Ms Anna Williams,
Age: 17
It all started in the year 2004 and I wish there was a time machine that I could use to change that one day in my life, that brought all of this windstorm into my happiness. My world was small, and there were few handpicked people who genuinely cared about me. Everything was timed and scheduled where there was nothing for me to do except for the assigned work. Despite having my father, I was closer to my nanny because my dad rarely had any time for me and I gradually grew to enjoy all of my alone time. Also, even though he was not physically present, my father spoiled me badly by getting everything I desired. The tenderness he showed me, had spoiled me where I knew I could get anything, anytime, anywhere, but honestly that wasn't what I really preferred. The only condition was that I listen and do everything he told me to, which quickly became a habit. My nanny was more or like a mom to me, feeding me, taking care of my lessons, tucking me to bed and sometimes coming with me to the parents meeting instead of my dad. She can be as strict as my father at times, doing things only he asks her to do.
Even though I had everything, I was lonely and craved for love. I never wanted to take over his company because I didn't want to be pushed into the corporate world and the vicious ocean of his business. I desired a different way of life, a different path in which I could do what I actually relish. But, you know, things never go the way we want them to, do they?
My life has always been low-key and I don't enjoy it as much as others did with theirs. But when I graduated from middle school, everything changed and my life took a sharp turn.
I became a typical teenager who enjoyed going to school, secretly skipping classes and hanging out with my classmates. I'd go partying with them in secret, lying to my nanny and trying to live in the moment to have as much fun as possible.
I met him for the first time at our school's golden jubilee celebration. My friends were constantly staring at him and going bananas over him. They had begun to drool over his good looks, which made me want to learn more about him just to keep up with the others.
They had looked him up in our alumni database and discovered that his name was Lucas Devies. All of the other alumni were dressed in formals, but he stood out, in a beige hoodie and blue denim. He appeared to be very young and, of course, far more attractive than the others. He had a clean shave, which I preferred, and his messy wet hair looked really good on him. The usual rumour mill was going around the school about who his girlfriend is, his family, and a variety version about his background.
A lot of our seniors and my friends were constantly hitting on him in an effort to get his number. The ceremony was going on, but everyone's attention was on him. I stood there like a monument because I didn't really care about the ceremony and just wanted to go out to grab some food. We were tasked with delivering the flower bouquet to the guests who passed and soon we completed our task. The highlight of the event was when he was introduced as the youngest CEO and revealed that he was the son of Menzen, the leading law firm. He was insanely rich and the rising young face of most of the magazine's cover.
We were just loitering around after the event when one of my friends noticed Mr Lucas talking to the students and immediately ran towards him, pulling me along with them.
I was standing in the crowd, fantasising, while my friends did attempt to strike up a conversation with him. He looked at me out of nowhere and we locked eyes for a few seconds. Out of the blue he then approached me and said a few words that left my friends speechless, "Hey, Anna, right? Do you mind if I ask for your phone number?" His confident and sweet gesture swept me off my feet
We began dating within a month from the alumni meet and after 6 months, I graduated from high school and during those college days, I was literally living in a fantasy world where only he and I existed, no one else mattered. Our dating genre was distinct from that of the others. As a couple, we didn't go on dates or to parties with our friends. We preferred to stay within the four walls of his tree house, which only he had access to, ordering extra-large pepperoni pizza and learning maths in bed. He was more than just a boyfriend; he was also my teacher and I must say, he was very good at what he taught.
Everything was going great and the time we spent together was gradually becoming my addiction.
I would even skip my special class and go meet him secretly every day and he would drop me back so that I could get home on time. Nobody knew about us but I guess happy days don't last long.
Soon after, my nanny began to have doubts when she noticed a black car passing by whenever I came home and it was Lucas following me all the way to my house. She was becoming suspicious day by day and began questioning me about my classes along with other matters. I was able to calm her down, but the seed of suspicion remained within her.
Something inside her refused to accept my explanations and she found this one day. She contacted my professor, who was specifically assigned to my extra classes. Soon she found that I had not attended her classes for the past few months, but surprisingly, I had been performing exceptionally well, particularly in maths, which had been my weakness since the beginning. All of the lying for him worked out quite well for me thanks to Lucas and his teaching.
My nanny was obviously shocked to learn that I had not attended class and immediately went to my dad with the information. Her doubts were dispelled by the grades I received in maths and she did her duty by reporting to dad. My every movement was explained by her loyalty to my dad. I could still recall the entire conversation, which I overheard while standing outside my dad's study room. She recounted her entire conversation with my tutor.
"Despite the fact that she did not attend the classes, she was able to earn the third highest grade in her class. I believe she is capable of studying independently and will do well in her subjects, sir "At the end, she stated.
He was deep in his office files, but was still listening to her narrative. "I want you to keep a keen eye on her because she's up to something," he said, staring up at her.
"Sir, I know you care for her, but I feel, seeing her marks, there is nothing to worry about right now." He kept his pen down, looked at my nanny and said, "Even though you've been with her all these years, I know my daughter."
