Dylan, Shane, and Tony let loose kind of a greeting shout. Something like between "Hey!" and "Ey!" marked by lazy excitement.

The newcomer entered the Monet residence as if he was walking to his place. His snow-white teeth were already blinding in a smile as he entered. With one stellar movement, he took his sunglasses off, revealing his dark, joyful eyes that absorbed my brothers' faces. He threw his quite muscular arm over my eldest brother's shoulders and shook him in a charming but still masculine way.

Seeing how much this man was familiar with Vince, I looked at him with even greater interest. He had to, he just had to belong to the family. He couldn't deny he had Monet's genes, even if he wanted to. Tall, well-built, with dark hair that was neatly arranged and gelled at the top of his head, and shaved on the sides. He was middle-aged, that's for sure, because around the eyes and mouth he had visible those wrinkles that only appear on people's faces over time caused by many smiles, but his style of being and wardrobe (bright polo shirt, jeans, and some sports shoes) were making him look younger.

What else was making him look younger was the woman who accompanied him and whose presence I noticed only when I heard the clatter of her heels on the living room floor. She must have been very short because even in these shoes she barely matched my height. She was slim, tanned, and looked like a walking Mrs. Summer in a high, golden braid, which end was wagging on her shoulder blades, and in a white floral, cleavage dress, so light, that in the wind it was probably waving loosely. She was wearing some shiny jewelry here and there, and her lips that were painted with raspberry lipstick were a bit too full to be the work of nature.

Freckles were covering her nose, and green eyes were light up as cheerfully as her companion's ones. She must've been younger than him. I was just trying to calculate if it could've been his daughter when she spoke.

"Guess who got engaged!" she chirped happily, raising her small hand up so that we could see a very large stone on her ring finger.

It would be a great pleasure for me to shout out just as loud "Congratulations" if it wasn't for the fact that I didn't know who these people were or what they were all about. I looked at my brothers who didn't seem particularly delighted, surprised, or excited about the news. Dylan and the twins rolled their eyes as if on cue.

"Baby, we barely entered ..." the man laughed, shaking his head indulgently, but he stopped in an instant when his eyes fell on me.

"Is this Hailie?"

The woman lowered her hand and took a few steps forward, staring at me with interest. Suddenly I was in the center of attention of everyone here and I immediately felt discomfort.

"Of course it's Hailie. It's Monet, a spitting image," she said and waved her hand as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I dunno, I thought maybe Shane had finally settled down," the man shrugged, and I couldn't blame him for the mistake, because I was still glued to the side of the older of the twins.

"Good joke," Dylan muttered under his breath, as Shane pulled a handful of popcorn from the bowl and threw it at him. Corn scattered across the couch and floor. Dylan scowled at first, but then he shrugged and began to select the grains that fell on him and throw them in his mouth.

"Clean it up," Vincent growled, annoyed by the thoughtlessness of his younger brother. I still avoided his look that was now staring at Shane, so dangerously close to me. "And you'll offer our guests coffee.

"Why me?"

"So that you could appreciate the work of our maid," Vince explained to him coldly, and Shane just let out a weary sigh and rose from the couch, gently pushing me away. I regretted losing this closeness, because it gave me a lot of encouragement, especially in the presence of my eldest brother and strangers, who apparently were strangers only to me here.

"A cappuccino for me, my boy," the man winked at Shane when he passed him by.

"With coconut milk for me!" the woman called after him and giggled when she heard a growl in response.

"Ah, so Hailie ..." The man clapped his hands and approached me. I groaned inside. He hung his sunglasses over the neckline of his polo shirt. "Do you recognize your Uncle Monty?"

I stared at him, doing my best to recognize him but if I had ever seen him before I would've remembered his smile and the flash in his eye. That's why I shook my head shyly.

"She doesn't know you," Dylan remarked, rolling his eyes.

"But she sure has heard of me?" the man who presented himself as uncle Monty said. He spread his hands and glanced at Dylan.

"Not really," he cut off in response.

"We are very careful with what we tell her. I am asking the same from you. Dad certainly warned you," Vincent said.

