we should eat now," Laura said, trying to change the subject.

They had to contain Daniel before he showed his special character. They knew Deanna would not stay quiet either. The best thing was to try to stretch out and delay the imminent clash.

Dinner passed in a pleasant chat. It seemed that Daniel and Deanna had found a turning point, until the "topic" arose.

"We must do this as quickly as possible. You do not know how grateful we are that you can help us," Harry said.

"It is true, thank you from the bottom of my heart," Laura added.

"I will cover the university expenses for the year that we are married, in compensation for having to pause your career," Daniel shot out without further ado.

"What do you mean pause my career? I am not going to pause my career."

"You will definitely have to. I cannot be married to a university student, it would not look good."

"I do not want your money."

"It is not about that. You are about to make a sacrifice and it must be compensated."

"How nice to know that it will be a 'sacrifice'."

Harry and Laura looked at each other. The delicate line had broken.

"I have three children, you know that, right?"

"Of course I know."

"Good, because we must establish rules for you to interact with them."

Deanna looked at Harry, who replied with resignation. Inside, he was praying that his friend would withstand what was left of the night and not regret it. Daniel seemed to be trying to close a business deal and not a wedding.

"Another thing you must respect is that at home we have coexistence rules that work wonderfully and we cannot... change them."

"Where do you live? In a military base?"

"I hope it will not be difficult for you to adapt, despite your evident disinterest in everything I tell you."

"It is not disinterest, but I can hardly adapt to anything with that 'military' attitude."

"Military? It is just a little discipline... And you cannot dress like that anymore," he pointed to her bare knees.

"Ah! It is a convent, not a military base."

"Guys, please..." Harry intervened.

But from then on, everything went downhill. The conditions that Daniel tried to impose received a contrary response from Deanna. She was not being nice at all. It was strange, he was usually polite despite being displeased by something.

"These are minimal aspects that I need you to comply with if we want this facade not to raise suspicions. You are not exactly the type of woman I would date."

"Well, thank you? I understand what you are saying, but not the way you are doing it, as if you were trying to close a contract."

"I will talk about that with my lawyer tomorrow, the prenuptial agreement. It will be a fake but legitimate wedding, and we must cover that too."

"So let me recap: I have to comply with rules and leave the university. I suppose you must have a manual on how I should interact with your children, and I must change my way of dressing. I understand the prenuptial agreement perfectly."

"Good, I am glad we reached an agreement."

"What agreement? That is only what you want, but I also have my conditions."

"What would those be?"

"Since I cannot continue at the university, I will take one day a week, at my discretion, to attend private singing lessons."

"Fine, I will cover that expense."

"I do not need you to do that, I have a job."

"Which you will have to quit, so I will cover the expense."

Deanna was about to explode; she only contained herself because Laura was looking at her with large, worried eyes. She gave the impression that she was begging her for patience. Deanna took a deep breath.

"Very well... since you are an ATM with legs, I also want a room in your house, just for me, that functions as a music room."

"I can do that... is that all?"

"For now, I guess so."

They fell silent without looking at each other. Harry and Laura had been unconsciously holding their breath while watching them argue.

"Tomorrow I will speak with our parents so we can have a family meeting and I can introduce her. I trust that Laura will be able to help her adjust to the situation," he spoke of her as if she were not in the same room.

"Good," Harry said and shot a furtive glance at Deanna, as if trying to apologize. He was already hearing her in his head complaining incessantly about Daniel's attitudes.

This guy was incredible; he showed no hesitation in expressing himself without filters, as if everyone were his employee and should follow his orders.

"I will leave then," Deanna said. She could not stand it anymore.

"Let me call you a taxi," Harry told her.

"None of that, I will drive her home."

"I do not think that is a good idea, Daniel."

"Why not? In a few weeks she will be my wife, it is the most normal thing in the world, Laura... Let us go."

He simply stood up and waited by the door for her. She resigned herself, said goodbye to her friends, and they left. They did not exchange a single word the entire trip until they arrived at her building.

"Do you live here?"

"Yes... Well, thanks for bringing me. Good night."

And that was it. She got out of the car and disappeared inside the building.

Daniel remained for a few more minutes looking at her and then thinking. If he did not manage to mold her a little to his standards, no one would believe the story. She was a combative woman who did not keep quiet, she had that all-curly caramel hair, large expressive eyes, a warm smile... What was he thinking?