Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Karen's POV

The flight to Los Angeles was successful and before I knew it, we were in a taxi. "It's actually my first time in a plane." I told Helen and she suppressed a smile.

"We should have used a private jet, mom is going to be annoyed if she finds out that we took a plate."

I chuckled and looked at the tall and beautiful buildings of Los Angeles. "This place is damn cute, my father works here as a driver." I said and immediately regretted telling her.

"A driver?" She asked loudly and I became embarrassed. The taxi driver turned back to look at me before paying attention to the road.

"Huh, he works for a wealthy company."

Looking at Helen, she smiled and squeezed my hands gently. "Don't say anything about your family in public." She whispered to me, making sure that the driver didn't hear.

I nodded with a smile and began thinking of Brody, I wondered why I was already missing him. That dance! It was so perfect. I was like Cinderella and he was a charming prince. That peck! Ohh, it felt so natural and real.

And his smiles, He was really charming but not my prince charming. I disliked arrogant men. "So what's the carnival for?" I asked as the taxi pulled to a stop in front of a big building.

"I'll tell you when we get down from the taxi." She said and came down from the taxi. I also did the same thing as two men came out from the building and carried our bags into the building.

"This doesn't look like a carnival." I told her.

She laughed and looked at me with a smirk. "It's just for fun and it's also for wealthy people. You should have fun and fall in love."

"I can't fall in love with any other man except Brody." I told her.

"Well, that's what you'll think until you find hot and handsome looking men who are ready to serve you and make you fall in love with them."

A smirk plastered on my face as I looked at the house with a smile. This was actually a good plan, I could forget about everything and focus on the men. I knew I would certainly fall in love and I couldn't wait.

A muscular man with abs came out of the house and smiled at me. For some seconds, I stared at his body in shock until Helen pinched me gently. "I told you the truth, didn't I? You're in for a love triangle." She whispered to me and I chuckled.

The man hugged me and I rested comfortably on his chest. "Hi, I'm Joe." He introduced himself after I released myself from his grip.

"I'm Karen... Karen Miller." I stammered.

"You look cute."

"Thanks" We walked into the house and I looked at everyone. The girls were just 4 including I and Helen while the boys were 6. "Hi everyone, my name is Karen Miller." I said, trying to act friendly but they just ignored me and continued with their game. I felt embarrassed and turned to Helen.

She quickly took hold of my hand and took me to the main room where all of them slept. "You should rest for a while, I'm sure you're tired." She suggested.

I frowned and looked at the room. "Helen, this is just 5 beds but we're ten." I said, confused.

She smiled. "Tonight you'll choose someone and they will sleep on the same bed with you."

My eyes widened. "I don't understand... Have sex with me?"

She chuckled and sat on one of the beds. "No I don't mean that but they're free to do so too." She answered and my eyes widened.

"Is this some kind of naughty room? I thought it was a carnival."

"Absolutely not," She replied and laughed at my ignorance. "So who are you choosing?" She asked.

"We already know it's Joe." I answered and blushed, shyly.

"No, she's choosing me." A familiar voice replied and I turned back and found Michael, the guy who wanted to rape me in the kitchen when I followed Brody to his friend's party.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in fright and looked at Helen. "What is he doing here?"

Helen looked at me with a quizzed expression. "You guys know each other?" She asked, giving me large brown eyes. I nodded with a frown and she continued. "He's one of the guys in this fun event."

My heart beat increased rapidly. I was definitely not picking michael. He was not the person I wanted to see right now.

"Michael, please leave." I told him politely.

He laughed. "Is this a joke?" He asked.

Helen looked at me, still confused. "What happened?"

I couldn't hide the truth, I decided to tell her everything that happened. I wanted him to go to jail for attempted sexual assault. "He tried to rape me. He almost raped me." I told her, almost crying.

"No, that's a lie. You seduced me." He replied, bluntly.

Brody's POV

"So we're going to give this gift to your granny." I told Diego with a smile as I drove into the compound. We were just coming back from shopping because Diego was already missing his mom and I had to take him to a shopping mall just like my mom suggested.

"Are you sure she would like the gift?" He asked and picked up the wrapped gift from the backseat.

I chuckled. "You said she would like it back at the mall. C'mon, you can't possibly change your words."

He laughed and I parked my car in the garage. We both came down from the car and he ran into the house. My happiness reduced when I remembered Karen, I didn't know what my mom was planning. I only had to pray that it was a good plan.

Wondering what Karen would be doing, I walked into the house and found mom watching a video on her laptop. "Good afternoon, mom." I greeted.

She smiled at me and Diego hugged her. "How are you doing?" She asked me.

I faked a smile. "I'm doing great." I replied and sat on the sofa, I quickly removed my shoe and kept it near the sofa. Taking off my shirt, I heaved a sigh of relief. The shirt was starting to get tight. I was lucky to have bought new clothes.

"Starting to gain more weight, right?" She asked and I slanted her a look.

"Let's just say that I'm becoming stronger." I answered and looked at Diego. I winked at him, giving him the sign that he should give her the gift.

"Momma, I bought this for you." He said and gave her the gift.

She smiled at him and looked at me. "Was this your idea?"

"Absolutely not," I replied. "The boy wanted to give you a gift and I wasn't going to stop him."

She unwrapped the gift and looked at the expensive blue mug he bought for her. "Oh my God, my favourite color. How did you know my favorite?" She asked him and planted a kiss on his forehead.

Diego chuckled and winked at me. "He knew what you would love." I answered and she smiled at me. The images of Karen flooded my memory and I started thinking of her. She was a princess and I was her prince charming. I wondered what she would be doing right now. And the housemates? I hoped that they were being friendly to her.

Mom snapped her fingers, bringing me back to reality. "Thinking about Karen?" She asked. I ignored her question and stood up.

"Well, your sweet girlfriend is already falling in love with another man." She added and my eyes widened.

This wasn't true! "It's not true."

She laughed and slanted me a look. "I have evidence. There are CCTV cameras around the house but Karen wouldn't even know if she sees one," she paused and laughed. "And Karen stared at a muscular man's body for some seconds." She added and I walked towards her. She handed me her laptop and I saw the video.

My heart skipped a beat.