"She is getting great marks and ranks without attending any classes, doesn't that create the basic doubt about the whole situation. The places you think she is being honest, that's exactly where things are going wrong. So, I want you to find out about what she is keeping from us before things go out of hand. If she wants something, she goes out of her way to get it, which I admire but also worry about. So just make sure you look into things more thoroughly and let me know what's going on with her," he said as he went about his work.
After hearing their conversation, I realised I was on the verge of causing my father's rage to flare up. It made me shiver and I dashed to my room before being held captive. Despite the fact that my dad had no idea about Lucas or me dating him, I couldn't sleep and was constantly worried about everything.
One of my worst habits is that I have a tendency to overthink small things that aren't worth much thought. Even after a week, I was still thinking about it because it kept disturbing my quiet time. Slowly, I realised that it was bothering not only me, but also Lucas, because I wasn't behaving normally with him. Lucas had also begun to sense the disturbance within me, and it was possible that it was affecting our relationship somehow.
Normally, our relationship was very immature, which he enjoyed and we would play around, acting all cute. Learning together was fun and interesting because he would turn whatever happened into a cheesy romantic moment, and we would sometimes laugh at how stupid we were.
Since the day I heard their conversation, I couldn't think straight and the fun moments had suddenly turned into overthinking about something really difficult but always Lucas would bring me back to the moment. I believe he sensed the gap between us and came up with some really sweet ideas to get me back to how I used to be.
He would constantly check on me to see if I was okay and would lavish me with kisses whenever I was feeling down. Sometimes he would spend hours looking at me and telling him about how much I loved eating the things he bought for me, even though I wasn't allowed to have them in my house. His back hugs were my instant happy pills; even if I was in the worst of moods, one hug would make me forget everything. I did feel insecure at times, fearful of losing him and all the happiness he brought into my life, just as I had before.
I gradually forgot about it and learned to love my days with him. Though my dad's study room and Lucas' office were roughly the same size, I preferred Lucas' office because I could smell the perfumes he wore while feeling home. I adored the way he smells and it was one of my favourite parts of him. I'd sit in his chair and act like a CEO, while he sat in front of me like an employee who had to hear all of my orders. When he has some work on his laptop, I would go and sit on his lap, disturbing him and stopping him from working at all. If I were in his position, I would be furious, but he was never annoyed with me and always smiled at everything I did, encouraging me even more.
His office had become my happy place, where I could roam around and order whatever I wanted, and it would be delivered to me in seconds. Play video games with him during his working hours and after a heavy meal in the afternoons, take a good nap on his lap like a small baby. After Lucas, his secretary, who had gradually become a friend to me, was the only one who would listen to all of my tantrums. Whenever I called his secretary inside the office, as if I were some kind of company head, Lucas just sat on the guest couch and laughed at me acting like a strict boss and the only line his secretary had to say that I assigned was "Yes Ma'am."
It gets boring when Lucas is busy with work or meetings and when he returns to his office, I pretend to sleep like a log, trying not to smile. But he knew how to solve the problem and said to me, "Dar-lin, wake up or do your assignment by yourself."
I don't know what happens to me when he calls me 'Dar-lin,' but I always end up with butterflies in my stomach and smiling like an idiot. I appreciated it when he addressed me as such and took care of all the minor details in my life. The only thing I didn't like was when he told me it was time for me to go home. I would tell him every single detail, such as what happened from my morning to my night, and he would sit and listen intently.
He was there to handle me on the bad days when I would have fought with dad or nanny, the bad days, the days of the results, or whatever it was. When things don't go my way, I usually lose it and end up breaking things and yelling at the people around me. But Lucas knew exactly how to calm me down and at times I felt as if he possessed a special magic wand that could control me in any way possible.
I used to consider telling my father everything about him, but I was afraid that he would reject him and I would lose him all at once. I kept things hidden from him because someone else had grown more special in my heart. My dad was the only man in my life a few years ago, and meant everything to me. But everything changed the moment I fell in love with Lucas.
When I zone out thinking about it, he kisses my cheek and says "Look at my eyes. When you are with me, nothing can go wrong, Dar-lin," and I love that part of him.
While I was sitting on top of his table, revising for the SAT exam which was the next day, he was reading some documents and a thought struck me. I asked, "Lucas, what is your biggest fear?"
Without a second thought, he replied, "LOSING YOU," but he was still buried in his papers.
After a few seconds, he realised I was staring at him and he smiled up at me. Instead of a wink, he closed both of his eyes and we both laughed. When I saw his charming face, I wondered what good deeds I had done to deserve such an amazing and caring person in my life. It felt extremely fortunate to have gotten him and wished for only one thing: to hold this hand forever.
I did my best to avoid all of the quantitative questions, but I forgot that he has a high intellect. When he heard the pages being flipped, he said, "I'm not going to sit next to you when you do your quants tomorrow. So, practice now," and got me bad. I smiled awkwardly but still maintained my cuteness and said, "Ah! What would I do if you weren't in my life, Daar-lin?" and it was the manner in which he called me. He blushed as he looked up at me, shocked which was so cute on him because it was rare that he blushed at something.
