"And finally I'll like to formally introduce the celebrant of the day , the second princess of this town , and the only daughter and child of Late Chief Miller , her royal majesty , Miss Azora Miller !", Nathan announced with a microphone in his hand.
The claps of the teenage guys were overruled by the murmurs of some of their parents, they were ready to criticize both her lateness in coming out and her general appearance.
Azora didn't waste any time longer
Her flair attire graced down the stairs , and all eyes fell on her.
The clapping came to an end and they all were more focused on her looks , no murmurs could be heard , the whole room screamed silent.
It was the moment her feet ended the stairs that Azora realized that all gazes fell on her , and hers fell to the ground as well.
She didn't move a muscle, what was she to say , "Hi " or "Hello" , to people she barely knew. Her statue position reignited the murmurs .
"Couldn't she at least greet ........", someone in the crowd whispered .
At least it seemed like a whisper until Azora heard it clearly , her hands gripped the flair of her gown , but her lips didn't move .
Laury quickly stole the mic from Nathan to avoid any more embarrassing looks from the crowd .
"Welcome everyone , I thank you all for taking time off to attend my niece's birthday party, its an honour to have you all, she's so elated that she ran out of words , but trust me she appreciates your presence "
Laury pauses a bit and gives Azora a spiteful look .
"And the glowing celebrant is a bit shy as well, trust me once again when I say she is well cultured , without further or do may the celebration begin ", Laury drops the mic and directs all the middle aged guests to another hall, leaving the teenagers alone.
Amelia comes out of the crowd and steals the mic .
"I'm glad to see you all and more glad that you all could make it even with school's tight schedules , right now its time to have crazy fun "
"Who's with me ?"
"We are !" , the large crowd of teenagers chanted in unison .
The dance competition was the first activity on the list , every single one of them picked their partners ,Azora on the other hand sat on a little stool , she seemed to be staring at space .
"Hi !", a decent looking teenager approached her .
Azora's gaze didn't falter , she pretended not to hear his voice.
"I know I may be bothering you , I just want to talk , I'm O....."
"O....Owen !" , Azora looked fiercely at the boy , almost in tears .
"Am....not actually , I'm Oliver , only son Chief Sein , you look tensed , is everything alright with you ? ", he asked placing his hand on her right shoulder.
"Stay away from me ! Don't you dare come close to me or even dream of touching me again ! ", Azora shouted angrily as she pushed Oliver to the floor .
Oliver quickly got up to his feet to avoid glaring looks from his peers, the loud city music made him even luckier , no one heard what Azora actually even said , everyone was focused on their partners.
"I....I'm really sorry if you found that offensive , I only wanted to help , and I still can , you just have to tell me what's wrong , and I promise to help. "
"Shut the fuck up ! Liar! Like the same way you helped last night right ? I trusted you and you stabbed me in the back and took advantage of my innocence."
Oliver's eyes popped right out , he looked utterly confused.
"And you still have the audacity to come to my party and offer your help, I let you go off last night but I'll expose you before shoving a knife through your throat.", Azora said as chocked him by tightening the collar of his shirt .
"You're mistaken Azora, I'm really not who you think I am ,please let me go ! " , Oliver insisted on begging her .
Azora couldn't understand a word he was saying , her red eyes explained it all , all she knew was that she finally got the chance to take a revenge on Owen .
The curtain divider pulled down separating the party area from the scene , Amelia pops in from the opening behind.
"Azora what's going on , tell me, what has he done ?", Amelia asked .
"Stay out of this Amelia , I've never needed you and neither do I today, I'll kill this beast today , you have no idea what he has done , Owen has to die today and you can't stop it ", Azora said as she tightened her grip on his collar .
Oliver was beginning to lose air , but Azora didn't still let go.
"Azora ! For what ever he must have done , I plead for forgiveness, he doesn't deserve to die this way ", Amelia pleaded.
Azora didn't listen , the next thing that caught her eye was a little pocket knife , with one hand still fixed on Oliver's collar , she picked the knife up and pointed to his neck.
