"Miss, here's your cappuccino, please." A waitress delivers coffee to Rena at a bustling Starbucks at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
But Rena did not respond.
"Miss?" The waitress raised her voice to remind Rena.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just distracted. Thank you." Rena smiled apologetically, took the coffee, and continued to stare into space.
This international, efficient airport is full of people in a hurry every day. Everyone takes a break at the airport as a traveler and then heads off to their destination. The tall, bright Windows are full of planes waiting to take off. They take off and land every day, carrying travelers and their hopes to different places.
A man on a journey is like a bird on the wing. No matter how they fly or what purpose they serve, they always return to a place called home.
But not everyone has a home to return to, like Rena.
Rena sat in the Starbucks at the airport and watched different people walk past her. She wore a coat of silver-white fox fur, and her hair casually tied with a crystal bow. Her body was slim and slender, lashes with big doll eyes, like a butterfly in a rose garden.
However, she should have been as carefree as a princess, but now her face was full of sadness and anxiety.
Rena didn't even know where her journey was ending until she got off the plane. When the plane landed in New York, she didn't know where to go.
Rena gave a wry smile. She had no home since the terrible event. Wherever she went, she had no destination.
Until last month, Rena lived in an enviably happy family. When she was a little girl, she knew her parents worked in intelligence gathering and declassification for the FBI, a mysterious, brilliant and dangerous job. Rena's parents were often sent on sudden missions abroad, with no news for long periods.
But Rena's parents love their kids very much. As long as there is no work, they will accompany their children. Rena, meanwhile, has a brother who is two years older than her. They grew up together and took care of each other. Nothing in the world is more critical to Rena than her family.
Under the influence of their parents, Rena and his brother both showed a talent for mathematics and cryptography. Her brother was even offered an unusual internship with the FBI last year.
Rena had expected the family to live happily ever after. But last month, while her parents and brother were on a mission in the Caribbean, they were brutally killed by pirates.
Amid great sadness, Rena realized that things were not that simple; it couldn't be a simple pirate robbery disaster. Her family must have been murdered by design.
But Rena is only a college student, and she can't investigate the matter now.
Things are far from that simple.
One night, while sleeping, Rena was awakened by a knock on the door. In an instant, three men dressed in black burst into her room.
"Are you Rena Davis?" asked a man in black in a low voice.
"Yes." Rena's voice trembled.
"You're the daughter of the Davis couple who were murdered in the Caribbean last month?"
When Rena heard the word murder, she felt cold. "Yes."
"OK. Don't you be afraid. We're FBI. We're sorry for what happened to your family. But now for your safety, you must leave Canada immediately. Do you have any relatives in America you can trust?"
Rena shook her head in despair.
"I'll make a long story short. Although your brother Nathan disappeared during the murder, the enemy never found his body, so now they suspect that your brother has returned to Canada and sent a new assassin. For your safety, you must leave here at once."
"What? You mean it's possible that my brother is still alive? "
"Excuse me, miss. I can't promise. I can only tell you that his body has not been found."
Rena shuddered with excitement.
"If you don't have family to lean on. I will honor your parents' last wishes and send you to your fiance's house."
"What? Fiance?" Rena thought she had heard a joke. "I've never had a fiance."
The man in black turned over the data in his hand. "No, you have. Your parents spoke to us before the mission. Your fiance, Carlos Wilson, is in America. You have a marriage contract, and your fiance's family is under the protection of American Special Forces, so we think they are the best option for you right now."
Rena is still in shock. Fiance in America? Could it be that her parents made her a contract marriage when she was five years old?
Come on, isn't that a joke?
"I think you're mistaken, Sir. It wasn't an engagement, it was just a joke."
"I'm sorry, Madam, but we have reached your fiance's mother, Neveah. She says you are engaged, and she warmly welcomes you into her house."
"No, I refuse it."
"We can't put you in danger again. You must leave now."
Before Rena could refuse again, she was forcibly removed from the room by two other men in black.
"I don't want to go. I want to find my brother." Rena was crying.
One of the men in black looked at Rena and sighed. "Going to America is the best choice for you. If you stay here, we cannot guarantee your safety. Also, your fiance's father is a top official in the U.S. Special Forces, and his family may be able to help you find your brother."
Rena stopped crying when she heard the word brother. She had never been so helpless in her life. Before she could get over her grief, she was faced with a fiance she had never met. More importantly, she needs to find her brother.
“Why does God test me like this?” Rena was so upset that she fainted.
By the time she woke up, Rena was already on her plane. Through the plane's window, Rena could only see an endless sea of clouds and the faint outline of mountains.
"The world is so big, but there is no home for me." Rena said to herself.
When Rena woke up from his coma, she was much calmer. She began to think about it. First of all, just like the man in black said, coming to her fiance's house is the best choice. Rena could protect herself and, at the same time, look for her brother's whereabouts. However, Rena never imagined that one day a fiance would suddenly appear by her side. She always felt that marriage was something far away from her. And now Rena doesn't want to get married. She wants to go to the FBI after college, continue her parents' work, and avenge their death.
It would be nice if she just stayed at Wilson's house as friends or relatives. The identity of fiance and fiancee implies emotional entanglements and an unpredictable future. Rena doesn't like the feeling of unpredictability. She majors in Math, and she prefers something rational and regular.
“Why did my parents give me this marriage contract when I was a little girl?” Rena couldn't figure it out.
Carlos Wilson, that's the name of Rena's fiance. Oh, he turned out to be a West Point cadet, so he wasn't a playboy. Oh, Rena began to pray to God. She hoped this Carlos would hate the contract marriage as much as she did, so she could break off the engagement once she found her brother. On the other hand, she plans to work as an intelligence analyst at the FBI once everything is settled.
“I hope everything goes well.” Rena took a note out of her bag with the address of her fiance's house on it. Rena looked at the address for a long moment in silence. Then she got up and walked toward the airport exit.
It's the coldest time in New York. It's snowing. Rena bundled up her coat and walked to the taxi stop. Suddenly, a Ferrari rushed towards her. Rena swerved to avoid it, and the Ferrari made the same sharp turn. There was a squeal of tires. The car stopped.
"Why do you drive so recklessly?" Rena muttered under her breath as she fixed her hair.
As the Ferrari window rolled down, an arrogant man with a military buzz-cut looked at Rena.
"Forget it. Let's not get ourselves into trouble." Rena told herself, and she was ready to leave.
"Wait!" The man behind Rena shouted at her.