"Dad",Amber squeaked, face flaming red from shame and embarrassment.
"Where have you been Amber?",Benjamin Hale asked angrily.
Amber's mind became a chaos of thoughts. She could make up something to say, right? Her father didn't have to know she sneaked out last night.
"I... just... took a walk",she forced the lie out and averted her eyes. "I know I left the room you kept me in, but the morning was chilly and..."
Amber tailed off. Even the lie sounded crazy in her ears and with the expression on her father's face, she knew he didn't buy it.
"I'm sure Clarissa told you I had a business out of town",Benjamin continued calmly, but Amber knew he was furious with her. And disappointed too.
"She did..."
"I rushed back home at midnight, because I knew how special yesterday was for you",he continued sharply. "I wanted to spend enough time with you, because I know it will be your last birthday in this house. Only for me to find out you sneaked out in the middle of the night. What has come over you Amber?"
Amber flinched at his sharp tone and lowered her eyes, feeling ashamed of herself. What had come over her? Why did she do something as daring as that, after all her father had done for her?
Benjamin glared at her for a moment and commanded sharply.
"Start speaking! Where did you go?"
Amber gulped and mumbled out incoherently.
"Be audible Amberlynn!",her father snapped, using her full name for the very first time. This just proved how furious he was.
"I was at a club",she murmured.
"A club?",Benjamin was ready to explode with anger. He marched up to where Amber stood and grabbed her arm. "Tell me! Did anyone touch you?",he asked roughly.
"Father no...",Amber denied.
"You're lying!",Benjamin roared. "Who touched you? Did you give yourself to a man? Did you let him deflower you? Answer me this instant!"
Amber finally had enough. She wrenched her arm out of her father's grip and screamed at him.
"I WAS NOT DEFLOWERED!"
Benjamin stood back, staring at her in shock. Amber had never raised her voice at him.
"You locked me in for most of my life",she continued angrily. "Each of my birthdays were spent alone up in my room. You never cared to know if this was the life I wanted. You never gave me a moment of freedom! And now I'm going to be married off to some stranger I've never met! Do you love me father? Or you just want to get rid of me"
Amber's voice crumbled at the end and she burst into tears. She fell to her knees and bawled her eyes out.
"I never planned to sneak out",she sobbed. "I just couldn't stand it anymore. I'm eighteen father, I have a right to the life I want to live. But you don't care...",her sobs resumed and she buried her face in her hands.
Clarissa had woken up after hearing Amber's scream and she stood by the doorway leading into the hall. In her eyes, there was pity for Amber, and anger towards Benjamin. He was the cause of everything the girl was going through. She wished she could go to Amber and console her, but she couldn't. She was just a maid. She wasn't part of the family.
Benjamin stared at his daughter for a while in silence. In his face, there was a look of fear. Fear for his daughter. If only she knew why he always kept her locked in. But he couldn't. It wasn't time for her to know.
And being married to Draco Birmingham was the right thing for her. She would be safer that way.
He crouched beside her and pulled her into his arms.
"I'm sorry darling",he consoled her. "I'm sorry for everything. I just thought, I was doing the right thing. I am only trying to keep you safe"
"Safe from what?",Amber whined and lifted her tearstained face. "You always tell me the same thing. What are you keeping me safe from?"
Benjamin wiped the tears away from his daughter's eyes. "One day, you will know. And you will understand"
Amber gave up trying to figure out why he kept saying the same thing. She suddenly felt exhausted after the long night she had.
"I'm sorry I sneaked out",she whispered and buried her face in her father's chest.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you",Benjamin said softly. "Did I hurt you?".
Amber shook her head, but allowed him to check her arm where he held her tight earlier. Just as he expected, there was no bruise.
"Thank you for the presents"
"They weren't from me",Benjamin stated with a wry smile.
Amber frowned and leaned back to stare at her father. "Then who brought them?"
"The man you're to be married to",Benjamin informed her. "Draco Birmingham"
"But...",Amber's frown deepened. "He has never seen me. We don't even know each other"
"You will soon, because he is coming over today",Benjamin broke the news to her. "He plans to take you with him today"
"What?",Amber shrieked. "I thought I was to be married in a week's time"
"Well",Benjamin scratched his head. "He sent a message through one of his associates. You will be married at the court today, and he will take you home as his wife"
Amber felt her jaw drop in shock.
...
Around noon, Amber was a mass of ruffled nerves. She paced to and fro in her room, chewing on her fingers nervously.
This anxiety and nervousness had taken over her since her father mentioned that her husband-to-be, Draco Birmingham would be coming to take her as his wife today.
She couldn't shake the feeling of fright that took over her. What would he be like? What if he didn't like her appearance? Did he like women with emerald eyes? Would he like the size of her bum?
"Oh stop it Amber",she snapped at herself and dropped heavily into the couch in her room. The wait was killing her. She just wanted to get it over with.
At exactly one in the afternoon, the doorbell rang. The chime resounded round the entire mansion, jolting Amber's heart into a scattered beat.
He was here, she thought. Her husband-to-be was finally here.
She was still dressed in the t-shirt and jeans she wore back home that morning and with the amount of nerves churning in her stomach, she didn't feel like changing clothes. She would be meeting Draco Birmingham soon, one of the most wealthiest billionaires in Rockville city.
How could she think of changing clothes now?
Thirty minutes passed and Amber began to grow restless. Just as she was about to tiptoe to the door and try to eavesdrop, Clarissa pushed the door open and stepped in.
There was a smile on her face when she spoke.
"It's time Amber",she said softly. "Master Birmingham wants to see you"
"Oh Clarissa",Amber whispered fearfully and gripped the older woman's hand. "How is he? Did he come alone? Is he annoyed that he's getting married to someone like me?"
"You have nothing to be worried about Amber",Clarissa chuckled and led Amber downstairs. "He's actually eager to see you. Almost like he's excited at the thought of marriage"
Amber could feel her heart pounding within her as they got close to the living room. She could hear her father's voice, conversing with someone.
She froze when she heard another familiar voice. Although the memory was a bit hazy in her mind, she knew instantly where she had heard that voice before. As realization dawned on her, her eyes widened.
Oh no, she thought frantically. It couldn't be.
She stepped into the living room with Clarissa beside her, and her eyes zeroed in on the young handsome man sitting on the sofa, flanked with half a dozen bodyguards in suit.
The moment she saw him, a loud gasp escaped her.
The man in question looked up when he heard a sharp gasp and his icy blue eyes clashed with emerald ones.
He shot out of his seat, shock written all over his face.
"You?",Draco snapped in bewilderment.
Amber's husband-to-be was none other than the man she met at the club the previous night.