56. Back To America.

[Claire]
Sophie and I touched down at the airport the next day after our flight, the flight was okay, we flew business class and the service was really good.
We also didn't have any issues at the airport. I packed my hair into a beanie and I wore a hood over it so that I wouldn't be recognized. I didn't want the press to start hounding me just a few hours after coming back to America.
I called Sarah immediately. We landed at the airport and she promised to send her chauffeur with a car to pick us up. I thanked her and then we went outside to wait for the car.
We waited a few minutes before we heard someone yelling.
"Miss Hamilton, Miss Hamilton." I turned swiftly in the direction of the voice and I saw the man waving at me.
I was thankful that the airport was packed and nobody could really hear him over the noise. He had been able to recognize me because I had sent a picture to Sarah so that the man would not have any difficulty in finding me and it worked.
"Hi, are you Melvin?" I asked him.
"Yes, Miss Sarah sent me to pick you up." The man said.
"Yes, thank you very much, we'll just get our luggage," I said.
"Oh no, Miss, please allow me, I'll get the bags." The man offered and rushed to get our bags.
"Oh my, Claire, I did not know that you were such a celebrity." Sophie gushed.
"I'm not, my father is," I said sadly.
***
"Young Miss, you're back." The butler said in shock and then he began to order the servants to take up our luggage.
The house did not look like it had seen so much change, everything looked the same, my heart began to beat widely as I imagined the confrontation I was about to have with Nana.
My father wouldn't be home yet but I was sure that he would soon be on his way because the butler or one of the servants were bound to call him and inform him of my arrival.
"Please show her to the guest room," I said to the butler. "Go with him, I'll see you in a bit," I told Sophie and she happily sauntered away with the butler.
I went to the kitchen because I knew that I was going to find Nana there, I didn't want to expose the fact that I knew the truth just yet so I decided to pretend like I knew nothing.
"Nana," I called out when I spotted her in the kitchen. I couldn't hide the coldness and anger in my voice so it may have sounded a lot harsher than I would have wanted it to be.
"Oh child, dear child." She stood up from the stool she was on and rushed to me in an instant.
"You're back." She tried to hug me but I couldn't let her so I dodged her hug.
"Father is not here yet?"
"No, he's at the office but I can call him, he'll be elated that you've come back." She looked hurt by my avoidance but I could care less about that now.
"Please tell the chef to get started on dinner, I'll have my meal in the guest room and tell him to make it for two, I brought a friend," I said.
"Claire." She started. "You know that all your father did was for your own good, I know you're mad at me for giving up your location but I was so worried about you, that the woman you went to find is not who you think she is."
"It doesn't matter, I'm back now aren't I, father would not let me be so I came back," I said picking an apple from the table.
I turned my back on her because I was struggling to keep a straight face and my emotion was failing me.
"Your friend?" She asked. "Does he have any dietary restrictions?"
I shook my head and took a deep breath before I turned back to her with a straight face.
"No, she doesn't have any restrictions, but tell the chef to make something Italian," I said.
For the most part that was true, I did not know if she had any dietary restrictions, she didn't really like to diet and she really liked Italian food so I just decided on that.
Without waiting for a reply, I left the kitchen and went to the guest room.
When I opened the door, I walked into Sophie's arms and let the tears flow. I couldn't believe that she was still willing to keep up the charade, at no point in her life was she considering telling me the truth.
"It's okay baby, it's okay." Sophie comforted me.
I wiped my face deciding that they weren't worth my tears and I sat on the couch beside Sophie.
"Have you informed Michele about our arrival?" I asked her.
"Yes, first thing, I even took pictures, he's so jealous." She made a triumphant face and I started laughing uncontrollably.
The siblings were excellent at improving my mood and making me laugh.
"I haven't texted Jean," I said, taking my phone out of my pocket.
At that moment the phone vibrated indicating that I had received some messages.
I opened my WhatsApp and I was shocked at the many messages I had.
I decided to open them in order from worst to best.
I checked the first one and it was from Ivan. He was angry that I'd left Denmark without informing him but he was glad that I'd come back to my senses and decided to return home.
I wondered how he knew that I'd left Denmark but I did not dwell on it. I went on to the next one which was from Michele and he was expressing his displeasure at Sophie rubbing her vacation in his face.
The messages made me laugh and improved my mood before I went on to Jean's messages.
Jean's messages were of the romantic kind and they made me blush, he asked me to call him when I had the time but I knew that it would be later because my father would never let me eat dinner in the guest room and I was sure that he was already on his way.
"Miss, the master is here and he's asking for you." The door opened and a maid informed me hurriedly.
She was shaking and she had even forgotten to knock, it would only mean that my father was in a terrible mood and that he was cooking up a storm.
"Tell him that I'll be right there." I dismissed her and began to plan my next move.
"Do you need me to accompany you?" Sophie asked me.
"Yeah, I think I should introduce you to him," I said, besides it would buy me some time.
We walked down together and my father was yelling at some servants, immediately he saw me, he dismissed them and his voice softened.
" Oh Claire, I've missed you so much." He said and opened his arms.
"Father." I greeted him formally ignoring his outstretched arms.
"Aren't you going to greet your father properly, you didn't miss me at all, you're not even going to give me a hug?" He asked.
"No father," I replied immediately and his arms dropped down slowly.
"You're still upset with me." He said sadly.
"Shouldn't I be?" I asked him and he sighed.
Sophie cleared her throat beside me and I realized that I hadn't even introduced her to my father.
"Father, this is Sophie, she's my friend from Copenhagen," I said.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Sophie smiled and shook hands with him.
"Nice to meet you, dear, I'm Mr. Hamilton, Claire's father." He said and shook her hands.
"Claire we have a lot of things to discuss, why don't we—"
"Not right now." I cut him off. "Sophie and I are both tired and we'd like to have dinner in the guest room."
"Are you not sleeping in your room?" He asked surprised.
"No, I'm staying in my room but I don't want Sophie to eat alone," I said.
"Then let's all sit down together to have dinner, it's been so long since we ate together." He said.
"Very well then, we'll see you for dinner," I said and started to walk away.
"Nice house you got, Mr. Hamilton," Sophie said before she turned to follow me.
"By the way." I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face him. "We're having an Italian dinner."
The look on my father's face was priceless and I would have laughed if I wasn't really upset with him, he looked so shocked, almost like he could not believe what he was seeing and hearing.
For all of my life, I never dared to go against him, not once did I speak against him and I was trying to make him proud but now he was so shocked that I could actually talk back to him.
The first part of my plan was working, he was stunned, now it was on to the next level of my plan, the confrontational dinner.