"Daar-Lin?" I said this as I bent myself down a bit to reach his face as he was sitting on the chair to take another look at his reaction. He looked me in the eyes and gestured with his eyes to not to do it again. After all, I was Anna, and no one could stop me from doing what I wanted.
Even though he told me not to call him by that name, I kept whispering it into his ears, seductively sometimes. I could see his ears turning red and were about to burst but couldn't help but laugh when I saw him. Suddenly, he grabbed my hands, pulled me down and forced me to sit on his lap. I was only an inch shorter away from his face and we were so close that I could feel his breath on me. He placed his cold hands on my soft, warm cheeks. There was an eerie pause in the room and all I could hear was how fast my heart was beating with the heavy breath he took.
He suddenly placed his lips directly on mine to my shock. We had always had small pecks, but the environment and the cold breeze from the window pushed us to take the next step that evening. This time, the kiss was different, or perhaps I should say more passionate. I was a little nervous, but was also excited and enjoying the moment because he was my first. Slowly, he drew me closer to him and began to suck my lower lips. I could tell something inside me was intense and harder on him the moment he bit my inner lips. Instantly I pulled him closer to me with my hands into his hair and grabbed a hold of it. His tongue was exploring my mouth, and my hormones were more excited than I was to get physical with him. Lucas's right hand suddenly got inside my shirt and he slowly caressed my waist. That night, I thought I was going to lose my virginity because we were getting more passionate and the sexual tension was not ready to keep quiet. His hands were already in places where no one had ever touched me before, the rush of hormones made me feel the same too and he was not in the plan to stop anytime soon.
My phone abruptly rang and it was the formatted evening reminder to inform me to leave for home on time. That made me want to throw away the phone because the entire mood and situation was ruined.
He murmured in hushed tones, "I had no idea my Dar-Lin was getting so good at it. Where did you learn this, because it was obviously not your first time?" I was already overwhelmed by the situation and responded softly, "Perhaps from you?" We kissed again, but this time it was followed by a slow, soft peck on my lips.
"It's time for you to go home now," he said with a small smile, "shall we get your bag?" which made me feel a little down. I didn't want to leave so quickly, so I hugged him tight and said, "No, I don't want to go. What am I going to do? When I return, I'm going to miss you terribly. Allow me to stay with you please."
He slowly took my hands in his and kissed them, saying, "You are my treasure and my life is blessed to have you in it," and kissed my cheek. When he said those words, I was on cloud nine and almost in tears.
"Now don't cry and ruin the moment," he said, and we both laughed.
I got up from his laps and began packing my bag while he returned back to his files. I looked at him with all my love, wondering what kind of man he was. He looked at me and said, "Wait a minute."
"Also, I'm sorry I won't be able to join you today. I have a meeting with my dad, so my secretary will accompany you today." I was a little disappointed and thought it was strange because we had such a nice moment and now, he isn't coming to drop me off.
"No, I want you to come with me, to my house, or I'm not going home," I insisted.
He looked at me and didn't say anything for a few seconds, just staring at me. He rose up, came close and said, "I really need to go meet my dad today or else things won't go smoothly in the company. So please understand and cooperate with my secretary for a single day." I had nothing to say except I knew that I would have to go home without him.
"Promise me that you'll take me to the exam tomorrow. I'll go to the cafe across the street and tell my nanny I'm going to college with my friends. If this does not happen, you know exactly what will happen, so act accordingly," I told him.
"Yes ma'am" he said and kissed my forehead, nose and lips.
As he went out to call his secretary about taking me home, I had the strange feeling that he wouldn't be coming tomorrow to drop me off at the exam venue, though I didn't know why. As I was about to leave, an idea occurred to me. I pulled my entry ID card from my bag and placed it next to his laptop.
I was in a hurry the next day because I woke up late in the morning and dozed off again even after my nanny woke me up early. My exam was scheduled for ten o'clock, but because Lucas promised to take me there, I had to leave earlier than usual. I pretended to her that I was going to the exam with a friend and dad called me while I was eating breakfast.
"Yes, Dad! I'm fully prepared," I said as soon as I answered the phone.
"Good and Anna remember, I need you to take this exam seriously because it is extremely important. Known for the fact that you have to win and failing is not an option for you. If you do, forget who you are and I will not even think twice to cut you off the house. So, you better do well on your exam," he said and abruptly hung up the phone. I put down my fork as soon as he said that sentence. He was harsh, but he also sounded irritated, making me feel that nobody cares about me but only the results in my house.
Actually, he just added fuel to the fire and it made me feel miserable, doubting my ability. I requested that my driver drop me off at Central Park. I took a taxi to Lucas' office and waited for him in the cafe opposite his building as soon as he left. I tried to get in, but they wouldn't let me because I forgot to get the card he gave me, to access his office and the guards wouldn't let me in. I kept calling him, but he didn't answer, and my legs were shivering from nervousness.