"You were my very best friend Owen , you were all I had, but now I don't need you or you disgusting body anywhere around me , but I have one more task for you , say me Hi to Mr Miller ", Azora said as she smiled .
As Azora was about to slit Oliver's throat , Amelia pours out a jar of water on Azora's hair .
The knife drops to the floor and so does Azora and Oliver .
Amelia rushes to Oliver's side .
"Are you alright?"
Oliver repeatedly nods his head while coughing hard.
Azora wipes her face with her hand and looks at them both .
"Amelia!, what's going on here , my head hurts so badly , why is my dress soaked , and why am I on the f Pollyloor, who is that on the floor?"
Amelia rushes to Azora.
"A...Azora, are you alright ? Don't you remember anything that transpired here ?"
Azora spots the knife on the floor.
"Did .....D....Did I h..hurt him ?" , Azora asked almost in tears .
"Calm down Azzy , you didn't do anything yet , all is fine "
"Yet ? So I did do this , this was all my doing , what have I done ?" , Azora continued crying as she banged her head on the wall.
Oliver gets up and comes closer to them .
" Is she on some drugs ? Whatever it is she needs serious medical attention. We really need to help her right now ." , Oliver adviced.
"Azora please stop it , you'll hurt yourself ", Amelia begged.
"Please go away from me Amelia or I'll hurt you as I always do." ,Azora pleaded shifting away.
"No matter what you do , I'll always be here for you Azora. I'll never ever leave you sis"
"She's right , we can both help you out , if only you let us help ",Oliver promised.
"S.....shooo...Go away from me right now, both of you , leave now!", Azora shouted.
"No I won't leave", Amelia said .
"Oliver ! Please go back to the party , I'll handle her on my own."
"And what if she trys to hurt you ?",Oliver asked.
Azora's eyes fixed on Oliver. She bends and picks up the knife from the floor.
"He's right , I'll eventually hurt you if you remain here."
"No you....."
Amelia gets interrupted by Azora , as she tries to move closer to her.
"Stop right there , one more step and I'll either hurt you both or myself " Azora threatened.
"No , no ,no , we won't come closer , we promise ,just put down the knife ", Amelia promised .
" Not you too , so you really want to deceive me as well , I can believe this , I've had enough, now both of you leave !"
Azora fierced at them with the sharp end of the knife , her legs cluttered towards them as though she was going to hurt them both.
The duo exited the curtain divider without saying any other words.
"They can't help me , no one can , I'll help myself on my own , I need no one's help"
" From today onwards I'll face any problems I meet head on by myself , I'll be independent, a one raped, abused ,depressed teenage orphan squad."
Azora was panting like a wild dog .
"I don't want these riches, they're all Miller's , his sister can have em all. I'll fend for myself , I ....I..w..ill , and if I can't I'll end my life.", Azora assured herself .
"Before the party goes on , ill like to make a brief announcement , my darling Azora , could you please come on stage", Laury said holding the mic closely to her lips .
Azora exited the curtain divider and headed straight for the stage , her gloomy face transformed back to its sparkle . It was like she wore a magical smile that brought out her sunken eyes .
Azora wondered what the money monger was up to this time , she knew Laury would do all it takes to inherit her late father's wealth but this time she couldn't figure out the level she stooped to . She could only follow Laury's orders like a puppet.
"As you all know Late Chief Miller , who was also Azora's father was indeed a great man , he wasn't also generous but also selfless as well. Its a shame he had to die at an early stage of life."
Ensuring that the whole crowd were engulfed in her words , she decided to drop the bomb.
"However, he left a gem behind , a beautiful one at that , not only that , but also willed all his property and business to this gem of his , so today it is with great honour and happiness that I present to you , your father's business. Not only to run it but also to expand it ", Laury said facing Azora .
A man holding a document and pen handed them over to Azora .
What a plan indeed , Laury knew Azora would refuse it and the situation will be in her favor at last , that was her biggest plan , the game ender indeed.
Azora stared at the documents, she didn't know what to say or do , still something had to be done , she never expected a dime from her aunt from her father's wealth , so what was this all about . There was no way she could even refuse her Aunt in front of a crowd such as this , that would be her last words .
