Royal Destiny

An Excerpt Of:

                                     Chapter One

                                       Changes

Stephanie drove her white convertible Mercedes Benz slowly into her parent's driveway. She could see yer younger sister Savannah waving at her from the front door.

"Give your big sister a kiss! I missed you so much!" Savannah said with sarcasm and joy.

"Hey, it's been while huh?" Stephanie said hugging her petite sister.

"How is New York? And that hunk of a hunk Ivan? Savannah asked.

"New York is New York, and Ivan is a pain in my tush!" Stephanie said while she struggled to take her luggage out of the car trunk.

"That's no way to speak about your multi millionaire fiancee Stephanie" her mother said walking towards her.

"I love you too Mother. I havent seen you in three months, and all you care about is Ivan...you guys are incredible!"

"Your mother is right sweetheart. Ivan will be my son in law soon, and I cant wait to have him in this family. And not to mention our grandchildren. I will finally have grandchildren!" Her father said hugging his eldest daughter.

"I love you too Dad...and the grandchildren will just have to wait. I am not quite ready for children."

"How is my pumpkin? Are you ready for the big day?" her father asked.

"Not really Dad. I am really exhausted from all the planning. The big day seems more like doomsday. I really need to rest."

"If planning the wedding is making you exhausted, how will you handle the real work for the marriage?" her mother asked sarcastically.

"I guess I'll see how it turns out. If it is too much, I will just get a divorce. Every entrance has an exit you know?"

"Aren't we a bit negative?" Savannah said tapping her sister's shoulder.

"Your quarters or mine Sis?" Stepahie asked her sister heading for the stairs

"Let's do yours Stephie....mine is a mess!"

"As usual Savannah. You need to learn how to clean up after yourself. It's easy if you try."

"Stephie, don't forget we have to choose your flowers today. We have an appointment at four. I have to head out with your father, so when we get back, we will go over the details with the florist."

"Okay Mom....at four we shall chose the pansies!"

Stephanie and Savannah headed up the stairs holding hands laughing.

In the bedroom, Stephanie stood in front of the mirror pinning her long dark brown hair into a pony tail. She looked at her sister flipping through a bridal magazine.

"Take my advice. Make sure you are really ready before you decide to get married. I cant tell you how much I miss home"

"Oh boy, here we go again with that "I miss home" story. Every time you come here you say the same thing. Are you sure you really want to get married? I dont think you realize you are marrying one of the wealthiest men in New York? You should be looking forward to building your own home. I wish I was in your position."

"That my dear, your wouldn't enjoy at all"

Stephanie's blue eyes brimmed with tears.

"Stephie, what's wrong....why are you crying?"

"I am so unhappy Savannah. I don't think I am ready to marry Ivan. He is not what you guys think. I wish I never met that jerk!"

"What's going on? Tell me."

Stephanie removed her peach polo t-shirt to reveal dark pink bruises on her shoulders, nape and upper back. Savannah sprang to her feet.

"Oh my God! He is hitting you? Oh, no way Steph! Mom and Dad have to know about this! That creep has the nerve to put his hands on you?"

"Shush Savvy! Mom and Dad cannot know about this. You know Dad is counting on that construction contract with Ivan, and Mom will be very disappointed because she thinks he is the sweetest son in law."

"So what about that dumb contract? Is a contract more important than your life? Mom needs to know that he is a creep! If he can do this now and you didn't say "I do" yet, what will he do when you do say "I do"? What if he gets really upset one day and decides to grab a knife and run it through your throat? What then?"

"Savvy forget it! Forget this conversation ever happened. You are just too dramatic. It's not that big of a deal anyway. He always makes up for it."

"I am not being dramatic! Dramatic is being on the six o'clock news with your brains spilled on the sidewalk. Ivan needs help and so do you. Why would he do this to you? Is there more to this, because Ivan was very upset with you the last time he was here. I remember he did say you found a new friend at the office. What is that all about?"

Stephanie smiled and started to unpack her luggage.

"Okay Steph, what does that smile mean? C'mon tell me."

"Well he's right about that. There is this man at the office and I think I am very attracted to him."

"Are you serious? That is not a good thing Stephie! This is not gooood!"

"Savannah can you just lay off the drama please and listen for once? This guy makes me feel really special. We had dinner together and he cooked. We went jogging a few times and we talk about lots of stuff. He is so interesting. I visited his church and met a few of his friends. They were really very nice. Ivan and I don't do special things like that. This man is really special and he makes me feel good about myself."

Conclusion of Exce