Miracle's POV
The break of dawn came into the horizon, and I wake up very early. I need to be present at the selection ceremony for the new Elite Bodyguards.
It has been five years since it took place, but the memory is yet so fresh in my mind. I can't forget that incident until now, I even have nightmares, and worse, I couldn't accept that it happened to me.
"Are you nervous about today, sweetheart?" My dad asked. My father, Thomas White, is bearing a signature wardrobe. He is always getting on business attire. I seldom see him in casual dresses.
"Dad, you know I am not excited about it, all the guards just come and go, I don't want to get attached anymore, I can not think about it, my therapist told me that after three years, it would be gone, but his memories are still haunting me, even until now," I said, my voice is so gentle. Being the daughter of one of the richest men in the entire country, they trained me to be a proper lady since childhood. Though I wouldn't say I liked it, Johnny made everything fun.
I have undergone therapy, and I wanted to be free of those nightmares, want to be normal again. I used to be easy-going and full of life, but the incident that happened was brutal and wrecked me, the loss I suffered and the emptiness will always be there.
"I felt it, Mira. I sometimes envy him because he was there for you. Every moment I have to attend business meetings and conferences overseas, he was the one who looked out for you." Dad sighed.
"Father! I love you, right?" I replied.
"Yes, sweetheart, but he became so close to you, I realize it was all my fault, I am always not around, and I don't have time for you, that is why you need to be trained now, I want you to take over the company soon." My old man declared he looked so serious.
"Dad! I still desire to graduate from college." I replied to him, and I am surprised that he is talking about such a thing.
"Besides, I am yet very young, and I felt you are kidding, right?" I asked him.
"Yes! But training is necessary so that when it is your time to carry on our organization, it will be easy for you to handle situations. It is better to go over the company business in person, and we don't know the future Mira, anything can happen to me." He explained.
"Dad, what is the use of hiring good and competent employees?"
"Mira, my dear, you can't trust them, you need to take care of relevant matters, or all my hardships will be nothing, don't give them reasons to embezzle money from the company Mira, that is why I am very successful." He said.
"Dad, how can I be like you? You are a lawyer before grandfather, and Bob turned over everything to you. You are brilliant, while I am not even sure what I want." I said.
"Hey! I know how resourceful you are, Mira, and you need not be a counselor. Now let us go, or we will be late." My Old man offered his arm to me, and I linked my arm with him.
We boarded our private family helicopter, together with my father, his assistant Mr. Michael Diez, my Dad's escorts, and with my bodyguards.
I was younger since vigorous men have surrounded me. When I turned preschool, my Old man started hiring the Elite Bodyguards. One must have a proper education, and he must be a college graduate, have an excellent level of health, must have training in first aid, and have Security Industry Authority License and a driving permit. My father prefers applicants who are police or who enlisted in the army, but right now, I am one of the committees who will choose the candidates. I always have the last say.
The Head of Security will be the one in charge during the preliminary round, together with the recruitment department. His men will do the background checking and double-check all the information if everything found in their documents is legitimate. My Dad makes sure that I am safe. The choosing ceremony of the New trainees is the only occasion that my father didn't miss. He missed my birthdays and so many holidays. As for him, I am his only jewel, and he needs to protect me.
This is the only time I know I will see my dad. Before the kidnapping incident, I didn't take part to pick the final candidates, but my father was so afraid that something might happen to me, he changed the procedures. He hired a new batch every six months or after one year. He doesn't want me to get close to any of the bodyguards ever anew.
When Johnny was killed, I haven't eaten a proper meal. The maids forced me to eat, and I lose myself in that time. I don't wish to see anyone, even my father, and I cried for how many weeks. I blame myself for what happened. Though I was spoiled, he understood me, and most of all, he loved me.
I was naïve back then, and I figured out the world revolved around me since I was the only daughter of Thomas White. We owned an airline company, hotels, and department stores. I felt my friends loved and adored me, but I didn't know they all hated me. I was terrible, and as I looked down on people, my circle of classmates influenced me.
"A penny for your thoughts, sweetheart?" Dad asked me, and I was looking at the horizon, where the sun is rising. I love its charm.
"I just yearn for the sunrise, dad."
"You, just like your mother, you both enjoy the elegance of nature." He said, my father is beaming at me. I know how much he loves her.
We are in one of our properties. My Dad built the facilities to have the hired bodyguards proper training and exercises. I know my life sucks. I don't have privacy even in our residence. The guards are all over the area, and it only started when I was kidnapped, and my nightmares began. He became paranoid. Before, we only have four Elite Bodyguards and four security guards in the shifting schedule.
Some say I am the luckiest girl globally, being the Heiress of my dad's empire. All they see is our wealth, but they didn't realize the real me.
Roger meets us, and he is responsible for all the methods in the training facilities, he will be the one in charge of evaluating their progress. They are not an ordinary bodyguard, the moment I reached legal age, my father added some qualifications, one must have a pleasing personality, at first I laughed, why it is needed to be one requirement, Dad said I couldn't bring someone as my date to his events, since he doesn't have anyone in mind suitable to become my boyfriend.
My Elite bodyguards can be my date, classmates, any role, as long as their priority is my safety. They need not be close to me at all times, but they have to be within enough distance to protect me.
"Marvelous morning, Mr. White, Ms. Mira."
"Good morning Roger, please tell me how many passed the preliminary round?"
"There are only fifty candidates left, and we only require five persons as a replacement for the ended contract. The total aspirants for this season reached five thousand all over the country, excluding the unqualified. I guess there are many young men out there who wanted to become a millionaire, and it's so funny during the preliminary interview. They declared money is just a tip. All they want is to serve Mira." Roger responded. That made me blushed.
"There are even applicants who didn't surrender, they have been rejected so many times, but they are not afraid to face another rejection." He said, gesturing us to sit down.
I am wearing my favorite skinny jeans and a white T-shirt and my choice of doll shoes. I wear branded things before I fancy them all. From designer bags, perfumes, and even cosmetics products, but when Johnny died, all things are nothing, it made me realized that we only have one life.
Most of the time, I hate my father's rules, but there is nothing I can do, he is the only parent left, I don't have a mother, whom I can talk to when I have problems, my father is always busy. I don't have legitimate friends because most of them are fake. I don't even know who is true anymore.
I used to be friendly to everybody, but after they put my life in danger, they made me realized they only want to be with me because of my Dad. Some just wanted to have an apprenticeship into our company or planning to apply to a particular position.
I am tired of looking back at those unpleasant memories, and my mouth hangs open the moment the remaining candidates stand in front of us. They are all tall, handsome, well-built, and look strong, and I am sure they are all intelligent. I think this is the first time the recruitment agency does its job. They all look at the same age.
"Good day gentlemen, I am so happy to meet all of you today who remain standing still, but I assure you, even you will lose your chance to be chosen to be a member of the White Elite Bodyguards, you will receive an appropriate amount of money." My father said he is so calm, yet his voice is compelling.
"Now, good luck to all of you boys, you require showing us what All You've Got, and you call for to convince me why I should hire you as protectors of my beloved daughter." After he finished his speech, he sat beside me and held my hand.