"Yes, yes. Cam mentioned something," uncle Monty waved his hand as if it was something completely unimportant.

I felt even more excluded than usual.

"Have you seen dad?" Dylan asked.

"We rented a yacht and picked him up from the island. We've been sailing together for about three weeks."

Oh, and now for some reason, I felt something else and it took me a moment to realize that it was a twinge of jealousy. They've seen my father? And, and they were cruising together?

"Well, Hailie, for your information, you are my niece. It's good to have you in the family at last. Finally the fair sex in this house."

I smiled at him with a little more confidence this time and shook the hand he reached out. He had a small tattoo on his finger and a hanging silver bracelet on his wrist.

"Nice to meet you, Hailie, I'm Maya," the woman introduced herself, also approaching me and extending her hands to me. I began to suspect that constant excitement was simply part of her character and personal charm. She obviously wanted to hug me, so out of politeness, I got up, though I'd rather avoid it because I was still wearing Shane's sweatshirt that was loose enough to cover my shorts, but not enough to reach farther than the middle of my thighs. Because of this, I felt a bit undressed.

Maya's scent kind of reminded me of Mrs. Hardy's bakery, that is, powdered sugar and general sweetness. She was also surprisingly strong for her petite posture.

Finally, we all sat down. Our guests took the remaining seat in a corner settee and Vince sat down next to Dylan on the couch. Before Uncle Monty leaned back comfortably, with the most natural gesture ever he reached back and out of nowhere pulled out a simple, black gun, which he put down on a coffee table, next to Shane's soda can, so casually as if it were only a phone.

I couldn't help but stare at the gun. The expression on my face remained unmoved, but I couldn't take my eyes off it.

"Ey!" Dylan and Vince admonished him immediately. Vince covered his eyes with his hand, sighing deeply. Tony leaned his head back and laughed out loud.

"What?" the man asked confused, then looked at Dylan, who pointed his chin at me. Only then did he get hold of the gun and took it back from my eyes. "Oh, oh, oops, heh. Sorry."

I didn't comment on this. I had no energy for it, so I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Oh my, you're watching Frozen!" Maya called, clearly trying to change the subject. "I love this movie, it's wonderful. And its message... Amazing."

"What are you watching? Bahaha," uncle Monty laughed, shaking his head. "Cam didn't exaggerate when he said you have them all wrapped around your little finger, Hailie."

I lowered my head, praying quietly for my blush not to come out, at least this one and only time. I wish that this whole uncle wouldn't speak this way in front of my brothers.

"I don't," I murmured, glancing doubtfully at Dylan, who was raising an eyebrow.

"She doesn't," he confirmed.

"Yeh, sure. At first glance, I can see that she is pampered like a little doll," the man said with a smirk.

"Just as it's supposed to be," Maya added, winking at me, then tilted her head and, without looking away from my face, asked.

"But where did you get that bruise from?"

"Some moron hit her, it's a long story," Dylan answered dismissively.

Uncle Monty shook his head and rolled his eyes, and Maya chuckled.

"I remember when I was little and my music teacher hit me."

"Why?" I asked her in surprise, as I couldn't imagine how a teacher could ever raise a hand on a student.

"Because I told him I had enough of playing the flute and he could stick it in his ass," Maya laughed at the memory. "And he slapped me. My daddy cut off his little finger for it."

"Jesus, Maya, shut up," Dylan growled at her, seeing a frightened look on my face.

"Speaking of your father. Have you contacted him?" Vince asked. Every time I heard his cool voice, it made my skin shiver. I'd love to run away from him. I wasn't ready to sit in one room with him after the discussion we had.

Uncle Monty leaned back in his seat and scratched his head, and Maya sighed.

"Not yet. It's hard to talk to him. Especially since you know... You know how it was. He got a little angry when I run away..."

Dylan snorted.

"A little? He was pissed at you. And at us too. He fucking tried to kidnap our sister."

Before I could understand the sense of these words, Maya turned to me, folding her hands in front of her.

"Hailie, I know, I heard. I am very, very sorry for his behavior. He's a bit impulsive, that's why. Nothing happened to you, right? You know, I don't think he'd hurt you..."

