I supposed my eldest brother didn't want to hear about how much I started to like mangoes in savory dishes, or that I had read almost eight books, or that I was traumatized by helicopter for the rest of my life. I knew that Vince was really interested in only one thing.

"I'd have appreciated it if you had told me before that my father was alive," I said. I was hoping that I didn't sound too rude. There was a slight sign of remorse in my voice after all.

Vince looked at me with a neutral expression, but I think he liked the fact that I decided not to beat the bush. He preferred concrete conversations.

"You wouldn't have," he replied shortly. No muscle twitched in his face.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I forgot you know everything better," I spat before I could stop myself. I just got annoyed, and I hadn't dealt with Vince for a long time, so my defense mechanisms were a bit dormant. In addition, I could not deny that holidays and time spent with my brothers, and also (above all) with my father, strengthened my self-esteem in this family. And thus, it added me some courage.

His eyes darkened and a trace of disapproval flickered in them, at which sight I looked away. He paused for a while as if he wanted this moment of strained silence to burn my ears. Finally, he spoke slowly.

"That's exactly right. The vast majority of things I know better, certainly better than you. And now, our conversation can be nice or unpleasant. What is your choice, Hailie?" the chill in his voice made me think twice about the answer.

"Nice," I murmured, still avoiding his gaze.

"Very wise," he praised me. His tone of voice did not change, however.

Oh, what an idiot I am, I had to upset him right upfront, didn't I?

"Knowing about our father before meeting him would bring you nothing more than stress and a list of questions that could be answered best only by himself. To be honest, if it was up to me, you still wouldn't know about his existence. But he wanted to meet you. So now you know that he is alive. You wanted to know the secrets of our family? Here is one of them. I expect you to be able to keep it."

I listened carefully. In the end, I nodded but Vincent's gaze became even more intense.

"I have to be sure, Hailie, that you understand the seriousness of the situation. Few people know the truth and it has to remain so. Do you know what would happen if it came out?"

It took me a few seconds before I realized that Vince was waiting for me to answer.

"Dad would go to jail?" I mumbled, for some reason for the second time in my life using this word, which hadn't existed in my dictionary until recently. This time I did it on purpose and with much more comfort. I watched shyly as Vincent leaned toward me a little more. I could swear that for a moment his gaze softened, but I might've read it wrong...

"We would all go to jail."

Immediately the image of my brothers behind bars appeared in my sick head. As in a cartoon. An elegant Vincent's clothes replaced by a uniform in some hilariously flashy color. It was such a surreal vision that I immediately kicked it out of my mind.

But my eyes remained wide open, and Vince just nodded.

"Hailie, I don't care how, in your opinion, wonderful, loyal and trustworthy friendships you will make in life. This is a secret that you will never share with anyone. With no friend or therapist, no lawyer, no potential partner. With no one. If you need to talk about it, there are five people you can turn to and they all live under this roof at the moment. Do you understand how important is what I say?"

I understood but was speechless. I knew that my vacation with my father was a secret, and I wasn't going to tell even to Mona or Marshall about it, though, I would lie if I said it didn't cross my mind for a moment. But Vincent just made me realize how great that issue was. How huge and complicated this secret was...

I immediately felt as if someone put on my shoulders a backpack stuffed with stones. One that I can never take off. I think I even stooped a little.

"Can we trust you, Hailie?" he asked.

That's what I wanted, didn't I? Trust, being initiated. I fought for it so much. And now, before I could formulate the answer, I swallowed hard. I did not expect the responsibility to be so big.

"I won't tell anyone. I promise," I whispered, looking deep into Vincent's eyes to prove my sincerity.

"Very well," he muttered and finally leaned back and relaxed a little. He raised his hand to look at the shiny face of his fabulous watch. Then he gave me a look again, "There is one more thing."

I held my breath. With him, I never knew what to expect, so every time he addressed me with his "things", my body was freezing in the spot.

