The light in the club was low but blinding, Cade looked around trying to soak in the face of everyone there. This was his last night at Starlit Haven. He had spent the last six years of his life studying and partying so hard, that he could not believe it was finally over and that he had to return home. He had taken early admissions because the school offered admission to those less than eighteen years of age.
He had gotten in with his brains and family influence when he was just sixteen years old and had spent the next few years completing his bachelor's degree and two master's degrees in business management. He was adamant and determined to take over his family’s company. He was twenty-three now and this was finally his escape from all the studying he had to do.
He was a regular at this club and he always loved it here, there were always girls to pick up, especially those who willingly threw themselves at him because of his wealth. Yes, his family back home in Rosewood City were in the top five of the city's billionaires. His identity was never hidden.
“You have been saying for years now that you can not wait to get out of this school but why do you seem sad now that it is time to go?” Luke asked before taking a swig from his cup.
“What do you mean sad?” he scoffed looking around.
“You are not partying as hard as you usually do” Luke replied and he chuckled.
“Nothing of interest today” he said gesturing to the dance floor.
“Harper did not come today,” Sam said and they all shivered.
“Why would you call her name and pronounce bad luck on us like that?” Luke said as he threw one of the pillows to Sam. He turned to Cade and began to speak. “You will not find any fun if you decide to sit on your ass here all night”
“Are you asking me to go to the dance floor?” he asked sitting up and pointing to the dance floor from the VIP table they were seated at.
“Yes, you proud wealthy man, to get a girl you need to be in her space” Luke encouraged.
“Except she is Harper” Sam added earning a glare from the other two men.
“The night is young let loose and have fun,” Luke said standing up before filling the glass in his hand and heading to the dance floor.
Cade could not believe that for the first time in forever, he had to go to the dance floor before he found a lady. It had never been that difficult for him before. Ladies always flocked around him, he was the one who tried to run away from them because of their persistence.
“If you don't want to come to the dance floor then I guess you'd have to suit yourself” Sam said before going in the same direction that Luke had gone.
Cade shifted in his seat and sat at the edge of the chair taking up the bottle and pouring a little into his cup. Suddenly it was like the dance floor cleared for a woman, she was shaking so vigorously and unrhythmically that anyone could refer to it as dance but surprisingly everyone left the dance floor for her. Some amongst them were even hailing her.
He pressed his lips together as he tried to make out her face, she had a round small face and she danced so horribly that it was hard to miss but her face was so perfectly sculpted that it was as though someone had sat down to draw out the details themselves. She kept dancing so much that she did not stop at any point to see what others were doing.
Some people were already joining in the dance at some point, but she still stood out among them all. A smile was permanently pasted on her face, after a good solid minutes of dancing she finally slowed down her tempo and began to walk out of the dance floor towards the VIP booth section.
She slowed down as she passed by his booth and gave him a wink, he could not be so sure about what he saw because of the dim light in there but he could swear that she was making advances at him. He cleared his throat and slurped down the contents in his cup before standing up and walking over to the booth she had stopped at. She smiled to welcome him as though she had been waiting for him.
“I see you are alone” he said and she nodded.
“Must you be with the company when you come to the club? If you have company then you should go on a date instead” Her voice still sounded firm even though he could swear that she was already tipsy.
“That is a fair point, can I join you?” he asked and she nodded, he slipped in and sat with her.
All his lines were suddenly lost in his throat as he could not for the life of him remember anything he would have said normally and instead, he said. “You dance…”
She did not allow him to finish his statement before she cut him off. “Beautifully? Like an angel? Like I was born to dance?” she asked and he laughed. She was no ordinary girl, it was obvious she came from money with how she spoke and acted.
“Well, if you say so then I guess it is true,” he said and she nodded.
“You should have joined me on the dance floor instead of just watching me,” she said with a wink.
“Are you flirting with me?” he asked so suddenly that she was thrown off by his question. “It is just that it feels that way,” he said and she shook her head.
“I guess your ego must be bigger than your head” she said taking the cup to her mouth and downing the entire cup contents in there.
“Well confidence is key isn't it?” he asked taking out his hand for a handshake. “I am Cade”
She looked at his hand intently, it was as though she was carefully studying it and weighing in her mind the reasons why she should take his hand, after a second of his hand in the air and him already getting embarrassed she finally took his hand, his huge hands covering her small hand that it was almost lost in there.