"So what do you say Azora , are you ready to take on your father's business to now be yours to keep?" , the man who handed over the documents asked .
The whole crowd were astonished, how could a teenager run an adult based business, her age grades however felt she was lucky , and so did the adults present. If anyone of them could get such an opportunity ,their happiness would have known no bounds , but not Azora , she never fancied all these gold.
Azora's hand trembled in fear , she didn't know what to answer , plus the whole crowd awaited her reply patiently , so did her overly excited aunt .
She finally knew what to do , she waved off the thought off the gravity of the punishment she would have to endure ."Either ways I will never get to be happy", she thought.
"I.....I ... a...accept the offer"
There was a huge gasp from the crowd , Laury's stare was enough to choke the young teenager.
Azora had to continue from where she stopped , a burst of energy finally set in .
"But only on one condition , I would love to own the Miller's industry not in my father's name but my name instead "
"I don't quite get you my dear ", the lawyer asked .
"I would love to buy my father's business with my own hard earned money , meaning for the next six months I'll go get some job that'll get me enough money to buy his while business enterprise ", Azora explained .
The whole crowd began to murmur .
" Thats impossible Azora , the Miller....."
Azora cut short her Aunt's statement , "It is Aunt Laury , and I will not only proof so but also make you proud of me , it'll also proof I can be independent off my father's wealth and thats the greatest feeling a human could ever feel right?"
The whole crowd began to clap, no one cared if what she said made any sense , all they cared about was that somewhere along her speech, she made use of female independence.
"Wow , Late Chief Miller must be very proud of you right now , his little girl has grown up so much ", the lawyer said with a broad smile on his lips .
"My darling girl , you indeed are so wonderful", Laury wrapped her handS around Azora .
The tight and cold had told Azora , how much of a hot mess she had gotten herself into .Then the devil's whisper came.
"Little brat , you still have time to change this all the trash you just said , bluntly refuse the offer and let me handle the rest , or else", Laury said behind Azora's neck, before breaking the hug.
The poor girl began to tremble again , the flashbacks of the constant night beatings came running through her head. Her body became still once more , with only her lips moving rather quick .
Words failed her , she couldn't even convey the message to the lawyer properly, Azora didn't even realize when the lawyer snatched the documents from her .
Before she could realize it , the lawyer was out of sight, and the party was still on .
It was her supposed birthday party , so she couldn't run .
The music had continued playing, and so did the guests continue dancing .
"Mom! What the heck were you thinking when you announced such gibberish , you and I know what Azora is going through right now", Amelia said to Laury in fury she got close enough to her .
Pain ran through Laury's eyes , all she could see was a foolish daughter asking the most ridiculous questions life could ever offer . All she did and would do in future was for the betterment of her daughter's future.
"I don't have the strength neither do I have the time to handle your insolence .My reputation is more important than the stupidity you currently display, so confront me later when I can send a slap through your cheeks ", Laury replied in anger.
"Its all about you , isn't it? If Azora finally loses her mind you don't care, this isn't the way to do things mom, she needs our help urgently , and all you care about is her father's properties ", Amelia answered back with teary eyes.
Laury takes a deep breath .
"Its high time you leave my side before things get really ugly between us , but tell me something , am I so wrong to love my daughter so much that no one else's child matters more to me ?"
"This isn't love mom, its complete insanity, if you really loved me mom, you would consider Azora's happiness as well , because my happiness lies in hers "Amelia said as she walked out on Laury.
"I actually don't blame her one bit for all this , Azora has bewitched my soft hearted daughter and I'm to blame for not showing the wretched orphan her place immediately her father died , but no worries ,I'll correct every mistake today .", Laury said with a sheepish smile on her face .
Azora would not be able to avert what was about to hit her . Laury was ready to end her life and blame it on suicide , but because the property remained in her name , she was only allowed to turn her to a rug for a little while .
The party continued , with a clown show next .Azora could only see the replay of her life over and over in it , she was as hard as brick to the floor.