"It will be a year soon since you lived with us. A year since you met us and united with us. I know you have gone through a lot. A lot of things in your life should not have happened. I won't take them back, unfortunately, but I can do something different for you," he paused for a moment and tilted his head slightly, looking at me closely. "I will grant you one wish, Hailie, as far as it'll be something I'm capable of. And I'm capable of many things. Think about it and let me know when you come up with something."

I looked at him in surprise. I didn't expect that. Vince just promised to fulfill one of my desires. Like a fairy godmother, or a genie in a lamp.

What do I want? What to ask him? A trip to Europe? Any new gadget? Driving lessons and a car? VIP ticket for Ariana Grande's concert? Language course in Cuba? Buying a Jacuzzi to the garden? In a few seconds, similar thoughts crossed my mind. How great are his capabilities?

Vincent ended the conversation because he rose from the couch, adjusted his shirt cuffs and began to walk away.

"I would like to visit my mother's grave," I blurted out aloud. As soon as this idea came into my mind, I immediately knew that this was what I wanted most. Nothing will please me more. There was nothing I would want to use for this one wish my brother offered me.

Vince stopped and I looked at his back expectantly. He was probably thinking about my choice. I waited in suspense. Did I ask too much? Will this be a problem for him?

He finally turned and looked down at me with those bright eyes.

"Fine," he agreed, and then he left, pulling a phone out of his pocket and dialing a number. He disappeared before I could hear a word from his conversation.

That same evening I was informed that the next afternoon I would fly with Vincent to my hometown. I didn't expect to get what I asked for so quickly. I was even more surprised that I would be accompanied by Vincent. He usually barely found the time to talk to me for a few minutes. And yet, the next day we actually went to the airport and for the third time, I had the pleasure to be aboard my brothers' private jet.

The pilots were the same men who we flew with recently and they both politely greeted Vincent and winked at me. In return, I waved at them cheerfully. The flight attendant was a new girl but as broadly smiling as the last one, maybe just a little bit tenser.

We took our seats and I could not believe that we were on a plane that took off only at my request. At least three people came to work because I wanted to visit my hometown. The fact that Vince could even organize something like that was still incredible to me.

My brother sat next to me and immediately opened his laptop while I admired the views, as the sky was cloudless and the earth could be seen. I tried not to look too much at Vince, in case he didn't want me to see what he was doing. At one point his phone rang, which surprised me a lot.

"Is there a signal here?" I asked curiously when he finished the conversation.

"There is," he replied, focusing on his phone for a moment.

"Seriously? So I could call someone now if I wanted?" I continued. Hey, it was really something new to me, usually, you need to turn off your phones during flights, or at least turn on airplane mode, right?

"I could, you not," he murmured, still not paying me full attention. That's why I allowed myself to roll my eyes, which he probably didn't notice, or at least he didn't comment on. Rather, he didn't notice.

Then I fell asleep, and three hours later I was awakened by slight turbulence. Vincent was still holding his paper-flat MacBook on his lap, ticking off something in a black leather-covered calendar.

I yawned and winced as the plane trembled again.

"In how much time are we landing?" I asked, stretching myself. I didn't sleep well, as I still had my seat belt fastened.

"In less than an hour."

He didn't even look at me.

"You work a lot," I noticed, this time shamelessly staring at the screen of his computer, on which there were some numbers and charts.

"Because I have a lot of work," he replied.

I leaned my head against the window and stared at my oldest brother. While I was wearing denim shorts and a plain, tight-fitting T-shirt in red, he was dressed elegantly as usual - in a white shirt, black pants, a black, stylish belt, and polished shoes. His face was focused and his narrow, bright eyes were staring at the laptop.

"Why can't you hire someone to do some work for you?" I asked, ready for him to ignore me and not answer me, but I was bored so much that I didn't care.

"Because if you want to have something done well, you have to do it yourself, dear Hailie."