"He put her in a dangerous position. He made a deal with a kid who couldn't even hold a gun. There are only a few people in this world whose lives I'd safe after something like that." Vincent said. His voice sounded... dark.

"You're right, it doesn't sound good," Maya sighed, then looked at me again. "I'm really sorry, Hailie. It's nothing personal."

I gave her a forced smile, and in my head, I tried to recall the picture of Charles, the man Jerry had a deal with, and who was trying to abduct me at Audrey's house. I wanted to compare him with Maya. Was she really his daughter? Too much new, surprising information.

"We want to make peace with him," Uncle Monty said, wrapping his arm around his fiancee. "We hope that he's calmed down and will bless our marriage."

Tony and Dylan burst out laughing and Vince looked at them as if they were crazy.

"You," my eldest brother began saying, pointing to Uncle Monty, "He will murder you with his bare hands as soon as he sees you. And you," here he looked at Maya, "he will lock you forever in some dungeon or tower."

At that moment, Shane appeared, carrying two cups of coffee. When one of them spilled a little on the floor, he clicked his tongue with annoyance, and with much less precision, he carried them to the table and put them in front of our guests. Then he finally took his place back right next to me, sighing deeply as if he was exhausted. As if he didn't just press the coffee machine button twice, but ran a marathon.

"You were supposed to clean up," Dylan pointed out, gesturing at a scattered popcorn on the floor, right under his feet.

"I'll clean once you move your fat ass out of there."

"Clean now or else it'll spread around."

"You'll fucking spread around."

Then Dylan showed Shane his middle finger, so he got up abruptly, grabbed the bowl with the rest of the popcorn, and bluntly poured it on his older brother. It was enough for Dylan to leap to his feet and without even dusting off the corn, he threw himself at Shane. After a while, both of them were on the floor, fighting.

Vince was still looking at the guests, doing some thinking, and completely ignoring our brothers.

"I don't find your return to the States a good idea. Charles will soon find out that you're here if he hasn't already. As far as I know, Maya, he arranged a marriage for you many years ago. Escaping with my uncle, you seriously messed with your father's plans. He won't forgive you so easily," Vince stated.

I was very interested in the subject of the arranged marriage, but I bit my tongue, as usual, not to attract more attention on myself.

"I know, I know, it's all true, but..." Maya began, but Uncle Monty interrupted her and extended his hand reassuringly towards Vince.

"Just don't get upset."

"... we thought maybe, maybe we could offer Hailie's hand in marriage," the woman finished.

"What?" I gasped, not caring about attracting attention this time. Did I understand well???

"What?" Shane and Dylan called together at the same time, stopping with their jostling and glancing at Maya in disbelief.

"It's just an idea, a suggestion," Monty spoke calmly.

Maya reached out her hand to me. She was sitting too far to touch me, so she put it on the couch.

"This man is a really good candidate. He is rich and handsome, from a good family. Most of the time I was really happy to be his wife," Maya said very quickly. "Just then... Then I fell in love," she added and shifted her dreamy eyes to Uncle Monty, who put a soft and short kiss on her lips.

I was speechless. I looked at her with terror written all over on my face. I moved my eyes quickly to Vincent, who was indifferent as usual. He returned my gaze suddenly, so I quickly turned my head away. I couldn't stand his eyes. Not after our argument.

This time I wouldn't have any resistance to expressing my opinion if it wasn't for the fact that I didn't even know what to say. The absurdity of this whole idea didn't leave room for common sense.

"Charles wanted to bring the two families together. If Hailie were to take Maya's place, Charles would get what he wants, and our family will also benefit, because the more we have allies and not enemies, the better, right?" Monty reasoned.

"Not right!" Dylan snapped back. A second ago he was sitting on Shane, but now he was standing up and took a few steps toward our uncle. "You want to give my sister away to a guy twice her age? What the fuck is that all about?"

"Not twice. He's 25, just like me," Maya corrected him.

"And she's 15!!!" Dylan boomed and I had a doubtful pleasure of experiencing him getting angry again but I didn't really mind this time. Actually, I was grateful for his poor self-control, because I was speechless, so at least he was defending me.

