The Heiress

"Go girl!" Barbara squealed, cheering me on even though I could barely hear her through the thundering music. I swayed and danced to the song, feeling the bass through every sense of my body. I stumbled off the dance floor slowly, making my way back to my table and collapsing my body unto the seat. Tonight I needed to clear my head. I am Ava Williams, daughter and heiress to Marcus Williams, — multi - billionaire and CEO of De Mac- Williams empire — one can only imagine how flamboyant I am. My father, who is also my boss, looked up to me to take over his empire and relations. He undoubtedly expected nothing but absolute success from me. I've always known my father to be stern and greatly against my lavish, carefree lifestyle. All the late night partying and flings with random strangers were a thing for complaints from him. I knew that daddy was displeased with my ways and that he wanted me to be serious about the businesses, but nothing prepared me for the shocking news I had received from my mother earlier this evening. Mr Williams — daddy — was going to marry me off to one of his partners. Upon hearing that I was bewildered, heart broken. How can daddy say he loves me and not let me have a say?! This was my life, my marriage, I should decide who and when I want! I gulped down a shot of the tequila in an attempt to drown my thoughts. I had to get rid of the sadness eating me from within. I was sad and I was even more furious. "You have two bottles of _La Maison Rouge_ from an anonymous, miss." A waiter smiled down at me with an ice bucket containing two bottles of wine and an elegant wine glass to go with it. It wasn't a thing of surprise, I always seemed to catch the eyes of admirers. Receiving gifts like this was a part of my daily routine, and was a reoccurring incident in the clubs I visited as well. "Beautiful!" I exclaimed with excitement and a smile of gratitude. "Do well to extend my thanks to the gentleman," I winked at the waiter, who nodded with a smile and left after serving me. I took a sip. It was bold, with a fruity ting yet dry taste, it was exactly what I needed. I swallowed and inhaled, feeling my rage wear off. I stood up and resumed dancing, glass in hand, barefoot. The night had only begun for me, and I was down for all the night had to give. Time seemed to slip away. I had just looked at my phone and saw it was 2:18am. My head was spinning with dizziness and I knew I needed to get away from here. "Barb," I called out as I stumbled around looking out for her. With all this drowsiness I couldn't spell out who anyone was. I picked up my purse and staggered my way through the crowd in a bid to get to the VIP lodge at the club. Everything was extremely foggy — how much had I drunk? I quickly waved away my thoughts of regrets. It was better to forget reality, after all, I needed a break from it all. As I approached the exit of the club, I looked around frantically for Barbara. We were supposed to be together — I had ditched my bodyguards and convinced Godfrey, the head of the guards, that I would be safely beside Barbara— now where the hell is she? I tried to stretch and look around but being heavily drunk was making it hard for me. I took out my cellphone to dial Barbara and I bumped into a strange man. I looked up to find a huge man staring down at me with intensity. His massive frame loomed over me. His broad shoulders seemed to stretch on forever, blocking away the rest of the surroundings and making me feel trapped. I could feel his hot breath that smelled of liquor on my face and I felt a wave of unease. I suddenly noticed there were two others behind him, approaching us, wearing sinister smiles— I felt my heart fall to my stomach. "What have you got there, Tiny," one of them asked with a smug, revealing crooked cavities and one peculiar tooth, I couldn't tell if it was a gold tooth or if it was just very yellow. The man towering over me smiled at the question, still looking down on me, as his eyes roamed my body. Tiny? I thought. A very ironic name for this dude. Tiny grabbed on to my upper arm and I felt a strong wave of fear overwhelm me. He pulled me away from the exit of the club to the open balcony. "I think we've got Daddy's little princess without her protectors," Tiny pulled me closer to himself and grabbed my neck with his free hand. "What do you want?," I whimpered. "Just mention it, and let me go." The other men croaked in loud laughter. I was too drowsy, too weak to fight Tiny off. I had nothing on him even in a sober state, who was I kidding. Did I say I was down for all the night had to give?... Scratch that immediately. I was definitely not down for this. Tiny held my neck in a tighter grip and brought his face close to my ears. I was too scared to make a move... "Dad?", I heard the voice of a female from a little distance. The men turned their attention to her immediately and Tiny released me abruptly, making me fall to the ground. "Baby?", the third man walked towards her. "What are you doing here?" "What are you and your friends doing dad?!" She sounded completely stricken with fear, and I think I could hear the disappointment in her voice, but I wasn't going to hang around for this. I stumbled up in my drunken state and staggered away to find my room in the VIP lodge. My heart silently gave the girl a vote of thanks, heaven knows what would have happened if she hadn't showed up. It was a lot of work getting to my room. My head spin, my feets were shaky, and I was still very much high as I made my way through the corridor, trying my best to recall my room number — was it room 15, or room 16?... — I stopped abruptly in front of the room whose gold plated sign read 15 and just as if my presence was expected, the door swung open.