“I am Victoria, but you can call me Toria”
Ophelia lied but only because she did not see the need to let him know her real identity. She went to chill around there but it was not the same campus and every time she wanted to party hard she left her campus and travelled all the way to party. “Toria,” he said as though he was testing the name on his tongue. “Toria” he said again and this time his tone was telling her that he liked it. “That is a pretty name for a pretty girl like you” he said in a way of complimenting her. “Oh really?” she asked pushing herself forward and slowly taking her hand off his grip. She was used to men swimming around her because of her looks. She smiled briefly and it was suddenly replaced with a frown.“I have to say that is such a nineties thing to say” she added which made him shift uncomfortably in his seat. “Just joking” she finished raising her hand in the air.He took a deep breath and forced his teeth to show through a small smile, she was giving this off-putting air to him. “Should we have s
TWO YEARS LATER“Welcome young master, the chairman is in the study downstairs” Lisa said as Cade walked into the house. “Thank you… erm..” Cade lingered as he waited for the young girl to remind him of her name. “It is Lisa,” she said. She was used to it already, the entire family was basically the same, amongst them all only Cade even tried his best to remember the names of the staff. The rest only referred to them in condescending manners. Most times they were not even offended, they probably had better things to think about than to be thinking about the name of a house staff. Cade nodded and said. “Thank you, Lisa, please have someone prepare my room”“Would you be staying here?” Lisa replied with visible fear in her eyes. “Yes, is there anything wrong?” Cade asked confused why a house staff would show so much fear that he was finally coming home after three months. He had been living in the penthouse at the headquarters building all this while and had just come back from a bu
“I do hope you are happy, you finally found a way to drag me down to this hell” Ophelia said as she sat into the chair at the dining table.“Remember the deal we made before you left to study abroad?” Carter asked ignoring his daughter. “That was not a deal, you wanted to get rid of me because I was embarrassing you,” she said air quoting the last two words and tilting her head to the side “So you made me withdraw from school here and go there to start over just because of your reputation” her voice carried spite and she was not hiding it. “I told you that you would have to do anything I asked as long as I did not pry into your life during your stay in school and I think I did a good job at keeping the end of my bargain, now it's your turn to do the needful” Carter said taking his cup and siping the water in it. “You are forcing this on me, this is against human rights,” Ophelia said, she had agreed when her father had forced her but now that she had to do it she was feeling a litt
“What?”“What?”“Is the almighty Daddy’s puppet not going to tell me to listen to Daddy this time around?” Ophelia asked and he shifted to the edge of his seat. “What do you mean?” he asked before adding. “What do you daddy’s puppet?”“Haven't you always advised me to do things my dad wants me to?” she asked and he looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. “I have always known”“And yet you still did them?”“Yeah because you asked and you are my friend so I did not think you would ever want me to be hurt soooo…” she trailed off. “You knew and you still them? That is shocking considering that you are so independent”“Hey, I never wanted to be independent, I was forced to become one” she said brushing her hair away from her face. “You don't think I should get married though why?”“I believe you should get married to the one you love, I think marriage is a big deal, I can't imagine living in the same house as someone who you don't like” “Then I guess the fortune of the Fros
Ophelia looked at this man, she remembered him all too well, she even remembered him from just seeing his name, he was the man she had spent the night passionately with when she was in her third year at college. She could never forget him no matter how hard she tried, she had always hated that he found a way to pop into her memories once in a while. She blinked her eyes at him multiple times, how did he remember her so well even up to her name? When she woke up that morning she had run away from the room before he could wake up and tried her best to forget about him.She never thought she would have a reason to ever encounter him ever again, considering the fact that she would be leaving the city behind anyway. For her own sanity, she never went back to that club in case she ran into him. How shameful it was for her that a girl who ran her mouth so much was a virgin. She did not think that her father's first choice for her would be this man sitting across from her, she did not know
“Your terms are?” Cade asked as they dug into the meal in front of them. “You want me to tell you now?”“Is anything wrong with now?” he asked looking around, maybe she thought the place was not good enough to discuss those kinds of matters. “Well, it seems rushed, what is the reason you are rushing?” “I have to get married before I turn twenty-five in August to take over the company or else my cousin or brother might be the one to inherit it”“And you are so interested in the company why?”“Do you know how much effort I have put into the company? I slept in the penthouse at work for three months, how can I let someone else take over? I studied business administration instead of engineering as I originally wanted because my grandfather wanted me to. Should I throw it all away after coming this far?”“Of course not, I can understand, I am sitting here now because my father already has everything planned out for my life” she sighed before taking a bite.”Maybe rich people do not have
Of course, the papers read, IS THE TROUBLESOME MS FROST BACK IN THE CITY FOR MORE TROUBLE. One of the reporters had caught wind that she was around and now her name was swimming in the news. She smiled at her phone as she thought to herself. ‘I still got it’ Maybe her father was the one who put the reporter on her tail but the fact that all the other reporters were eager to write on her showed just how influential her family was. Many of the reports were speculating that Cade and her were together and she knew from experience that now was the best time for her to jump on the news and make it work to their benefit. “Hello” “You finally picked,” Ophelia said.“Oh sorry about that i do not like to take personal calls during work hours” Cade replied. She had been calling so much he had no choice but to pick up and know what she wanted. When they had exchanged contacts he did not know she would reach out so easily.“And I am not really interested in calling you at all but you see this s
“You are wearing that to the movies?” Cade asked and she looked down at her dress and back at him. She could not deny that she was being a bit extra just to see the movies but she was always extra so there was nothing wrong with it.“What is wrong with what I am wearing?” she asked crossing her arms across her chest and leaning on one leg. “Too glamorous, are we attending a party or an event? Are you trying to outshine the bride?” he asked leaning on the sports car behind him. He had taken time off work earlier than usual, the staff watched in awe as he walked away early from work. They were both sacred and joyful, afraid that it was a test and joyful that for the first time in six months since he took over the office they got to go home early. He had gone home and changed out of his usual day-to-day suit and thrown on a t-shirt and chinos. Ophelia could not deny that he looked good in those casual clothes. “So if I dressed like this I would outshine the bride? These brides should