I fell silent and looked at him for a moment, then I looked around the plane and wondered if I should read my book when suddenly the plane shook again and lowered rapidly. My insides jumped, creating an unpleasant feeling, like on a crazy carousel, and my heart started beating faster. I also banged my head lightly. Immediately, I straightened up in my seat and looked panicked out the window. It did not help me much, but at least I saw that we were still flying and not falling. After a few seconds, however, the plane lost altitude again, just as sharply as before. A cry of fear escaped my mouth and I got goosebumps. Then I felt Vincent's cool hand on my clenched fist.

I looked at him with my terrified eyes. He looked back at me. His were calm as always. He wasn't anxious at all unless he hid it well.

"It's just turbulence," he said gently. He was still comforting me with one hand and holding his computer with the other.

"We almost fell!" I shouted hysterically and shuddered when the plane again shook threateningly.

"No, it's just strong turbulence. Calm down. Everything is fine."

I snuggled into a seat and occasionally glanced out the window to be sure we were still flying. The plane was shaking from time to time, but it didn't drop so rapidly anymore. The attendant also appeared at some point to check if we were all right. She also didn't seem scared so soon I let my body relax. Vince took his strong hand away and went back to work, completely unimpressed by what had caused me so much fear.

"That was awful," I whispered when I finally got my speech back.

"Hm?" Vincent muttered, totally focused on his computer.

"I thought we were going to fall," I added. I think I still had goosebumps.

"Turbulence is a very normal thing, no matter how dangerous it seems. Pilots are well-trained and can handle them," he said, sighing and finally glancing at me.

"I'll never get on a plane again."

"Mhm."

This event inscribed on my, quite long already, list of traumas. I thanked the heavens that I was on board with Vincent, whose calmness helped me a bit because if it happened to me during a commercial flight, where I would be alone, I would probably die there from a heart attack.

I was relieved when we finally landed. Already at the sight of a familiar airport, my stomach squeezed in a knot, and then we caught a taxi, which took us to the center, where our hotel was located. The deeper we entered the city, the more memories flooded my head. I felt as if someone had kicked the ball with all their strength and it hit me straight to my stomach. We passed the stop where I stood with my friend when my mom for the first time let me catch the bus on my own and we got into the wrong one and we had to wait an hour for the next one. I also recognized the cinema, to which we always went on class trips to watch educational movies. Next to it, there was a KFC, in which it was a tradition that we landed after the screening. There was also the station - a large building, in which my mom and I once lost half of a day arranging God knows what. But then we went to this KFC, so it was fun. If we were still going straight, a park would appear on the left, which was the largest park in the center of this city and in which once a year a great festival took place. There was a funfair and various concerts were planned ... A year ago I was there with my mom, my friends, and their parents, and it was one of the most wonderful days I spent with her shortly before her death. I was glad that we turned right because my eyes would tear for sure if I saw at least one tree growing in the area of this park.

I had to admit objectively that my hometown did not belong to those charming ones. There were a lot of ugly buildings here - industrial ones in every possible shade of gray and brown. The fact that it was rather cloudy here for most of the year did not help. Even today, although we had the middle of summer and it was quite warm, we could only dream about the sun. And not even because it was late. It's just one of the characteristics of this place.

I haven't thought about which hotel we'll be staying in, but a taxi drove us right under the elegant building that mainly was famous here for its great restaurant. It was on the top floor and its glass walls let its guests enjoy the panorama of the city. Apparently, it was beautiful there in the evenings when it was already dark and only the lights of cars, street lamps, and colored signs were flashing from below. Two years ago we were returning with a group of my school friends from one of these trips to the cinema and the boys came up with the idea to sneak into this restaurant. I remember that I was very stressed because, of course, this was not the place for us. We managed to pack ourselves into the elevator and we giggled there nervously, but we didn't even get out of it when the hotel staff caught us, turned back and kick us out onto the street.

