Heirs and Hearts: The High Society Seduction

It was an extraordinary day, unlike any other. The sun's intense rays seemed to pierce through Agatha, causing her to feel unusually nauseated. Her mind drifted back to the night before when she had found herself in a sweltering club. Agatha had sought a potential life partner through a series of brief encounters with different men, only to find that none of them met her exacting standards, leaving her disheartened. She held her forehead tightly and started massaging her nape. She needed some icy cold water to replenish all the energy she rendered for that one night out. “f*****g alcohol…” she whispered, Her eyes were half-closed when she heard several knocks on the door. “Come in!” Her voice echoed all around the room as she ordered whoever was outside to use the key and get to her. The door opened up and she saw her butler, Tyler. He seemed serious this time, probably mad. “What?” Agatha glared at him. “It appears as though you failed to get home before your curfew, ma'am,” Tyler said, checking his wristwatch. “I am 19, Tyler.” She groaned. “I am perfectly capable of fending myself off. I do not see any reason for you to be keeping track of me as if I am some dog.” Agatha felt offended by the fact that no matter how much she aged or whether she reached her legal age, she was still not seen as a woman. Instead, she is just a little girl who always needs to be saved. “I am simply doing what your father has asked me to do.” He defended his actions. “Whatever…” she whispered and got out of her bed. She immediately went to the kitchen and grabbed some ice and soaked her face on it. The maids silently watched her, not wanting to hear her venting out. “Your father needs you on the dining table.” Tyler kept on annoying her first thing in the morning. She glared at the maid and she handed her towel. “This early?” Tyler never responded back so she had no choice but to see it for herself. What met her was the angry face of her father. “Where were you last night? I checked your room, you weren't there!” It was the most deafening, crazy, and old freak nosy scolding she had ever heard. “You know I'd be lying if I told you I went outside for a school project.” Agatha jumped to her seat, grabbed some food and dug in. “Agatha…” Her mother, Evangeline, whispered. “That is not how I raised you to act.” She let out a huge sigh as she went on her day. “So what is this about? I know you wouldn't have called me earlier had there not been special news or some sort of order.” Agatha asked. A moment of silence was shared between them. Even the workers did not dare to speak a word or two. Agatha felt suspicious about it. “What?” Her father leaned on his chair as he opened up a serious conversation. “Agatha, I wish I did not need to say this, but this is important.” He whispered. “Our business… is dying.” Agatha suddenly lost her appetite. She lifted her head, shocked, and did not know how to act. “What is that supposed to mean?” She is scared. The way her mother kept her head down suggests that something must have happened. None of them have the energy to answer her queries, it seems everything is down the drain. Her father sighed before mumbling. “I… gambled our money in a risky investment and we lost everything.” Agatha looked around her and realization hit her hard. “Is that the reason why… our maids started losing their number?” “And our furniture… when did it start being scarce?” She could not believe any of it. The idea of being poor makes her vomit. She lives her whole life lavishly. Not caring how much she spent every day or whether her card had been maxed out. “How am I supposed to live now?!” Her emotion starts to get the best out of her. “How am I supposed to pay for all my subscriptions? Dad, I am in my fourth year now! How will I join my elite friend groups if I do not have the means and the money?!” She exclaimed. Her voice echoed all around the dining room. “Calm down—” “Calm down?! How are we going to live now?!” Her mother could not finish her words. She made sure to cut her off and show her that she was indeed mad. In the moment of her urging rage, her father slammed the table. It produced a loud sound that made the whole room ring and vibrate for a short period. He let out a breath of frustration before continuing. “Stop overreacting and listen to me, Agatha!” “I've had a deal with Arthur, alright?” She is confused. She went back to being seated and stared at her father, waiting for an explanation. “He told me, if you marry him…” he paused and waited for his daughter to react. “We will get our company back and he will help me with all the finances that need to be taken care of.” For a while, a piece of eerie music started playing behind Agatha's head. She could not believe the situation she is currently in. “How can you have me marry a man whose age is triple mine?” she exclaimed. The unimaginable finally reached her end. “How can you allow that?!” “I have no choice!” Her father blurted out. The veins in his neck were visible as he shouted at the top of his lungs. Agatha could not understand it at all. “You dare gamble and now, you want me to be the sacrifice? Are you offering me as a sacrifice?” She whispered in her hoarse voice. Tears build up on the sides of her eyes. “If you want to continue living your life the way you do right now, then you should abide by what I want.” He claimed. She did not want to raise a protest further. It is sensible, after all. It is a small price to pay if she wants to still live luxuriously. She wanted to continue having the best in her life. “When will I meet this man?” she swallowed hard. Her father's eyes lit up. He was happy that she did not let her stubbornness get the best out of her. To him, it is foreign, but an advantage. “Are