CHAPTER FIVE

The drive to Serena's grandparents' house actually took less time than they anticipated. Traffic was not too bad out of New York and into Washington D.C. They stopped only once to grab a light lunch and for a toilet break. And the whole drive they kept up a light-hearted conversation. Mostly reminiscing about high school life and their "friendship" through the years. They shared many laughs over the various ways that they tried to make Andrew's life a little more difficult with pranks.

As they made their way out to the suburbian areas of Washington, Darien noted that the houses seemed to get bigger and bigger. He was about to ask Serena if they were going the right way, but was instead told to make a right at the end of the street. As they turned, all Darien could see at the end was what could only be described as a mansion. No other houses were on this street.

"Hey, Serena. Remind me again who your family is," Darien said with growing suspicion.

"Ummm, so my daddy is Ken Lexington and my Poppy is Albert Lexington," she replied hesitantly. Darien suddenly became nervous.

It all made sense now. During the years that they had known each other, Darien had always had the sense that Serena came from a wealthy family. She never flaunted it because she just was not that kind of person. If there was one word to describe Serena, it would be, humble. But it was, nonetheless there: in her clothes and her accessories, the school that she attended and now he understood that apartment a little better. There was no doubt that she worked hard for what she had, but Darien just could not imagine the great Ken Lexington allowing his daughter to live in nothing but the best.

Then there was her grandfather. The Lexingtons were who they were because of him. Albert Lexington was a genius in the Engineering world. His company dabbled into anything and everything from buildings to roads. Any new structure, project or remodel you might hear about, it was guaranteed that Lexington Industries would be involved. Ken Lexington was at the helm of that empire now after Albert retired almost two decades ago and he had managed to expand it internationally. His nephew, Michael Lexington was his right hand man heading up the fort at the West Coast in California. Michael was tipped to take over Ken's role when he retires.

The Lexingtons were a powerful family. But they did not like being in the limelight. They were involved in many projects not because they bid on all of them, but simply because they were the best. Their work spoke for themselves. And yet, they were also known to give other companies the chance to work with them. That's what they were known for. Their ethics and professionalism and the belief that everyone deserved a chance to shine.

They gave millions of money to various charities. They did not get involved in politics like many other families. They were very rarely seen in public being in the media only when they were known to be sponsoring charitable events. The family was not plagued by scandal at all.

Serena could sense the tension on Darien and knew that it was all because of her family. Darien was not the type to be intimidated easily but she understood what her family could be like for others. It was the biggest reason that she never told anyone who she really was. Serena was lucky that most people had never connected her last name to her family. And not many people knew who she really was. Serena was kept out of the media and the public's scrutiny for most of her life. She had as normal a childhood as possible and was determined to have an equally normal adulthood. Some battles she lost (like her apartment) but most she won (like being able to live on her own and have a career of her own choosing).

"It's okay, Darien. Whatever you are imagining, they are not like that at all," she tried to reassure him.

It was suddenly important for her for Darien to like her family. Darien was a constant presence in her life growing up and even now. And yet she had been reluctant to disclose her family status. Darien was the one person in her life that she did not want treating her any differently because of which family she belonged to. It would have saddened her greatly if Darien suddenly stopped starting petty arguments with her. To be honest, most of the time they were the highlights of her days.

"I know. I'm not imagining anything bad. Just trying to decide how to act," he told her.

"Don't. Just be yourself. My Poppy will love you," Serena said with a smile. And she was confident that her grandfather would love Darien. Poppy respected intelligence a lot and whether she could admit it loudly or not, it was undeniable that Darien was an intelligent man. Darien nodded at this, relaxing a bit and giving her a reassuring smile.

Serena directed Darien through the gates and to park next to the cars already parked in the driveway. This just meant that her cousins, her best friends and parents were already in attendance. She noted with glee that Beryl and her fiancé have yet to make an appearance, which was unsurprising. Beryl loved to make a grand entrance and would no doubt wait until the last possible moment even though her wedding was only a few days' away.

"Serena, wait," Darien called just as Serena was about to step out of the car.

"Are you still nervous? Seriously Darien, they won't bite. My cousins like to think of themselves as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but really, they're just big fluffy rabbits," Serena pointed out trying to ease his tension.

Darien chuckled, making a mental note of it to use as leverage on her cousins in the future, "No. I just wanted to give you this."

He pulled out the box from the compartment between them and gave it to Serena. When Serena opened it, her eyes grew rounded in astonishment and her mouth formed an 'O'. Inside the velvet box sat the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. The ring had a sapphire princess cut diamond with smaller white diamonds nestled on the white gold band. It was exquisite!

"I thought it would make our engagement seem more believable if you wore it," Darien shrugged suddenly embarrassed.

"Darien, it's beautiful. You didn't have to buy one you know. I'm sure we could have just told them the ring was being resized or cleaned," Serena said still quite in awe of the ring. It was beyond gorgeous. It was what she would have chosen for herself.

"It's alright. I didn't buy it. I already had it at home kind of collecting dust," he says non-committedly.

Serena had a small frown at that. Why did her have a ring? Who did it really belong to? Was he going to propose to someone at some stage? Did he have a girlfriend or fiancé she didn't know about? 'Cause frankly, even though she had known him for a while, she knew very little about his past or his personal life. And, why did it suddenly bother her that had no answers to any of these questions.

"Okay. Will you put it on me?" Serena asked suddenly shy.

Darien felt his cheeks and the tips of his ears heat in embarrassment at the request. He noted that Serena was also blushing while looking at him expectantly, so he was glad he was not the only one feeling shy at the moment.

He pulled the ring out ready to slide it onto her finger, "It's got an inscription. Did you want to look before I put it on?"

Serena nodded and took the ring from him. Inside the band were the words "With all my heart, I am yours." Serena literally melted.

Darien took the ring back and slid it onto her finger. He wasn't sure if it would even fit, but there it was. Perfectly nestled on her slim finger and twinkling at him. Seeing the ring on her finger was bringing an emotion that he couldn't identify. And at this stage, he was quite afraid of the answer if he examined it further.

They smiled at each other silently for a few more minutes then decided to break the awkwardness that settled upon them by finally getting out of the car.

Darien took her hand in his and together they walked to the door to face the onslaught that would undoubtedly be brought upon their heads.