Chapter 62: Chapter 62
Annabelle's POV
I left the topic of my wedding venue since Stefan decided to remain silent on the issue. The rest of the family too seemed to support him in this so what else could I do? I ordered my wedding dress and being jobless, I spent more time shopping and planning my wedding with gran and mom. However, my relaxation didn't last long as two days later I received a surprise phone call from Kayla. She had prematurely delivered a baby girl and wouldn't be able to continue at the dance institute any longer. Both mother and daughter were healthy and that was all that mattered so I just decided to go to Princeton to see her. I could deal with my dance institute as well. I could check out my family mansion and have it sold.
I spoke to Margaret and to my surprise, she was already living there in Princeton. She had taken up a job at a nearby departmental store and managed somehow. "I just couldn't pull the rent anymore. We had two years' rent due and the landlord wanted to increase the rent. I lost my job and was at my wit's end. The money Stefan gave us went into paying the rent dues as well as for the food item dues from our neighbor's store. He was kind enough to lend us necessary food items for the children for months," said Margaret.
"You did the right thing, Margaret. When you have a roof over your head why would you pay further rent? I'm on my way to Princeton in a day or two. We'll meet soon," I told her.
At the dining table, I spoke to Stefan and he agreed to it. "You can leave tomorrow. I'll join you in a day or two," said Stefan.
"My old friend, Greta, was telling me that her son is interested in buying your house, Anna, " said gran.
"Oh, but he was in South Africa before, wasn't he?" I asked. I knew all about gran and her friends.
"Yeah, you remember? He liked you," said gran. Stefan dropped his cutlery out of shock. Gran chuckled at his reaction.
"Why don't I have any knowledge about this guy's existence?" he asked gran with a scowl. I laughed and he fixed me too with that same look,
"Bryan is twenty years older than me, Stefan. He is married with older kids. You have nothing to be alarmed about. Even his wife and children like me," I clarified, making Stefan release a breath of relief. He smiled and picked up his fork to resume eating.
"So were you jealous?" I teased him. Gran chuckled more.
"Of course, he is green with jealousy," said gran, chuckling more. Arielle too laughed.
"Is daddy a frog? Why is he green?" She laughed. Stefan rolled his eyes, his cheeks coloring slightly.
So it was decided that I would leave for Princeton the next day. I explained this to Arielle and she agreed to stay with Stefan's parents for a few days. Even gran and nurse Ellie would go there with her. That being settled, I packed up for my trip. Stefan would talk to the buyer and join me in a day or two. He knew a good lawyer there to help with the property dealings.
Stefan pulled me closer. "I'm going to miss you, Rosy," he said, pulling me into his arms.
"Then come along with me," I suggested.
"I can't. I have an important meeting tomorrow," said Stefan.
"Fine then. I'll wait for you to complete your meeting. We can go together the next day, if you want," I told him.
"You'll wait for me?" asked Stefan, pulling me closer and kissing my neck.
"Of course, I'll miss you too. So it's better that we went together and returned together, right?" I said cheekily. He grinned and attacked my neck more, his hands roaming about all over my body. I loved this decision more than the previous one. Stefan got rid of my clothes and I was too lost in his lovemaking to ponder more over this decision.
The next morning, Stefan went to his office to attend his meeting while Arielle and gran prepared to leave for Stefan's parents' house. It was decided that we would leave for New Jersey tomorrow morning.
It was noon when we reached gran's house in Princeton. We straight away went to Kayla's house to see her and her baby girl. Afterward, we went to my house to meet Margaret and the children. Stefan took all of us out to lunch. It was a small restaurant. Two blocks away and the food was awesome there. "I've eaten here every time I came to Princeton," said Stefan.
Donald and Diana loved the food too, although they opted for pizza, chicken wings, mac and cheese, and ice-creams. Stefan told Margaret about the prospective buyer and she seemed very eager to sell the mansion off.
"It's very expensive to maintain, Anna. I'm unable to pull the maintenance costs," said Margaret. I obviously understood what she meant.
"Let's pack up what we would want to keep and the rest we could sell off along with the property," I suggested.
For the next two days, we packed and sorted through the stuff at the mansion. Finally, we were done and Stefan contacted Granny Greta about the sale of the property. In the afternoon, her son Bryan came over to see the property. He seemed to like it but promised to think over it and inform us of his decision. While we waited, we wrapped up my dance institute. There were only 30 students remaining. We refunded their fees and closed down the center once and for all. We were planning to return to New York when we received a call from Bryan. He wanted to buy the property.
Stefan spoke to his lawyer and the papers were made in a day's time. The signing was completed the day after. We had the stuff we packed brought to New York. Margaret needed to serve a five-day notice period at her workplace. So Stefan and I returned back to New York. They would come later. I was a little upset about my academy. I had no idea that the number of students had reduced from 2000 to a mere 30. I should have closed it down when I shifted here.
"It's okay, Rosy. The institute was alive because of you. When you left, your students too left. It's normal. Why don't you start over again? I'm sure you'll be more successful here," encouraged Stefan. It gave me hope and I knew that I could do it. I would have to do it. I was determined to now make my academy a success. I would talk to mom about her friend's commercial building.
I would make Stefan proud.