you sure you want to meet him?” Her mother whispered. “Yes.” She responded succinctly. “Alright, I will set up a date for the two of you. I am sure he will be very happy to hear that you initiated a meeting!” He pulled out his phone from his pocket, excused himself on the table, and went to call Arthur. What was left on the dinner table was Agatha and her mom. Silence ate them up, the situation was so much for them, that they could not fathom it. Agatha ate her food silently. “I'm sorry…” Her mother whispered in the thin air which made her stop eating. She deliberately ignored her mother as she continued to dig in. She knows she's powerless against her father who always has the last word in everything. “I cannot do anything about it. He knew what he wanted and he would do anything to make it happen,” she whispered as she continued eating. “It's alright.” Agatha blurted out of nowhere. “You don't have to apologize for something inevitable. It was meant to happen, none of us wanted it.” Her words comforted her mother, but not to herself. She kept on questioning how much was her worth and how much money it would take for her to be bought. In the middle of her worries, her father came back. “Alright now, he told me he is free later. You should pamper yourself and look the best! A dinner date surely sounds fun!” The amount of joy her father felt could not top the amount of self-consciousness Agatha was feeling. She just nodded her head and went outside. She does not have any other thoughts in her head aside from the pain. She watched every single thing they owned be thrown into the truck. How her favorite antique vase was cracked as it was moved, her coffee maker was sold, and her maids left her behind. “Take care of yourself, ma'am.” The maid who has been with her ever since she was a child smiled at her. It was the last smile she could offer. A tear dropped from her eyes. She is not used to sympathizing with people. However, her nanny Helena was different. She treated her just like her own mom, saying that letting go is hard. “I promise… we'll hire you back, alright?” She caressed her nanny's hands. “If I get to choose, I'll choose you over my butler.” Helena just smiled and gently caressed her face back. She wiped off her tears and hid the forming tears in the corner of her red eyes, swollen from crying. “As long as you do not overwork yourself or skip a meal, I will be fine. Let's get in touch?” She smiled. “Alright.” Agatha could only smile back. “Let's get in touch.” She watched everyone slowly leave. How her huge mansion became silent and nobody makes a deafening mouthful of scolding anymore. The wind became cold, everything seemed to feel the worst now. She hated every single bit of it and wanted to blame it on her father who gambled up everything. “Am I going to end up alone?” Agatha thought to herself. What could even make it worse is that, after two hours of doing nothing, multiple stylists arrived at their homes. It seemed like her hell would finally start now. “She needs to look beautiful! You see, always remember, there is no room for lacking here.” Her father said. “Give her the most expensive jewelry you have right there.” He ordered. “How are we supposed to pay?” Her mother gently asked. “Her soon-to-be husband will take care of that. Am I right, Agatha?” Her father stared at her and lifted her gloomy face with his index finger. “Yes,” she responded. It was unbearable being changed like a doll. She hates it. She might have been dressed luxuriously in a bodycon black dress with thin straps, but knowing she will meet an old man does not sit right with her. The night has finally come and she is set to meet with Arthur. The whole drive was quiet considering how she hated having a conversation with her family. She felt like they had already abandoned her and they sent her out to be food for some predator. When she came to the restaurant where they were having dinner, she could not bring herself to enjoy it at all. She might be seeing an exquisite five-star restaurant with an extension of a hotel, but she knew it’d be her misery. “You can call me if you want to leave, alright?”Her mother tried to reassure her that she would look out for her, but that did not make her calm down even a bit. She slammed the car door shut and never looked back. She purposely made it sound so mad that her father would not bug her out. “Ohh, dearest Agatha!” She was surprised to meet Arthur for the first time. “The last time I saw you was when you were, what, five years old? You have grown to be a wonderful girl!” Arthur greeted her and hugged her. She felt crept out. It wasn’t even the kind where you will reminisce how he became an uncle when you were just a child because it seems like he had been looking out for her ever since she was just a kid. It is just… not right. “Yeah. I saw you when I was just a kid.” She emphasized the word “kid” which made Arthur uncomfortable. “Alright then, shall we head inside? I knew you would like the place and the food I ordered for us.” He smiled at her. His hands landed on Agatha’s waist and she felt uncomfortable and had been weirded out. She stayed silent until they went to the designated seat. As soon as she looked around, she felt more confused. “Why aren’t there any other people out here?” Agatha looked around and realized that no other guests were eating besides the two of them. “Ohh, you do not like it?” A curl escaped from Arthur’s lips. “I rented out the whole restaurant for you. Isn’t it romantic?” Agatha felt unconscious and could only fidget the sheets of her dress. She felt nervous, “Yeah…” her lips shook as she agreed. That is the date she would never want to repeat. For a minute, all she wanted was to find some reasons so she could dash to the door and leave.