"Nearly 16, isn't it? It will be 9 years difference," Maya counted. "And a woman should look for a man for a relationship between 6 and 9 years older than her. Then their emotional maturity is developed at a similar level or something."

"Besides, age is just a number. Look at us. There are 15 years between us and it's no problem," Monty said.

Dylan raised a finger at him.

"You'd better stop talking now." he hissed, then turned to Maya. "Maybe your father still lives in the Middle Ages, but in our family, such practices ended long ago. And she," Dylan pointed at me, "she would sooner end up as an old maid than she'd marry some fucking dude that Charles had chosen."

"You're getting angry not even knowing what you are talking about," Maya snapped back. "We would never suggest it if the candidate for her husband was dull."

"Your bullshitting is dull."

"Does our dad know about your awesome idea?" Shane asked, clearly disgusted.

"We haven't mentioned it to him yet," Monty muttered.

"Because you fucking know how angry he'd get!" Dylan shouted and Shane agreed with him. Tony didn't speak much, but he looked at the guests with the same disbelief on his face.

"Fine, fine. We just mentioned it," Monty raised his hands in a defensive way, then looked briefly at my eldest brother.

I caught this quick exchange and immediately looked at him too. Vince didn't say anything, just seemed to be thinking, kind of analyzing it and I felt like going at him with my claws for the mere fact that he didn't protest categorically at once as the rest of my brothers did.

In the end, however, he spoke.

"As much as I understand where your offer came from, I don't like the idea of ​​using my sister to clean yours, especially yours," here he looked at Maya, "mess. I have already told it to Charles and I will tell it to you again. You are an adult woman and you make your own decisions. You also knew the consequences of this particular one. Therefore, you have to face them yourself."

Maya bit her cheek and looked away, while Monty squeezed her fingers in one hand and stroked his cheek with the back of the other. Suddenly, I felt rejection towards them. They wanted to use me as a bargaining chip. To sell me ​​like I was property, not a person. Marriage! I think they lost their goddamn minds.

I was relieved that Vince was reasonable enough not to get revenge on me after our conversation, and he also found the idea of ​​arranging marriage stupid. At least that's how it seemed like...

And then I got angry again because excuse me but what is it supposed to mean? Could Vince really make me get married if he wanted to? Did it really work that way? Did he have such power over my life? Because I would never let him. Never, I swear it. Of all the things that Vincent controls in my life, choosing a husband is not a few steps too far. It's light years too far. I'd rather run away than let him interfere with that. Or kill myself.

But I was happy and grateful to have Shane, Dylan, and Tony who stood up for me. Maybe usually they threaten to beat my potential partner and it's annoying, but today for the first time this brotherly overprotection was really useful.

There was an uncomfortable silence, during which Dylan finally brushed off the remnants of corn from himself and took his previous place. Shane sat back down next to me. Maya sucked on a cup of coffee. And me, tired, angry and in some sense disappointed, got up and without a word went to my bedroom. I walked slowly and I didn't care if I was rude. This time I really didn't care.

No one reprimanded me, so at least I got quiet permission from my brothers to be offended. That's always something. I was climbing the stairs and when being almost at their peak, I heard a noise behind me. I turned and regretted it immediately.

The blond-haired security guard followed me like a ghost. I made eye contact with him. His face was neutral as it was in Vincent's office. He was just doing his job. He followed me.

I let out a loud, frustrated sigh and I really wanted to throw him down the stairs, but I knew it will be easier to get rid of him by closing myself in my bedroom. At least he had no access there.

I was planning to go to bed earlier today. After meeting with Leo, a fight with Vincent, an attack of hysteria with Shane, and now another problem consisting of a new uncle and his fiancee, who so casually planned my future, the only thing I dreamed of was rest and cut-off from reality. I couldn't focus on reading, so I was watching different music videos on YouTube, trying to give my brain a little break. By the way, it's very surprising that Vince didn't confiscate my electronics as part of his "punishment."

About two hours later someone knocked on my door and I sincerely hoped it was Will, who I hardly saw today. However, he was my newly-met uncle, to whom my sympathy was currently in a negative position.