Last night I moped, but today was going to be different. Today was a new day and that meant a fresh start. I could not be grieving all the time about the fact I was alone, that would only make me sadder. No, each new day needed to be faced with a new ounce of happiness.
I got myself freshened up and picked proper clothes to wear for a proper lady. This meant a skirt, not too long, not too short. Matched with a blouse. I tied my hair in a ponytail and headed to the dining room for breakfast.
Normally I would be alone, but now I saw my brother already sipping at his coffee. With a smiling face, I greeted him. "Morning." I chirped.
"Good morning, little sister. Did you sleep well?" Xavier asked as he put his phone away.
"Yes, and you?"
"I always sleep well after being away from home so long." My brother said with a grin.
Right then, father walked in. "Good morning father." We both said in unison. He greeted us back and joined us for breakfast. Father and Xavier discussed some matters until my brother turned to me. "So how far along are you with your schoolwork?"
"I have now finished high school and Mr. Wright is letting me choose in which field I want to explore more. He said he couldn't help me with getting a college degree as he did with my high school diploma, but he said he could prepare me if I ever wanted to go to a top college." I said, quite proud of myself for finishing high school at the age of seventeen. Mr. Wright said that most students were done at the age of eighteen.
"Well, that's good to hear Ava. I'm proud of you." I smiled. I did not hear those words a lot, so it filled me with pride. Maybe a bit too much. As I had never the courage to ask what I was about to, but now I did. "Speaking of college... is it possible... for me to enroll in one, father?"
My father's forehead creased, his eyebrows going up. "What part of 'never leaving this house' do you not understand Ava?" He asked. Anger clearly evident on his face.
"You can't mean forever, right? At some point, I will have to be independent, like Xavier." I said as a matter of fact.
My father slammed both of his hands on the table. I flinched. "You dumb and naïve child! You think you can be independent, after being protected behind these four walls for all these years! You will leave this house when I give you permission to do so. And for your knowledge that isn't anytime soon!" My father roared.
His words hurt me. I knew I would lack some life experience because I have never been in the outside world, but that was not my fault. But then again, I never really showed my father how badly I wanted to leave this place, so maybe he was right. Maybe I am indeed dumb and naïve. Maybe I could not be as independent as my brother.
I looked down, at my lap. Trying to hold back my tears.
"Father, if I may-" My brother started but was cut off. "No, you may not! Do not try and meddle with this Xavier. Ava perfectly knows where her place is. Now go, do the assignments that were given to you." The latter was directed to me.
I stood up and made my way to the library to do my schoolwork. Well, I could not call it schoolwork anymore as I was done with high school.
I was trying to read the literature that Mr. Wright had assigned to me, but it was hard as more and more tears escaped my eyes. This was not supposed to be happening. It was going to be happy today. Tears would not help me.
As I was turning to the last page of the book, my brother walked in. I quickly wiped the remaining tears on my cheeks away. "Hello Xavier, what are you doing here?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"To make sure you're okay. But clearly, you are not." He said with a sad face. No, we could not have that. He could not be sad. If my brother were to be here it had to be a time filled with happiness and laughter, not tears. "What do you mean? I'm fine."
"Ava, you don't have to pretend for me. Father clearly went out of line. He should not have spoken to you like that." My brother had now joined me on the couch I was sitting on.
"No, don't say that. Father was... is right. I could never live on my own." I said with a sad smile. I did not want my brother to have a fight with our father because of me.
Xavier put his arm around my shoulders and gave me a kiss on my head. "Father should have never kept you in here." That was all he said.
After a moment of silence, he was the first one to speak up. "I'm afraid to tell you that I'll be leaving, but don't worry. In three weeks, I'll be back for the party."
"What party?" I asked with a confused face. Never had I heard father speak about a party, but then again he did not talk to me a lot.
"Just a party father is giving for some friends. I'll be back then, okay?"
I nodded my head. He stood up, gave me one last kiss on my head, and left. The whole day I kept myself busy with the question: why was father planning a party?