If someone had told me then that in the not-so-distant future I would stay in this hotel, I would laugh loudly at this person's face.

I rarely had the opportunity to be alone with Vincent without my brothers around and not at home. Hardly ever. I shyly admitted to myself that I liked how he treated me in these moments. He would let me go first, hold the door for me, and help me when I needed it. He was a real gentleman and with him, I felt surrounded by some kind of invisible protection.

The interior of the lobby was bright and modern. There were a lot of mirrors here, a beautiful crystal chandelier hung in the center, and the marble floors were glowing. There weren't a lot of people hanging around here, and no one who would pass through the lobby could get here by accident. The receptionist served my brother quickly, efficiently and with the greatest politeness. Vincent handed the banknote to the hotel boy, who brought our two small suitcases to our apartment for us.

It was large, far too big for just the two of us. We had separate bedrooms, both with double beds and private bathrooms. The living room was also large and there was a balcony with a view of the city center. I stood there and stared at it, recognizing various familiar places while waiting for Vince to make a few calls. When he was finally ready, we went out to dinner and of course, we ended up in this hotel restaurant where, together with other kids, I once embarrassed myself.

The interior here was maintained in the same style - that is, modern. It was exclusive here, and the tables were placed at an appropriate distance from each other so that sitting at them gave the feeling of a rather intimate mood. Vince and I took seats at one that was located right next to the glass wall with this legendary view.

Sitting in front of my brother, I was convinced that I still didn't feel as comfortable in his company as I would have wanted. I gladly hid behind a large menu card that the waitress gave me. When I saw the prices, I immediately understood why so many people from my old surroundings used to complain about the unreachability of this restaurant. I decided on spaghetti, keeping in mind that it will be the most expensive spaghetti in my life so far.

While we were waiting for food, I told Vincent about my last visit here and I even managed to amuse him with my story because he chuckled and then became silent, still staring at me.

"So you have never eaten here?" he asked, glancing at the glass that had just been placed in front of him and filled with red wine. I got a glass full of coke. I remembered how our father had let me try white dessert wine and I hid a smile at the memory of my secret that Vince had no idea about. So that he doesn't start suspecting something, I focused on the answer.

I raised my eyebrows.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No."

"It's probably the most expensive restaurant in the whole city ..." I mumbled, looking at aside, at all the roofs, moving cars and flashing traffic lights below.

Hello, Vincent knew I wasn't raised in a rich family. My mother didn't even have enough money to say she was in the middle class. Until now, I thought that my eldest brother was not so out of touch with reality but it is possible that I was wrong. After all, he'd been raised in luxury and although he is intelligent, it must be certainly difficult for him to put himself in the position of an ordinary, poor person.

He shrugged and tasted the wine.

"I don't know what your mother was spending her money on."

"It was my grandma that mainly cooked for us, we rarely went to restaurants. And certainly never to such expensive ones. Mom was spending money very carefully," I explained.

"So you learned it from her?"

For the first time today, Vincent was fully focused on me and I think I preferred when he was busy at work because I felt like an open book in front of him, which he could freely read and take notes from.

"I have nothing to spend."

Amusement appeared in Vince's eyes.

"You have so much more than you think, you don't know that yet?"

I shyly looked up at him from above my coke.

"I know you're rich, but I'm not."

"Hailie, our whole family is wealthy. Of course, since you are a minor and under my care, I control your expenses, and therefore I will not agree to all your whims but at the same time, I do not want you to ever worry about money. There is no need. All right?

"All right," I whispered, nodding my head.

I was curious about what would happen when I was of legal age. Will Vince just give me a tiny part of his fortune? My throat tightened at the thought of what to do with such money. I couldn't even spend the pocket money I got from my father. I was too cheap.

I enjoyed my spaghetti and made myself to eat almost everything, knowing well that Vince would pay special attention to it. He ordered a salmon tartare himself, which looked delicious, although I was not ready to taste such strange dishes.