At First Sight

By A. C. Meyer

Having spent years looking after her younger sisters when their parents died, Valentina felt like the moment to take control of her own life had finally come. She wanted to see the world, have some fun and finally turn all the plans she’d thought would never be more than dreams into a reality.

She had to take a deep breath and force herself to actually go online and book a flight and somewhere to stay. After all, she’d spent years surrounded by her younger sisters, and travelling to another state where she didn’t know anyone all on her own was pretty daring for her.

What she didn’t know was that this trip would change her life forever… 

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. C. Meyer
• Release date: Dec 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781071580059

Book preview

At First Sight

A.C. Meyer

Synopsis:

Having spent years looking after her younger sisters when their parents died, Valentina felt like the moment to take control of her own life had finally come. She wanted to see the world, have some fun and finally turn all the plans she’d thought would never be more than dreams into a reality.

She had to take a deep breath and force herself to actually go online and book a flight and somewhere to stay. After all, she’d spent years surrounded by her younger sisters, and travelling to another state where she didn’t know anyone all on her own was pretty daring for her.

What she didn’t know was that this trip would change her life forever... 

"Quando lhe achei

Me perdi

Quando vi você

Me apaixonei"

Chico César

01

Valentina packed the last of her clothes, closed the suitcase and sighed. She couldn’t believe she was finally going away. She’d spent years dreaming, making plans that she never thought would become reality. Plans for some time just for her. And it was finally happening.

She’d had to take a deep breath to force herself to actually go online and book a flight and somewhere to stay. After all, she’d spent years surrounded by her younger sisters, who took up a lot of her time, free and otherwise. Deciding to travel to another state where she didn’t know anyone and she’d be her own company for ten whole days was pretty out there for her.

Her eyes rested on the photo frame on the dresser and she smiled when she saw the picture of her parents with the three beaming little girls: Valentina, Catarina and Sabrina. They all looked so happy in that photo. Little did they know that a tragedy would destroy that close family, which everyone so admired.

Tears welled up as she remembered the night she’d woken up to the smell of burning and her parents’ shouts. It all happened so quickly and was so traumatic that she’d blocked that night out of her mind. She only remembered the moment when, surrounded by her neighbours and hugging her sisters, she saw the building where they lived in an upmarket neighbourhood of São Paulo being consumed by flames, her parents inside it. After getting their three daughters out, the two of them had gone back into the building. It became clear soon after that the flames were the result of a short circuit in the next-door apartment. They were trying to save their neighbours. But they couldn’t save themselves and left the girls of 17, 15 and 13 in the care of their maternal grandmother.

Soon after she turned 18, Valentina and her sisters experienced loss again when their grandma Dina died, leaving Valentina in charge of her sisters.

She'd recently finished high school, and took it upon herself to look after them, throwing herself into the job. She gave up parties, boyfriends and everything else that the other girls her age were doing to focus on caring for her younger sisters. She understood that it was her job to keep the family she had left together and make sure the girls had a future ahead of them. Even if she had to miss out on fun, her youth and even a future of her own.

Now, at 25, it seemed like her work with her sisters was done. She was proud of everything she’d done for them. Catarina, who was 23, was a marketing executive at a big multinational. She earned a good salary, spoke three languages and had been promoted quickly thanks to her competence and dedication - something she learned from her older sister. Sabrina, 21,