The wedding was done. The dress was shown, the kiss was shared, and the vows were spoken. The guests cheered, oblivious to the silent cries of the bride. The beautiful ceremony masked the impending doom that she felt deep within her heart.The bird was once again caged by a master who wanted to show his prized possession to the underworld of the modern era. He paraded her around, flaunting her beauty and grace to the other greedy men who desperately wanted to hunt down that precious lady. She was a trophy in his eyes, a symbol of his power and status.He pranced around with her, showing her off to the other greedy men, desperately wanting to hunt down that precious lady. Each night was a display, a spectacle where she was the main attraction. The lady felt miserable again. The weight of her gilded cage was suffocating. Never could she really leave her cage. Never could she spread her wings and explore the world. Never did she get the chance to feel the wind brushing through her hair,
For two months Nicholas and I were trapped in one of Victor's houses. It was difficult, but I was used to it. This was my life until now, so no differences for me. Nicholas, on the other hand, was going insane. A week ago he apologized to me for having me stay in his home all the time. But being locked up wasn't the only thing that irritated him. Nicholas' business, mafia, went through great losses because of the deal with Victor. It seemed every week went something wrong and he had to pay more and more money and lost many investments. At the same time, we didn't particularly try to get pregnant. I didn't want to be touched and well, Nicholas was a gentleman. He had only asked me once if I was serious to which I replied, "Well, if it really comes to it, yes, but I mostly did it to buy us some time while protecting Evelyn. So I would rather not." Nicholas understood and never spoke of it again. This morning was the same as any other, only it was not. After a quick shower and getti
I stood shaking on my legs, never in my life was I so afraid, except for the fact I was kidnapped once. I was back again at Nicholas' mansion. It was still dark and the world had gone to sleep. A cold breeze passed by us, between me, Evelyn and Victor, and my brother and Nicholas. We were both taken out of the car and Evelyn and I looked both panicked. The tension was real. Victor looked at Nicholas with a smug face. He knew he had the upper hand in this. It was not supposed to be this way. Evelyn and I would have been on the boat if it weren't for the cruel man next to me who held my arm in a tight grip.It started when we arrived at the harbor. Like here, it was too quiet when we got to our destination. Nicholas had said there would be multiple guards near us wherever we went, but once there, no one was in sight. The door of the car in front of us was opened by one of Nicholas' men, only to be closed again. The moment he tried to investigate he was shot. I remembered how I screamed.
The four of us sat all freshly showered and energized from last night in the living room together. We all looked anxious as we were all shaken up by the events of last night. The ball we held was supposed to be helpful for us, not harmful. My anger towards Nicholas had vanished from the moment he said he did not plan to get me pregnant. Evelyn, however, was still furious at my husband. She knew the most of my past as we had talked about it together these past weeks. She was only trying to protect me, which I appreciated, but I felt sorry for Nicholas as her eyes could kill somebody."So, what's the plan Mr. I-don't-think-things-thoroughly?" Evelyn snapped at Nicholas."Evelyn, please," I whispered. I was already too harsh towards him and Nicholas got already scolded last night by my brother's girlfriend."It's alright Ava. The plan is the following and we have to act quickly. Victor will send his lawyer by any time now. It will be either tomorrow or the day after that. Between now and
Meaning the girl is free to claim. No, no not this again. Why can't these people let me be? I hated father after everything he did to me, but I now truly understood why he kept me away from these men. Why can't they just leave me alone?My body started to shake. With my two hands, I had to grip Nicholas' arm to steady myself. I could not believe this was happening again. Again! I wanted to go home and hide from the world. To run away as far as possible."Don't be ridiculous!" Nicholas hissed. "She is my wife not some whore to be passed around." Victor seemed not to be faced by the words Nicholas said. He only laughed and smiled."Well if you are not giving her hand away I will tell your lovely guests that the two of you are not fully married yet," Victor said with no care in the world. I could not believe how he could be so calm while discussing such a horrible topic. Talking about someone else's life like it was nothing at all.Nicholas tensed even more if that was possible. "Don't y
Evelyn and I made our way down towards the foyer. Both our dresses moved majestically around our bodies as we made our descent down the stairs. Both men were waiting for us as they stood in their sharp-looking suits. Nicholas was wearing a dark black suit with a matching black dress shirt. Xavier, on the other hand, wore more lighter clothes. His suit was grey with a light grey dress shirt, matched with a burgundy red tie.It was my brother who spoke up first as we got in their eye-sight. "You look lovely, both of you ladies." He smiled. He always smiled when Evelyn was in the room. I wished somebody would do that when I would enter the room.Maybe, someday. After all this is over.When we were at the bottom of the stairs Evelyn thanked Xavier for the compliment. "I think 'beautiful' is a better way to phrase how our ladies look." Nicholas finally said as I stood beside him. "You look really beautiful Ava." He said in a low voice.I did not know how to take the compliment. "Y-You thin